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Find the sweet spot for your farm

SUNFLOWERS FABA BEANS, PLANTAIN AND OTHER FORAGES

SEPTEMBER 2018

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

CONTENTS

SQUEEZING THEM IN 42 ONLINE 10

Dairy Exporter’s online presence

GENETICS COUNT 28

MILKING PLATFORM 11

Thomas Chatfield goes looking for workers

Sam Sherrard welcomes a new recruit

Frances Coles looks to the golden weather

Micha Johansen ruminates on the tree fellers

NOTEBOOK 15

Opportunities around and off the farm

UPFRONT 16

NAIT: National’s dairy farmers challenge Act update

Guiney, Fonterra settle

Market Watch: Susan Kilsby talks hedging

BUSINESS 28

Europe: Genetics count with environmental restrictions

A world of challenges – We’re not alone

Netherlands: Farming on the water

A feel for the future

Companies link for a2 deal

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

A WORLD OF CHALLENGES 30 OUR COVER: Russell Phillips is on a journey to raise the content of nitrogen-reducing plantain on his farm near Dannevirke. See P50. Picture: Brad Hanson 3

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

SYSTEMS 42 Fodder beet: Squeezing them in 46

Adding flavour to silage

Contractors: Keeping everyone sweet

N leaching: Collective action

SPECIAL REPORT | THE SWEET SPOT

NEW USES FOR MUCK 42

Meeting the fat evaluation index

Focus on the grass

Risks and challenges may squeeze sweet spot

Expert Eye: Finding the sweet spot

Utilising every blade

ENVIRONMENT

SPECIAL REPORT

Finding the sweet spot

New uses for muck

Palm kernel cut start of evolution

CO Diary: Ins and outs of service bulls

60 Meeting the index 63 Focus on the grass 67 Risks and challenges may squeeze sweet spot 69 Finding the sweet spot 72 Utilising every blade

Carry-over cows: Milk machines

Improving your in-calf rate

Vet voice: Health after calving

STOCK

YOUNG COUNTRY 98

Where science comes first

100 Overseas experience: China is the new London

COLUMNS THE SWEET SPOT 59 Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

Market view

Expert Eye

CO Diary

Vet Voice

102 FARM GEAR: Heat detection: Time for action 106 DAIRY 101: Farm forestry: A long-term crop

GUIDES 54

Brassica and fodder beet

Annual, short rotation& Italian ryegrass

Perennial and long rotation ryegrass pasture

DAIRY SOLUTIONS 108 Phone fit for rough and tumble 109 Environmental focus for 20 years

WHERE SCIENCE COMES FIRST 98 Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

110 112

DIRECTORY PROPERTY 5

DAIRY DIARY

BROUGHT TO YOU BY FONTERRA FARM SOURCE

NZFARMSOURCE.CO.NZ/STORE | 0800 731 266

OCTOBER October 1 – District finals for the 2019 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest kick off around the country. Visit www.fmgyoungfarmercontest.co.nz October 2-6 – The World Dairy Expo is held in Madison, United States. More? visit www.worlddairyexpo.com October 11 – Lincoln University Dairy Farm has its spring focus day on the farm between 10.15am and 1pm. For more about the farm, visit www.siddc.org.nz October 11-12 – Miraka is holding focus days to help farmers achieve the most value from its farm excellence programme, Te Ara Miraka. On October 11 it will be held at the Suncourt Hotel in Taupo between 9.30am and 1.15pm and on October 12 at the South Waikato Sports and Events Centre in Tokoroa. More? Contact the milk supply manager Tania Cuthbert on 07 376 0075. October 15-19 – IDF World Dairy Summit in South Korea. More? visit www. idfwds2018.com October 17-19 – The New Zealand Royal A and P Show will be held in Hawke’s Bay. More? and to enter, visit www.showgroundsgb.co.nz

