NZ Dairy Exporter October 2018 by NZ Farmlife Media

Learn, grow, excel

OCTOBER 2018

DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS

$12

$12 incl GST

Overcoming salmonella

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Freechoice farming 1

PROGRAMME

DAY

PASTURE SUMMIT GROWING DAIRY'S FUTURE

8:30 - 9:20

REGISTRATION & MORNING TEA

9:20 - 9:30

Welcome and opening address Colin Armer – Conference Chairman

9:30 - 10:00

A/ Opportunities and challenges faced by pasture based dairy farming, today and tomorrow Michael Murphy – Irish Dairy Farming Leader and international businessman

10:00 - 11:00

B/ Real data on the NZ dairy farm financial situation Presented by ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited

11:00 - 12:00

C/ Sustainable dairy farm business driven by high pasture utilisation and profitability – a farmer’s perspective North Island: Pete Morgan & Leonie Guiney - Dairy Farmers South Island: Leonie Guiney & Greg Roadley – Dairy Farmers

12:00 -1:00

LUNCH

1:00 - 2:30

D/ Resilient pasture based dairy farm production systems – the research perspective Brendan Horan – Grassland Science Project Leader Teagasc, Moorepark Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Ireland. John Roche – Ph.D., Departmental Science Adviser, Ministry of

NORTH ISLAND 26 - 27th Nov 2018

SOUTH ISLAND 29 - 30th Nov 2018

8:30AM - 5:30PM I GROWING DAIRY’S FUTURE

Primary Industries (MPI) 2:30 - 3:00

ALL EARLY BIRD REGISTRATIONS WILL GO INTO THE DRAW TO WIN DOUBLE PASSES TO A BLACKCAPS MATCH. There will be separate draws for the North Island and the South Island with match dates/locations in both islands to be advised in due course.

South Island: Henry Bolt – Dairy Farmer 3:00 – 3:30

AFTERNOON TEA

3:30 – 4:30

F/ The Connection with the Consumer Jeremy Hill – Chief Science and Technology Officer, Fonterra Tim Hunt – General Manager, Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory, Rabobank

4:30 – 5:30

Closing discussion All speakers to participate Chaired by Julia Jones, Enterprise Agri-Food, KPMG

5:30PM

Wrap-up and final words for Day 1 of conference

Kindly sponsored by ANZ.

E/ Equity growth focused young farmers present their experience North Island : Robert Ferris – Dairy Farmer

PASTURESUMMIT.CO.NZ GETININQUICK QUICKAS ASEARLY EARLYBIRD BIRDCLOSES CLOSESAT ATEND ENDOCT OCT GET Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

DAY

8:00 - 9:00

WORKSHOPS 8:00AM - 3:30PM I A PROSPEROUS FUTURE REGISTRATION, orientation & morning Tea

2 The NZ Foundation dairy farm system – this is it! Mark Neal – DairyNZ Laurence Shalloo – Moorepark, Ireland

3 Time is money, see how the latest research and developments can save you time and make more money.

Donagh Berry – Moorepark, Ireland Jeremy Bryant – DairyNZ

More detail on the sessions and workshops can be found on our website.

Solutions to the environmental and climatic challenge. North Island: Bruce Thorrold – DairyNZ South Island: Keith Cameron & Grant Edwards - Lincoln University

North Island: Brian Dela Rue – DairyNZ Steve Allen - North Island Dairy Farmer South Island: Callum Eastwood – DairyNZ Rhys Roberts – South Island Dairy Farmer

The grazing dairy cow of 2030 – what will she need to do and what do we need to do to help her achieve it?

Farm ownership – what are the building blocks to farm ownership. North Island: Colm & Gaynor Tierney (Waikato Farmers) Bryce & Amanda Savage (Taranaki Farmers) South Island: James and Ceri Bourke, (Culverden Farmers) Will Green (Fairlie Farmer)

3:00 - 3:30

final words and close of conference

NORTH ISLAND – HAMILTON Day 1 – Claudelands Event Centre followed by evening Gala Dinner (sponsored by Ballance) with keynote speaker Jake Millar Day 2 – Lye Farm, Waikato

SOUTH ISLAND – ASHBURTON Day 1 – Ashburton Trust Event Centre followed by evening Gala Dinner (sponsored by Ravensdown) at Ashburton Hotel with keynote speaker Kevin Biggar Day 2 – Ashley Dene Farm, Springston

ENABLING TRANSFORMATIONAL INNOVATION

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

CONTENTS

ON COURSE FOR FARMING 60 ONLINE 10

Dairy Exporter’s online presence

MILKING PLATFORM 11

Chris and Carla Staples make the most of spring

Kate Robinson and husband Chris take stock

Rob and Shiralee Seerden have their sights set on an A2 herd

Farming is good luck and hard work for Niall McKenzie

NEVER MIND THE RAIN 26

NOTEBOOK 15

Opportunities around and off the farm

UPFRONT 16

Five vie for Fonterra board

Call for clarity on ETS targets

Overseer in Upton’s sights

Breeding Worth: Fat is back

BUSINESS

Milking fewer cows for more profit

Time for self-imposed quotas – Chris Lewis

Lincoln’s trailblazer paying dividends

Setting balance with alternative proteins

Be disrupted or help shape future of food

SHELLING OUT WITH WASTE 74 OUR COVER: Bella Archer and Yvonne Leigh are driving their dairy careers, training through the dairy apprentice scheme at the OB Group’s Regents Park farm at Bulls. Picture: Brad Hanson Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

SYSTEMS ALPINE SOLUTION 88

Relaxing with the cows in Holland

Weighing heifers has huge gains

Following the Kiwi way with organics

Forage: Brassica with potential

CO Diary: Bright future for dairying on West Coast

SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS

SPECIAL REPORT

DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS 56 60 62 63 66

Learning on the job On course for farming Land borrowed off our children Getting them in early Gamechanger: challenges and opportunities

69 70 72 92

Expert eye: Career growth in the dairy industry The power of two Opportunities despite roadblocks Making a degree of difference

Assistant Manager

Learning on the job with apprenticeship scheme

Dairy academy: On course for farming

Land borrowed off our children

Students: Getting them in early

Gamechanger: Challenges and opportunities

Expert Eye: Career growth in the dairy industry

The power of two

Opportunities despite roadblocks

ENVIRONMENT 74

Dirk Sieling: Shelling out with waste

Aiming for a small footprint

STOCK EQUITY FARMER

FARM OWNER

SHAREMILKER

CONTRACT MILKER

DAIRY ASSISTANT Equity Farmer

Bobby calves: New generation beef

Vet Voice: Overcoming Salmonella

Alpine solution to hybrid vigour

YOUNG COUNTRY DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS 55 Farm Owner

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Sharemilker

Faith in Shorthorns

Making a degree of difference

COLUMNS 94

FARM GEAR: The internet of everything

DAIRY 101: Mating, bovis-free

RESEARCH WRAP: Southland

DIRECTORY

DAIRY SOLUTIONS 101 Lely launches Orbiter 102 Dung beetles – nature’s solution to

FAITH IN THE SHORTHORNS 90 Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

sustainable farming

PROPERTY 103 The value of water 5

DAIRY DIARY

BROUGHT TO YOU BY FONTERRA FARM SOURCE

NZFARMSOURCE.CO.NZ/STORE | 0800 731 266

OCTOBER October 11-12 – Miraka is holding focus days on its farm excellence programme Te Ara Miraka in Taupo on October 11 and Tokoroa on October 12. For further details contact the milk supply manager Tania Cuthbert on 07 376 0075. October 17-19 – The New Zealand Royal A and P Show is being held in Hawke’s Bay. Visit www.showgroundsgb.co.nz October 20 – Entries open for the 2019 Dairy Industry Awards and close on November 30. More about the awards and how to enter, visit www. dairyindustryawards.co.nz October 23-November 13 – The Dairy Business of the Year competition has regional optimisation days on the winners’ farms. Dates/locations: October 23, Taranaki; October 25, Manawatu; November 1, Waikato; November 6, Canterbury; November 8, West Coast; November 13, Southland. More? Visit www.dboy.co.nz

October 24 – A succession planning day is being hosted by SMASH at the Silver Ferns Farm Event Centre in Te Aroha. The interactive day is aimed at guiding people on to the path of creating a succession plan, based on real-life experiences and presented by experts. For more information and to register online visit www.smallerherds.co.nz October 26-28 – Waikato A and P Show has an on-farm competition only for its dairy cattle. Visit www.waikatoandp.co.nz October 30 – Voting closes for DairyNZ board of director election, with results announced the following day. Visit www.dairynz.co.nz October 31 – Last day to enter the 2019 Ballance Farm Environment Awards for most regions. To enter visit www.nzfeatrust.org.nz

NOVEMBER November 3 – Manawatu A and P Show. Visit www.manawatushow.co.nz November 6 – SMASH is running a field day in the Waikato on nutrition and milking efficiency for smaller herd operations including management, infrastructure and milking interval options for maximising efficiency. A second field day will be held on November 14. More? Visit www.smallerherds.co.nz November 14-16 – Christchurch A and P Show. Visit www.theshow.co.nz November 21 – Focus day at Waikato’s demonstration dairy farm, Owl Farm. More on the farm visit www.owlfarm.nz November 26-27 – The North Island Pasture Summit is being held in Hamilton with plenary sessions at Claudelands Event Centre on day one, then workshops at Lye Farm on day two. The South Island’s Pasture Summit on November 29-30 will have its plenary sessions on day one at the Ashburton Trust Event Centre and day two’s workshops at Ashley Dene Farm near Springston. To register and view the programme, visit www.pasturesummit.co.nz

November 27 – A field day on covered shelters is being run in Manawatu by SMASH, with another in Taranaki on November 29. The day examines whether shelters are feasible for smaller herd farmers and the returns both economically and for lifestyle. Plus, Neil Chesterton will talk about bedding and lameness management in covered shelters. More? Visit www.smallerherds.co.nz November 27-28 – The Effluent Expo is a two-day event this year, held at the Mystery Creek Events Centre near Hamilton. The expo showcases effluent solutions from conception to completion, including storage, solids separation, recycling and spreading, with seminars running throughout the expo. More? Visit www.effluentexpo.co.nz November 29 – Irrigation New Zealand is running the bucket test workshop in Darfield to show how to check irrigators’ performance, avoid unnecessary wastage of water and prevent problems with the system. It includes the Bucket Test app to carry out the assessment, how to use the test results and when to call in an expert. The workshop runs between 9am and 12pm, followed by an afternoon workshop on soil moisture monitoring and the range of tools to help with irrigation decisions. More? Visit www.irrigationnz.co.nz

ONE SOURCE FOR YEAR-ROUND PRODUCTIVITY. Getting the most out of your crops is vital. Whether you are planning your summer feed or building feed reserves for over winter, we have you covered.

Talk6to your TSR or visit us in-store or online today. NZFARMSOURCE.CO.NZ/STORE

0800 731 266

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Editor’s note

DRIVING MISS DAIRY

hen I reflect on my career, I see it was neither a planned progression down a long, smooth, straight road, nor a careening white-knuckle ride down a country lane with speed bumps – although there were a few of them. There was a farm background, agri degree, wool industry job, all smooth sailing so far – then career derailed by the wool price crash of 1991, which happily led to a period of overseas travel. A long stint in the beef industry was fun, with travel, writing, and lots of steak, then the speed bumps of two pregnancies, baby juggling and time in and out of the workforce followed by freelance years and journalism training during two more pregnancies. And next month I will be celebrating 10 years back in the workforce in Who would have an agri-journalism role. What’s next I wonder? thought that my ca reer would grow to be so intertwined wi Most career paths are not straight but there are things you can do to keep moving th cows? forward and to prevent your career being sidelined in a layby, with a flat tyre. Recent research highlighted by economist Ganesh Nana showed the economic value of income earned by someone in the trades/vocational training pathway was, on average, fairly equal over a lifetime with someone going off and earning a degree at university, by the time they have paid off their loans. But he highlighted the most important factor in lifetime success was enjoying what you do – being passionate about the industry you are in. Passionate people progress and are happy at the stage they want to reach. In our special report we look at driving dairy careers onfarm – getting young people on to farms to get started and then the factors, ways and means by which people grow their career (P55). HR expert Lee Astridge says driving career growth in dairying needs a good boss role-modelling the skills team members need, a business prepared to invest in their workers’ skills, quality training and development, access to challenging industry networks and having a mentor or champion on your side. Damien and Emma Groot’s farm on the West Coast is returning 4.99% on capital and the couple have dropped cow numbers to concentrate on efficient cows on a 90% pasture diet. They are focusing on growing grass cheaper, rather than more of it alongside utilising it as well as they can for a resilient system. (P26). • SPECIAL REPORT: Smart Get along to the Pasture Summit in November (P2 and 3 for more info) to Water use learn more about maximising your pasture utilisation – you can save 10% on • Cutting N leaching by the registration fee as a Dairy Exporter subscriber changing irrigation triggers. – that’s worth half your subscription investment. • SUPER CALVES: How Kawera And if you need to get your shit sorted, all your queries answered and options investigated, plan Farm in Southland is growing to attend the Effluent Expo at Mystery Creek in Superfund calves. November. See you there! • WORLD FOCUS: Simone Smith

Sneak Peek - Next Issue:

reports on dairy in Aussie.

NZ Dairy Exporter

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Jackie

@YoungDairyED

@DairyExporterNZ

Which ProCool pre-cooling system is right for you? Even with a good primary cooling source, you want certainty your milk will be at the right temperature when the tanker arrives. Simple changes in herd size, milk-water flow rate, or water source temperatures can work against a reliable low milk in-vat temperature. Secondary cooling, or pre-cooling, is an intermediate step before milk reaches the vat. It can help deliver low in-vat milk temperatures with confidence. And pre-cooling does not have to cost the earth. Tru-Test Dairy Solutions provides end-to-end precooling solutions with its New Zealand designed ProCool range, excellent service, expert advice, quality components, installation and ongoing support. The ProCool range includes Glycol and Water Chillers and Ice Banks. These solid, compact, units are designed for New Zealand conditions and can be configured to meet your specific on-farm needs. Mix and match components and sizes provide flexibility to work with your existing cooling equipment so you only invest where you need to.

Find out more at tru-test.com/dairy

And with the right pre-cooling system for your farm, you can cool your milk and reap added benefits of lower ongoing operating costs and reduced energy costs by reducing peak power loads in the shed. ProCool Glycol and ProCool Water chillers have a powder-coated finish, include V-Block condensers (with proven reliability for industrial units) and shell-and-tube heat exchangers (for their tolerance to pressure and temperature variance). Chiller units are pre-charged with refrigerant and can be plumbed to your existing tank and plate cooler, or Tru-Test can provide the lot. The Glycol system uses a food grade glycol and water mix for on-demand chilling during milking. With a correctly-sized refrigeration unit, this can chill milk to 4Â°C before entering the vat. ProCool Ice Banks are supplied as a complete unit with an insulated tank, integrated refrigeration unit, and pumping and control system. They arrive ready for connection to a plate cooler and their stainless steel construction will look good for years.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Great service, simple solution Farm owner, Louise Baxter is a new Tru-Test Dairy Solutions customer. Her 195Ha (effective) cropping farm in Dorie, Mid Canterbury, was converted to dairy in 2012 and is now milking 780 Friesian Cross through its 54 bail rotary.

its base pad for cooling but no side wall refrigeration. At peak ambient (outside) temperature, this smaller vat was struggling to pull milk temperatures down and would be unable to deliver the level of cooling required under the new regulations.

The area is known for its excellent cold ground water. Primary cooling from the cool bore water does a great job. However with the region’s soaring summer temperatures Louise notes a few instances of milk being slow to cool over midsummer last year. Pulling down milk temperature with the high volumes at peak milk also held some challenges.

Louise consulted people who knew the area and farming business – her neighbours.

“I talked with my neighbours. I asked about reputable refrigeration companies in the area and they recommended Tru-Test as a company with reasonable pricing to get the work done.” “Milk was slow to cool, no grades though. I was aware of the new regulations coming in. If we were on the edge, we would need something to be done to meet the new requirements.”

“I talked with my neighbours. I asked about reputable refrigeration companies in the area and they recommended Tru-Test as a company with reasonable pricing to get the work done. At this point I approached Tru-Test and got a competitive quote. Tru-Test came in cheaper and with the preferred cooling option.” Price wasn’t the only factor in Louise’s choice to work with Tru-Test. She says it was a case of service and trust. “Trevor Green, the local Tru-Test Dairy Solutions Area Manager met with me and looked at the most costeffective option for me and for the farm.” Trevor talked through the precooling options available from Tru-Test Dairy Solutions. The mix and match components make it easy to use existing gear on the farm to keep costs down.

During the 2017 season, a technician from Tru-Test data-logged the shed’s milk cooling system. The datalogging process provides a very good indication of a refrigeration systems’ future performance and their likely ability to cope under peak pressures.

“I liked the TT10 Water Chiller option he gave me. Some site work had to be done and Trevor looked after it all. He also worked alongside local contractors who I knew and respected. He was very good.”

Of note were the two farm holding tanks: a 21,000L vat and 16,000L vat.

From start to finish, the sales and installation process was smooth and without any fuss.

At peak milk, the 21,000L vat was at full capacity. As is common with the smaller vats, the 16,000L had

Call Tru-Test Dairy Solutions on 0800 878 8378 to discuss pre-cooling solutions for your farm.

ProCool Water, Ice or Glycol Cost effective milk pre-cooling options to suit your farm Talk to our helpful on-farm refrigeration experts about your options.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

“The unit has performed well above our expectations and we’re really happy with the excellent service” ProCool Water customer Mike Smith, Brentworth Dairy Farms

How are you tracking? Let’s talk. 9 0800 TRUTEST (878 8378)

NEW ZEALAND

Learn, grow, excel

ONLINE New Zealand Dairy Exporter’s online presence is an added dimension to your magazine. Through digital media, we share a selection of stories and photographs from the magazine. Here we share a selection of just some of what you can enjoy. MEET OUR TEAM:

NZ Dairy Exporter is published by NZ Farm Life Media PO Box 218, Feilding 4740, Toll free 0800 224 782, www.nzfarmlife.co.nz Dairy Exporter Editor Jackie Harrigan P: 06 280 3165, M: 027 359 7781 jackie.harrigan@nzfarmlife.co.nz Deputy editor Sheryl Brown, P: 021 239 1633 sheryl.brown@nzfarmlife.co.nz Lead sub-editor: Andy Maciver, P: 06 280 3166 Reporters Glenys Christian, P: 027 434 7803 glenys.christian@nzx.com Anne Hardie, P: 027 540 3635 verbatim@xtra.co.nz Anne Lee, P: 021 413 346 anne.lee@nzfarmlife.co.nz

COW TO CONE A pair of Nelson dairy farms are adding value to their milk with prize-winning ice cream that’s set for export. See Dairy Exporter YouTube channel.

Karen Trebilcock, P: 03 489 8083 ak.trebilcock@xtra.co.nz Kate Robinson, P: 021 358531 kate.robinson@farmside.co.nz

Janine Aish Auckland/Waikato partnerships manager

SORT YOUR S**T Going to the the Effluent Expo was the start of a journey to a new effluent management system for Jacques and Vanessa Le Prou check it our in our video. See Dairy Exporter YouTube channel.

Connect with us online: www.nzfarmlife.co.nz NZ Dairy Exporter @DairyExporterNZ NZ Dairy Exporter Sign up to our monthly newsletter www.nzfarmlife.co.nz/e-newsletter

My role at NZ Farm Life Media is building relationships with the agribusinesses who support us – and not causing editorial and production staff too much angst along the way. I’m a bit of a magazine fiend – I subscribe to probably more than I should, have been in print media for all my working career and have always enjoyed the associated challenges of media/ agribusiness. I grew up like many NZers surrounded by farming family – my hands down favourite childhood memories are on those farms. Life apart from advertising, budgets and deadlines usually involves a fair bit of gardening but now I’m leaving the acres behind for a more urban dwelling – so time to pick up other neglected pastimes and maybe a few new ones. I recently came good on a long overdue promise and took my two sons (and the daughter-in-lawish!) to the Gold Coast. Had a heinously terrifying experience with The Giant Drop – but most fun without a doubt was running around like kids at the water park rides. Conclusion – I get the Gold Coast family holiday hype finally but reckon doing it with your grown up kids is next level fun.

Senior designer: Joanne Hannam Junior designer: Cassandra Cleland Partnerships Managers: Janine Aish Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty P: 027 890 0015 janine.aish@nzfarmlife.co.nz Tony Leggett Lower North Island P: 027 474 6093 tony.leggett@nzfarmlife.co.nz David Paterson South Island, P: 027 289 2326 david.paterson@nzfarmlife.co.nz Subscriptions: www.nzfarmlife.co.nz subs@nzfarmlife.co.nz P: 0800 2AG SUB (224 782) Printing & Distribution: Printers: PMP, New Zealand Distributors: Gordon & Gotch (NZ) ISSN 2230-2697 (Print) ISSN 2230-3057 (Online)

Email: Janine.aish@nzfarmlife.co.nz

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

MILKING PLATFORM WEST COAST Running the heifers through the new looking farm dairy was challenging this year.

Making the most of spring November. The crop will take the pressure off the farm over winter and leave us in a better position, grass-wise, going into next season. The new workshop is now complete and looking great, we now just need an electrician to sort out all the wiring. We still have a list of improvements them also. A task that in the past should as long as our arms, and now move on to only have taken 30 minutes turned into a the next stage. two-hour marathon of which just getting As we sit down to write this we have them into the yard only 30 more had its fun times! cows left to calve, Chris managed to spring-time My two white Galloways sub-soil more than calving seems to half the farm during have flown by were born in August June along with with only a few and were completely jet spreading effluent to bobby calves sent black! Not too sure what many paddocks via as every bull calf happened there. a slurry tanker and that has hit the this month has been ground has been flat out fencing calf sold to a longpaddocks and shifting many gateways. We standing private purchaser. have been tight pasture-wise for most of My Hereford calves are some of the best the season so far and have made up the we have reared and are now out in the deficit with palm kernel and molasses in paddock waiting to reach target weights the cowshed, but with super applied to the before being sold. whole farm and now urea going on, the My two white Galloways were born in sun has been beating down and the grass is August and were completely jet black! Not starting to kick into gear. too sure what happened there, a black Soil tests have been completed and dominant gene? However, they are very paddocks earmarked for next season’s cute and stocky. winter crop. We have decided to put six Our early calvers were metricured last hectares of swedes in for next winter. week with another group to be checked The groundwork for these will kick off in late September. It is crazy to think we are now gearing up for mating already. As usual the cows have The new Workshop. been tailpainted as they enter the milking herd so we can keep an eye on who’s been on heat prior to mating and we have had the bulls blood-tested for BVD to make sure they’re good to go for mating. The reason a lot of people do not recognise opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work.

The extra hours of daylight with spring – and daylight saving – means Chris and Carla Staples can get more work done on their Hokitika farm.

ell, time stands still for no one! And certainly this has been the case here, with winter a distant memory, and daylight savings upon us, the days have drawn out and we have been making the most of the great weather we have been experiencing during early September. With the added bonus of more hours of daylight this means more hours of farm improvements. Hopefully, as we hit daylight savings and calving winds up we can get a chance to catch our breath and take in all that we have achieved over the last four months. Our work load has tripled. This is undeniable but is very rewarding in the sense we are now creating our own future and succession, as well as having a secure future. So as with any job, sometimes you must take a step back and remember why you love what you do. The new dairy improvements were finished at the end of July, which only left us a week of running the cows through the shed, to sort out a springer mob. This was certainly challenging, as this was new to

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

MILKING PLATFORM KING COUNTRY

Smoke and mirrors

When Kate Robinson’s husband hit rock bottom, it was time for a break and the opportunity to take stock.

rom the outside looking in, you would think things are going pretty smoothly for us onfarm. Calving has gone well, production is up and the grass is growing. Financially, Chris and I are in a good position, the kids are well and happy, and our marriage is solid. There has however been something bubbling silently underneath that a few weeks ago completely boiled over. Chris hit rock bottom and came to me in tears desperate for help. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised his wheels had fallen off. Staff issues and injuries had increased his workload and meant he hadn’t had a break since April – he just kept trucking on. His canine companion of eight years got run over on the road. And he has been battling leg pain that keeps him awake at night. He is physically, Chris, Kate, Harrison (7) and Greer (5) fishing at Anatoki mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Salmon in Golden Bay. Compounding that was his feeling of guilt about not spending time with but Chris felt listened-to and supported. our children, and the social isolation that We have been overwhelmed by support comes with being completely consumed by from industry colleagues and friends, who the farm. It was a recipe for disaster. have taken their own personal time to Our vet had noticed a change in Chris’ help. demeanour and she knew it was more We knew it was important for Chris to than just the stresses of calving. She was get time off farm, so I am writing this from concerned and rang the Rural Support Chris’ home town of Nelson. It was a big Trust (RST). Through my work with step for him to leave the farm while we DairyNZ, I have connected farmers with were still calving, but it needed to happen. the RST, but we never expected to be the We found someone local to help onfarm, ones on the receiving end. and took the kids out of school. We have What a valuable service the RST is for enjoyed time with family and friends, our industry. Chris spent more than an talking, laughing, fishing and enjoying hour talking through his troubles with a the sunshine. DairyNZ has been extremely well-respected fellow farmer. supportive. This was a person who understood where They are going to work with Chris Chris was at and knew the right questions to develop a team who can be more to ask. He didn’t try to provide solutions, autonomous under our 2IC, so Chris can 12

step back. Increased cow numbers over time means we now have a full team of six FTEs instead of 3.5 allowing Chris to take a less hands-on role. We also knew it was important for Chris to see our GP and discuss whether medication could help, particularly with his debilitating anxiety. He has been taking medication for a few weeks now and it seems to be taking the edge off. Decision-making is easy when it comes to cows and grass, but making other simple day-to-day plans can be challenging. But we know the medication is just a bandaid, and we have had some long conversations about our future and what we need to change in our lives to improve Chris’ mental health and well-being. Chris still loves dairy farming and we enjoy the incredibly supportive community we live in. So what changes should we make for us to be happier, healthier, and more fulfilled? It is the million-dollar question for which we haven’t yet found the answer. I watched a video on Facebook recently whose message was that it is not a chemical imbalance or faulty brain wiring that causes depression and anxiety, but rather the adverse effects of our living environment, stress, and a perceived loss of control. This school of thought has merit and reinforces my thinking that we are our own worst enemies. In our fast-paced lives, we forget to stop and take time for ourselves. We feel guilty if we sit and do nothing because we don’t feel like we’re achieving anything. It’s like we’re competing with our peers to see who works the hardest and has the most hectic life. What are we trying to prove? One of the things we have learnt is that things aren’t always as they seem. Someone who seems to have it together might be struggling. Look out for each other, inquire about how your neighbour is, and above all, be kind. I got this quote from a colleague and it is a fitting statement to leave you with: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” – Wendy Mass.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

MILKING PLATFORM TARARUA Keeping the records straight: Rob Seerden and his assistants.

Sights set on an A2 herd It’s spring and Rob and Shiralee Seerden’s herd is all set up for mating.

ith calving only a trickle in our mind and a mild winter to boot, spring has launched us into a great start this season. Good conditions have set up the herd well for mating, which is where our thoughts stand. Drawing close is our second metricheck in September, bringing us into seven weeks of AI and three weeks of natural mating. This being our high point as well as calving; when this culmination is revealed. Rob is in his 20th year working as an LIC technician, but it wasn’t until we bought our herd to 50% sharemilk that a spark ignited. The first five years were focused mainly on raising our low BW/PW herd aiming towards the top percentile, and later with better animals coming through LIC’s Hybrid Figure graph brought to light the efficiency of F11 stock within our farming system. This led to flushing a couple of our top producers for embryos and implanting them into recipient cows. Any bulls produced were raised as recorded sires and put over our R2s. Next we noted that the

lower BW/PWs were producing as much if not more than those higher. Thus a new genetic plan was in order. A few years ago we redirected our goals for our herd while taking into account moving on from this farm. We were now heading in two new directions while trying to keep our breeding gains intact. First to A2 genotype test our herd including young stock; we had to use the only option available to us at that time which was to go through DNA parentage testing. We perceived this could open up more opportunities. This never wavered even when a definite “no” was given from Theo Spierings after I asked him last year if A2 milk would ever be on the horizon. The second goal was to produce more balanced offspring. Alongside our current evaluation method we are now analysing using aAa (Triple A) Animal Analysis; to breed a herd that is healthier, more productive and ultimately more profitable. The results of the genotype test surprisingly showed our Friesian X stock came out at 41% A2A2, and the largest

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

portion A1A2 which have the ability to throw A2A2 calves when mated with bulls with two copies of A2 allele. Hence we ended up with 76% of our replacement calves this season being A2A2. Our culling decisions have also been heavily influenced as we select primarily A1A1 animals parallel with the LIC Culling Guide. Note: all our culling stock is sold onfarm as in-milk empties or in-calf at the end of May; with good producers and genetic breeding they sell well. This season saw our first aAa calves born, while they look good the proof is in the pudding and only time will tell. All cows and R2s were analysed by an approved analyser, and given numbers that describe characteristics that need enhancing in order to bring balance in form and function to each animal. Using the aAa Perfect Match programme Rob uploads our herd with their descriptive numbers, he selects Triple A bulls meeting our breeding goals (A2A2, easy calving, udder, fertility) and the programme produces a list of bulls with matching numbers. Bottom line, this means multiple bulls will be used each day, an AI technician’s nightmare! Easy enough to do when we only milk 270 and we inseminate ourselves. Being resolved that this will impact us down the line in a positive way makes it worthwhile to us! 13

MILKING PLATFORM NORTHLAND

Good luck and hard work

Niall McKenzie reckons writing down his goals ensures it comes true, so he’s got a date with some Lotto winnings.

have always enjoyed a beer. A couple of years ago, I would accompany Delwyn to our local sports grounds on a Tuesday night. She would go to netball training and I would run around the sports field six times before jogging to the pub for handle club that night. As you can imagine I would sweat a lot so before carrying on down to pub after the run you would spray a whole heap of deodorant on before you left the sports ground. After my very slow but vigorous run I went to Delwyn’s bag to grab my deodorant which I couldn’t find. Knowing quite well I would be smelly, I made the executive decision to use some of Delwyn’s. I came across it, it had Ice written in great big words as I lifted it up to my arm pits. I thought that was an interesting name for a deodorant. I gave a couple of big sprays under both arms. Then I had a tingling sensation things weren’t quite right. I had created very cold and umm, crispy arms pits. Unfortunately it was not deodorant at all – it was spray-on ice for sports injuries. A couple of weeks later I won the handle club draw which was a $300 voucher at the pub. Sweat I mean sweet. Anyhow, down onfarm the grass is growing, the sun is shining and what a brilliant day it is to be a dairy farmer in Aotearoa. The cows came in with good condition before calving and held it on well considering we only fed out four bales of baleage – we still have 174 bales left. We had set up the farm very well by June 1 as we thought the farm was going to sell. It wasn’t sold so we got to enjoy the fruits of our labour having good cover, plenty of supplement plus another year on the property 50:50 sharemilking. 14

In November of last year I wrote a column called “Best thing since burnt toast”. It was about paying our chief executive at the time $8.32 million. Well Theo has left the building. I also at the

the takeover date of June 1, 2019. This means we are moving on. So by December 1, 2018, I will win $2m from Lotto and be moving to my dream farm in the area – LOL. By writing it down it must come true because everything else has. This is goalsetting 101. My last note is that one of the best things about living on Settlement Road in Kaiwaka is getting to see our nephews grow up. As an active uncle I try to make the kids better. One day Morgan (he has

Niall, Delwyn and cheeky nephew Morgan.

time mirrored Fonterra’s business plan for our company maxing our milk production. Let me just say I didn’t get to taxable income of $350,000, the draft accounts are more looking like $165,000. We didn’t get 90,000kg milksolids (MS) instead managed 80,151kg and farm working expenses were $1.71 not a $1.51 as I hoped. Just saying that I love accountability. Optimise, build and grow… my arse. Our dairy farm that we have been 50:50 sharemilking has been now been sold, with

just turned 12) was saying how he isn’t lucky and was a bit down on life. I turned to him and said “Morgan you know you make your own luck and that good luck is 90% hard work”. Morgan replied to me “I like that one Uncle Niall but I prefer the principle of ‘You Only Live Once or YOLO’.” For Pete’s sake Morgan, you are only 12. He is right there – so go and have some fun. #crispyarmpits

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

SHOWTIME With arrival of spring, we welcome back the annual A&P shows, where rural New Zealand comes to town to show off its best: Matamata Agricultural & Pastoral Association show, Saturday, October 6, Station Road Matamata. More? matamataaandp@gmail.com North Island Premier Showing Championships, October 12, 14, Equidays Mystery Creek Hamilton, More? rhiannon@equestrianelegancenz.com Waikato Agricultural & Pastoral Association (Royal Event – Alpaca), October 26-28, Claudelands Event Centre, 800 Heaphy Terrace, Hamilton. More? www.waikatoaandp.co.nz Amberley Agricultural & Pastoral Association, October 27, Amberley Domain, 6/50 Douglas Road, Amberley. More? amberleyaandp@gmail.com Ashburton Agricultural & Pastoral Association, October 26, 27, Ashburton Showgrounds, 66 Brucefield Avenue, Ashburton.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPS It’s time for farmers to pit their operations against the rest for 2019 Ballance Farm Environment Awards. Entrants are judged on their sustainable profitability, environmental awareness, good business practices, social and community responsibility. More? www.nzfeatrust.org.nz/enter-awards

NOTEBOOK FARM CHAT

More? www.ashburtonshow.co.nz Ellesmere Agricultural & Pastoral Association, October 13, 1650 Leeston Road, Leeston. More? www.ellesmereshow.co.nz Northern Agricultural & Pastoral Association (Rangiora), October 19, 20, Rangiora Showgrounds, 158 Ashley Street Rangiora. More? www.rangiorashow.co.nz Southern Canterbury Spring Horse Show, October 6, 7, Waimate A&P Showgrounds, 26 Hakataramea Highway, Waimate. More? nfo@scshow.co.nz

DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS Entries open October 1 for the 2019 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, with categories of Share Farmer of the Year, Dairy Manager of the Year and Dairy Trainee of the Year. More? www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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Five vie for Fonterra board

INSIGHT

UPFRONT GOVERNANCE

Five candidates are facing off for three positions on the board of New Zealand’s biggest company. Anne Lee reports. onterra’s China strategy, balance shareholders’ investment is an imperative sheet and business performance as is strengthening the balance sheet, she are all top of the agenda for the says. five candidates vying for the “I want to see more realistic risk analysis three positions on the co-operative’s board so we can respond appropriately and in a this year. more timely manner. With two of three sitting directors up for “Clarifying what business we are in, re-election by rotation – former chairman ensuring we have the right chief executive John Wilson and Nicola Shadbolt – not to deliver and then holding that chief seeking another term, at least two new executive to account – that’s what I want directors will be voted in this year. for Fonterra shareholders.” Ashley Waugh is the only incumbent on Jamie Tuuta is a shareholder and former the campaign trail and is joined by longchairman of Taranaki farming company serving Zespri chairman and Trinity Lands Parininihi ki Waitotara (PKW) and says chief executive Peter McBride, former recent criticism that Fonterra’s board Maori Trustee and chair of Maori Television makeup risked losing influence and input Jamie Tuuta, Canterbury dairy farmer and from grass roots farmers was a distraction. former Fonterra director Leonie Guiney “The face of New Zealand dairy farmers and Canterbury dairy farmer and irrigation is a very diverse one and we need to lift the company MHV chairman John Nicholls. level of conversation to ensuring the right Guiney views her recent history people, with the right skills are on the involving legal action with Fonterra, board to ensure Fonterra is successful.” resolved out While the of court just youngest candidate weeks ago, as a at 41, Tuuta has ‘The face of New Zealand strength rather had 20 years than a problem of governance dairy farmers is a very and believes the experience across diverse one and we need to outcomes will a range of mostly lift the level of conversation allow her to be Maori entities, to ensuring the right people, more effective on including fisheries, with the right skills are the board. which he says on the board to ensure She says it shares in some of was well known the headwinds Fonterra is successful.’ that she hadn’t facing Fonterra fully supported such as diverse Fonterra’s China shareholder views, strategy and she wants to rejoin the board environmental challenges and public to contribute to setting a strategic shift perception. in the co-op to ensure owners’ capital is Experience of navigating those invested in areas of core strength. headwinds will stand him in good stead to Protecting owners’ capital and ensuring help Fonterra ensure it maintains a social the strategy and management are licence to operate, he says. focused on delivering good returns on He wants to contribute to a unified,

Ashley Waugh.

Peter McBride

positive culture on the board and to setting a positive, clear strategy that management can deliver strong returns on. He says the DIRA review is timely and with reference to the current requirements for the co-operative to supply competitors

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Jamie Tuuta

Leonie Guiney

John Nicholls

wants to see “it land where Fonterra is not expected to operate with one hand tied behind its back”. John Nicholls owns six dairy farms and is a former Fonterra Shareholders Councillor.

He’s been outspoken about the risk of Fonterra’s board losing touch, through its make-up, with grass roots farmers who depend on a monthly milk cheque for their income. That dependence drives urgency and demand for strong performance, he says. He wants to see a review that results in a strategy that’s fit for purpose, related to Fonterra’s core values and simplified enabling it to be clearly executed. Values, culture and strategy are the very foundations of the business and have to be right, he says. While Fonterra is a good company it’s not a great company with returns not reflecting farmers’ investment and not improving over time as they should, he says. “We’ve got to right-size our cost base and review the business closely so we can drive performance upwards,” he says. Strengthening the balance sheet is also an imperative so the co-operative can withstand hits and continue to grow and reinvest in strongly returning areas of the business. Fonterra needs to re-engage with its shareholder base and all New Zealanders to bring farmers and the country along with it. Ashley Waugh was elected to Fonterra’s board in 2015, is the former chairman of Moa Brewing Company and was formerly chief executive and managing director of Australia’s National Foods. He’s also a director who puts cups on cows and is regularly hands-on on his 300cow Te Awamutu dairy farm. Having the grass-roots connection is important but what’s more important are the commercial and governance skills and experience directors bring to the board table, he says. He’s been at the table for the last three years and had to front shareholders after Fonterra’s first loss result. He says he’s had a never-ending focus on commercial performance and delivery and there’s an element of unfinished business for him personally in getting the co-operative to deliver the results farmers expect. When Fonterra’s strategy is interrogated he says 80% is on track but 20% is not hitting the mark and it’s right to review and reset.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Fonterra has entered a new era where milk supply growth isn’t a major factor and it now has the optionality to move 45% of liquid milk equivalents into consumer, food service and advanced ingredients. While some commentators have called for a review of capital structure to allow more capital to flow into the co-op he says neither he personally nor the board is considering capital restructuring. But he does say that the complete asset performance review is likely to address concerns some have over balance sheet strength. While McBride holds high-profile governance and management positions he also points out he has a strong link with grass-roots dairying as an equity partner in a 1000-cow farm at Tokoroa and nine years’ experience in his younger days as both a contract milker and sharemilker. While that empathy is important so too is understanding the difference between governance and representation. McBride says strategy not structure is where he’d put focus and ensuring the implementation of the strategy is executed well. Blaming structure is just masking the real issue which is company performance. The co-op needs to take the opportunity to review its culture to ensure it’s positive and adhering to the co-op’s values so it is positioned to achieve the performance farmers expect. McBride’s role in Zespri has given him a hefty level of experience of China and the challenges it can present – experience he says will be of benefit around the board table. Fonterra’s had three bloody noses there – it needs to own the issues and learn from them if it doesn’t want a repeat, he says. While he says his governance career was born somewhat out of activism, that approach needs to be left at the door and once sitting around the board table it’s important to work towards a positive, consensus-based approach. Voting packs, containing candidate profiles, will be mailed to eligible shareholders on Monday, October 15, 2018. Shareholders can vote by internet or post, using the first past the post, majority system. Voting closes at 10.30am on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 with the results being announced later that day.

Go to our website to hear for yourself what the candidates have to say in full-length interviews with Anne Lee

INSIGHT

UPFRONT GREENHOUSE GASES

Murray Holdaway: Farmers need clarity on targets and measurements.

Call for clarity on ETS targets Scientists and politicians need to be clear with setting targets for farmers on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a forum on the ETS was told. Bob Edlin reports. ntil farmers have clarity on a raft of issues, it is unreasonable to expect them to take a leading role in programmes to reduce greenhouse gases, Manawatu dairy farmer Murray Holdaway told a forum in Wellington. How can they make the right decisions, he asked? “To go forward we need clarity from scientists and from politicians.” Holdaway spoke from the floor after 17 politicians, industry leaders and scientists had spoken to the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science forum on agriculture’s place in the Emissions Trading Scheme and how farmers could be enabled to respond. He had been impressed by the forum’s farmer focus and the non-ideological discussion of issues and had been “extremely encouraged” that people were working on the issues and trying to find solutions. But he called for clarity around targets (“because farmers are not going to respond if we haven’t got those”), measurements

(“how do we measure and what are we measuring?”) and about where ETS obligations should lie. During the day he had learned of the challenges related to water quality issues. Conflict and complications had resulted as the focus moved from farm to catchment levels – “and climate change issues are more complicated than water”. Pressing farmers to make progress on greenhouse gas emission reduction without clarity accordingly was “a big ask”. The Government’s over-riding aim, of course, is unambiguous: it has set a net zero carbon target for 2050. How farmers will be affected and what should they do is not so clear. Labour MP Kiri Allen , speaking in place of Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, said the Government expects to make decisions “soon” on what form the 2050 target will take. The Zero Carbon Bill is scheduled to be enacted next year. Getting the 2050 target right “will be important”, Allen said. The Government believes NZ must reduce agricultural emissions – on the

one hand - while maintaining “strong economies and productive and resilient sectors capable of meeting the food demand of an exponentially growing world population”. It is pumping millions of dollars into research, tools, frameworks and policies to enable farmers to reduce their onfarm emissions and switch to more sustainable land-use practices. But having outlined several key research programmes and reported “steady progress” on the science internationally and domestically, Allen acknowledged no “silver bullet” to reduce greenhouse gases from animals had yet been identified. This was underscored by Mark Aspin, general manager of the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium, when he summed up his organisation’s work on finding emission-reducing options for livestock farmers. Genetics: Well understood with sheep and likely to be rolled out but still to be proven for cattle and deer.

➥ Continue on page 20

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

PASTURE October 2018

Yield + quality: picking premium winter kale for dairy cow grazing

Great silage made easy

Next w inter may seem a long way away but in rea lity it’s on ly a matter of weeks until ka le crops a re under way for da ir y g ra zing du ring 2019. As anyone who has ever had a poor crop knows, winter feed is a critical investment.

utilisation if you don’t graze the stems, or poor cow BCS gains if you push cows to eat them.

Picking the right kale cultivar is a key step towards getting the best out of your wintering dollar.

Caledonian kale is different. It has a unique combination of high DM yield and stem quality.

Yield is important, but if you want cows to utilise the crop well and achieve good gains in BCS, the ME level of the kale stems also needs to be considered.

As a marrow stemmed kale, it maintains higher ME than older tall varieties, particularly in the lower half of the stem.

Kale cultivars differ significantly in feed quality. This is because most of their DM yield (70-80%) comes from the stem of the plants, and the feed value of kale stems vary considerably. Some older cultivars are high yielding. But their stems have poor ME, which means lower crop

That means less wastage, better animal nutrition and less trash to deal with when it comes to re-sowing the paddock next spring. At the same time, however, Caledonian is still a tall, high yielding kale variety, averaging 12-16 t DM/ ha, and reaching 20 t DM/ha in good conditions.

Caledonian has both high DM yield and stem quality

Spring silage is a great way to bank a genuine pasture surplus at this time of the year, and achieving a high ME result is easy - just don’t let your grass get too long. The first step is to tee up your contractor (before your neighbour does!) and plan to cut early. Lighter, early crops of silage regrow quality leafy feed quickly, so these paddocks are ready for grazing fast in case conditions change and you need the feed. Light crops also produce silage with much better feed quality. If you want high ME grass silage, cut pastures before they exceed 4000 kg DM/ha and take them down to grazing height (i.e. 1500 kg DM/ha). Letting grass get longer before making silage (>4000 kg DM/ha) means it starts to lose feed quality. Equally important, it also weakens pastures and puts pressure on clovers, because clover plants and young daughter ryegrass tillers get shaded out and die.

Dairy Exporter For | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz October 2018 further information| freephone: 0800 449 955, email: mail@agriseeds.co.nz or visit: www.agriseeds.co.nz

INSIGHT

UPFRONT OVERSEER

Overseer in Upton’s sights

wo reports addressing issues of concern to farmers will emerge from the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, over the next few months. Upton is working on “an in-depth investigation into the treatment of biological sources and sinks across New Zealand’s landscapes”. This will include and examination of the interactions between climate policies and policies in other domains. Addressing the NZ Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science forum on agriculture’s place in the Emissions Trading Scheme and how farmers Caroline Read could be enabled to respond, Upton said the report was likely to be available early in the near year. But first, he is determined to produce a report on Overseer before the end of

➥ from page 18 Feed: Options are limited with NZ’s pasture-fed systems. Inhibitors: The most likely option to come through in the foreseeable future to reduce methane emissions but substantial technical, cost of delivery and consumer risks remain to be addressed. Vaccine: Has the potential to be widely used in all species but technically is proving highly challenging. The experts believe it is still achievable. Nitrous oxide: Research shows nitrification inhibitors can make an impact but new compounds are required. This is linked to work in nitrate reduction and effective use of feeds. Soil carbon: This still has significant risk – more research is needed for it to be understood and provide value in carbon management. 20

the year. This will include advice on Overseer’s suitability as a regulatory tool. Overseer chief executive Caroline Read – updating the Simon Upton forum on the recent introduction of software designed to make the system more accessible for farmers and increase their use of it – said regional councils had been using Overseer in their water quality management since around 2009. Overseer has been looking at onfarm greenhouse gas emission profiles as well. “So everything came together for Overseer to be able to give a fairly full environmental picture to a farmer.” Farmers then could use it when deciding how they could significantly change their management practices, gauge their farm emissions and assess nutrient losses. This had been difficult using the old software, which had evolved over time and became increasingly more

National agriculture spokesman Nathan Guy endorsed the direction of the consortium’s work – and that of other scientists – in urging that ways be found to enable farmers to adapt to policy changes and meet climate-change targets onfarm. Solutions had to be broken down for application at the farm level. The way farmers learned and changed their behaviour was from their peers, Guy said. “So it’s pointless scientists or politicians standing up and saying ‘you shall do this’. It actually needs to come from the grass roots up.” Key lead farmers would have to take the initiative and prove what can be accomplished by adopting new technologies and changing farm systems. Guy credited farmers with having made huge progress in the past decade or so in

complex as more functions were added. Since being redesigned to make data entry easier, many more farmers had started using the tool, helped by farm advisers and nutrient experts to decide on different ways of operating to get greater gains, Read said. The big benefits of Overseer would come from helping farmers make on-farm changes, she said. A programme is under way to recalibrate the system against the farmer information that has become available since Overseer was last calibrated in 2012. Upton’s report will include a section which examines the Overseer model and its fitness for purpose, given that its use as a nutrient budgeting tool to help farmers improve their productivity and their profitability had widened as it grew organically over the years. One question – for example – is what can be said about the model if it is to be used in a regulatory context. Another part will ask if current governance and ownership model is appropriate.

increasing output from reduced inputs by adopting and adapting research. “The important thing is to carry on that good work that is already happening.” But it seems we must pick up the pace, because – according to forum co-chairman Rod Oram – the science and the nature of the food system internationally is changing fast. While NZ has been a leader in innovation, “we won’t be in the future unless we very substantially change our ambition and the science and funding for it”. More to the point for farmers bracing to meet climate change targets, Oram noted that the average time for a major new farming technology to be adopted across the farm system is 19 years (much better than 50 years in the US). “But 19 years is too long.”

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Have you done the math?

Here’s the difference between taking milk from the vat at $6.70 payout versus feeding Sprayfo CMR.