October 1 – Entries open for the 2019 Dairy Industry Awards, including the New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year, New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year. Entries close on November 30. More? about the awards and how to enter, visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz October 23-November 13 – Regional optimisation days are being held on the Dairy Business of the Year winners’ farms throughout New Zealand. Dates/ locations: October 23, Taranaki; October 25, Manawatu; October 30, Central Plateau; November 1, Waikato; November 6, Canterbury; November 8, West Coast; November 13, Southland. More? visit www.dboy.co.nz October 30 – Voting closes for DairyNZ board of director election. This year one farmer-elected director is being elected for the board. Levy paying voting opens on October 1 and results are announced at the DairyNZ AGM on October 31. More? visit www.dairynz.co.nz October 31 – Entries close for the 2019 Ballance Farm Environment Awards for most regions. The competition is held in 11 regions around the country to celebrate good farm practices which promote sustainable land management. A formal event showcasing the regional supreme winners will be held in June next year. More? and to enter visit www.nzfeatrust.org.nz

NOVEMBER November 14-16 – Christchurch A and P Show. For information about the show and to enter animals visit www.theshow.co.nz November 21 – Owl Farm in the Waikato holds another focus day to update on seasonal performance, plus research on the farm and plans for the demonstration farm’s future. More on Owl Farm visit www.owlfarm.nz November 26-27 – The North Island Pasture Summit is being held in Hamilton and is aimed at the cutting edge of pasture-based dairy farming. Day one is plenary sessions at Claudelands Event Centre and day two is workshops at Lye

Farm. The South Island’s Pasture Summit on November 29-30 will have its plenary session 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 27-28 – 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. Educational and topical seminars are being run throughout both days. More about the expo visit www.effluentexpo.co.nz

ONE SOURCE FOR GROWING GREAT RESULTS. Whether you are managing existing pastures, regrassing or planning your summer and winter feed crops, we have you covered. When every decision counts, we are your one source for trusted advice, expert services and great value supplies.

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TESTING THE LIMITS

Editor’s note

he thing I love about working in the agricultural industry is that’s there is a surprising story around every corner and behind many farm hedges farmers are trying something new and exciting. All over the country there are people who are not letting challenges get them down, they are getting up and facing them and coming up with innovative and interesting solutions and work-arounds. Some of the solutions come off and some don’t – but as long as it’s a learning experience, the effort is not wasted, all the experts tell us. In this issue we have lots of those enterprising people and initiatives – we hope you can learn from them and grow and excel in your own business. Take the Netherlands – worried for the world’s cities that are growing too big to handle the logistics of food supply and distribution, or becoming food deserts in an emergency, a Dutch company is building a floating farm on Rotterdam Harbour, where 40 cows will be housed, fed, milked and cared for while supplying 320,000 litres of yoghurt each year for the city and surrounds (P30). Might work and might not – but it could be the start of an interesting development in city farming. The futurists speaking at the Farmers Forum had some fairly depressing things to say – the future’s going to be more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, but on the upside, we will soon have a cheaper source of protein for the economically disadvantaged who can’t afford the best meat protein, and high-powered computers using artificial intelligence now have the computing grunt to take on and potentially solve all sorts of problems for us. In our crops and forages content, we profile some novel forages – sunflowers and faba beans – for higher protein silage and cover off how Canterbury farmers are boosting fodder beet yields using closer seed row spacings (P42). In an innovative Plantain Project, Dairy NZ and Horizons regional council are embarking on a plan to get the collective action of all farmers in sensitive catchments to plant 30% of their whole farm in Ecotain plantain – to see if they can lower N losses across the whole catchment, meet their consent conditions and improve their bottom line (P50). And Tim McVeagh’s Farm Gear column abounds with new and clever technologies to help farmers identify cycling cows and boost their in-calf rates. This month’s special report looks at farmers finding their sweet spot for their farm – be it in terms of stocking rate, system intensity or level of cost control. Farm consultant Chris Lewis nails it when he says, drill down into what’s best for you and your situation, benchmark and analyse, and don’t be afraid to change if you need to – but when you find your sweet spot, stick with it.

Jackie

NZ Dairy Exporter

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

@YoungDairyED

Sneak Peek - Next Issue: • Driving dairy careers: How to drive your career through the dairy industry • Vet Voice: Overcoming a salmonella outbreak in Northland

• David Wood and his milking shorthorns

@DairyExporterNZ

A gate for all seasons “A high in-calf rate is pretty important for me, good healthy cows and trying to be as environmentally friendly as we can be.” Those are the three big drivers for Jonathan Power. Jonathan runs 530 Friesian Cross on 143 hectares at Lismore, Mid Canterbury. When he took over the property as the sharemilker four seasons ago, the 40 aside herringbone was completely refitted with new plant. His earlier experience in an 80 bail rotary with a competitor’s drafting gate meant Jonathan already appreciated the value of autodrafting. With his farm goals in mind and the opportunity of a complete refit he wanted to make the best choice. He installed a Tru-Test Autodrafter. “We drove around a few farms and had a look at their systems. We were quite happy with what we saw and went with the Tru-Test one. We are very happy with it. Why did this steel work horse become first choice in a refit? Jonathan mentions a string of benefits to the quiet three-way pneumatic drafter.

Find out more at tru-test.com

• Foremost it simplifies operations in and around the shed keeping work flow and cow flow streamlined. • Secondly, the drafter helps him manage cow health, in particular proactive management of lameness and seasonal activities like mating and calving. • Finally Jonathan loves the ease of putting in a cows visual ID number into the phone, farm computer or in-shed keypad, then walking away knowing the job will be done. It’s uncomplicated freedom— time freed up for other jobs on the farm and away from the shed. Compare that with manual drafting. Constant interruptions to the routine in the shed and to cow flow out of the shed, having to remember every cow and be there physically to draft her. At mating season for example, even identified heats can be missed because of pushing and shoving and divided attention in the shed. One missed mating cycle due to a missed draft or a draft not going in the right direction

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

can leave farmers $170 or more per cow out of pocket for future milk production, or possibly result in an empty cow altogether. This is where the Autodrafter is a critical support tool for managing mating. Tail paint, kmar, estrotec, and other heat detection patches are the go-to visual aids to help farmers and staff identify cycling cows. Still, there is a gap. Identification is only half the process. It is all for nothing without reliable drafting. Jonathan uses the Autodrafter together with patches and it’s a breeze. “For mating, I don’t really need to do anything as long as I have got my patches and the cows are ear tagged, the Autodrafter will draft those cows that are on heat for me.” Another particular benefit of the automatic drafter in a herringbone set up, is that staff do not have to leave the pit, intervene or sort animals when they exit on masse. Once the Autodrafter is in place, both mental and physical stress in the shed can be greatly reduced. Staff can stay focused on milking, looking for the visual signs of mating and keep an eye out for any other animal health issues. Drafts can be set up from anywhere, in the shed on the keypad, at home on the office PC or in the paddock with Tru-Test’s MiHub Smartphone app. Farmers can have instant online access to a wide range of cow data which can be used to drafts using whatever criteria wanted. Jonathan loves this ability to draft on the move and in the moment.

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

“If I didn’t have the Autodrafter, I would miss the autonomy. If you have lame cows or cows on heat, I can put it in my app and forget about it. The gate will catch those cows. There might be a cow you see out in the paddock and you can note it in the app there and then or put the cow number in the key pad at the start of milking. The gate will draft her after milking rather than you having to think about it and find that cow physically.”

“For mating, I don’t really need to do anything as long as I have got my patches and the cows are ear tagged, the Autodrafter will draft those cows that are on heat for me.” Already the Autodrafter stacks up as helping Jonathan achieve a good in-calf rate and a good healthy cows. And it gives Jonathan time to work on creating a more sustainable operation. What’s more, over four years there’s been minimal maintenance and throughout the season there’s pretty much a constant job for the gate. “Coming September, we will be using the gate for drafting cows for metri-checking and pre-heats. And the usual, looking for lame cows.” If you want a set-and-forget reliable autodrafting gate, talk to Tru-Test Dairy Solutions.