The following calculation is based on rearing 100 calves for 6 weeks with the same amount of total dry matter (500g/day) and total volume of milk. Number Calves

100

CMR BAG PRICE

# Days Feeding CMR or Vat Milk

Sprayfo Blue CMR 20kg

$75.00 ex GST

Sprayfo Red CMR 20kg

$69.00 ex GST

Cost Vat Milk

$2.33

per calf/day

Cost Sprayfo Blue

$1.88

per calf/day

Cost Sprayfo Red

$1.73

per calf/day

Dairy Payout

$6.70 per kg milk solids

Milk Solids % (FAT/PROTEIN)

8.70%

Feed Rate Vat Milk (usually 5-6L)

L per day

Total Dry Matter per Calf/Day

500

g per day

Feed Rate CMR

L per day

Concentration CMR (Can be 125-150g)

125

g per litre

Total Dry Matter per Calf/Day

500

g per day

# Calves

Cost/Calf/Day

Total Cost Difference per per day day vs Vat Milk

Total Cost All Difference All Days Days vs Vat Milk

Vat Milk

100

$2.33

$233.16

$9,792.72

Sprayfo Blue CMR

100

$1.88

$187.50

-$45.66

$7,875.00

-$1,917.72

Sprayfo Red CMR

100

$1.73

$172.50

-$60.66

$7,245.00

-$2,547.72

Sprayfo Blue Premium 20kg

COST PER LITRE MILK* Vat Milk

$0.58

Sprayfo Blue CMR

$0.47

Sprayfo Red CMR

$0.43

*NOTE that this does not take into account dry matter content or feed rate required. See below for comparison.

Sprayfo Red Finisher 20kg

Premium quality CMR for optimal calf rearing

Good quality CMR for economical rearing

Can be fed to calves from 4 days’ old

Can be fed to calves from 14 days’ old

Whey protein for faster digestion Hydrolysed wheat protein aids digestibility (no soya) Dissolves easily and won’t drop out of solution Can be mixed with liquid whole milk

Order Sprayfo Calf Milk Replacer from your local retailer or call AgriVantage on 0800 64 55 76 Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Whey protein for faster digestion Hydrolysed wheat protein aids digestibility Contains soya protein (lower cost) Dissolves easily and won’t drop out of solution

• •

Now we don’t have to have someone physically teat spraying the cows. Teat coverage is consistent. Teat and udder health is great. If you want an easy to use, robust system, then choose a WETIT System. – Shane Maisey, Contract Milker, Kopuera Dairies, Mercer.

We wanted the latest technology and WETIT is proven. Our herd’s teat condition has improved and somatic cell count has come down. Our WETIT Wand has done everything we wanted it to do. – Tony Drnasin, Drnasin Holdings Ltd, Waikato.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

INSIGHT

UPFRONT BREEDING INDEX

Fat is back Words by: Sheryl Brown ersey farmer Murray Gibb is hoping the recent changes in the nationwide breeding (BW) index will add some more value to his surplus stock. The Waikato farmer has milked Jerseys for more than 30 years and his herd has been in the top 5% for Breeding Worth (BW) for about the last 20 years. New Zealand Animal Evaluation (NZAEL) has announced a change to the BW index

which puts a higher weighting on milk fat. Of the top 200 bulls by BW in 2019 (BW2019), 70% are Jersey, 5% HolsteinFriesian and 25% Crossbred. On average, Jersey bulls are increasing by $23 BW while Holstein-Friesian decrease by $28 BW. Cross-bred and Ayrshire bulls are relatively unchanged (-$4 and -$3 BW). Within breeds, individual bulls will shift up or down by as much as $40 BW relative to their breed average shift. “It’s good for the Jersey breed, undoubtedly. We have had a bit of a

hammering over the years,” Murray says. “I’m hopeful it will increase the value of the stock. There might be a little bit more demand for Jersey herds, but pretty finite. It might increase the amount of Jersey used in the crossbreds.” The change in BW is based on the basis milk fat will earn dairy farmers more than protein in the 2018/19 season. Milk price and the relative value of fat and protein are the biggest factors in the BW index. Economic values for fat and protein are calculated by partitioning the milksolids price into a value for fat and protein, and then accounting for the cost of producing each component. The value of fat relative to protein has been increasing for the past three seasons and this trend is forecast to continue. “Fat has been a low value milk component but has seen a steady rise in recent seasons due to consumer-driven market value,” DairyNZ strategy and investment leader Dr Bruce Thorrold says. “That’s a welcome change for New Zealand dairy farmers who are set to receive a strong 2018/19 milk price, buoyed by the value of milk fat. The changes in fat price have produced large shifts in BW both between and within breeds. “The milk price values we use in BW lag behind the market price because we look to smooth out short term changes – for breeding the national herd we need a long-term view. If current fat prices are maintained, then the shift in favour of high fat bulls will continue next year.”

Milford in Christchurch? Milford Asset Management now has an office in Christchurch. You can also talk to us in Wanaka and Auckland, or on 0800 662 345. Talk to your Christchurch Milford team: 0800 662 345 | 03 962 4480 Level 3, 329 Durham Street North milfordasset.com

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018 MAM0203_97x192.indd 1

KiwiSaver | Investment Funds | Private Wealth

14/09/18 1:47 PM23

Effective emphasis on the individual traits within Breeding Worth

New Zealand dairy farmers are uniquely positioned to take full advantage of strong demand for fatbased milk products due to the strong influence of Jersey genes in the national herd, he says. Due to the sizeable shift in fat and protein value, BW2019 is being published early for all sires enrolled with NZAEL. This will give farmers insights into

which bulls can add the most value to their breeding programme in a market where fat is a high-value component. The calves born in spring 2019 will have the BW2019 values. “Breeding high BW cows is vital for farm profit, so given these shifts in BW all farmers need to be thinking about their breed choice as well as individual bulls. Farmers can be confident that BW is identifying the most profitable

genetics for NZ grazing systems, whether they are looking for the best bull team or best bull within a breed.” DairyNZ is encouraging farmers to talk with their breeding company to see if the product they have ordered is still meeting their needs. To view the 2019 BW figures on the DairyNZ bull team builder visit www.dairynz.co.nz/bullteam

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Damien and Emma Groot have dropped 100 cows for a better business.

Never mind the rain For a former Rotorua couple farming on the West Coast the focus has been on producing a sustainable business that can survive low-payout years. Anne Hardie reports. est Coast farmers Damien and Emma Groot are milking 100 fewer cows than when they moved to the Taramakau Settlement farm a decade ago, for more production and greater profit. It is a formula that has worked well for the couple who were finalists in this year’s Dairy Business of the Year and won the Best People Leadership Award. Being named finalists was a considerable achievement when their milk payout that season was about $1/kg milksolids (MS) less than any other region. Ten years ago the former Rotorua sharemilkers headed south with a 15% investment in the 306-hectare dairy farm

as equity partners with Damien’s parents, Rens and Annette Groot. It sits in a line of dairy farms on river flats beside the Taramakau River, accessed by a no-exit road through West Coast bush that opens to the wide valley. Heading down to the West Coast provided the “best bang for our buck” and even though that first year saw Westland Milk Products’ payout fall from $8.29/ kg MS the previous year to $4.50/kg MS, they now have a 24% investment in the business, Clear Creek Dairy, which gives them a reasonable return on their investment of 4.9%. The couple also own 24% in a runoff bought by the business and separately they have bought a house

BUSINESS ONFARM

KEY FACTS • Farm owner: Clear Creek Dairy • Equity partners: Damien and Emma Groot • Location: Taramakau Settlement, West Coast • Farm size: 290 effective hectares • Herd: 600 crossbred cows • Production 2016-17 on 282.3ha: 400kg MS/cow; 850kg MS/ha • Operating profit margin: 30.4% • Operating profit/ha: $1,436/ha • Cost of production: 3.53/kg MS • Operating expenses: 3.86/kg MS • Pasture harvest: 9.7t DM/ha • Pasture % of feed: 84.2% • Labour efficiency: 211 cows/FTE • Return on capital: 4.9%

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

at Lake Brunner which is rented out as holiday accommodation and adds to their growing investments. On the dairy farm, their focus has been on producing a sustainable business that can survive those low-payout years by producing a more-efficient cow, which means fewer cows and lower costs. Initially they milked 700 cows on 285 effective hectares, which has since increased to 290ha, before dropping to 600 cows which they reckon is about the right number for the property. Milking 700 cows produced 339kg MS/ cow and a total of 236,000kg MS whereas 600 cows produces between 400 and 410kg MS/cow to achieve between 240,000 and 252,000kg MS. At the same time farm working expenses (FWE) have dropped from $4/kg MS to about $3/kg MS. In line with that, operating expenses have dropped from close to $4000/ha to $3193/ ha with the latter including $300-$400 that is allocated to farm improvement. In the past only about a third of that amount was spent on improvements. “So the speed at which the farm is improving is accelerating,” Damien says. “There is still huge scope within the farm for improvement, a lot of which will happen just by farming it as the organic matter improves within the soils.” The farm, Clear Creek Dairy, lies near the base of the Southern Alps and just across the river from the highway leading over Arthur’s Pass, so rainfall is high even by West Coast standards and can vary dramatically from 2.5 metres to an incredible 4.3m per annum. And even in

a 4.3m year, you can still get a drought, they point out. Every year they’re prepared for the potential dry between January and March, but last year the drought came early in December. It’s unpredictable and when they’re not a wet farm, they’re a dryland farm, so fewer cows helps them cope with the vagaries of the seasons. About 70% of the farm lies on stony river silts and the remainder rises up the glacier-created hillside. It’s those stones that enable them to farm the flats in high rainfall, as well as heating the soils early in spring to get grass growth. “Everyone has a roller here,” Emma comments on the stones. “That’s your biggest investment.” Most years grass makes up about 90% of the cows’ feed and hence they regrass up to 13% of the farm each year, including about 20ha that has had winter crop for the herd and wetter paddocks that weren’t suitable for winter crop. Despite the region’s rainfall they were working over paddocks at the beginning of September to sow with new grass. To achieve more consistent growth across the farm, every paddock has been soil tested twice since they began milking cows on it and Damien says those tests explained why some paddocks were not producing as much. Now they’re growing more grass – between 12 and 13 tonnes drymatter (DM)/ha – which means more grass down the cows’ throats by utilising 9.9t DM. They probably could grow more grass, Damien says, but the land wouldn’t handle it without investment in infrastructure and

ABOVE: Wetter hollows have been dug over to bring gravel to the surface. LEFT: The Groots regrass up to 13% of the farm a year, including the 20ha of winter crop.

he is reluctant to invest in concrete as it usually worked out cheaper to buy more land to increase production. Instead, their focus is on growing 13 tonnes of grass cheaper, rather than trying to grow more grass. Some of the wetter paddocks actually grow less grass now and graze less stock because Damien and Emma decided it wasn’t sustainable to stock those paddocks higher. “On some paddocks we are deliberately growing less grass,” Damien says. “We’ve gone for a lower-cost system on them, so we only do three dressings of nitrogen on them which is about 75 units for the year and that’s to deliberately grow less because they can’t handle the stocking rate. You just wreck them otherwise and then you have the cost of trying to fix them. “I could chuck 250 units of nitrogen at

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

them and have a really good profitable was assessed for the competition, their year and make money. But then next production costs were $3.53/kg MS (farm year I couldn’t farm that paddock the working expenses $3.09). same, so it’s not repeatable. It’s got to be To make the most of their grass system, repeatable.” they’ve focused on milking a more Added to the cows’ grass intake is palm efficient cow. Today it’s a 50:50 crossbred kernel, especially through spring to get herd where they’ve selected Jersey out of magnesium into their systems and then Friesian cows and Friesian out of Jersey a smaller amount through the season to cows. Jersey semen is used across all the encourage good cow flow into the dairy. first cyclers which gives those calves a head It also adds more start before drymatter which can the Friesian be a challenge in high calves come ‘We’ve gone for a lowerrainfall periods even along. This cost system on them, so we when there’s plenty of year they are only do three dressings of grass. keeping their “I don’t think we own Jersey bull nitrogen on them which is make any money out calves to use as about 75 units for the year of palm kernel, but it’s two-year-olds. and that’s to deliberately less stressful and I know Damien says grow less because they can’t the cows are getting he’s not keen handle the stocking rate.’ magnesium which on keeping means they aren’t going them but it to fall over. means they “If we get a month won’t have to where we’ve had 28 days of rain, the buy and transport stock to the farm while monitor farms have shown that the Mycoplasma bovis is a threat. cows can’t get enough down their throat The runoff is not far away in the Grey because there’s too much water content. Valley which gives them 70ha to graze the It’s not common; it might be a two-week young stock and is run as a low-cost block period in a year and it’s generally in the with only 50 units of nitrogen applied each spring.” year. Running a simple system with fewer “We try not to make silage there and if cows means they have dropped costs so we do, we feed it to the R1s there because I that during the 2016-17 season which don’t think there’s any money in bringing

it back here. It’s all about keeping it simple.” Emma says the runoff has halved the costs for young stock which used to add up to $122,000 a year with graziers. In the past they have brought some of the R2 in-calf heifers back to the milking platform in autumn to eat surplus grass rather than put it into silage, to keep costs down and keep their system simple. The cows are always fully fed, so anything left in the paddock is usually grazed by the carry-over cows and if there’s more than they can eat, then it goes into silage. Topping is never an option – they’d rather put that grass into stock, whether it’s cows, carry-overs, heifers or silage. It follows their strategy to have a lowcost system for the potential low payout years, Emma says; a lesson learnt from that first year on the farm. “The paycheck pretty much just covered the mortgage that year because they (Westland) took money away. So now we have to have X money in the bank.” That means they don’t run an overdraft and rely on a resilient system to get through the tough years. Animal health costs are about $55 per cow, with no cidrs, few metricures and only one pregnancy test. They carry out their own treatment of lame cows, dehorn their calves themselves which saves $7 a calf and only use antibiotics when absolutely necessary. When the payout was really low, they

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

didn’t pregnancy test at all and judged it just by eye, which worked well enough. If they have to buy in feed, they go for the cheapest on a megajoules basis, which means they have bought in silage in wet years that they haven’t been able to make it at home. In the past they have made their own pit silage, but have had more success in making 600 bales a year of balage to feed through winter. “As we’ve upped crop (swedes) we’ve made less silage,” Damien says. “The crop is cheaper to grow than silage or balage – at 7-8c/kg DM and per megajoules it works out far better than silage which is about 12c/kg.” That means the crop works out at 0.67c/ MJ compared with silage at 1.2c/MJ, so Damien says it’s nearly half the cost in real feed terms. “The crop is good for putting condition on because it’s such a high-energy feed. So we only make enough balage to feed on the crops; we don’t make any more. “We cut back nitrogen if we have enough. We’d rather a natural surplus than a nitrogen-grown surplus. There’s no money in that in my eyes. If there’s a surplus, it has to come out of trying to feed the cows well rather than trying to grow grass through nitrogen. It’s less work because I don’t have to go around with the nitrogen spreader and I don’t have to make silage.” Concentrating on feeding the cows

Breeding a more efficient cow has led to less cows and less costs.

well in a sustainable way means they are not chasing production and they typically achieve between 240,000kg MS and 252,000kg MS. In the 2016-17 season figures used for the DBOY competition, production worked out at 400kg MS/ cow and 850kg MS/ha. That season their operating expenses were $3.86/kg MS and their operating profit was $1,436/ha – an operating profit margin of 30.4%. “We don’t target production – it ends up what it ends up because if you target production you end up doing the wrong things. And I don’t want to force it.” Their season begins at the beginning of August, with a springer mob taken out of Most of the farm lies on stony river silts.

the crop about July 25 and more springers continually pulled out of the crop until it is finished, normally about August 25 when there’s about 150 cows left to calve. The heifers are kept out of the main herd and run with the skinny mob where they can still learn to compete, but with less pressure. “We want them to learn how to eat 8kg in three to four hours and they’ve got to learn how to do that,” Damien says. Calving spans 10 weeks, with just six weeks for the heifers which results in about 7% empty and fewer empties down the track, he says. “If you have heifers calving week seven and nine, they end up empty the following year, so you might as well cull them earlier. If you have a heifer calving September 20, it’s going to have a very short stay on your farm. And I think it’s helped because we have a very condensed calving.” In the 2016 calving season used for the competition, 94% of the herd had calved within six weeks without intervention. The herd usually ends up with about 8% empty, though this year it climbed to 14% which they attribute to the stress of the drought through mating. For the last four years they have been culling October calves because they’re unlikely to end up in calf the following year. Coming up to mating, they don’t look for pre-mating heats because they’re “pretty confident” the cows are going to cycle and at mating they have one person dedicated to checking for cows on heat. “We don’t paddock check. That’s just an opportunity for the cows to think they’re getting a feed and causing unnecessary animal movements which leads to making mud.”

Buying a farm on the West Coast gave Damien and Emma the “biggest bang for their buck”.

Using the technology One of Damien and Emma’s best management tools is Protrack Vantage in the 50-bail rotary dairy, using iPads or phones to record information or set up drafting options. Instead of paying about $14,000 for a couple of screens set up in the dairy, they spent $700 on an iPad with an app that allows them to access the computer remotely. They prefer the iPads as they can move around the herd and tap numbers and information in as they go. When herd testing, they use a phone in one hand and the scanner in the other to put information into the system. As long as there is mobile data, they can set the system up to operate remotely from wherever they are. “You’ve got technology – you might as well use it.” Colostrum cows can go into the dairy at the same time as the milkers and be identified for milking and then drafted separately if required. “Normally in the past you’d bring the milkers in and then you’d have to bring the colostrums in separately which involves an extra 20 minutes of work, whereas we just chuck them in with the milkers and plug them into draft. I can do

that when I’m bringing the cows in and don’t have to make a special trip to the shed. It just means more efficiency. “We always have the calvers on the same race as the milkers so you can capture that efficiency of bringing them in at the same time. If you had them on separate races, you’ve lost all that efficiency that can be achieved. “That’s why we can go six on, two off (roster) effectively in the middle of calving because two of us go down at two o’clock, let the milkers go and then get the cows and calves out. The guy with the calves heads around the shed and puts the vat wash on and starts milking while I bring the milkers in.” Usually, the two full-time staff work 12 days on and two off through calving and this year that lasted just three weeks before switching to six on and two off due to efficiencies created through technology. From calving, the herd is milked twice a day through the season until April when they drop to once a day to protect the cows’ condition as well as protect races which can suffer at that time of year. Cows are dried off according to their

condition from May onwards, with the last continuing to about June 5. “So we have a very short time-frame to get condition on them and have to feed them as much as we can,” Damien says. “Our goal in winter is feeding dry cows like milking cows all through June to about July 10 at 15-16kg DM/day. The hidden benefit of that is fully fed cows don’t tend to make a mess. “We put a condition score on them through that time and as soon as they hit five we put them back to maintenance. There’s always about 150 at the start of June that are already five, so they’ll go into a crop mob and get fed maintenance and then we just add to it by having a draft every couple of weeks.” Those cows still putting on condition get a diet of swede and grass, while those that have reached the condition score are solely on crop. As the crop is finishing they’re back into another season. The Groots entered the DBOY competition after they were convinced by their neighbours at Pan Farm that it was a good business exercise to get the detailed report on their farm. It’s only one year of figures and they says it’s best used in conjunction with Dairy Base which they’ve used for four years. One year by itself has too many variables, Emma points out, especially as payout dictates how much can be spent on infrastructure. When they farmed with a $3.80/kg MS payout, they saved as much as $400/ha on costs because they didn’t have the money to spend. Payout differences between milk companies can affect profit dramatically as well which makes their success as finalists in the competition that much sweeter. For the 2016-17 season, Westland paid out $5.18 after retained earnings, while Fonterra paid out $6.52 including dividends.

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Time for self-imposed quotas – Lewis

BUSINESS MILK PRODUCTION

Words by: Anne Lee

stranded capital that is not attracting a risk premium.” airarapa based dairy farm With an industry-managed quota consultant Chris Lewis is system, farmers would look at their urging the New Zealand dairy business through a different lens and sector to consider the outcomes Ask: of an industry-managed quota system to • How can I make the greatest profit from cap milk production. a specific quantity of milksolids? He touted the idea in BakerAg’s monthly • Can I do that production with fewer MilkLines newsletter in September and cows? says the idea has prompted discussion. • What feed do I really need? The premise is that a farmer-led and • Where is the best place for reindustry-controlled cap restricting supply investment? would alter farmers’, processors and The focus would turn to profitability, ultimately the market’s view of NZ milk, efficiency and repeatability, he says. pushing up value right along the supply If farmers chose to carry fewer cows chain. to achieve their production quota While quota systems have been widely environmental story may also improve, used in milk-producing countries and NZ Lewis says. has been opposed to them on a free trade, Instead of sourcing supplements to grow free market basis, Lewis says a managed production the aim could become sourcing supply restriction in NZ would have to be the most cost-effective feed in quantity run in a forward-thinking modern way. and compositional terms. Positive outcomes Pasture, though, for farmers, processors, would be the number communities and the one feed input ‘We should take a look market place would and become a key at this kind of idea so have to be the aim marketing factor. we can lead on the and learnings from A tradeable quota previous constructs market would be front foot rather than taken into account. inevitable and, while having it dictated to us’ The idea of acting quota values may proactively and come out of land managing a capped production system values, a well-managed quota market rather than having it forced on the would see farmers thinking carefully about industry in an uncontrolled and indirect where their capital is invested. way through regulations should be “Those farms making less profit from explored. milk might sell their quota.” “We should take a look at this kind of That in turn could have the effect of idea so we can lead on the front foot rather shifting production out of regions where than having it dictated to us,” he says. cows “should not be,” he says. “Our social licence to produce milk is Processors were likely to be negative being challenged. The compliance hurdle initially because they’re already heavily is getting higher and will continue to do invested in the quantity story and bulk so.” processing. Milk products are still largely sold as Egos could also get in the way. commodities keeping prices low and “We saw it in the meat-processing exposing the industry to volatility. companies when the idea of improving Succession has become a huge issue and processor efficiency required co-operation buyers for dairy farms have become fewer, and rationalisation. he says. “The respective boards responded “New Zealand dairy farmers have by scrambling for higher ground and

Chris Lewis: ‘Our social licence to produce milk is being challenged.’

throwing rocks at each other.” With some “tough love” processors would, in time, re-develop their businesses possibly leading to rationalisation of bulk milk powder facilities. Incentives too could become more commonplace to encourage farmers to produce milk that more closely meets specifications for added value products. Lewis cited Tatua as an example of what can happen in a limited supply base structure with higher milk price returns and focus on added value products. A constrained supply from NZ would likely push world prices up but that effect is likely to be temporary as others lift production. “For capped production to work we must build the New Zealand food story around our product, deliver on the reality that forage-fed New Zealand milk is a scarce resource and thereby shift a higher proportion of our produce into the moreprofitable branded sectors of the market.” Lewis says farm prices may not respond right away but if marketers leverage off the scarce resource story milk returns will rise. “Our farms will be running more efficiently, more sustainably and more profitably which builds a good news story in itself,” he says. What’s your view on a managed cap on production? Let us know on facebook, twitter or send us a letter.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Trailblazer paying dividends