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

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

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.

Anne Lee, P: 021 413 346 anne.lee@nzfarmlife.co.nz Karen Trebilcock, P: 03 489 8083 ak.trebilcock@xtra.co.nz Kate Robinson, P: 021 358531 kate.robinson@farmside.co.nz

Charlie on a recent bush walk at Lake Waikaremoana.

Digital and subscriptions assistant Charlie Pearson

FLORAL HARVEST John Evans, an arable farmer from MidCanterbury, flew his drone over his sunflower crop before it was harvested for silage. Here’s the beautiful result. See Dairy Exporter Facebook page.

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

At the end of 2017 Charlie finished a degree in communications with a major in marketing, at Massey University, Palmerston North. “Currently, I’m in charge of NZ Farm Life Media’s digital comms which means running our three Facebook pages, Twitter pages, and an Instagram account; updating the content on our two websites, editing the occasional video and writing a few pieces for Young Country. “I’m also on-hand to proofread articles when needed. On the subscriptions side of things, I do anything from taking phone calls to “cleansing data” (correcting subscribers’ addresses, in other words). I do a bit of everything, which is exactly how I like it. “I only work part-time at NZ Farm Life Media. I also do one day a week as a comms intern at Volunteering NZ in Wellington and on Wednesday evenings I’m at Arohanui Hospice. When I’ve got a free moment I like to read, write, bushwalk and play tennis (if the weather’s good).”

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: Charlie.Pearson@nzfarmlife.co.nz

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

MILKING PLATFORM BAY OF PLENTY

Happy onfarm, but looking for workers

Thomas Chatfield has had a great season, but his search for more staff has not been so fruitful.

’m sitting here at five in the morning furiously writing this on the deadline date before I sneak away to the snow for my first day off since calving started. So far the season has started really well and I can’t tell you how much smoother things have gone this year versus last season which was my first season on the farm. This season we have calved much faster than last year which makes all the hard work put in over mating last season worth it. At the time of writing this we are 60% ahead on last season. Per cow we are doing production that took till late September to achieve last season. So all in all I’m bloody happy with how things are going. Onfarm we are watching growth rates and soil temperatures and waiting patiently to open the cows up and really see how well they will produce. It hasn’t been all plain sailing and the ongoing issue has been staff. First, I would like to make the point that my staff I have on farm are great. They are hard-working and this calving have really stepped up when we have been flat out due to being at times two labour units short on the farm. And that’s been the issue – finding decent or even half-decent workers to employ. I have lost track of the number of interviews I have arranged and had people not show or make contact and when I reach out to them I get no reply. I am

honestly surprised to find myself in this situation. I’m on a well-developed farm with a brand-new cow shed, only 20 minutes from a major city and arguably one of the best beaches in New Zealand. Beaches not your thing, no worries the beautiful Rotorua lakes are only a 40-minute drive away. I have clean tidy houses all with heaters or fire places. I also tend to think I’m not a

The lack of quality staff seems to be nationwide issue. For the short term I am employing backpackers who for the most part have been awesome.

bad bugger to work for. We have a team of five onfarm, you’re never far away from a sleep-in or afternoon off. We run a 12 and two roster which will change to 11 and three after calving. And before any of you tell me I should shorten that, I have spoken to my staff and they like the roster as they know when their next days off will be and they like that it always falls on a weekend. What good is three days off in the middle of a week to an 18-year-old whose

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

friends all have the weekends off? I figured I wouldn’t ever have trouble finding decent staff. In talking to friends in the industry I’m not the only one suffering this same issue. The lack of quality staff seems to be nationwide issue. For the short term I am employing backpackers who for the most part have been awesome and we simply wouldn’t have managed without them but long-term I don’t see this as a real solution. Long-term we need to continue to encourage good keen people into the industry. We need to show them that the cow shit and hard work we do each day is rewarding and that pathways still exist to make a good living working on the land. We hear too often that the pathways are gone and not often enough of the success stories of people moving up through our industry and making a good living at the same time. Florian Gerhardt, one of Thomas Chatfield’s German backpackers who has been working in place of permanent staff this calving.

If anyone asks, I am a beef farmer.

MILKING PLATFORM SOUTH WAIKATO

Sam Sherrard has welcomed a new recruit to the farm after three years of once-a-day milking on his Ngaroma farm.

t is a busy time of the year for sure, when I Googled ‘phoning in a column’ the only hits were for some kind of advanced excel. A popular saying of mine is that if everyone knew how to use Excel Macros effectively, half of our white collar workers would be put out of a job overnight. Perhaps DairyNZ should fund computer training, to free up a huge swathe of the work force to come to the agriculture industry.

With a good deal of luck we have been able to secure a lease on some neighbouring land, a real advantage of farming in a mixed farming area. While milking robots are a solution for some, many roles in dairy cannot be automated – in the wider economy, however, automation and changing systems of commerce will mean many jobs will disappear. Our challenge is to make dairy and agriculture competitive with a town lifestyle. This means improving our image but also pay and working conditions. This season we have needed to recruit – three years of the OAD lifestyle was just too much for some people. Having a good network and the OAD regime meant we did not have to panic during the hiring process and we have learnt a bit along the 12

way. That said after two and a half months we are very pleased to be having a new team member moving in. Once we had optimised our advertisement we were fortunate to interview some good quality candidates, among them a good worker who was being paid 30c above the minimum wage in a demanding role for a multinational company. As an industry I think it is important that we work on our labour efficiency so we can have a nice gap on the minimum wage which I will add is slated to rise to $20 an hour by 2020. Recently I was discussing the weather with the mailman – he hand-delivers my weekly coffee! Something that brings him great joy “fine weather until the weekend”, he said, “but wasn’t last week terrible”. I countered that last week was not too bad, we have been enjoying a nice mild winter and positively dry compared to the continual deluge that was last winter. The mailman continued that the sun would only just peek through. Any day that the sun peeks through in August in Ngaroma is a good day! With a good deal of luck we have been able to secure a lease on some neighbouring land, a real advantage of farming in a mixed farming area. The timing for this has been fortuitous as we have been increasing the use of beef straws in our herd alongside artificial insemination in our rising two heifers to dairy sires. This will be a new challenge for us and

Oh, the comfort of the Vitara heater and radio – but needs regular magic fluid!

we look forward to having new markets to watch. We use a Vitara type jeep thing with tractor tyres to get us around the mud and hills, it has the advantage of being relatively cheap to run plus has a heater and a radio. These tyres are awesome but are not without their problems. Last week we had three punctures in five days which left us with two wheels at the shop for repair. After changing the tyres in the dark and finally getting on the road to feed the faraway mob of calves we turned out of our driveway and the truck ground to a halt. It started, but wouldn’t run, so a hike up the driveway (not flat by the way) to fetch the tractor was required. Once we had the calves fed we towed the truck up the drive and retired for the night. The next day I was able to revive the stricken jeep using a magic fluid known by the trade name Caltex 91 Octane. A lesson well learnt, never trust the gauge.

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

MILKING PLATFORM SOUTH CANTERBURY

Bring on the golden weather

Despite the rain and mud, Frances Coles and Aaron reckon they’re having a dream run this spring, with strong grass growth and a great calving.