BUSINESS LUDF

incoln University Dairy Farm’s TABLE 1: Pasture and Crop Eaten (milking platform) mating programme and use 28 19.0 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 of short gestation semen is 18.0 paying off, this season giving a Operating Profit per 17.0Hectare tighter calving spread and enabling better 16.0 use8000 of the early season’s strong pasture 15.0 production. 7000 By the end of August – four weeks after 14.0 the6000 planned start of calving – 490 of the 13.0 farm’s 5000expected 558 cows (cows milked at 12.0 peak) had calved and by mid-September, 4000 11.0 with no supplement fed, milk production 10.0 3000 was close to 50% ahead of where it had LUDF TERRACE DRY CREEK WILLSDEN PADDOCK DAVIE-MARTIN CANLAC ALIGN EMILIUS GRASSY BANKS WOODS been at the same time last season, the 2000 farm’s manager Peter Hancox says. 1000 6 week In-Calf Rate effect of production on Last season the farm’s operating profit profit while meeting nutrient loss The dilution 75% 0 didn’t reach budget due in part to a lift in restrictions and maintaining or reducing costs is an important profitability factor for 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 operating expenses but also because of the its 70% overall environmental footprint. the system LUDF is running. full season’s production being 12% down The farm’s tack has been to reduce Since its change in system the farm has 65% on the previous year – per cow production stocking rate, bought-in feed and nitrogen cut nitrogen losses from 70kg N/ha/year 60% was back by almost 50kg milksolids (MS). use but to maintain its profitability levels in 2012-13 to just over 40kg N/ha/year in 55% be a highly efficient converter of The farm has been a trailblazer in terms it must 2017-18, a reduction of 32% on its 2009of finding ways to maximise its sustainable pasture to milk. 2013 baseline loss number. 50% Greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 45% close to 20%. TABLE 2: Operating Profit per Hectare vs per kgMS LUDF’s performance, both physical and 40% 8000 4.80 PADDOCK DAVIE-MARTIN CANLAC ALIGN EMILIUS GRASSY BANKS LUDF TERRACE DRY CREEK WILLSDEN financial, has been benchmarked against WOODS 4.40 7000 other high performing Canterbury dairy 4.00 6000 3.60In-Calffarms Not Ratewith varying system types allowing 3.11 2015/16 2.83 22% it to keep a check on the2016/17 effects of2017/18 its 3.20 2.74 2.74 3.52 5000 2.80 approach (Tables 1 and 2). While still high 2.41 2.44 20% 4000 2.40 2.94 by regional and national averages the 2.72 2.00 18% farm’s operating profit has fallen to the 3000 1.60 lower end of the range of the benchmark 16% 2000 1.20 group since its change of system. 0.80 1000 14% LUDF’s operating expenses were $4.55/kg 0.40 MS and farm working expenses were $4.15/ 0 0.00 12% kg MS. The average operating expenses per kg MS for the group jumped last season 10% from $4 to close to $4.70. 8% of the increase wasEMILIUS attributed LUDF TERRACE DRY CREEK WILLSDEN PADDOCKSome DAVIE-MARTIN CANLAC ALIGN GRASSY BANKS WOODS to catch up and some to genuine cost Operating Profit ($/ha) Operating profit ($/kgMS) pressures. Farm working Expenses ($/kgMS) Feed costs also increased as did the range

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

TABLE 3: LUDF’s goals of maximising profitability while maintaining or reducing its environmental footprint have seen it reduce stocking rate, nitrogen use and (apart from last season) supplement. Average 11/12-13/14

Average 14/15-16/17

2017/18

Peak cows milked (cows)

631

557

558

Stocking rate (cows/ha)

3.9

3.5

Total kg MS sold (kg MS)

291,414

284,916

251,424

Milk production per cow (kg MS/cow)

463

512

451

Milk production per ha (kg MS/ha)

1821

1781

1571

Total N fertiliser (kg N/ha)

313

165

178

Total imported silage (t DM)

273

153

248

Total imported silage fed per peak cow(kg DM/ cow)

433

274

445

December liveweight (Kg/cow)

475

490

481

Milk production/kg liveweight (%)

104

Farm working expenses ($/kg MS)

4.01

3.70

4.15

Overseer estimated N leached (kg N/ha) Total greenhouse gas emssions (CO2 eqkg/ha/yr)

17,471

15,392

13,861

Both nitrogen leaching and greenhouse gas emissions have fallen significantly.

in those costs although they were not directly related to operating profit. Canlac, run by equity manager Tony Coltman, was again the top performing farm in terms of operating profit at $7486/ ha with LUDF achieving $4,304/ha. (see previous stories on Canlac, Dairy Exporter January 2017)

Canlac includes a feedpad to improve utilisation of both bought-in feed (maize and pasture silage, palm kernel) and homegrown pasture. Although it has higher feed inputs at 3.8 tonnes DM/ha, home-grown pasture and crop eaten (fodder beet on the platform as autumn supplement) is also the highest

in the benchmark group at 18.3t DM/ ha compared with LUDF which was 13.9t DM/ha last season. For LUDF the wet 2017 winter led to higher pasture covers in spring and wet conditions through the early part of the season made utilisation more difficult. Growth rates were also affected by soil type at the outset of the season. As an example, during one week, the north block with lighter soil recorded 70kg drymatter (DM)/ha/day while the south block with heavier soils recorded just 30kg DM/ha/ day. During the heat of the summer irrigation break downs also affected growth rates on the north block. Consequently, the farm didn’t grow or utilise as much pasture and fell well below the more typical pasture eaten figure for LUDF of 16t DM/ha. LUDF’s nitrogen use, at 170kg/ha is lower than other benchmark farms but that’s not believed to be a factor in its reduced pasture production last season. Canlac had been using higher rates but has been gradually reducing it so that last season it used 220kg N/ha. The drop hasn’t resulted in an increase in bought-in feed or reduction in pasture grown and utilised on that farm.

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BUSINESS ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS

Setting balance with alternative proteins Words by: Glenys Christian New Zealand is going to have to have fewer cows but can’t swap one commodity for another, KPMG farm enterprise specialist, Julia Jones, told the recent Proteintech Conference in Auckland. She was part of a panel session on future food and declared herself passionate about alternative proteins. “But we need more balance,” she said. “We’re talking too much and we need to act.” There was no point thinking that diversity involved simply changing from producing one thing to producing another. “We’ve got to stop that all-or-nothing mentality,” she said. “Some farmers won’t be able to farm in a new world, but there are a lot of young people desperate to. We need to give them a flight path.”

Some vegans chose their diet because they wanted to save the earth, Jones said. “But there’s incredible regenerative farming going on which is doing a lot more for the planet.” Asked about who would provide the vision for the future, she said there needed to be more funding and NZ had “to be a bit more real”. “It’s hard for farmers to innovate when they’re the only one doing something different,” she said. NZ was a platform for multiple stories, not just the story. “There are a whole lot of other places which are green,” she said. “We’re not moving fast enough. Make it simple. NZ is good at making things seem bigger than they are.” On the issue of consumer information she said it would be good for DairyNZ to talk about the nutritional value of milk,

Julia Jones – ‘We don’t understand what diversity of thought is.’

rather than its focus remaining behind the farmgate. “We don’t understand what diversity of thought is,” she said.

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“We recycle people from dairy to meat and vice versa.” Later Jones said NZ farmers needed to be focusing on capturing better Richard Fowler – Consumer what they already had when it came to information the aspects of their farming systems such role of industry as low stocking rates, not feeding bodies. palm kernel and good environmental management. A flight path was needed so farmers knew what was required of them at particular future points. “We need to move at speed because the “But farmers have always been told to world is moving at speed,” she said. produce one thing more efficiently.” “A collective approach is needed. We In the future a whole meal could be need to stick together on this.” marketed to consumers not just the meat She would like to see more attribute or milk components. marketing, such as the way in which “And then we can layer tourism on top Miraka Dairy Company rewards suppliers of that.” for onfarm practices. On a recent visit to Canada she told of Some farmers were upset that they visiting a dairy farm with a shop selling ice spent more on their properties to produce cream at the front where cows were run in what they saw as a superior product but a high-input, undercover farming system. received the same “I almost gagged,” she payout as those said. who didn’t. “But there were busloads ‘Make it simple. NZ And there was of tourists coming is good at making a big range of through.” things seem bigger attitudes among She didn’t necessarily dairy farmers. want to consume than they are.’ “Some have alternative protein blinkers on, some products herself. have a production “But the science mentality and some intrigues me,” she said. are overwhelmed and like a possum in the “And there are different levels of food at headlights,” she said. different price points.” “We’ve got to leave behind those who Richard Fowler, a Bay of Plenty dairy are not going to change. Let them leave the farmer and Nuffield Scholar in 2016 who industry with dignity.” looked at alternative proteins overseas In the future she said NZ farms could was part of the same panel. While he be growing a range of different crops and had started looking at the issue three livestock which all fitted with each other in years ago, he said, dairying was now a regenerative farming system, improving defending its case and trying to balance the the land all the time. conversation.

“Is there a market to see the product?” he asked. “If there’s not farmers aren’t going to move so there’s got to be an incentive.” Consumer information was the role of industry bodies who could get headline figures out. “They can get the numbers right and package them so people can easily understand them,” he said. But Jolon Dyer, AgResearch’s science group leader – food and bio-based products said facts and data did not go to consumers’ hearts. “We’ve got to think further along the chain,” he said. “A network of people is needed.” At a recent conference in the United States he attended one of the features was the large amount of processing that had gone into alternative protein products on show. That meant they were often seen as lower quality, which consumers might react against, so NZ’s space could be in minimally processed products. Blake Holgate, a Rabobank animal proteins analyst, said millennials were much more active about the food choices they were making as they had always had secure access to food, unlike baby boomers. “They look at other attributes of food and ask: what does it say about me as a person?” he said. “They’re more willing to experiment and they judge food by the experience they get eating it and that’s on the go.” They were driven towards alternative proteins by curiosity, convenience and the personalised nutrition it could provide. And the negatives pushing them away from conventional proteins were health concerns, animal welfare worries and farming practices they saw as unsustainable.

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Be disrupted or help shape the future of food “If synthetic food becomes widely accepted, it might not only be on n his 2016 Nuffield Scholarship supermarket shelves but could also make report, Will It Have Legs? an up a large component of ingredients investigation into synthetic within the foodservice sector. There are food and the implications for many examples of substitutes or blends New Zealand agriculture, Richard Fowler on the market now (margarine, artificial said synthetic food was being touted as a sweeteners, non-dairy creamers etc), which revolution in food production that could consumers seem to trust and readily accept. replace animal products. While the initial reaction is currently “While the industry is more bark than ‘yuck’, it could become ‘who cares’ over bite at the moment, it’s rapidly gaining time which would give synthetic foods a awareness and attracting significant free licence to infiltrate the food chain.” funding by being portrayed as a solution Fowler said synthetic food was being to many of the global problems associated marketed as the way of the future – a with conventional agriculture,” he said in silver bullet for a lot of the world’s his report. major problem. These were associated With the messaging around synthetic with conventional agriculture which foods already having a negative impact on was being stereotyped with smart and the perception of agriculture, countries like simple messages painting it as archaic and NZ which relied heavily on agricultural detrimental to people, animals and the exports were at risk of losing market planet. share as well as being tarred with the “At the same time synthetic food was same ‘industrial being portrayed agriculture’ brush. as the next step in “Synthetic human evolution.” ‘There’s a party going on in food needs to be And those the synthetic food world at approached with food producers the moment and our food an open mind and were using companies (including colots of questions environmental rather than building impact to ops) need to just turn up a wall to defend our differentiate uninvited.’ patch,” he said. themselves from “NZ agriculture agriculture by needs to get a better handle on how making comparisons with estimates of conventional food measures up against their own production system to try to sell synthetic food based on the ruler that the argument. tomorrow’s consumer will use.” “Perfect Day Foods claim that their cell Carbon emissions, soil conservation and cultured 18 milk will require 98% less animal welfare were some of the attributes water, 90% less land, use 65% less energy consumers would look for and needed to and will emit 80% less carbon dioxide become part of agriculture’s marketing compared to milk production from cows.” approach. With mainly start-up companies Synthetic food companies were also involved in synthetic food there was a making bold claims about their products window of opportunity to get involved and in regards to nutrition and food safety have a say in how the industry evolved. and could become part of the solution to “We can choose to be disrupted or help feeding the world’s growing population. shape the future of food production by However, Fowler said there could be understanding the drivers behind synthetic opportunities for farmers to be part of food and being part of the solution, not synthetic food production as cell-cultured part of the problem,” he said. food not made from plants directly still

BUSINESS ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS

Words by: Glenys Christian

Richard Fowler.

needed plants to provide a feed source for the cells to grow on. “If farmers still own the land and control what it grows, then it’s conceivable that farmers remain an integral part of the supply chain,” he said. “The likes of Fonterra, who already have vast expertise in nutrition, food processing and distribution, not to mention a global network of customers who are loyal to the company and its brands, may be in a perfect position to add a synthetic food product range.” This could ultimately increase the demand for cow’s milk by widening Fonterra’s consumer base and could be a means of flattening out the supply curve if cultured milk production could be increased over the winter months. He recommended that agriculture industry organisations help to raise the awareness of synthetic foods amongst farmers, while food processors kept a close eye on developments. “There’s a party going on in the synthetic food world at the moment and our food companies (including co-ops) need to just turn up uninvited,” he said. He also wants the Ministry for Primary Industries to develop clear and simple messages about NZ agriculture, packaged in a form that’s easy for food companies to disseminate and consumers to understand.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

MYCOPLASMA BOVIS Here is an update on key facts from the response:

MPI and sector partners Beef+Lamb NZ and DairyNZ are continuing to work towards the eradication of Mycoplasma bovis. We are confident about how the eradication programme is tracking. The fight against the disease is the largest biosecurity response undertaken in New Zealand.

Infected properties have been identified through milk testing, and tracing from infected farms

Currently infected properties in New Zealand

Previously infected properties have had their legal controls lifted

All infected farms and those with suspect test results are under legal controls and cannot trade stock

M. bovis symptoms

Cows

M. bovis is spread through cow to cow contact

Calves

abortions, mastitis, lame and swollen legs/joints

MPB0061

Bulk milk testing all dairy herds this spring

2 Continue tracking and tracing

Protect your farm Support your neighbours, friends and family

in k

a nd

Next steps in the response

m il

ear infections, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, lame and swollen legs/joints

i n g i nf e c

• when sourcing cattle check their health history • complete NAIT records • talk with your grazier about biosecurity practices

Find out more mpi.govt.nz/bovis dairynz.co.nz/mbovis beeflambnz.com/mycoplasma-bovis Information current as at 21/09/2018

SYSTEMS ANIMAL WELFARE

Relaxing

with the cows From water beds to water baths, a herd of cows in The Netherlands are enjoying their ‘free choice’ lifestyle. Farmer Anton Stokman believes it’s the way to farm in the future and best practice needs to be rewarded financially. Sheryl Brown reports. nton Stokman is pushing the bar high when it comes to animal welfare and environmental management on his 300-cow dairy farm. He has a goal to farm a sustainable dairy operation that promotes the environment, along with animal welfare, productivity and energy. The Dutchman took a different approach to farming when he installed Lely robots more than 20 years ago. As one of the first dairy farmers in The Netherlands to install milking robots, it quickly became clear to Anton the cows thrived on the more relaxed farming system. Milk yields increased, somatic cell count when down, and animal health flourished. A decade later Anton went a step further and started letting his cows graze outside during the warmer months of the year, where he built them a wading pond. He installed quality water beds in the cow cubicles for the cows to lie on inside

KEY FACTS • Owners: Anton and Tiny Stokman

Anton Stokman – farmers should be rewarded for meeting social needs.

• Location: Koudum, The Netherlands • Area: 155ha, 110ha owned, 45ha leased • Cows: 300 Holstein Friesians • Milk production: 10500kg milk/ cow/year, 3.6% protein, 4.45% fat.

the farm barns. The dual-chamber water beds provide more comfort and reduce injuries, and encourage the cows to lie down for longer, which is important for animal health and optimum production. The cows now have ‘free choice’, getting milked when they want and going inside or outside as they choose. They have comfy beds, back scratchers, a pond to bath in and a purpose-built barn with light therapy and slats designed to

minimise ammonia. Anton made the decision to graze the cows outside before the grazing premium was introduced. He has continued to invest in better animal welfare practices and environmental solutions without any financial incentive. “Every individual cow can make her choice. It’s not just about production, it’s a more pleasant way of farming – you’re taking care of nature. To see the cows outside grazing, it’s a pleasure for the

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

LEFT: Cows are free to bath in the pond during the day.

cows and for people and it’s good for the reputation of the industry.” Consumers are now willing to pay for dairy products that are produced on dairy farms that are treating cows and the environment better, and farmers should be rewarded for that, he says. “Farmers who push their limits to contribute to a social need should deserve more recognition and more financial support. “Customers want different products today from the standard milk, cheese and butter. They want meadow milk from pasture-grazing cows or GMO free. And customers are in a position to be able to pay more for these products.”

‘Every individual cow can make her choice. It’s not just about production, it’s a more pleasant way of farming – you’re taking care of nature.’

SUCCESSION The Netherlands has the most expensive farmland in the European Union, averaging more than €60,000/ha. The average debt for dairy farmers is more than €850/cow. High prices equal high debt levels for most farmers, Anton says.

Anton farms with his wife Tiny and their son Arjan on 155 hectares in Koudum in the northern Netherlands. Anton has been a Flagship Farmer for McDonalds since 2008. The McDonald’s Flagship Farmers Programme provides a platform for farmers, ranchers, producers and growers, recognised within the McDonald’s supply chain, to share their knowledge and experiences in key areas of agricultural sustainability with other farmers around the world. The family were the first dairy unit in the Netherlands to be accredited with the Green Facility Mark, a government award for novel solutions to ecological challenges. They have invested heavily in reducing ammonia emissions and in energy production on their farm. When they built their new farm barn in 2009 they installed a grooved anti-slip floor which reduces emission of ammonia from the effluent. The effluent is scraped through the slats every hour which has been shown

Anton was born in Amsterdam but soon found his way into farming. He bought a small farm in Amsterdam that was bought to turn into football fields, which gave him the money to buy a bigger farm in northern Netherlands. “It’s something in the Dutch genes, we want to farm,” Anton says. His son Arjan has studied agricultural and animal science at Wageningen University and is now working fulltime on the home farm. Arjan will work for a share of the profits which will go towards his shares of the farm which he will use as equity to buy the rest of the farm off his parents. The idea with farming is to pay off enough debt over the years to pay for your pension, Anton says.

to reduce ammonia emissions in the passageways by 30%. Specially designed rubber slat covers that interlock also help to limit ammonia gas escaping from the effluent holding tanks by up to 35%. The barn was built with special lighting to help with light therapy, because cows can get depressed during winter with the minimal hours of daylight. Light therapy helps improve animal welfare and productivity. Solar panels are on the roof for energy and the next step is looking at using biogas from the effluent storage tanks, to

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

sell back into the grid. Anton is working with a company to test methane levels in the farm barn. He wants to be ahead of incoming methane regulations and is measuring ventilation to see if their practices are helping decrease methane levels. The data is not important, it’s the decisions they will make using the data that are important, he says. “You need to look at the data and make quick decisions.” It’s important for farmers to work ahead of regulations and make decisions based on what they think is best practice. 41

DAIRY NZ HEILFERS

Weighing heifers has huge gains Weighing heifers and then reviewing the data can alert farmers to changes that need to be made to mob management, or intervention for underweight animals. Sarah Dirks reports.

nyone who has had children knows how important regular weigh-ins are in the early stages, and the same goes for our young stock. Regular weighing and monitoring can help ensure your heifers are on track to meeting their liveweight targets which has been shown to improve milk production and lifetime productivity. Ideally, there are four key times to weigh. The first is at weaning, then at 12-13 months to ensure they’re on track to achieve puberty, and then again at 15 months to assess pre-puberty animal management. The final weigh-in should be at 22 months to make sure they have met their pre-calving liveweight targets. Weighing heifers is more important when they are young because it is easier for them to fall behind target weights. A drop of 200g in growth per day may seem small, but it can have a huge impact on the growth of a young animal. Skeletal growth is influenced by pre-puberty nutrition and management, and can never be made up if missed. Weighing and then reviewing the data can pick up low growth early on and alert you, or your grazier, that changes need to be made to mob management, or 42

HEIFER LIVEWEIGHT TARGETS • 30% of mature weight at six months of age • 60% of mature weight at 15 months (mating) • 90% of mature weight at 22 months (pre-calving)

intervention for underweight animals. The importance of weighing young stock was first realised back in the 1940s by Dr Campbell McMeekan, one of the most influential ag leaders at the time in New Zealand. While uptake in weighing practices was initially quite slow, I’ve noticed that over

Weighing and then reviewing the data can pick up low growth early on.

the last couple of years, more and more farmers are seeing the value in weighing their heifers. In fact, the number of heifers weighed by farmers each year has increased 25% over the last five years, according to Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) data. That’s an increase from 436,000 to 545,000 heifers now weighed each year. For more information about weighing heifers visit dairynz.co.nz/animal.

Sarah Dirks is DairyNZ’s regional leader in Taranaki.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

SPONSORED CONTENT | CLOVERZONE

Is there an optimum clover content for dairy pastures?

Research at the DRC has indicated the optimum clover content of dairy pastures for maximum milk production over summer-autumn is 50-70% (% of total drymatter), not 100% clover. The optimum clover content in dairy pastures for maximum pasture growth is more difficult to determine. From an agronomic viewpoint of balancing N inputs from clover with herbage bulk as offered by grasses, a clover content of at least 30-50% has been suggested.

Increasing clover content in dairy pastures

A number of factors affect clover content in dairy pastures. Addressing these factors while still maintaining a profitable farm system is the key to maintaining or achieving small increases in clover levels in pastures.

Nitrogen fertiliser

Maximum gross margins per ha and a high level of milksolids production per ha and per cow are best achieved by combining N inputs from white clover and N fertiliser. Clover content can be maintained at 15-20% even when applying up to 200kg N/ha/yr, provided the pasture grown is fully utilised, particularly in spring. Applying the N as split dressings of less than 50kg N/ha is recommended so that the effect on clover is reduced.

Steve Pemberton

Soil fertility

White clover is a poor competitor for phosphate, sulphate and potassium, compared with grasses. Without adequate levels of P, K and S, white clover yield and persistence is jeopardised. The ideal levels for intensive dairying are 25-30 Olsen P, 8-10 K and 8-10 S. Lime is important for successful establishment of clover on soils where pH is below optimum (pH 5.5). Lime also promotes nodulation, better use of P, and increased molybdenum availability which is essential for N fixation in clover.

Conclusion

Both overseas work and NZ studies have clearly demonstrated the benefit of white clover for milk production, particularly after peak spring lactation. The goal on any dairy farm should be to increase clover content without compromising annual pasture production, in order to increase milk production. However, the clover content of NZ dairy pasture is, on average, considerably lower than the levels needed to significantly increase both the pasture’s N economy and feed quality, and hence milk production. A number of factors affect clover growth and persistence in dairy pastures, including climatic conditions, soil N levels, N fertiliser use, soil fertility, companion species, cultivar choice, pasture establishment, grazing management, and pests and diseases.

Fertco’s CloverZone fertiliser programme utilises strategic nitrogen fertiliser applications. Straight urea is never recommended. Application of nitrogen is incorporated with other nutrients such as sulphur or potassium to maximise pasture growth response as well as protect clover content. This approach has worked for Steve Pemberton from Matamata, “I was looking for options to use less urea and have found the CloverZone delivers just that. As the farms clover content has improved I find I don’t need bagged urea to keep the cows fed”. A goal of the CloverZone programme is commonly to use less nitrogen fertiliser onfarm, getting the clover plant in tip top condition is a key component of that.

Fertco’s CloverZone programme has been designed to address the soil fertility component of this puzzle as well as other soil factors influencing clover productivity, these being soil physical conditions and biological health. Sales manager Arthur Payze gives a little more insight. “All our Fertco field consultants have been trained in assessment of soil physical conditions, we are able to make improvements if required in this area within the fertiliser program. For example, we use products like lime and gypsum to improve drainage on wet farms, all farmers know clover hates wet feet so it won’t matter how much you spend on fertiliser if you have a compacted wet soil. Arthur also adds, “the easiest place to start is a farm visit by a Fertco field consultant, there is no obligation other than lab test cost, around $70 per sample if you chose to have a CloverZone soil test taken, and about half an hour for a quick yarn and to point us in the right direction to take our soil samples.

Call 0800 fertco (337 826) to arrange a visit.

* Extracts from ‘White Clover – How Much and How To Get It’, S L Harris, Dairying Research Corporation, Hamilton

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Take in the views from the paddock gate. Listen to Jamie, Rowena & Sam for the lay of the land every weekday from 12-1pm.