t the risk of being ‘that person’ who irritates almost everyone else in the country, I have to say we’ve had a pretty dream run this spring with amazing weather for calving. But you can be sure that our team is not taking it for granted, having had the shoe on the other foot last year, with more than enough rain to test the most hardened of farmers. So for everyone reading this after battling through another day of rain and mud, keep up the great work – your golden weather could be just around the corner. We’re well over half way through calving now, with many farmers around our district reporting an early start this year, perhaps due in part to the settled weather and mild temperatures. Grass growth through the winter has been great, we’ve managed to get plenty of our fodder beet ground worked up already, and calves are bounding around on pasture, enjoying their new-found freedom from the confines of the calving pens. A reshuffle of our business structures for this season has seen our workload decrease somewhat from recent years, but our enthusiasm hasn’t waned, with a few new projects on the go. As I previously mentioned in an earlier column, one of our equity partnerships has made the move to farm ownership this year, and it’s been a hive of activity on that farm over the past couple of months, with some fencing and irrigation development underway, shareholders visiting from all around the country, and plans underway for some riparian planting later in the season. Then there’s been all the usual things

to do that come with moving to a new farm – familiarising ourselves with the property, getting health and safety systems set up, meeting and greeting service representatives for various companies associated with the farm and all its infrastructure, making sure the mail has been redirected, the team are settled in their new homes, and trying to remember a new milk supply number. Aaron and I have been fortunate to never need to move too far as we’ve progressed through our dairying career, and we were settled on our own farm before we started a family, so I have the utmost respect for all the people who move far and often in the pursuit of their business dreams. Hopefully by now, everyone who has moved this season is starting to feel settled in their new communities, and as the hectic workload of calving starts to settle

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

into a more manageable routine, I’d urge you all to take any opportunity you can to get off farm and meet/catch up with friends. Head to the pub for some fish and chips, get along to that fundraising quiz night, keep an eye out for discussion groups, PrimaryITO classes, DWN workshops and other meetings that will start to pop up on the calendar. Farming can feel like an all-consuming beast sometimes, and it’s really important to get out and have some social connection to recharge the batteries. Just think how often you’ve heard people comment at a social event that they were quite tired and thinking about not coming along, but then so glad they made the effort. And if getting out and about isn’t an option, then pick up the phone and have a yarn to someone. Farmers are prone to caring for everyone else before themselves – their animals, their team and their community, but you can’t fill up other’s cups when your own is empty.! I urge you to take some time this spring to fill your own cup, so that when someone else needs a top-up, it’s coming from an overflowing saucer.

With good weather a new farm progress has been good.

The tree fellers managed to take out slightly more than six trees.

MILKING PLATFORM TARARUA

Timberrrr!! Micha Johansen’s partner did a spot of tree felling, and she regrets not being there to supervise.

he first few calves have hit the ground, signalling the end of winter break, and the start of the crazy season. Of course, our crazy season is quickly put into perspective when people talk about springer mobs that are larger than our entire herd, but that’s how we like life. Smaller, slower, and hopefully less stressful. Our first rearer calf of the season is out of Miss Penelope Boo, our Hereford-Friesian, and has been named Peanut Butter Jelly. PBJ. Penelope Boo Junior. Get it? No, TJ doesn’t like the name either. TJ also isn’t particularly fond of the stick he gets from the locals about his Hereford dairy cow, but he’s getting used to it. And it’s best that he does because Cleo may, or may not, be joining the herd this season, it all depends on whether the neighbour’s bull jumped the fence at the right time or not. Regardless, Peanut Butter Jelly is 3/4 Hereford 1/4 Friesian, and absolutely gorgeous. We have no idea what we’ll do with her in the future, but she’s likely to be the one the stock agent says “Ooh I could get $xx for her” and I reply “sorry she’s not for sale”, at which point TJ throws me a look of panic, and prays that I don’t launch into the ‘When Miss Penelope Boo was a calf’ story, again. Over the winter we finally got a chance to get some trees along the tanker track 14

felled, which will please Fonterra, and their tanker drivers. So many times over the last two years, TJ and I have walked that track. So many times I have pointed out the six trees to be felled. So many times. The day of the tree felling, I found myself sick with man flu, so I was inside on the couch feeling miserable. I’m a right sook when ill. Outside were four men with chainsaws, and a digger. I was nervous, but TJ knew the trees to be felled, so I thought all will be fine. Sometimes all is fine. Other times, I’m a right idiot. The next day I was feeling a wee bit better, so off I went for a walk and discovered 15 trees cut down. FIFTEEN! With four left standing. FOUR! Cue my ‘face of gobsmacked disappointment’ which received a “what” in response, from TJ. “Six! You were supposed to cut down six!” “Well you weren’t here” he replied. Sigh. Well it’s not like I could stand them back up again, and I suppose we have our firewood sorted, for the next 300 years. Men! Unsupervised! With machinery! Need I say more? Before we have everyone thinking we are environmental terrorists, we did plant 500 riparian plants this year. It turns out I was

a little over-enthusiastic after planting 250 in 2017, so dutifully ordered 500 for 2018. Turns out two people planting 500 plants is way harder than two people planting 250 plants. Way harder. So our order for 2019 is back down to 250. I may be an idiot, but I’m no fool. We also have willow and poplar poles for slope stabilisation, and some tree lucerne for shelter to be planted out. So far they have been sitting down at the calf shed for over a month. Apparently they won’t plant themselves, no matter how long you wait, or how much you hint to TJ that he probably should get on to it. We had thought that next year we might borrow some children and put them to work, but truth be told, that actually sounds harder than just doing it ourselves. We’re talking kids, and slopes, and bogs, and spades, and no, I don’t think I want to go there. We have also planted a few more trees in our orchard, an improvement on the one plum I planted a year ago that the steers have done their best to destroy. I planted grapefruit, mandarin and lime on the lawn, much to TJ’s disgust. However the lawn gets by far the most sun, and I did leave plenty of room to be able to drive around them with the ute and trailer. Down in the actual orchard, we now have quince, fig, pears, blueberries and feijoas, with plans to plant a few more varieties, such as cherry, apricot, nectarine and peach. My long-term goal, of selfsustainability as much as possible, is slowly making progress. Certainly, not a lot beats having contributed, at least something, to a daily meal, even if it is endless silverbeet or parsley, and don’t let TJ tell you otherwise.

Men! Unsupervised! With machinery! Need I say more?

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

NOTEBOOK FARM CHAT

ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPS With the arrival of August, 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

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

YOUNG FARMER OF THE YEAR District finals for the 2019 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest kick off around the country. Visit: www. fmgyoungfarmercontest.co.nz

COLLABORATING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Sustainability specialist Rebecca Hyde believes improved collaboration between sectors and industry can help achieve better environmental outcomes. Whangarei A&P Society is hosting Rebecca to a Rural Business network event on Thursday September 27 at Barge Showgrounds Events Centre. Oxford, Canterbury-based Rebecca works with Ballance Agri-Nutrients and is involved with the northern South Island Beef+Lamb NZ Farmer Council, FAR R&D advisory committee and Next Generation Influencer as part of Our land and Water for the National Science Challenge. More? Phone (09) 438 3109.

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INSIGHT

UPFRONT NAIT

Changes to NAIT legislation passed in the House, but was challenged vigourously by Opposition MPs.