Find your frequency at thecountry.co.nz/frequencies

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

SPECIAL REPORT

DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS 56 Learning on the job 60 On course for farming 62 Land borrowed off our children 63 Getting them in early 66 Gamechanger: challenges and opportunities

69 Expert eye: Career growth in the dairy industry 70 The power of two 72 Opportunities despite roadblocks 92 Making a degree of difference

Assistant Manager

EQUITY FARMER

FARM OWNER

SHAREMILKER

CONTRACT MILKER

DAIRY ASSISTANT Equity Farmer

Farm Owner

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Sharemilker

SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS

Bella mastered the twowheeler on her first day at Regents Park.

Dairy Assistant

LEARNING on the job

A Rangitikei farming operation has joined up with an apprenticeship scheme to train dairy workers. Jackie Harrigan reports. Herd Manager

On Bella Archer’s first day at work as a dairy farm assistant, she learned how to ride a two-wheel motorbike, and rode around and around the tanker track until she had mastered it. On her second day she learned to drive the tractor. And on day three she learned how to bring the cows up to the dairy shed on the Santoft farm. A town girl and school leaver, 18-year-old Bella was casting around for a career, having decided against her earlier idea of sports psychology, and decided farming was worth a try as she liked working outside. The Santoft youngster had cupped a cow before, on a friend’s farm, but that was as far as her skill-set went. So she applied for a few jobs and then saw the Regents Park advertisement, working for the OB Group on the coastal strip by Santoft forest. “The Regents Park job advertisement mentioned the opportunity to start

an apprenticeship – so that sounded really good, a chance to get some qualifications and it made it more than just a job. There were prospects. “I was really nervous about riding the motorbike – but it was actually quite fun.” Bella was employed under the new Federated Farmers Dairy apprentice scheme, an initiative developed by the farmer lobby group and Primary ITO to grow people capability in the dairy industry. The scheme has advantages for the apprentice, ensuring a supported environment with an employer who has signed up to a Farm Charter and a training package from the ITO and more job security than just a regular job. And for the farmer, the scheme marks them as a preferred employer, ensures extra support for their ongoing professional development in people management and encourages retention of staff for the length of the apprenticeship and hopefully beyond.

Bella was employed by the OB Group, on their Rangitikei Regents Park farm, milking 1250 cows on 530 hectares with twice-yearly calving with a split of 200 calving in the autumn and the rest in the spring. OB Group general manager Stuart Taylor studied the issue of attracting good staff for a Kellogg study and established a think tank group called Millenium Farming, with a website presence aimed at helping employers understand the problem and developing strategies to overcome the issues. For the last four years the owners of OB Group which include John O’Brien, Steven Melville, Stu Taylor (and soon to be James Webb) have had a real focus on attracting high quality people to their properties. They have introduced 5 & 2 rosters, an hourly rate for non-management staff and have created a team culture attracting and retaining a team of good and productive people, business manager James said.

2IC Farm Manager

Contract Milker

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

“We have a team of seven staff here and most of them prefer to live off the farm – we have got five houses but only three of the staff live on the property.” Some travel from Palmerston North and Wanganui and James was pleased to attract Bella who lives locally at Santoft. He is thrilled with the way Bella has taken to the job and the apprenticeship, saying for a girl who knew nothing she has embraced it and is soaking up the knowledge. “She has been awesome – we wanted someone who was fresh and willing to learn and her doing the study makes her want to know more and contribute more.” Bella appreciates the flexible work conditions and says she has no trouble getting up in the mornings – but she appreciates the fact that she gets a rostered sleep-in one day each week. She also likes the 5:2 roster getting either Friday /Saturday or Sunday/ Monday off. Starting on 40 hours and four days a week, she quickly moved to working five days, as she was getting bored at home. Fitting work in with life, she can leave early if she has something on, like the twilight netball league that starts up soon. She has also enjoyed the Primary ITO Level 3 course she has just completed in nearby Feilding. “I am really enjoying the work and am loving the course – it’s great to be able to come to work and relate what you have learned in class to what you are doing.” For James, the apprenticeship scheme fitted in well with the ethos of the OB Group, where employees are part of the farm community and are encouraged to upskill and grow to advance through the industry. “From our perspective the apprentices are really great – they go off to courses, get involved and ask questions. “We have a really flat management structure here, which means anyone can

From left; James Webb, Bella Archer and Yvonne Leigh.

Assistant Manager

ask questions and make suggestions. And they come back with ideas and have an input, especially at the weekly meeting, it makes a good atmosphere.” Apprentices don’t have to be new recruits, or particularly young. The only prerequisites are they must have completed the 90-day employment trial period, have covered off health and safety and vehicle training and have residency status. Once Bella had fulfilled the 90-day period for the OB Group she started in to the apprenticeship programme joining fellow apprentice Yvonne Leigh, who has been working on Regents Park for the past two years. After 20 years in the workforce in a variety of roles, and having six children aged 19 to seven years old, 38-year-old Yvonne came to dairy farming after marrying a local farmer and working as a part-time milk harvester on the Regents Park block. “Going into the apprenticeship scheme was scary at my age – I had never really thought about being an apprentice – I worried about ‘would I have enough time to finish it and would I have to pay for the training?’ – all sorts of things. “I was really nervous about how much there was to learn and take in, I wasn’t very confident. But it’s been really good, as I have started to learn more and gone

Farm Owner

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

through the courses my confidence has grown. I am able to ask questions about the stuff I learn from the tutors and others at the course.” The OB Group pay for the training for all staff and Yvonne is now studying Livestock Husbandry Level 3 which fits in well with her recent promotion to Animal Welfare Officer on the farm, with an accompanying pay rise. “We want to promote the OB Group farms as employers of choice so we pay employees’ ITO training costs on the condition they pass, and we also put them through other courses like through

Dairy Apprenticeship benefits: APPRENTICE: • Literacy and numeracy support • Job security (apprenticeship vs job) • Social interaction with other apprentices • 4 visits each year from P ITO training advisor • Extra workshop sessions for skills training • Study option flexibility

Equity Farmer

EMPLOYER: • Motivated staff • People management skills support • Preferred farm employer through Farm Charter • Improved employee retention • Employment agreement support from Federated Farmers Sharemilker

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Key facts

Herd Manager

REPOROA

ley Hathaway ert and Hay Owners: Rob oroa Location: Rep ha owned, effective (160 Area: 227ha 84ha leased) kg MS/ on target: 500 ucti prod 2018/19 cow on e farm, 250 hom on Cows: 750 (500 lease farm) DM/ha vested: 12t Pasture har ) (home farm Farm dairy kato Milk Protrack, Wai 44-bail rotary, Heat camera, ACR, inrack Meters, Prot ing shed feed ) farm se (lea Farm dairy , in-shed ingbone, ACR 20-aside herr feeding

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ce “Winning the Central Plateau Dairy Business of the Year has given the couple even more encouragement to focus on other areas of their business.”

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if I’m like to know ahead and it too ture a week like to change sure the pas ent. I don’t “I try and mea more supplem or adding in out ing feed lly feeding ert was initia four much.” numbers, Rob . However, increased cow the ‘in’ feed he When they cheap and plements and kernel. It was with other sup a lot of palm erimenting increase in exp an ted and star er bett years ago he s’ responding cow the saw immediately n palm (tha ive ens more exp production. , it might be er results.” to work well e seen bett “Soya seems two years we’v on the over the last ,539kg MS kernel), but eased to 252 on has incr ts in cos Milk producti feed r thei platform and ts home milking “Our feed cos y are $350/t. ple of the farm dair the last cou higher over ,” he says. have been been so wet it’s e aus pellets, years bec s soya hull ominately use y from Robert pred dry and milk whe bled maize) up 70% of the hominy (kib a hull makes Soy palm ies. Dair is made of Open Country the balance of 4kg/cow/ hominy, and an average gets feed, with 10% herd minerals. The up to 6.5kg. kernel and ers can get lucerne top perform and 150t of day, but the grass silage s in 150t of or neighbours. He also buy ert their next-do ing, but Rob Fiber Fresh, ens from disp e eral silag because for min a dosatron farm dairy feed They have enser for the a mineral disp wants to buy

“Now we’ve aced milk production we need to look at all the other figures.”

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the vet clinic, coaching and communications courses. And we try to appreciate their skills and encourage them to learn new things – that’s what’s so good about the Growth Conversations, you tease out what they could be interested in learning next.” Yvonne loves working with the cows and James says she is really good at spotting any girls that are sick or needing extra attention (hence the promotion to animal welfare officer.) She also enjoys working around the shed, making sure things are working properly and doing maintenance jobs. “There are no jobs that I hate – I just need more experience in running the effluent spreader and the bale feeder and I will feel more comfortable with those jobs,” Yvonne says. “And the best thing I love is that here there are no work politics or dramas – working with cows you can come to work and enjoy it – not like in the supermarket or bakery where there were always people dramas.” Having fun and enjoying good banter is at the core of the Regents Park culture, James says. The team is focused on and striving to meet production targets (430,000 kg MS this season) and to continually improve the farm every season and it’s much more fun if they do that while enjoying working on the property and with each other. “We try to have fun, good banter and a few get-togethers – like after calving. We have been bowling together, or to the greyhounds at Whanganui, just getting off farm as a team and having a few laughs.” “If you can’t have a laugh, life is pretty boring,” Yvonne agrees. Life is never boring with six children and one grandchild, who Yvonne cares for every second night, and she too appreciates the flexible conditions James runs and juggles the morning routine with her husband who heads out to milk at 6am. With an apprenticeship and more experience under her belt, she can see her herself moving up to a 2IC role in the business. Others are also looking at the apprentice scheme, Filipino recruit Nick Besinga is working on getting residency so that he can hop on the scheme as well.

James Webb and Bella Archer: All staff have a oneon-one growth conversation with the business manager every two months.

Assistant Manager

Growth conversations: The OB Group use individual two-monthly Growth Conversations with each staff member to focus on personal and professional growth within the farm group. The one-on-one catch-up is a great place to find out how the job is going, how they find the relationships with the business manager and other team members, talk about processes and systems, identify what the team member has learnt and what they want to learn next and where they want to progress. They can also touch on personal issues, review whether the team are living by their values and talk about ways each party can improve. Concrete goals are set out of the conversations, and then reviewed in the following meeting. Business manager James Webb says they could be simple things brought to light, like identifying what they want to learn next.

Graduate opportunity Mirroring the opportunities offered by large corporate employers, the OB group has recently established a graduate position to attract a university graduate to the group. Offering onfarm accommodation and exposing them to working on each of the three farms for four months, James Webb says the plan is to pay them well, treat them well and put them through management courses and upskilling in the hope that they stay around, or at least come back to the group. “It’s a good way to get our name out there as good employers.”

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SPECIAL REPORT | DAIRY ACADEMY Lilly and Joshua on the farm at Arapuni.

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On course for farming Words by: Sheryl Brown Photos by: Emma McCarthy Lily Lawrence and Joshua Runciman have gone from living in the heart of the city to having farming in their hearts. The couple are on a dairy farm at Arapuni in the Waikato where Joshua is 2IC on a 365-cow farm. Lily works as a customer service representative for PGG Wrightson in Te Awamutu and is also employed to rear the calves on the farm. Lily, 19, grew up in Palmerston North and got a taste of life on a dairy farm when she was just 11 years old. She was looking to earn some pocket money and got a job grubbing weeds on a farm at Pahiatua. “I wanted some money to buy pets, I love pets. When I turned 12 Mum let me start milking the cows, and I loved it. I’ve always loved animals, so I just

2IC

loved working with the cows.” Lily left school at 16 and went to Taratahi for two years and completed NCEA Level 3 in Dairy and the New Zealand Certificate in Agriculture Level 4 of Dairy. She met Joshua at Taratahi. Joshua grew up in Hamilton and his highlight growing up was getting out of the city and going down to the South Island to help on his uncle’s dairy farm during school holidays. “I just loved it, I always wanted to be a dairy farmer.” After school he signed up to Taratahi where he completed Level 3 and has almost completed his Level 4 certificate. The couple both applied for the Central North Island Dairy Academy in 2017. The academy is a joint venture between Shanghai Pengxin and Taratahi. It is a mid-level development

programme designed for people who have goals to become a farm manager within five years. It’s an intensive 37-week residential course combining theory, practical training and onfarm experience based on the Massey University Diploma in Agriculture (Level 5). “Never being that good at school I was worried about applying to do the diploma, so I was so happy to get accepted,” Lily says. The couple were two of 10 students who attended the dairy academy last year. The structure of having one tutor to just 10 people was key, she says. Instructor and programme manager Dave Horner was always on hand for tutoring. “It was awesome, especially having Dave, having someone with his knowledge and experience. His teaching style is so good. “With having just that amount of Farm Manager

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Dairy Academy future The Central North Island Dairy Academy costs $5572 which includes food and accommodation, transport, travel, extra professional development, textbooks, and learning materials and field trips. The academy is offering two $5000 scholarships for the next intake of applicants which starts in February 2019. Interested applicants should be 17-25 years old and meet one of the following criteria: • Successfully completed an NZQA Level 4 National Certificate in Agriculture. • Hold university entrance (NCEA Level 3 in approved subjects and credits including numeracy and literacy) • Are 20 years or older with a minimum of one year’s fulltime farm experience. • Successfully completed the Massey University Foundation Certificate in Agriculture. To apply for the academy and for the scholarships visit www.taratahi. ac.nz/programmes/central-northisland-dairy-academy people you learn so much, Dave was always there for you to ask questions or to help you if you got behind.” Academy students spend Monday to Thursday in the classroom and then on Fridays do field trips to other farms, factories, businesses and rural merchants. Students also work with lawyers, accountants and other professionals to learn about the legality and regulations of the industry, such as rising issues around health and safety and animal welfare. “It really opened my eyes to the bigger picture of the dairy industry. There is a lot more than just cupping cows,” Joshua says. Students must pass four papers in the first semester to continue with the remaining four papers in semester two

Lily with their puppy Hudson.

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‘It really opened my eyes to the bigger picture of the dairy industry. There is a lot more than just cupping cows.’ and one during the summer school period. In addition to the Massey University Diploma in Agriculture units, the programme also includes other relevant quality programmes, including rural leadership, dairy effluent, artificial insemination, growsafe and milk quality. A typical day in the classroom was spending the first half learning and the other half discussing it as a group and studying. “You don’t get a whole lot of information dumped on to you without the option to ask questions and discuss it,” Lily says. Their weekends are often spent working on the Shanghai Pengxin’s Theland Farm Group operations. Lily and Joshua have their eyes set on a future in the dairy industry. Josh hopes to continue up the chain to be farm manager and get a position as a contract milker.

“I’d then like to go sharemilking, and then maybe farm ownership if that’s a possibility or something I still want.” Next year Lily will start the Trainee Livestock Programme through PGG Wrightsons with the goal of becoming a livestock representative. “I’ve always wanted to be a stock agent or a rural consultant. A lot of people warned me off being a stock agent because it’s such a maledominated job, but I want to prove them wrong. “I spoke to our stock agent last year and he told me it was an awesome career and really encouraged me to give it a go.” PGG Wrightson’s 18-month trainee programme offers paid fulltime roles, in which trainees learn everything from sales and technical knowledge through to client management and systems. Trainees also gain a National Certificate in Rural Servicing (Level 3).

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS

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Land borrowed off our children Words by: Glenys Christian

Herd Manager

A comment made by a Sioux Indian at a dairying conference in the United States resonated with Mark Jennings. “He told me, we don’t inherit land off our forefathers but we borrow it off our children,” the head agricultural tutor at Valley Education says. And he urges farmers to remember that when it comes to giving youngsters early employment experiences onfarm. “If we don’t look after our youth we have nothing.” Valley Education, based in Kopu near Thames, runs a 15-week vehicle, machinery and infrastructure course for over 18-year-olds. They learn the basics of tractor and chainsaw operation as well as some fencing skills, with a strong emphasis on health and safety requirements. While those younger than 18 are often still growing up by the time they reach that age they’re ready to get stuck in to farm work but know they need some training, he says.

Mark Jennings – look after the young.

Throughout a lot of pastoral care is provided by the four agricultural tutors who are all former farmers, helping out with CVs for example. “We treat the course as a job because we know if they can’t do that they can’t get work on a farm,” he says.

‘If they value the person and their role they’ll work better. But students are told they’ve got to play their part so it’s a win-win situation.’ “Some have worked on farms and got burned, or had a bad employer experience but they love the work. They know it’s what they want to do.” The students, some referred by Work and Income New Zealand, start with three weeks of theory then go out on dairy farms where owners can offer them work.

“We want them to succeed and progress.” More than 35 students are completing the course in Thames, the Bay of Plenty and South Auckland, with another course soon to start based in the Matamata/Morrinsville area. Sometimes farmers will keep the students on at the finish of the course,

neighbours who have seen them working next door will “pinch” them or there may be a relative who needs a worker. About 30% will go on the complete Level 3 Agricultural Systems courses Valley Education also runs, then may progress further through the dairy industry. “But paperwork and progression isn’t for everyone.” Valley Education also offers a sixmonth Level 2 course for school leavers where there’s a mix of classroom and onfarm work. While many farmers want to mentor workers because they got their start through being guided by an older person, Jennings believes there’s more that can be done. “Failure is never a good story,” he says. As a former dairy farmer himself, who runs drystock on his Cambridge property and has other business

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS Del Bruce is volunteering her time to encourage school students into a dairying career.

interests, he says he understands the popularity of employing immigrants such as Filipinos. “They obey instructions and don’t wreck things,” he says. Farmers may also be “gun-shy” when it comes to increased health and safety requirements, but Valley Education makes sure its students have this training before they go onfarm, removing that concern. And a little mentoring can go a long way towards being able to employ the skilled workers farmers require. “Farmer encouragement is everything,” he says. “If they value the person and their role they’ll work better. But students are told they’ve got to play their part so it’s a win-win situation.” At the Grassfed Exchange Conference in South Dakota in June, which he attended along with five other Kiwis, he was impressed at the efforts the US agricultural industry was putting into scholarships in order to get the next generation into farming. Jennings, who has been in his role for the past six years, says there’s been a big change in that time from students who weren’t good at school being encouraged into farming. “But now more people are willing to enter agriculture than previously. They spot young people who have been successful and say ‘if they can do it so can I’. And they see more people progressing, working for Fonterra and getting into industry positions.” A background in dairying can also lead to a future in other industries as it teaches a variety of skills. “It’s always an asset,” he says. “Dairy farmers can do anything because they know how to multitask. They take things as they come, just fix it and get on with it and that harnesses a great attitude.”

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Getting them in early Words by: Anne Hardie Del Bruce is on a mission to lift the image of dairying as a career for school leavers and has brought different groups together to help her tackle it. The 27-year-old 2016 Dairy Trainee of the Year winner for West Coast-Tasman region became a training leader for the awards following her win and she liked being a “camp mum” so much that she’s volunteering her time to talk to school students about life on a dairy farm. “I wanted to show people what we do in the industry and try to remove the stigma of bad dairying, but I needed help.” Last year she called a meeting with representatives from DairyNZ, Primary ITO, the Ministry of Education and the Top of the South Trades Academy. That led to the Industry Education Partnership Forum in Richmond this year where about 80 high school students went around various speakers on timed sessions similar to speed dating. “Each speaker had a table and had about five minutes to give their spiel

to about six kids at a time who were rotating around the room.” Different speakers at each table represented various aspects of the primary industries and students could ask their own questions to get insight into each industry. “The big question was how much money you make. That was a tough one because as a new entrant you don’t start on great money, but the perks you get don’t get taken into consideration and it’s hard to get that across to a 17 year old. “They also wanted to know about the hours and the challenge is trying to put it into words that make it appealing to them. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in it – calving is still hard.” Last year Del joined the Primary ITO stand at the trades career night for schools in Nelson to talk to young people about dairying and says there was plenty of interest. “You needed another stand though because kids don’t know what Primary ITO is.” Providing visuals for the students, such as how much feed a cow requires

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at peak milk and how much water they drink would be helpful to describe dairying as a career at similar events, she says. On the farm, she has taken on school students for work experience, even though the first high school she emailed never replied. She plans to continue taking on students for work experience in her new job as 2IC on a 300-cow herd in Golden Bay. Getting young people on to farms and showing them what it’s all about is one of the best ways of enticing them into a career, she says. “I really enjoy that – especially the girls because I am into girl power; opening their minds to what we do and how much you actually need to think. It’s not just about milking the cow and putting them in the paddock – because that’s what they think and they ask ‘what do you do with the rest of the day’?” The major barrier between young people and a dairying career is anything they’ve already heard about farming and Del says the challenge is trying to change that view. One suggestion has been working with intermediate-age students about 11 and 12 years old, to plant that seed earlier and give them another perspective of dairy farming before they

‘Getting them on the farm and seeing what it is like is better than going to them and talking. They can see that hanging out with your cows is pretty cool and see the cows that won’t go into the shed without a scratch.’ get the negative urban view, she says. “Getting them on the farm and seeing what it is like is better than going to them and talking. They can see that hanging out with your cows is pretty cool and see the cows that won’t go into the shed without a scratch. Last year we had a group of Korean students come out to the farm and take selfies with the calves. We took them out to the cows and they loved it because it showed them cows were pets as well and that was so foreign to them.” A few years ago she worked on a farm where pre-school children visited, giving them the chance to pet the quiet cows and calves as well as see the milk tanker pick up milk, with chocolate milk handed out to show where it all came from.

“Young kids usually come with parents, so they see all that as well.” Del says it’s one way of tackling the increasing rural-urban gap and providing some ground work to establish dairying as a potential career. Within the dairy industry, Del has now become a mentor through Primary ITO for dairying trainees who need support with learning. Trainees might know what they want to say, she says, but struggle to put it into words and sentences, or sometimes be confused by the wording of the questions. As a mentor, her role is to encourage them and guide them on the right track. “It’s being able to say I’m here to help because it can be hard to ask. I’m looking forward to that.”

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS Shaun Neeley of Aquila group: gets a lot of value out of the Gamechanger group every time.

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Gamechanger:

Challenges and opportunities Words by: Sheryl Brown

2IC

The environment is the dairy industry’s biggest challenge, and people are its biggest opportunity, No8HR founder Lee Astridge says. The dairy industry will need strong leaders to face incoming regulations and improve people productivity, and it starts from the top, she says. Lee facilitates a programme for business leaders called Gamechanger that No8HR set up four years ago. “Gamechanger started as a group of dairy farmers interested in challenging leadership paradigms. It has evolved as members have learned what works for them in terms of growing their skills,

learning from others (both inside and outside the agricultural industry) and challenging them and their businesses to grow and change,” she says. No8HR set up Gamechanger because the company wanted to step up and help the industry, she says. Rather than just charging fees to help dairy farmers with human resources, No8HR wanted to teach farmers how to be people leaders within their own business and their own industry. “It’s about challenging ourselves – we are really in this industry and we want it to get better.” Gamechanger is aimed at leaders of primary sector-aligned businesses and

is designed to help them expand their horizons with a focus on leadership, setting goals and sharing experiences. Topics that Gamechanger groups analyse are as diverse as the social licence to farm, lean manufacturing, branding and managing diverse and complex work environments. Meetings involve a Gamechanger member hosting the group and an outside-ofindustry visit or speaker. “By default everything we look at comes back to leadership, people and maximising performance in some way.” The dairy industry has compounding challenges around attracting the best people, keeping them in the industry and improving productivity. “That’s only going to get harder, not easier and the dairy industry needs to have skilful leaders to adapt in today’s business world.” The Gamechanger initiative has been designed to ensure there is flexibility in the process so participants can really influence what is looked at. It helps leaders look at things which are really important to them as well as have their horizons broadened based on what their peers are thinking about or doing, and also what is happening in the business world outside of our sector. People productivity continues to be a focus for Gamechanger participants, says Lee. There are repeated themes and focus from group members around retention, worked hours, remunerating well, and investing across all areas to ensure they have viable and sustainable models for operating their businesses. The people involved in Gamechanger are business leaders and all have significant decision-making authority in their businesses. The scale of their businesses range and diversity in business model, industry, system, focus and age is encouraged. Every participant must sign a nondisclosure agreement, which gives everyone the confidence to speak openly. Participants share projects they’re trialling in their businesses, people metric data and information about their Farm Manager

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‘By default everything we look at comes back to leadership, people and maximising performance in some way.’ businesses to give the group enough context. The main requirement for participation is that members need to be brave, willing to be challenged and have the authority to experiment with new ideas within their business, Lee says. Since the groups started meeting in 2015, they’ve only had one person pull out, a sign that participants are gaining value out of the open forum. “There’s a really good core of people with good collegiality, that have a big desire to keep working together.” The ability to open your business and speak frankly about the challenges you’re facing is a great opportunity to improve, Aquila Sustainable Farming general manager Shaun Neeley says. Shaun has been involved with the Gamechanger initiative for almost three years and says he takes value out of every meeting. Aquila has 40-fulltime staff that work across the business’s nine farm dairies, including farm managers who report to an operations manager.

Gamechanger NZ has challenged Sean on his approach to health and safety, work schedules and staff well-being. “There is a lot of value out of Gamechanger every single time, it’s the chance to benchmark yourself and be challenged.” People share their key performance indicators and the discussion is often robust and it challenges processes and ideas, he says. “We are usually trying to deal with the same thing, but we have different ideas on how things should be done.” Originally, he had a mindset that it would be a good goal to aim for everyone onfarm to work a 45-hour week, but that was challenged by the people in his Gamechanger group. It was highlighted to him that people who want to aspire to greater roles will often work longer hours and be rewarded for it, and that opportunity needs to be available. “A lot of people are driven, and 45 hours is not enough. It’s made my view

Lee Astridge - everything we look at comes back to leadership.

that we need to know about people and provide opportunity for flexibility on what that person wants to achieve.”

Challenging influencers Pamu senior business manager Bruce Hunter says Gamechanger is a great initiative that is getting in the face of industry influencers and challenging them on everything they know. Dairy farmers must own their downfalls – from the environment to people productivity - and come up with ways to improve it – that’s where Gamechanger steps in. “Are you a game changer? Are you here to change the game? Are you here to make this industry different? Or are you just here to be the best at what you’re doing?” Lee Astridge has set up a unique forum where like-minded people get together over two days to challenge and support each other to meet the changing world, he says. “All the kudos must go to Lee. She is doing an industry-good contribution. Some of these people were industry stalwarts and these people have become gamechangers.” The questions and topics at the meetings can be confronting, but everyone in the room is also supportive and are all on the same page when it comes to meeting new challenges coming at the industry, he says. Bruce hosted a Gamechanger meeting which included visits to several of the Pamu farms. The challenge as a Stateowned corporate with 21,000 cows is how to relate to other dairy farmers and be a gamechanger in the industry. “When you’re showcasing your business you need to demonstrate you are changing the game.” The biggest takeaway for Bruce was Pamu has great quality people and it can help influence the industry by leading with its excellent farm practices.

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If you’re interested in learning more about Gamechanger NZ phone No8HR, North Island, 07 870 4901, South Island, 03 366 0009.

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SEE SUCCESS IN CIDR TREATMENTS Dairy Assistant

With calving now in full swing it’s time to start thinking ahead to mating. Planning ahead is essential for a successful mating period so we need to start preparing now.

and other factors that impact fertility. However, those changes need to be made well in advance of mating start date, and some of those factors are difficult to control every year.

One way to tighten calving patterns and get more days in milk is to treat non-cyclers with a CIDR® programme. Treating these cows early provides the best return on investment compared to waiting for them to start cycling on their own, often many weeks later. By tail painting your herd 35 days before mating and recording heats, you can have a very good idea of the Herd Manager number of non-cycling cows in your herd before mating starts. A large scale Waikato trial of reproductive treatments for anoestrus cows has proven the economics of using CIDR® Cattle Inserts to improve herd reproductive performance at the start of the mating period. The trial involved 2,222 non-cycling cows in the Waikato, from 12 herds averaging 510 head that were due to begin mating in early October. Non-cyclers treated with a CIDR® program had significantly higher first service conception rates than untreated non-cyclers and non-cyclers treated with the OvSynch program. CIDR® treatment of non-cyclers has a positive return on investment, and the nett profit increases with higher milk price payouts.

When you need to treat non-cyclers, evidence shows that CIDR® treatment of non-cyclers before the planned start of mating is the most cost effective option. CIDR® treatment buys you 10-16 days extra milk for next season, improves calving spread and is cost effective even in a low pay-out year. Talk to your vet early about planning your repro programme for this season. For more information download the CIDR® Return on Investment Calculator from the App Store or Google Play to see what this means for your farm.

This is mainly because a CIDR® program advances the conception date of non-cyclers by 10-16 days, meaning they calve earlier next season, delivering a benefit between $80-$128/cow before treatment and feed costs. 2IC Non-cyclers

are best prevented by proactive management of body condition, feed, calving spread Contract Milker

Farm Manager

68 New Zealand Limited. Tel: 0800 ZOETIS (963 847). CIDR is a registered trademark of InterAg. ACVM No. A4559. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018 Zoetis

SPECIAL REPORT | EXPERT EYE Harnessing talent at all levels within a business.

Career growth in the dairy industry Lee Astridge Director, No8HR The definition of success and career growth in the dairy industry is shifting with the realisation that: 1. The traditional ‘own a farm’ carrot is not as easily realisable as it used to be; 2. That farm (read business) ownership isn’t what many are aspiring to in any event, and 3. Dairy can offer great careers that are competitive with other industries in terms of status, remuneration and reward without relying on this traditional ‘golden ticket’. Dairy farming is joining the rest of New Zealand in understanding what a successful career is and means. We’re shifting from an emphasis on the ‘entrepreneurial few’ to the ‘talented many.’ This means a mindset shift to the importance of harnessing this talent at all levels within a business that will lead to a maximising of the potential of the individual, your business and the industry. There are two very compelling reasons for the dairy industry to focus on careers and maximising talent:

Attracting talent We’re fighting for talent at all levels

and a career in dairying is seen as less ‘portable’ (therefore less attractive) than other career choices – think trades where the perception is it is easier to take your technical skills globally more than you can take the technical skills of NZ pasture-based farming (there’s an argument to be had here, I know, but we’re talking perception). This means we need to work that bit harder to attract people into the industry and to show people in the industry what it is that they are gaining (and can keep gaining) through their career with us.

Increasing productivity We know that a lot of dairy farming businesses are ‘tapped out’ in terms of the productivity and efficiency they can get from their farm system and land asset, we also know that for most the biggest opportunity sits in increasing the productivity and efficiency of the people performance in our businesses. A quick look at the key people productivity indicator of milk solids produced per worked hour shows the scale of this opportunity (good >35/poor < 20) and shows us how much head-room there is for business improvement in this area. So if we want productive businesses we need people who are skilled not only

at the technical skill of farming, but also in the art of working efficiently and productively, leading others and running smart businesses. And if we can do that we’re building skills and careers that have relevance not only to our industry but also to the wider world of work (cue: link back into making our industry attractive to talent). I believe our career pitch can be ‘Dairying, the industry where you will learn how to work smart and can grow technical, people and business leadership skills faster than anywhere else’. There are two things we therefore need to focus on in our dairy careers: Building leadership skills (from which everything else will flow) and building a performance focus in our teams (this is really a subset of building leadership skills, but I’m picking it out as warranting special mention). So what’s the magic formula for making this happen? A good career in dairying, no matter where your aspirations are, will mean you have access to: • A good boss where there is a good match around the skills and talents you want to grow and their ability to role model these skills • A business where the skills you want to grow are also the skills the business is prepared to invest in growing (either through the investment of time in internal development or the investment of money for external development) • Quality training and coaching for skill development • An industry and wider network where you can go for challenge and where you feel comfortable being humbled from time to time • Having a mentor or champion who is on your side, keeping you real and supporting you through the inevitable ups and downs. We’d encourage everyone to ensure that their career is on-track by checking they have access to these things, either via their employer or through their own initiatives.

Assistant Manager

Equity Farmer

Farm Owner

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS

Dairy Assistant

The power of two

Siobhan and Christopher O’Malley – play to your strengths but be prepared to learn new skills.

By no means all the productivity on a dairy farm is done in the paddocks or dairy. Anne Lee reports.

Herd Manager

Contributing to progress in your dairying career doesn’t necessarily mean putting on the milking apron or striding across the farm with a platemeter each week. Having a strategic view, financial nous and the ability to get it done when it comes to compliance are just as important. The issue though for many is that ticking all those boxes – onfarm and in the farm office can seem like a monumental task. Siobhan and Christopher O’Malley were 2017 national winners of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Sharefarmer of the Year and they’re a prime example of how sharing the load and playing to your strengths can propel a partnership. Siobhan’s the first to admit that while she loves farm life she has seldom been seen putting cups on cows. Her first practical farming task was to rear the calves when they went lower-order sharemilking three years after they’d first entered the industry. “The farm owner was fantastic, she spent time with me and taught me how to do a good job there but I also read everything I could – not just about calf rearing – about everything I could be involved with,” she says. “I read every single Dairy Exporter

magazine and paid a lot of attention to stories on people who progressed, learning how they progressed, what they did. “We’re so lucky in the dairy industry – there’s just so much information available to us through places like DairyNZ, field days, workshops and

Siobhan’s take homes • Read and be aware of what’s happening in the industry • Take every learning opportunity you can (so many are free) • Find time to talk about the big picture • You can contribute hugely to your farming business without doing the cows and grass stuff • Use your bankers, accountants, rural professionals to build your own business skills Check out Siobhan and Christopher’s social media on Facebook and Instagram Pukeko Pastures

Dairy Women’s Network and a lot of it is free. “I went to everything I could and then put it into practice using the things I’d learnt in our business.” Over the next three years as they moved jobs and grew the size of their business they sold a house they owned and started buying young stock. Siobhan’s role grew alongside their family with their three children born as they built their skills and equity. “I have a huge amount of gratitude because I went from being a busy fulltime teacher to being at home with the kids and I think I would have struggled if I hadn’t been able to keep on learning and helping Christopher building and growing the business.” She took on the human resources role, writing the advertisements for vacancies, going through applicants’ CVs, drawing up the job descriptions and carrying out the interviews with Christopher, completing the employment contracts and then managing wages and PAYE. Compliance across the whole farm business from staffing and health and safety to environmental consents and dairy company rules now require serious attention and considerable time, she says. “I think there’s literally too much for one person to do now if they had to be

2IC Farm Manager

Contract Milker

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

‘There’s literally too much for one person to do now if they had to be running the farm and carrying out all this admin on their own.’ running the farm and carrying out all this admin on their own.” With a Masters degree in classics, the reader/writer in Siobhan relishes those tasks so she’s not daunted by reading through forms, policies and documents to make sure they’re more than covering all the bases. But on the numbers side, she says she’s had to work to upskill herself. “I’d never used Excel so I quickly had to get to grips with that and I’ve learned to use three different accounting programmes over the years too. “Our accountants – KPMG in Timaru helped me with that a lot so I can do a lot of the financials too – I just find I spend more time checking and re-checking those to make sure I’ve got everything absolutely right.” She’s worked with Christopher in setting their budgets, codes and loads the accounts and payments and has done the GST. “We communicate all the time about what’s going on so when we were sharemilking and I was doing the variance to the budget through the season I’d often know already why some things were over or under – but we’d talk about it and then I’d basically write that conversation up as a report and send it to the bank every two months.”

As part of upskilling, Siobhan completed a PrimaryITO diploma in agribusiness. “What I was looking for with that was formal recognition of what I’d already learnt and to back-fill some of the gaps. “I’d really thrown myself into learning all I could on the job so I’d done a lot in a very short time.” Strategic thinking and having the head space to recognise and analyse opportunities is another area where Siobhan has been able to help drive their career. “During the year of the record payout lots of people bought tractors or new equipment – we bought a spa and it’s been our best governance tool. “We’ve had some really powerful conversations there. You’re relaxed and you can take the time to really talk,” Siobhan says. Because she’s always reading, keeping up with what’s happening in the industry and checking out social media she has plenty of fodder for discussions with Christopher. “People asked us for instance, how we knew to sell our A2 cows when we did – that was simply by reading the newspaper, seeing milk companies were offering A2 milk contracts and then talking about what that could mean,”

Siobhan and Christopher O’Malley – find time to see the big picture.

Siobhan says. “We thought demand for A2 cows would go up and because our cows were our asset we decided to sell them and lock in good prices,” Christopher says. At the end of last season, the pair made another big leap, this time selling their whole herd. Again it was a very strategic decision. They had finished the last of their three-season contract and decided it was timely to bank the equity they had in their cows while prices were good. Their business included income from stock sales and they expected Mycoplasma bovis would make that more difficult. Christopher took an opportunity to manage a new, 313-hectare, 1000-cow conversion at Te Pirita for Craigmore Sustainables and Siobhan is embarking on a new business venture unrelated to farming. “The business skills I’ve learnt over the last few years are completely transferable to any business,” she says. The couple are still focussed on farm ownership as their ultimate goal – a 400-500-cow farm probably on the West Coast where prices are a little more affordable. “The goal is the same but the pathway isn’t necessarily the straight line we thought it was at the beginning,” Siobhan says. She’s finishing her Kellogg Rural Leadership project looking at the viability of a carbon neutral red meat brand. She says it’s been a fantastic experience with the opportunity to network with proactive people a major benefit of the programme. The Dairy Industry Awards competition is also an opportunity to network and learn. The people she’s met through both have fuelled a strong sense of positivity about the future of the industry and opportunities, she says. “Compliance and regulations can make people fearful but if the outcome is going to give us a more sustainable industry and a greater social licence then we shouldn’t be afraid of it.” For Siobhan and Christopher, the key is to be aware, learn and get involved so that perceived threats become opportunities not just for the sector but for driving their own business.

Assistant Manager

Equity Farmer

Farm Owner

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Sharemilker

SPECIAL REPORT | DRIVING DAIRY CAREERS James and Ceri Bourke: sharing their story and experiences of progression.

Dairy Assistant

Opportunities despite roadblocks Words by: Anne Lee

Herd Manager

2IC

Canterbury dairy farmers James and Ceri Bourke say Mycoplasma bovis and environmental regulations may be putting up roadblocks in traditional career progression pathways but there are still great opportunities for those with proven skills. Having the ability to grow and harvest high quantities of top-quality pasture is key to dairying success and people with those skills will continue to be highly sought after, James says. The couple are sharing their story and experiences of progression at the Pasture Summit conference being held in November in both Hamilton and Ashburton. The M. bovis eradication programme, issues with compensation and risks with stock movements have heightened risks to sharemilkers, whose equity is in their herd, and limited their abilities to make money from stock sales. Environmental pressures are also likely to limit opportunities to increase herd sizes. But James says career and incomeearning prospects within the dairy sector are still impressive for those wanting to pursue them.

“There are farmers and corporates out there with very big farming assets and they need people skilled in managing pasture, HR and farming to meet environmental regulations to protect and get the best returns out of those assets,” he says. The couple have taken up a senior farm manager’s role overseeing 2700 cows on two farms within the Rakaia Island Dairies business this season. They had completed two sets of three-year contracts in Culverden, milking 1600 cows using a mixed management structure that included 50-50 sharemilking 800 cows and contract milking another 800. Initially it had involved sharemilking 500 cows and contract milking a similar number but over the six years they had grown the operation and their equity. James says the mixed structure has spread their payout risk with the contract milking side of their business providing secure cashflow through the very low payout period and the sharemilking business allowing them to take full advantage of higher payouts. They had looked at an equity partnership for this season but the bid

on the farm hadn’t been successful. The risk of M. bovis to their equity, given the compensation values and difficulties they’d seen others experience, meant they were keen to realise the full value of their cows as soon as possible. Their farm owner agreed to buy their 850 high-performing, mature cows and 225 rising two-year-olds paying a price that reflected the confidence they had in the herd’s performance abilities and disease-free status. James and Ceri retained 250 rising one-year-olds and carry-overs so they have 400 animals they can put into a new venture. The large-scale management job this season has allowed them to continue equity growth – albeit through a salary not profits from their own business. Over the years they’ve also invested in property but James says it’s their abilities in managing and harvesting pasture and managing people and cows which are their most tradable asset. Dairying is still the way they expect to realise the financial goals they’ve set for themselves and ultimately they still want to own their own farm but in today’s environment James says they need to be flexible about how they get there. More? www.pasturesummit.co.nz

Top tips • Build your pasture management skills • Learn how to be a good manager of people • Be flexible about progression options • Seek good advice • Keep your CV up to date and have strong references • Understand environmental regulations and know how to farm to them. Farm Manager

Contract Milker

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Assistant Manager

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Learn about the Prosump at www.prescoinfrastructure.co.nz or call 0800 773 726

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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ENVIRONMENT RECYCLING

Shelling out with waste With a ready source of mussel farm waste a Coromandel farmer is looking to cut the aromatic effect on locals while improving soil fertility. Glenys Christian reports. Photos by: Stephen Barker oromandel dairy farmer Dirk Sieling believes he can not only reduce fertiliser inputs on his farm but also help remove a waste stream from one of the area’s other important industries. He’s recently bought a Veenhuis slurry injector which he’ll trial this summer. He was aware of the big Dutch agricultural machinery company’s machines used to reduce odour problems, particularly with effluent from the pork industry. Effluent from barns where cows are housed has also been treated in the same way.

An internet search two years ago found South Island company, FarmChief, was importing the machines and Dirk could immediately see how one could fit into his farming operation. He already has two to three truckloads of mussel shell dumped daily at a high point on his farm from a Whitianga processing plant with strict conditions applied to storage, odour and leaching. The former owner of the farm had started the process but Dirk has carried it further, excavating a pond connected to the effluent spreading system below the dumping site to collect any leachate and

weathering and then breaking up the shells to put on his races. With the Veenhuis machine he will be able to handle another waste product from the mussel industry, the marine waste stream produced when the shellfish are removed from the ropes they’re grown on. “There are sea squirts, mussel beards and small and broken shellfish,” he says. “The waste is very high in organic nitrogen and other elements.” It costs mussel farmers to cart this waste to Tirohia near Paeroa to a quarry landfill. But under the new arrangement the mussel factory will double-grind the waste

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Dirk Sieling with his mussel leachate/ effluent injector.

KEY POINTS Location: Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula Owners: Dirk and Kathy Sieling Area: 710 hectares 50:50 sharemilkers: Zane and Millie Sloss Herd: 600 crossbred cows Production: 2017-18, 150,000kg of milksolids (MS), target 2018-19, 160,000kg MS Dairy: 44-aside herringbone with a new in-dairy feeding system.

stream before it’s placed in a coolstore, ready for delivery to Dirk’s farm in onetonne bags. Once there they’ll be lifted by tractor so the contents can be tipped into an 8000-litre capacity tank on the slurry injector. Dairy effluent will be added and maceration takes place before the mix is injected into the soil through a set of 16 spring-loaded injectors. “It has to stay suspended so it needs to

WHITIANGA, COROMANDEL

Complaints have been made and petitions organised during the eight years the mussel shell has been dumped on the farm. “We’re also aiming to reduce our artificial fertiliser use,” he says. About 300kg of potassic super per hectare used to go on but five years ago AgKnowledge’s Doug Edmeades recommended putting 750kg then 500kg per hectare on as fertility levels crept up. A self-imposed cap of 150kg of nitrogen is in place with between 100 and 120kg per hectare going on in a number of dressings. “We’re hoping fertiliser use might drop to a half or even a third.” Some fertiliser inputs will still be needed on the hillier areas. “If it all works out there will be big cost savings,” Dirk says. Not only has the price of the slurry injector increased since he placed his order, but due to production processes he was

be kept stirred up on the way to the paddock where it will be used.” Trials will be on the flat and easier country on the farm’s milking platform, to monitor the stream of nutrients injected into the ground. Dirk’s major concern is any rocks which he hopes won’t prove an issue for the injectors. It is equipped with a pneumatic shut-off valve so the operator can have absolute precision when it comes to injection sites. And it can be connected to GPS, although Dirk’s doesn’t have this at present. “We want to specifically use it on paddocks which we’re going to crop,” he says. The idea is to return to maize cropping which they used in the past before swapping to sorghum, of which Dirk is a fan, and millet along with the usual 20 hectares of chicory. A fist full of mussel They lease 26ha of airfield shells, with a stack nearby where they can’t of crushed shells behind. graze cows but have made silage. With the slurry injector Dirk believes they could grow maize there rather than just harvesting what he built a larger one at the same price as for a describes as “medium to poor quality smaller model. And of course the value of silage”. the New Zealand dollar has dropped. Changes will be needed to their Another future option would be setting 3.5 million litre effluent pond so the up a contracting business so local farmers pump to the travelling rain gun can can have the benefit of the machine be remotely controlled, allowing the without the capital cost. And there will be tanker to be filled at any hydrant to no problem moving the injector between prevent excess travel. paddocks or properties due to a hydraulic Pond capacity is well beyond that transport lock. required with effluent spread on 80ha, some of which will have the mussel mix injected as well. Dirk has two other reasons to see what A recent six-week trip to his birthplace the machine can deliver. gave Dirk Sieling a good chance to “We live close to town and we’re aware compare the environmental constraints there might be odour problems if we just dairy farmers here are facing compared spread the material, rather than inject it.” with those in Holland. “We will also be delivering the nutrients “I hadn’t been back since 1974 to see at the rootzone and there will be no runcousins and friends,” he says. off.” “I was amazed to see cattle on riverbanks

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Making comparisons

Dirk Seiling has planted manuka as part of his riparian programme.

and no fences with a lot of paddocks separated by open drains.” Government-owned cattle, bred to resemble the original wild breeds, were allowed to roam around big lakes made into nature areas, along with big herds of wild Swedish fjord horses. “No one batted an eyelid. It seemed to be normal.” But while the Dutch were happy for cattle to roam as they wished there was debate as to whether their numbers should be kept managed or whether they should be allowed to die naturally. Scottish Highland genetics had already been introduced to the local Heck cattle which looked very similar to the wild cattle of centuries ago. Dutch dairy farmers who increased herd numbers when European Union quotas came off in 2015 are now reducing them due to nutrient restrictions. And with the northern summer’s heat feed supplies were running low. “Dutch farmers didn’t want to keep hearing about being subsidised. “What came through loud and clear 76

was that they realise they have to make an effort to connect with the public because of the rural/urban divide.” His cousin, who milks 300 cows, and uses their effluent in a biodigester to produce gas which he sells to the national grid, held an open day recently. “Four thousand people arrived. “They were genuinely interested, they want to reconnect with nature.” Dutch farmers seemed to him to be better off than their New Zealand counterparts in terms of overall income. “Farm prices are higher and it’s impossible to get a farm unless you inherit one,” he says. There are the same issues as seen in this country getting young people into farming. But Dirk says a TV programme in which young Dutch farmers seek partners has been a big success and was much talked about throughout the country.

Countering arguments While farmer awareness of environmental issues has been raised over the last five

years, the same progress hasn’t been made with green lobby groups, Dirk Sieling believes. He wants dairy farmers’ representative bodies to fully embrace what he sees as their dual roles of encouraging farmers along the right path as well as pushing back on what he calls “fake science”. “Some environmental groups use cherrypicked statistics and the public doesn’t know any better. “Groups representing farmers have taken the attitude that they want to work with environmental groups and they don’t want to upset them. “The public would get a different impression because all they hear now is how bad farmers are and there’s insufficient counter-argument from their own bodies.” Dirk was one of two farmer members of the Stakeholders Working Group behind Sea Change, the first marine spatial plan attempted in New Zealand to safeguard the Hauraki Gulf. The aim was to provide a strategic, integrated and forward-looking plan considering the interests of all users

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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‘We live close to town and we’re aware there might be odour problems if we just spread the material, rather than inject it. We will also be delivering the nutrients at the rootzone and there will be no run-off.” of the gulf. While the intention was to minimise conflicts and maximise synergies across sectors little has happened since the group’s report was presented two years ago. While it was always intended to be non-statutory, information was to be used to modify unitary, district, regional and coastal plans, including land use plans in catchments draining into the gulf. It was expected that the water quality work and its recommendations would feed into the Hauraki and Coromandel catchment plans that will follow the Healthy Rivers Waiora Plan Change 1 process currently undertaken by the Waikato Regional Council. “Council people on the ground are pragmatic and get on with farmers,” he says. “The big question mark is fencing of streams which won’t hit dairy farmers as hard as drystock farmers.” There’s also uncertainty about capping

of nitrogen inputs and maybe phosphate. “No one solution fits all. “And a lot of people aren’t happy about grandparenting suggestions and land use change restrictions.” The concern is that what is eventually decided for farmers in the Waikato and Waipa catchments will be pushed on to those in Hauraki and Coromandel, but those catchments are totally different with different problems and different solutions, he says. “But we would be all right when it comes to fencing.” They’re down to fencing off very small streams on their farm with seedlings ordered for autumn to continue riparian planting next winter. They have already joined up native bush blocks and covenanted about 15ha. Pinus radiata forestry blocks are due for harvest

Promoting Red Devons Dirk and Kathy Sieling have changed policy with their Red Devon bulls in the wake of the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. They produced breeding bulls from their stud set up several years ago, promoting them as an easy-calving option for dairy farmers. The young bulls have successfully been used for the last three seasons for mating both dairy heifers and cows, with four-day-old crossbred calves selling very well. They have also been leasing out surplus bulls. “But with Mycoplasma bovis we didn’t want leased bulls being returned to the farm.” So now they are selling bulls produced by their 30 breeding cows at a younger age. “It reduces our income as we’re not leasing them out as oneyear-olds, but we wouldn’t want to take the risk.” Instead they are concentrating on filling farmer demand for younger bulls which they can keep on their farms and use twice, as a yearling with their heifers and then the next year to tail off their herd. Calves are all weighed at birth, most coming in between 32 and 37kg. Stud bulls are selected primarily for gestation length and birthweight EBV’s alongside weight gain. With breeding only from polled animals 90% of calves are polled. As well as being easy-calving Red Devons are docile and good 78

Stream with riparian planting.

and won’t be replanted, with manuka being re-established on the steeper slopes. An increasing number of beehives are being brought on to the farm every year between November and February to feed on them as an extra income stream.

on tough hill country, cleaning up pastures while maintaining condition and finishing early. “The breed has more purity so there’s more hybrid vigour in the crossbred animals.” Dirk believes there’s been a problem in the past with dairy farmers only looking for cheap bulls, but now many are seeing the increased returns from using a better sire. And they are taking more care to buy from breeders who belong to a breed society, with Dirk being a committee member of the NZ Red Devon Cattle Breeding Association.

The easy-calving Red Devon bulls are docile.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

ENVIRONMENT EFFLUENT

Matthew opted for a small compact system with low running costs on his Rahotu farm.

Aiming for a small footprint Words by: Ross Nolly hen Matthew Oke and his family bought the neighbouring Rahotu farm they knew that they would also need to build a new cowshed and upgrade their farm’s effluent system. The purchase took their coastal Taranaki farm from 130 hectares to 215 effective, with extra grazing support blocks for their calves and heifers and after 13 seasons on the family farm, Matthew moved into an equity partnership with family. Milking up to 610 cows in the past, this season he has dropped the numbers to about 570. “We usually operate as a System Three

farm, but this year we may drop to System Two, due to our lower stocking rate and to lighten the pressure a bit after a couple of poor seasons and pay-outs. We think that it’ll probably pay to play it a little safer, especially with the FEI Grading System coming into play,” Matthew says. Matthew used the Fertilizer & Lime Research Centre (FLRC) Dairy Effluent Storage Calculator to determine the size and type of effluent system that would suit his operation. He entered the farm’s details into the programme and calculated that by running two irrigators they could use a smaller pond because they would be irrigating a wider area at one time. He considered different options, but

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

knew a traditional pond with dualdischarge into the waterways wasn’t going to future-proof them at all, and a traditional battered-wall pond would have a large footprint. Matthew decided on a 1.67-million litre Prosump system from Presco Environmental Infrastructure. This system has a 50-year minimum buildlife guarantee with 100-year lifetime expectancy. “We liked the Prosump because it had a small footprint. A pond that covers an extra half-hectare permanently uses up $20-25,000 worth of land. You’re paying for that area and it just catches more rain,” Matthew says. “We get about two-metres of rain and it 79

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costs money to shift water. I don’t want the cost of having to use pumps all day. As well as the electricity costs there’s the maintenance and breakdowns to consider too. The less rain we catch and have to spread, the better it is for us.” Matthew’s system is consented for 700 cows and a feed-pad. The farm doesn’t have a feed-pad so there is plenty of future-proofing redundancy in their system. “The Prosump is a small, compact system with low running costs. If I was milking 700 cows and had a feedpad, a traditional pond would have covered three-times the area and would contain three-times the amount of water. An uncovered feed-pad catches more rain; it just keeps multiplying your pond size,” Matthew says. “You also need a larger irrigation area to get rid of that water. You need bigger pumps which use more electricity and higher servicing costs; it all just goes on and on. There’s zero chance of any leakage and we don’t have a costly liner that needs replacing every fifteen-years. Replacing a liner isn’t a straightforward job.” The farm’s two-irrigator system covers 50ha and the system could be easily extended into other paddocks that could have hydrants installed.

But 50ha comfortably uses all of the farm’s effluent and needs no supplemental fertiliser. Annual soil sampling and nutrient budgets are also undertaken to determine the amount of fertiliser used on the rest of the farm. At this stage Matthew has no plans to develop the system any further. But he is considering whether to add more effluent spreading technology to help minimise any chance of a mistake occurring. He has also considered the feasibility of covering the tank with a roof to minimise the amount of rainwater it catches. Mathew knew that the Prosump was going to initially be more costly to install than some systems; but he knew they were building a system that wouldn’t need to be upgraded or replaced. He feels he has future-proofed his property and that it will be a cheaper installation in the long term. “The up-front cost may be higher; but it’s easy not to take into account the cost of upgrading, constant maintenance and running costs. This system really ticked all the boxes for us. We wanted to do it once, do it right, and not have to go back to it again. The pond just works,” Matthew says.

‘If I was milking 700 cows and had a feed-pad, a traditional pond would have covered threetimes the area and would contain three-times the amount of water.’

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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STOCK BEEF

New generation beef Making better use of the under-utilised resource of bobby calves is the subject of a Massey University research project. Jackie Harrigan reports. rowing bobby calves to one-year of age as New Generation Beef has the potential to add value for both dairy and beef farmers through the meat production industry. Surplus calves from the dairy industry represent an under-utilised resource and has led Massey University animal scientist Nicola Schreurs to launch a research project into the growth and meat characteristics of dairy-beef cattle up to 12 months of age. Dubbed New Generation Beef, the research programme looks at growing the dairy or dairy-origin cattle for meat processing before or, at one year of age. This end-point would capture benefits associated with a period of growth associated with the most efficient part of the growth curve. “An increasing proportion of our beef is coming from the dairy industry and there is a growing world population and demand for beef – much of that demand coming from Asia where beef is prepared and

consumed in ways that are different to our As part of the research programme a traditional markets,” Schreurs says. pilot to define the right age for slaughter “In the future there may not be the (trialling eight, 10, 12 and 18 months option to slaughter bobby calves and, to be slaughter dates) has been running since able to utilise the two million-odd bobby last spring, growing 80 Kiwicross X calves that are produced on an annual Hereford calves on Massey farms with basis, we could consider them for beef regular monitoring of growth rates. The production. However, land availability calves were steered, to reflect the fact may become that the 18-month an issue if cattle slaughtered finishing would be prime steers ‘We want to know if them under and all carcases will our traditional be compared with the unaged beef from New two-threeprime steer classification. Generation Beef cattle is year finishing The calves were just as good as aged beef regime, so weaned at 100kg on to from older animals.’ we need to a herb mix (chicory, be looking plantain, red and at a range of white clover) and options.” supplemented with meal (0.5kg/head), to “New Generation Beef could be one maintain a high feed value through a dry option by sending the animals for early summer period in 2017. A crop of processing at one-year of age or younger Hunter brassica through the late summer/ and delivering into markets demanding early autumn was followed by pasture in lean protein.” later autumn early winter period. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

LEFT: Young New Generation beef animals before processing at 12 months of age. ABOVE: Weighing the cattle prior to slaughter. BELOW: Animal science researcher Nicola Schreurs flanked by masters students working on the New Generation Beef products – Josh Hunt (left) and Sam Pike (right). RIGHT: Got beef? Nicola Schreurs in the sorting and testing phase.

The calves have maintained an average growth rate of 1kg/day from early December, Schreurs says. Fortnightly weighing has been a useful monitoring tool to make sure the calves are growing consistently. Ultrasound for eye muscle area (EMA) and fat depth are captured prior to slaughter. After slaughter, carcase length and carcase weight is measured to give an idea of the stature and the carcase shape, along with meat to bone and muscularity to identify meat yield. The strip loins are cut in half, with half being aged for 21 days. Meat colour, pH and shear force (tenderness) are measured in both the aged and unaged beef. Other measurements include sarcomere length, drip loss and myofibrillar fragmentation index to fully understand the influence of the slaughter age on tenderness and eating quality. Samples have also been kept for sensory testing including flavour and tenderness. Schreurs anticipates sharing trial results alongside preparing meat samples for Fieldays in 2019 to allow a range of people, including farmers, to experience New Generation Beef. “We made steers out of these, but could

NEW GENERATION BEEF POSITIVES: • Improved animal welfare: utilisation of surplus animals from the dairy industry • Reduced environmental footprint: due to younger slaughter age so less time on-farm and animals offfarm before first winter allowing for reduced GHG and nutrient loss and minimising soil damage • Better feed efficiency: only feeding animals during their accelerated period of growth • Feed budgeting options: reducing winter demand OPPORTUNITIES: • Tender, lean meat product • Higher value co-products due to younger age • World consumer acceptance already proven with yearling beef production in some countries

you actually use bulls? – they have growth rate advantages.” Twenty steers were slaughtered at

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

eight months at 250kg, a further 20 at 10 months, weighing 300kg. and the 12-month group was processed in September at an average live weight of 340kg. The final group will be processed at 18 months at a targeted liveweight of 550kg. Preliminary results of the first two slaughter groups are exciting, Schreurs says. “The meat is lean, and exceptionally tender, even more so after 21 days’ ageing and the colour is a medium red – not quite as dark as older meat but still a good red colour that we associate with a red meat product.” “Indications are the results could sit in the middle of veal and prime steer beef in terms of taste, colour and fat content.” “We want to know if unaged beef from New Generation Beef cattle is just as good as aged beef from older animals.” An in-house tasting trial showed a much milder flavour than older beef, very lean with no marbling and no measureable fat but very tender – a very acceptable protein product, Schreurs says. The next stage will be to consider the optimal calf type to use for New 83

Sam Pike and Josh Hunt get busy testing the 12-month beef samples.

Generation Beef. So, a bull:steer:heifer comparison, working with Pamu and Massey University farms is being developed for 2019. Further research will investigate whether straight dairy animals are suitable for New Generation Beef, Schreurs says. “We also need to think about calves from first-calvers in particular, heifers from heifers. We have identified that it is important to look at the prospects for a heifer calf from a first-time calving heifer. Is it suitable for New Generation Beef or, do we need to consider alternative options?” Researchers are also are well aware of avoiding issues of dystocia (birthing difficulties) by utilising beef bulls Schreurs says. “We don’t want to replace a bobby calf animal welfare issue with a dystocia one.” Working with beef researcher Rebecca Hickson on the Dairy-Beef Progeny Test

implemented by Beef + Lamb Genetics NZ, in partnership with Massey University, Pamu and Greenlea will help to identify beef-sires that are suitable for putting across dairy cows for calving ease while still providing a calf that grows really well for beef production. Future work looks at market opportunities for a new product. “In terms of the markets – it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Although we are keen to find a market for New Generation Beef, we need to understand the product first before we can try to develop a market for it.” “We want to try and get as much value from the animal as possible to maximise the return for a lighter carcase weight.” This is for the meat but also can be considered for related products such as the skins which is why pelt measurements are also taken by Leather and Shoe Research Association (LASRA) to test whether the younger skins might be of higher quality, Schreurs says.

The economics of production for the New Generation Beef system will be investigated as a masters project for Josh Hunt and fellow masters student Sam Pike is investigating the carcase and meat quality aspects of the research programme, which is supported by the C Alma Baker Trust and Beef + Lamb Genetics. Slaughtering at about 12 months after the period of early growth when the animal’s physiology is more responsive to feed for growth means efficiency can be optimised, while potentially minimising greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient leaching associated with cattle finished over longer periods, Schreurs says. Ideally there would be flexibility in the system to send cattle for processing early to avoid a winter pinch in feed supply, or to have animals leave the farm before winter periods when soil damage could occur or alternatively extend out the growing period to take advantage of a spring flush to add weight to the young cattle.

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STOCK VET VOICE

Overcoming Salmonella In August Northland vet Rory Dean was called out to a farm and diagnosed salmonella.

e details his and the farmer’s response to the extremely contagious disease that was carefully treated and managed for a positive outcome. During an unusual dry spell in August, farmer Joel Courtman, who milks 470 cows, decided to start grazing 30 hectares of new grass, first time with the milkers. Hay was already being added to the

feed in the mixer wagon and he decided to feed more out on the paddocks. After five or so days three cows were noticed being off their milk and were passing loose bubbly dung. Management policy is to draft anything that doesn’t look right. The cows were drafted and treated for acidosis and put in the hospital paddock. Two days later three more cows presented with the same symptoms and the other three cows

weren’t getting better. The next morning two more cows were found passing blood. “The vet was called and Rory came that day. He was very certain it was salmonella. Rory couldn’t stress enough on how contagious it was,” Joel says. “The cowshed was hosed and disinfected. The herd homes were disinfected by a motorbike boom sprayer every three days and after every new case was isolated. The animals stayed separate by themselves in the same paddock.” No animals from the original hospital paddock entered the main herd until four weeks after the full vaccination course. The infected cows were milked last every three days.

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0800 ZIMMATIC 85

“The team treated 16 cases, one of which died. Eight would have come back into milk but after a farm meeting it was decided all would be dried off and taken to the beef side of the farm. Hats off to my staff for going the extra mile,” Joel says. Vet Rory Dean says Joel and his team managed this outbreak excellently and the case represents how biosecurity can truly make all the difference with a salmonella outbreak. “The initial concern was acidosis, but after evaluating the diet, the herd dung consistency and taking some temperatures, I was quickly suspicious of salmonella. “After further investigation, it was clear that through no fault of their own, the team had also encountered a number of risk factors for salmonella. The addition of fresh lush feed, the presence of wild birds in and around the feed bunker, areas of standing water and cows under physiological stress (calving time) unfortunately made a ‘perfect storm’ for a salmonella outbreak. “On my initial visit, we treated cows initially with a long-acting antiinflammatory injection, 40 litres of fluids containing electrolytes, and an oxytetracycline antibiotic. These cows were immediately isolated. I set out a clear treatment/isolation protocol which was strictly adhered to by staff, which led to

Temperatures above 39.2C indicate a fever in a cow and require treatment.

the relatively low number of infected cows and deaths,” Rory says. Laboratory samples quickly returned as salmonella, and provided information on which antibiotics to use – in this case the antibiotic used, oxytetracycline, was effective. “After this laboratory confirmation, we decided to vaccinate the herd. Vaccination is useful in herds affected by salmonella, as it helps slow transmission and prevent new cases. It has to be carefully considered, as the vaccine can cause the cows to spike a slight temperature in the following 24-48 hours. “Encouragingly, a week later, the number of cases in the milking herd were slowing, and all but one of the animals had responded to treatment.” Unfortunately, nearly a fortnight after the initial visit, Joel called asking to discuss some sick calves. Many of the calves had a high temperature and seemed depressed. Some appeared weak. Affected calves were treated and isolated quickly. Samples sent off to the lab indicated there was a mixed infection of rotavirus and salmonella. These responded well to treatment and no deaths were recorded. “The textbook management of this case by Joel and his team is a main factor behind the low mortality in this case,” Rory says.

Vet tech Milly White disinfecting her overalls.

“Salmonella outbreaks can be devastating; often involving lots of dead animals, sick staff, lots of milk discarded, and high treatment costs. These were avoided in this case by good cleansing and disinfection, which interrupted the cycle of infection, and the early instigation of an aggressive treatment/isolation regimen.”

TREATMENT Identifying sick animals early and isolating them from the rest of the herd is the mainstay behind management of salmonella. The best tool is good, old fashioned stock sense, and a thermometer, Rory says. Your vet will create a plan for identifying, isolating, and treating affected animals which may consist of: • ANTI-INFLAMMATORY – An anti-inflammatory injection is really valuable in countering the fever in affected animals as well as improving demeanour, appetite and the effects of toxaemia. • FLUIDS – Cows can quickly become dehydrated, and Agger’s pumps make giving a sick cow 40 litres of electrolytes quick and easy. An appropriate electrolyte sachet will be prescribed/used by your vet. Remember, if a cow’s eyes are sunken, she may be up to 10% dehydrated, meaning she needs 40-50 litres for rehydration. • ISOLATION – Cows should be isolated into a ‘Salmonella Mob’ which is milked last. After milking these animals, thorough cleaning and disinfection of the milking shed is essential to minimise spread to the rest of the herd. • NURSING CARE – Remember to carefully lift down animals, and affected animals should have ready access to fresh water, and good food. Consider euthanising animals that have been down for more than 48 hours and are still depressed/dehydrated despite aggressive treatment. • ANTIBIOTICS – Your vet will tell you whether antibiotic treatment is indicated, and which drug to use based on the clinical picture, experience, and lab results.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

GET The bug Salmonella are bacteria that cause a variety of disease in many animals. In humans, salmonella can cause enteritis – diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and high fever. It is most commonly associated with poor food hygiene, and improper cooking in the developed world. It is a major source of disease in developing nations, due to poor water sanitation. Most healthy adults will overcome the disease within a few days, but those with underlying health conditions, the elderly, children and pregnant women can be more severely affected and may require hospitalisation. Most domestic animals can be affected by salmonella, Rory says. This is due to many of the salmonella bacteria being non-host-specific – they can successfully infect several species of animals. The bacteria can infect multiple species with serovar, or bacterial subtype. Unfortunately, one of the major subtypes infecting farmed cattle in New Zealand, Salmonella typhimurium, is very well adapted to cause disease in several species, including humans. The disease in adult dairy cattle typically follows a ‘classic’ progression: • Massive milk drop, depression, reduced feed intake, gaunt appearance, high fever (40-41C) • Diarrhoea, containing blood, gut lining (RFM afterbirth), dehydration, severely affected animals become recumbent and may die, despite aggressive treatment. Other syndromes of the disease occur in cattle, including abortion outbreaks and meningitis, but diarrhoea is the most common sign. Severity of disease is highly dependent on dose and virulence of the salmonella species involved, as well as many cow factors, he says. Farmers who have battled salmonella and learned from this progression are often the best at managing it; if the disease is treated early, good outcomes may be achieved. In calves under six months old, salmonella can cause a multitude of clinical signs, which may be confusing at first. Although diarrhoea is still the main clinical sign, calves may also suffer a fatal meningitis, joint infections and septicaemia. Buying in animals is a real risk factor for salmonella in young stock.

Diagnosis It is imperative to involve your vet early if you are concerned about salmonella, Rory says. By simply phoning the vet and explaining the signs, your vet can help put in place measures to slow the progression and spread of the disease. Attempting treatment without considering biosecurity, isolation, proper laboratory diagnosis, vaccination and targeted therapy will simply delay the resolution of the outbreak, if salmonella is the cause. Early diagnosis and management is essential to minimise losses and prevent staff from becoming sick. Your vet may opt to take samples of dung and or blood which will be sent off to the laboratory for evaluation. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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Alpine solution

STOCK HYBRID VIGOUR

Introducing genetics from two European alpine cattle breeds is intended to promote hybrid vigour. Anne Hardie reports. ows need to climb steep hills in a high-altitude climate on the Nelson farm managed by Anthony Lamborn, so he’s adding hybrid vigour to the herd with Montbeliarde and Brown Swiss genes. This year he bought 30 straws of Montbeliarde semen that resulted in 23 confirmed pregnancies, plus 20 straws of Brown Swiss that resulted in 17 pregnancies. They’re being used across a mix of genetics as the 800-cow herd is the liquorice-allsorts result from bringing together a mix of carry-over cows to establish a herd. At an altitude of 650 metres near St Arnaud, Anthony describes the farm as alpine dairy country, which is why he has selected two breeds that originate from mountainous country with a similar climate. It’s extremely cold in winter, hot in summer and the two breeds have a long history of foraging up steep hills with good production results. Plus, Anthony doesn’t mince words when he explains he is not a fan of Kiwicross which he reckons don’t last long and now lack the benefits of hybrid vigour from crossing breeds. “By using these different crosses as a true outcross, I’m recapturing the hybrid vigour that has been lost through inbreeding of genetic companies chasing high genetic worth animals.” So far, he’s used the new genetics mainly over Jersey cows in the herd, with a few over three-way crosses of Jersey-FriesianKiwicross cows. His favourite mix using Brown Swiss genes is using a Jersey-based cow with 25% Friesian and 25% Ayrshire. Montbeliarde is a tough cow originating from the mountains of France and their beefy progeny make them a dual-purpose animal. At calving, Anthony had buyers lined up to buy four-day-old bull calves, as well as 100kg bull or steer calves which would be sold for $550 a head. They’re

also renowned for their longevity and their milk is traditionally sought-after by cheesemakers. Anthony describes the Montbeliarde as a placid animal that holds its condition well while still producing good results. He says one New Zealand farmer posted on social media that their Montbeliarde crosses were producing more than 3kg milksolids (MS) a day. He bought straws from Germany through Samen Genetics in Hamilton and the Brown Swiss straws also came from Germany as he believes the American genetics for the breed produce animals that are too big. He selected a Brown Swiss bull called Honolulu; a partially polled bull with a tight fat-to-protein ratio which he matched mainly with Jersey cows. Purebred offspring at three years old were producing 550kg MS in their second lactation. “They are slower to mature – production is good in their first season but they don’t really hit their stride until they come in as a three-year-old.” As luck would have it, he has had mostly Brown Swiss bull calves born this year than heifers, though he has 10 leggy yearling heifers from last year’s breeding which will calve next year. “Both the Brown Swiss and Montbeliarde have longevity, which is something that has been bred out of the Kiwi cows.” The national herd needs more varied genetics, he says, which is why farmers are starting to introduce Montbeliarde and Brown Swiss, plus breeds such as the dualpurpose Fleckvieh and Abondance. While the main purpose of introducing new genetics, which cost $20 a straw, is to breed an animal well-suited to the conditions that will achieve good production, Anthony says it’s also about the enjoyment of breeding something different and following the results.

A solid Montbeliarde-cross bull calf.

Anthony Lamborn and one of this year’s Montbeliarde-cross calves.

Brown Swiss-cross calf.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Mystery Creek Events Centre

David Wood with his Milking Shorthorns.

ONFARM

e h t n i Faith s n r o Shorth David Wood’s father and grandfather had Milking Shorthorns, and he has carried on the tradition. He loves his cows, he tells Jill Galloway. Photos by: Brad Hanson

ot enough young people have passion for the business of dairying and breeding great cows, David Wood says. He farms Milking Shorthorns on the family dairy farm and stud at Hiwinui in Manawatu, called ‘Northbrook Milking Shorthorn’. “It is central to both Feilding and Palmerston North. We looked at going to a bigger herd down in the South Island, but remained in Manawatu as it is such a great location.” Wood likes Milking Shorthorns and is keen to stick with the breed. “They have a good temperament – they’re

quiet, they have durability – they last a long time in the herd. I have a 19-year-old cow who has calved every year.” He has cows from the same family line and if the heifer currently in the herd has a heifer calf this year, there will be six generations living on the farm. The breed has other attributes. “They hold condition well, they forage better and will go up the hill to get grass, rather than just stand at the bottom, and bellow to be shifted. “I like Milking Shorthorns. I grew up with them and have a passion for breeding an animal that is of interest to the commercial dairy farmer.”

They also have an ability to marble meat which is largely genetic. They are medium-sized cows, so pugging soil is kept to a minimum. The soil on the Hiwinui farm is mostly Marton silt loam. “My father (James Jackson Wood) and grandfather (Arthur Jackson Wood) came here to this farm in 1933 from Kumeroa. They came with about 35 cows. My grandfather registered a Milking Shorthorn stud in 1938. And I registered my stud in 1973.” An annual sale is held each year, with the cattle in demand. He sells 50 each year, with the cattle going from Northland to Invercargill this year. Milking Shorthorns can be red, roan and a few are totally white. Some people like one colour so he tries to put up all types in his stud sale. Wood says it is reassuring that people want the cattle. “The herd I have averages 410 kilograms of milksolids each year. “The cycle of production reaches a peak around early November but carries through for the whole season.” But production depends on how well the cows are fed. His feeding system is classified a System 3, using the DairyNZ rating. “There is an in-shed feeding system, the cows are supplemented with grass silage and a summer crop of turnips, and the cows graze on pasture which contains clover and rye grass. The pasture is renewed in a 10-yearly planning cycle.” In the future, the feed mix might include green feed maize. “Cows like a mixture of feed. You need a nutritionist consultant on-board to get the mix right. “Everyone has a lot of money invested in feed – so you have to get it right.” Part of the feed is a palm kernel/grain which includes some minerals. He is concerned about young people in the industry, who take the word of “someone in Hamilton” over their own experience. “They are told a cow is culled at nine years and often follow this advice and cull a cow when she is producing well. You need to use your own experience.” Most of the family have been involved in the farm. Wood calls himself the overseer, wife Johanna raises the calves, his daughter, Anja, is the herd manager, his son Karl worked on the farm last season. His oldest daughter Catriona helps out part time and his oldest son is milking cows in Canada. Karl now manages a 1000-cow herd near Ashburton. “He is learning a whole new system, managing a team and getting to grips with

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

David Wood and Kathryn Baker and children at Northbrook farm.

FARM FACTS Location: Hiwinui, Manawatu Area: dairy unit is 142 hectares, run-off 222ha. Herd: 400 cows, mostly Milking Shorthorns 70 are milked on a winter contract, the rest calve in early spring. Anja Wood putting the cups on during afternoon milking at Northbrook farm.

the people and farm – it is a steep learning curve,” Wood says. The farm at Hiwinui employs the family, a gateway student comes one day a week and they employ someone fulltime during the busy calving period. An increase in payment for fat is likely, he says, as the butter price has gone through the roof. “My Shorthorns produce milk that is 4.5 fat and 3.5 protein. I have been trying to improve the protein levels. But fat is back!” Only A2 bulls are used on the farm now, so the farm will produce only A2 milk in the long run. Wood’s father used to sell milk from the farm, and it was thought more digestible than other milks, he says. It is also good for making cheese. Animal health is not an issue as the cows “don’t have many problems. There is not a lot of lameness and few downer cows, and animal health is reviewed continually.” Wood says many urban people have no idea how farmers work during busy periods, such as calving.

“We go around the cows about 9pm at night. Then see the cows again first thing in the morning. Whether it is Saturday, or Sunday... we work. “If for instance a heifer is having trouble calving. I might get her in the bail, and calve her. You get a live calf, and the cow is in good condition. It’s a win-win and makes you feel good. Otherwise you wait for some hours, it worries you. And you could end up with a dead calf, and a cow that could be down.” Healthy cows rely on feeding them well and looking after them so they stay healthy. Farms concerned about Mycoplasma bovis are expecting to be more self-contained. He breeds all his replacement stock, using Herefords at the end of mating to tail the herd off, providing animals for beef rearing. Replacement heifer calves are kept at the farm’s run-off. “Look after your cows and they will look after you.”

Hosting the calves Hiwinui School usually has children coming to Wood’s farm to raise and lead calves. This year the pupils will do it again, but there will be no calves at the pet day run by the school because of concern about the spread of Mycoplasma bovis. Instead, Wood says the calves will be judged on the farm. Only lambs and goats will be welcome at school pet days.

Haylee Baker (10), Nikki Baker (13), Logan Baker, (7) and Lochlan Wood (9) with calves at Northbrook Milking Shorthorn

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

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FACT BOX

d in 2001 rship programme starte • The DairyNZ schola m the nts have graduated fro • More than 300 stude more than h wit e mm gra pro rship undergraduate schola ure 85% working in agricult re than imated to be worth mo • The programme is est tor annually $1.5 million to the sec 7 December September and close • Applications open 1 y or Waikato study at Lincoln, Masse for those intending to year ing ed courses the follow University in dairy-relat rsity masters e scholarships for unive • DairyNZ also provid students ultural through Taratahi Agric • For students learning re is the the g inin Tra iry d and Da Training Centre, Telfor s ard ining Excellence Aw DairyNZ Vocational Tra and the about careers in dairy • For more information .nz/people/ .co ynz air w.d ww e visit: scholarship programm dairy-careers

airyNZ is looking for the next generation of industry leaders for its university scholarships. The scholarships pay the annual university tuition fees up to $6325 to students and offer mentoring, support and networking. “We want people who are passionate about the industry, who will mix and network, who will be leaders and help others,” DairyNZ education facilitator Susan Stokes says. Although academic merit was important, students didn’t have to be A students to apply. “We want students to do their best academically but there is more to dairying than marks at university or school.” Although the government is now paying first year university student fees, she said school pupils should still apply. “Our scholarship is about so much more than the money. “What everyone says who is a DairyNZ scholar is that it’s actually the mentoring and being supported through their whole degree that makes the difference.” Susan meets with each scholar individually three times a year and is on call whenever they need her by phone and email. “We also set each first year up with a second or third year student who is also a scholar as a buddy so they have that extra help.” As well there are workshops and social events where scholars are introduced to industry professionals. “We want to help them through university and also transition them into the workforce.” She said 40% of DairyNZ scholars were from urban backgrounds but all had shown that the dairy industry was where they wanted to work before they applied. “They’ve been out with consulting officers, been to discussion groups. That’s what we’re looking for when we award these scholarships, that these young people love dairying.” Students must also show they have leadership skills and the ability to develop and promote dairying. Scholars are expected to visit schools and help out at career days encouraging others to think about a dairy career.

Peter Smit For Peter Smit, a DairyNZ scholarship meant much more than the money. He arrived at Lincoln University a few days later than everyone else (competing in the National MotoX champs that year had held him up) and knowing no one. Home town is Whakatane and he was the only kid from his school who had decided to go to the southern university. “When I got there I met all the other DairyNZ scholars, met Susan Stokes (the DairyNZ education facilitator) and it all helped. Suddenly I knew a few faces.” From a family dairy farm (mum Donna is a Fonterra director), Peter chose Lincoln for its rural vibe and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor in Agricultural Science including an honours in farm management. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Meg Simpson Meg Simpson grew up on a Dipton sheep and beef farm, milked cows in the school holidays and was a boarder at St Hilda’s Collegiate School in Dunedin. “I battled through school chemistry and when I was leaving school I was thinking about the air force or maybe engineering and then I happened to go to the Lincoln University open day. “No one at St Hilda’s had encouraged me to think about farming as a career. At the open day I was thinking maybe a commerce degree at DairyNZ Scholar Peter Smit on the Lincoln and then I went to a lecture on ag science and by the time I got North Otago dairy farm. back home to Dipton later that day that’s what I was doing.” He took four months off to travel overseas then started contract She knew she had made the right decision days into the course the milking on the family-owned 310-hectare effective dairy farm just south following year. of the Waitaki River mouth near Oamaru. “Suddenly I had found people who understood me. I was doing Last year, with 1010 Friesian and crossbred cows the farm did chemistry that made sense.” 453,500kg milksolids (MS) (449kg MS/cow) and Peter is looking forward In 2009 she graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science to seeing what the farm can do this season with 40 more cows. including honours in soil science. “We’ve been taking out the border dykes and putting in pivots along “When I graduated, five other girls from St Hilda’s crossed the stage, with some spray irrigation and k-lines. It’s about 130ha that we’ve all had done ag degrees and none of them would have been encouraged to converted.” do them by the high school.” Without a student loan, thanks to the DairyNZ scholarship, he could As a DairyNZ scholar she went back to the school and talked to pupils raise the finance to buy motorbikes, a ute and have an overdraft for the about dairying, hopeful of changing attitudes. day-to-day running of the farm. If it was Lincoln that got her into a farming career, it was DairyNZ Managing four staff (three are into their third season with him) and a that focussed it on dairying. seasonal calf rearer, Peter credits his degree in helping him keep on top of She had found out about the DairyNZ scholarships by looking at the things. Lincoln University scholarship webpage but at that stage had not been “A lot of what you study for exams, you don’t really use on farm but thinking about cows. then, when you think about it, it all adds up to the knowledge you have. “That’s how the scholarship changed me. It’s about so much more “If I’ve got a problem I have the skills to research solutions, and I than the money. It’s about the people and the dairy industry. probably look at things differently, question things more. “I had Bill Barwood and Joy Piper from DairyNZ looking after me and “Mum is pretty pleased I went and got a degree.” they really helped me with all the options in the science papers and gave Long term he would like to own his own farm but at the age of 25 he me a direction. knows it’s a way off and the running of the dairy is keeping him busy “And there was the networking as well and meeting people. Don’t get enough. Entering the Dairy Industry Awards is on his to-do list. me wrong, the money is nice, but I had friends who had scholarships “This is probably the best place in New Zealand to have a dairy which were just farm. the money and this “We have no major weather events, not too much rain, lots of one was so much sunshine but it usually doesn’t get above 20deg in summer so it isn’t better.” too hot and when it gets dry we have cheap and reliable water to At the end of irrigate with.” her degree she The cows are wintered across the road on fodder beet with the was offered a PhD neighbour doing the shifts. Otherwise it’s an all home-grown-grass position at Lincoln diet for the cows except for 150kg/cow of silage bought in last year but the dairy farm and 250kg/cow of palm kernel which this year is being replaced she was working mostly with a by-product from the nearby Fonterra mozzarella plant. on part time near He says meeting other DairyNZ scholars, having Susan help him Dunsandel offered Centre for Dairy Excellence farm consultant and DairyNZ with paper selection for his degree and networking with industry her a full time job Scholar Meg Simpson. people all helped him at Lincoln. and she took it. “The Dairy NZ scholarship really pushes you to excel. Susan made “It was the time sure I kept my marks up. I couldn’t rest on my laurels.” The scholarship of the Global Financial Crisis and job offers were slim but I couldn’t bring also smoothed his way into working full time. myself to going back to university for another five years.” He is now a member of the Glenavy Young Farmers and is involved in One dairy farming job led to another and then in 2016 she joined the his adopted community, which is very far away from home. Centre for Dairy Excellence in Geraldine as a farm consultant and is now “Mum and Dad do come and visit a few times a year and see what I’m supporting the Allflex New Zealand cow collars with the company. up to.” “Last week I was in Hamilton and Martinborough, this week I’m in He is still in touch with Susan and some of the other DairyNZ scholars Southland and next week I’m in Victoria, Australia. and is hoping to be able to help out other Lincoln students needing 10“All the time with science I’m thinking about how it can be useful on week dairy placements to fulfil the practical part of their degree. farm. He’s also been back to his old high school in Whakatane to encourage “There has to be real outcomes for dairy farmers, not just tech for pupils there to consider dairying as a career. tech’s sake, or data for data’s sake. That’s what I’m really enjoying. Find “Once a DairyNZ scholar, always a DairyNZ scholar I guess.” real world applications for science for dairying.” Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

Levno’s milk system monitoring provides valuable live data, including plate cooler milk inlet and outlet temperatures; cooling water inlet temperature, silo milk temperature, milk volume as per cent of the silo’s capacity and in litres, agitator status, milking status, and more. (Photo supplied bt Tru-Test).

FARM GEAR DEVICES

The internet of everything Gizmos galore now connect a vast range of operations via the internet. Tim McVeagh looks at just some of the technologies available with dairy farming applications.

n estimated 8.4 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices were available world wide by 2017, with a projected 50b by 2020. Like a lot of the new technology it’s suddenly upon us, rapidly developing, and offers great potential. So what is IoT and how can it benefit the dairy farmer. Massey University’s Chair of Computer Science Professor Hans Guesgen explains the IoT: “We are all familiar with the internet where we exchange emails and connect to a server to learn, socialise, or do business. “With the IoT, instead of restricting access to people, devices also connect to the network. These devices are commonly small ones with limited capabilities, and have sensors detecting phenomena like light, temperature, humidity, and motion. They may allow the triggering of some action, like opening a valve.” Devices applicable to dairy farming will be found in or on farm vehicles, plant and machinery, paddocks, vats, fuel tanks, water tanks, irrigators, water lines, staff, feed silos, livestock, weather stations, electric fences – in fact pretty well everywhere. It’s no wonder the IoT is sometimes referred to as the Internet of Everything. The three main components of the IoT are: 94

• Things: Devices that can connect wirelessly or wired to a wider network; for example, a temperature probe in a milk line. They may have unique addresses based on standard communication protocols, and may be traced through the internet by RFID transponders. • Network: Like a router in the home situation, the network connects multiple things to the cloud. • Cloud: This refers to remote servers in a data centre, storing, analysing, and acting on the data. “Little data”, the small bytes of simple data generated by things, is condensed and tracked in the cloud over time to become “big data”. This allows millions of data points to be analysed to monitor and control processes more effectively. Connecting devices to the network has traditionally been by WiFi, radio networks, cell phone or Bluetooth. These have limited range and are more expensive than the newer low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) that cover most of the country. This allows data from the devices to be transmitted more cheaply and using less power than cellular networks, and over longer distances. Examples of these are Spark’s LoRaWAN and Kordia’s Sigfox. A suitable network must be used based on data rate, power

consumption, range, and frequencies available. Devices do not need to be on the same network to communicate, as cloud services can be used to connect the devices. There are a lot of technical hurdles to overcome around network protocol, although there has been a lot of progress in terms of standardisation. One intriguing aspect of the IoT, is that systems may be contained within a farm, without being connected to the internet. “The farmer can set up a dedicated network on the dairy farm that has nothing to do with providers, but acts as a hub to connect to a provider. Network coverage for dairy farms is not a limiting factor where most of the communication will be within the farm. Only when the data is sent to other providers for analysis, is internet service needed”, Guesgen says. “The government through its broadband investment so far has done a lot to bring much better broadband into rural NZ, but everyone including the government knows more needs to be done,” Microsoft’s national technical officer Russell Craig says. “There’s lots of activity looking at ways in which those areas in the country that don’t have good broadband, particularly in farming communities, can get it. That’s a problem that will be resolved through a mixture of different technologies including

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

cellular, satellites, more local wireless providers, and from a Microsoft perspective a technology called TV White Spaces. This refers to the unused radio spectrum below 700Mhz, once used for analogue TV transmission.

How will the IoT benefit dairy farming? The European Union estimates that for agriculture, the IoT will allow an income increase of about 20% and a reduction in expenditure of 10-20%. A third benefit is to demonstrate a reduction in environmental impact and environmental improvement as new measurable data becomes available. Some IoT examples from New Zealand and further afield, that are already here, or on the way: • Livestock location tracking: An animal’s location can be tracked with the help of an IoT collar or ear tag, which is GPS and RFID-enabled. As well as location, monitoring a cow’s movements can be used in heat and lameness detection, and with the right equipment, stock can be excluded from specific areas. It is an essential part of Halter’s fenceless farming system. • Heat detection: There is a range of IoT heat detection devices as reported in last month’s column, which fall into one of three categories: 1. Rump contact devices activated by bulling; 2. Monitoring of cows’ activity and other behavioural or physiological changes associated with oestrous; and 3. Monitoring of teaser bulls’ behaviour associated with oestrous. Most of these monitor behaviour and alert farmers of oestrous, with some activating drafting of cows ready for mating. • Calving monitoring: A Moocall Calving Sensor, fitted to the cow’s tail to assess motion synonymous with calving, sends a text alert to the farmer’s phone, about one hour before calving. From a laptop or smart phone, farmers can review calving history for each cow. • Animal health: American company VitalHerd has under development a wireless inter-rumen bolus which measures core temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, and stomachcontraction, rate every 15 minutes. Data is transmitted wirelessly to VitalHerd’s cloud-based herd-management software, to assess illness, heat stress, oestrous, calving status, rumen health. The boluses remain in place for the animal’s life. • Soil and atmospheric monitoring: Farmote’s “motes” are solar powered

Automatic stand alone weather stations like this Harvest Standard model present live data from the Harvest web page on computer or smart phone. (Photo supplied by Harvest).

poles which contain sensors for atmosphere, pasture, and soil monitoring, and are permanently positioned in paddocks. Sunlight, temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, soil temperature, and soil moisture is recorded. Motes automatically upload data to a mobilefriendly web site via a LoRaWAN network. • Milk monitoring: Palmerston North company Levno’s dashboard for farmers displays plate cooler milk inlet and outlet temperatures; cooling water inlet temperature, silo milk temperature, milk volume as per cent of the silo’s capacity and in litres, agitator status, milking status, and more. Levno signed up as Spark’s first IoT customer and is working with Spark to extend coverage. • Fuel storage monitoring: “Levno for Fuel” monitors fuel volume in farm tanks and stores this data in the cloud. Volume, in litres and percentage of tank volume; as well as positive and negative changes, (deliveries and discharges) are updated on the dashboard. Levno uses the LoRaWAN network. • Electric fence monitoring: Gallagher’s “Dashboard Fence” monitors the voltage and current from the energiser and up to six fence zones. Alerts can be set for each. Daily, weekly, and monthly graphs can be accessed; and the energiser turned on and off from a smart phone. • Water storage monitoring: Gallagher provide one of the wireless water storage monitoring systems available in New Zealand. Tank water volume data, as measured by pressure, is sent from up to nine tanks to a display unit mounted in a convenient place. A water pump can be

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

activated automatically to replenish any tank. • Water meter telemetry: Harvest is one of the companies which provide water meter monitors to present real time water usage data, with this being sent to the council for consent purposes if required. The stand-alone unit meets council regulations and has inputs for two flow meters, is solar powered, and uses the cellular network to send data to the Harvest web page. • Irrigation: Precision Irrigation’s Fieldnet app allows remote monitoring and control of irrigators. They can be started, stopped, application rates can be changed, and variable rate application plans modified, based on soil moisture data. Harvest provide a system which will turn off an effluent irrigator’s pump when there is a misfunction. • Self driving tractors: In 2016, John Deere alone had about 200,000 selfdriving tractors around the world. JD claimed a productivity increase of at least 10% with self-driving tractors, which are equipped with GPS and lowEarth satellite telematics navigation systems. This allows them to drive more accurately, avoiding overlaps and so not double sowing, or harvesting already covered rows. • Weather stations: Data from Harvest automated weather stations is transmitted on a 3G cellular network, and displayed on a web page. From the farm’s stand-alone base station a network of other IoT units can be built around the property using UHF radio. They are connected to the internet via the base station. Live data is displayed on the Harvest web page via computer or smart phone. • Security: There are security risks for our farmers, not so much in terms of the damage that can be done, but more privacy concerns. • The future: “The challenge is for farmers to dive down into all of this data and emerge with better decisionmaking”, Dairy NZ Scientist Brian Dela Rue says. “Middleware, a broad term for software with built-in artificial intelligence to gather big data and analyse and learn from it, promises to be the answer and work is emerging in this space. It’s potentially capable of pulling together data required for smart, timely decisions, weigh up the trade-offs and suggest tactical options. “The major challenge is to ensure that using this software is simple and it leads to improved decision making.” 95

DAIRY 101 BIOSECURITY

Mating, bovis-free

AI technicians and dairy farmers are taking extra precautions with the arrival of Mycoplasma bovis. Karen Trebilcock reports on the measures being taken.

n dairy farms throughout the They will also be country mating has started or is taking more care to about to start. But this year for make sure all of their the first time farmers are mating equipment is already with the threat of Mycoplasma bovis and clean, disinfected and everyone is understandably nervous about dried when they arrive keeping their herd as safe as possible. at your farm and the Although, so far, there have been no same when they leave. proven cases of the disease spreading You can help them through artificial insemination, breed out by making sure companies in New Zealand are changing there is warm water, their practices to try to make sure it’s not soap, disinfectant and going to happen. a clean towel ready for It’s also up to farmers to do their bit, not them to use. just for their farm but for every other farm Also make sure to their AI technician visits on their run. provide a footbath at the M. bovis is most-easily spread by point of entry/exit that animal-to-animal contact so having an is easily accessible that AI technician arrive at your dairy, after has in it disinfectant and visiting maybe five-plus farms on their run a scrubbing brush. already that morning, is thought to be a These are needed at low risk. your dairy for your herd However, there is the small possibility of AI and at the runoff if you are also using AI transmission from equipment soiled with for your young stock or dries there. animal bodily fluids so And if you believe the AI technicians will be risk is low in your area, taking extra care this and you haven’t been It’s not just about season to make sure using a foot bath all year, everything they bring it doesn’t matter. If your your farm, and your with them, including AI technician asks for it, biosecurity – it’s themselves, is spotless do it. It’s non-negotiable. about every other when they arrive. Because it’s not just farm they will visit Expect them to about your farm, and on their run that day. be wearing different your biosecurity – it’s gloves or aprons about every other farm which cover more of they will visit on their their body. This will keep their hands and run that day. overalls cleaner and will end up in your If you have any concerns about rubbish bin when they leave your farm. biosecurity with your AI technician

Mating has started or is about to start on New Zealand dairy farms.

contact the company representative directly. And, just as in the past, if you know there is the possibility of any infectious disease (such as salmonella or TB) on your farm you need to tell them as soon as possible. That won’t mean they will stop visiting, but it will allow added biosecurity measures to be put in place and your farm will likely be put at the end of the run so the risk of contamination to other farms is minimised. Results from the spring bulk milk testing for M. bovis are expected on or before November 1 in the North Island and on or before November 15 in the South Island

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

which for most farmers will be midmating. Testing began four weeks after the first tanker pickup on each farm and samples are being collected every two weeks with a total of six samples taken. Farmers with “not-detected” results will receive an email from their dairy company to confirm the disease has not been found in their samples at the end of testing. Farmers with M. bovis found in a bulk milk sample will be contacted by Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) as soon as the positive test result is found. They will then be advised whether further testing is required and what will happen. If M. bovis is found in your bulk milk test you should contact your breed company representative immediately, even if your AI period is nearing its end or is already finished. It is just common sense. MPI will advise you whether AI should or should not continue. Infected properties under a restricted place notice are prohibited from carrying out AI without a permit from MPI. Just as you are doing your bit, LIC and CRV Ambreed have announced their semen straws this year will have additional antibiotic in the semen diluent in an effort to further reduce the risk of any transmission from their bulls to your cows. LIC, which produces liquid (or fresh) as well as frozen straws, is testing all its semen on the day it is collected from the bull with results confirmed before the Make sure you have a footbath ready by your dairy for your AI technician.

LIC senior technician Rod Craw, who inseminates cows in the Tapanui and Clinton areas, wearing the new gloves.

semen is sent out to AI technicians and farmers. The bulls used for semen collection by both companies are in quarantine zones and have been extensively tested to make sure they are clear of M. bovis (and a lot of other diseases). If you choose to buy or lease your own bulls to finish the job, pick them carefully. Buy or lease bulls from closed herds, if possible. Make sure the bulls are wellgrown and have no signs of disease. Visually inspect them or have a trusted person do it for you. Try to make sure they have been born and reared on the property and have not been used for mating in other herds before coming on to your farm. Check the NAIT history of the animal and make sure the movement from the bull farm to yours will be recorded correctly. Ask about the biosecurity measures in place on the farm to see if there has been the possibility of contact with the

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2018

neighbours’ cattle over boundary fences and whether the staff are using footbaths and keeping equipment including vehicles clean when leaving and entering the farm. Consider asking for the bulls to be tested for M. bovis if you are worried – consult with your vet. When the bulls arrive on your farm quarantine them for at least seven days and ideally for two to four weeks before you use them for breeding. The stress of trucking will often make the symptoms of any diseases they may be carrying obvious. Call your vet as soon as possible if you become worried. Don’t just euthanise the animal and bury it – it’s best to know what you are dealing with. Also, think about maybe rearing your own bulls for future use. Buy some Jersey or Hereford straws this mating season but remember rearing and managing bulls can be problematic, especially if they will be on the dairy platform. Once bulls have finished mating consider sending them to the works or keep them for another year on your property. Selling them on, or sending them back to the original owner may spread any disease present on your farm to other properties. And hey, everyone, let’s be careful out there.

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FARM LIFE

by AgriHealth