Nats challenge Act update Words by: Bob Edlin

Minister Damien O’Connor said. National agreed that when a farmer sells ational’s dairy-farming MPs animals or moves animals to another farm, were keen to be rounded up that farm must be NAIT-registered. It also to speak against the National supported compliance and infringement Animal Identification and requirements. Tracing Amendment Bill when it was But it opposed search and surveillance rushed through Parliament in mid-August. powers and proposed an amendment The bill was given its first reading on to limit those powers to situations August 15. Before the end of the next deemed by the minister to be “in the day it had been given its second reading, national interest”. This would enable debated by the House sitting in committee, the Government to act if there was a and passed after a third reading, challenging issue requiring national action The legislation, designed to support the in the national interest. programme to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis Another National proposal would have from the country’s cattle herds: required NAIT officers to have reasonable • Removes the requirement for search cause before entering a property under a warrants under the NAIT Act to be in a warrantless search. particular form; National successfully moved one • Aligns warrantless inspection and amendment which requires the minister search powers with to report to the Search and Parliament next Surveillance Act year on how the ‘Wherever I travel in the 2012; and expanded powers country, farmers tell me • Clarifies that are being used. that they want NAIT to be all NAIT animal Several MPs improved. I’m listening to movements from were among them, and today’s legislation one location to any those who other location must contributed reflects the need for change.’ be declared to NAIT. to the debate The Government during the bill’s said spring calving rushed passage: was the reason for not referring the bill to “Wherever I travel in the country, a select committee to enable farmers and farmers tell me that they want NAIT to others to make submissions. be improved. I’m listening to them, and Calving required “all the tools we have today’s legislation reflects the need for can properly be used to track, test for, and change,” O’Connor, a former dairy farmer, eradicate Mycoplasma bovis”, Agriculture said.

Nathan Guy.

Damian O’Connor.

“This is not about increasing, in any unfair way, anyone’s powers, but it is about correcting anomalies in legislation between the NAIT legislation and the Search and Surveillance Act to align those effectively.” “Federated Farmers contacted me, saying,

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

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Helping grow the country 17

‘We believe that the changes you are making, to allow penalties to be imposed on a farmer that shifts animals from a NAIT property to one that doesn’t have a NAIT identification are unnecessary.’ No, they are necessary because, while it’s illegal to transfer from a NAIT property to a property that doesn’t have a NAIT number, there is no ability in the legislation to penalise or prosecute people for that. “The prosecution can occur only if people don’t notify when they move animals from a NAIT property to another NAIT property. But if you move them from a NAIT property to a property that doesn’t have a NAIT number, you can’t penalise encroachment on privacy and into farmers’ them. It’s a ridiculous situation, and it’s livelihoods. We haven’t been given clear one of the technical amendments that examples as to why this suddenly needs to we’re moving through.” be passed through in urgency.” Nathan Guy, David Bennett, Otaki National MP, National MP dairy farmer and for Hamilton ‘ I remember the speeches. former Minister for East, chairman Yep, there’s a real Primary Industries of Parliament’s intrusion, civil liberties, said: “What’s been Primary really interesting in Production people’s privacy – all this debate – and it Committee and that stuff. Now, they’re, covers the Search and owner of two effectively, wanting to Surveillance Act of dairy farms near insert those provisions so 2012 – is that all of Te Awamatu said: that a NAIT officer can the coalition parties in “These search turn up unannounced and 2012 voted against it. and surveillance Labour, New Zealand powers are, without cause and can First, and the Greens basically, seize property. ‘ were all against that unfettered powers Act, and now… which enable an “I remember the organisation to do speeches. Yep, there’s a real intrusion, civil what it likes… liberties, people’s privacy – all that stuff. “They were designed in legislation that Now, they’re, effectively, wanting to insert was for the national interest to protect those provisions so that a NAIT officer can New Zealand in cases of attack, basically. turn up unannounced and without cause When we’re talking about the case of New and can seize property.” Zealand farmers and incursions, there do “We have grave concerns about the need to be powers for the Ministry for further expansion of warrantless powers Primary Industries and other officials but and we feel these are a significant they need to have rules around them,

Tim van den Molen.

Barbara Kuriger.

otherwise this would be seen as a blatant attack on farmers. “ Barbara Kuriger, National MP for Taranaki-King Country and a shareholder in two family owned farming businesses: “Recently I’ve supported a farmer in my electorate with a herd that’s contracted M bovis. I can tell you, it’s absolutely devastating. Farmers love their cows and this is hurting. I think that what is happening with this piece of legislation is another sting in this whole process, and I’m really disappointed. “The industry is already taking steps. Yes, it could have been better and yes, we need to make it better, but why can’t we work with people?” Nicola Willis, National list MP and a former Fonterra executive: “The minister has assured us that when people are bringing their animals to school for calf competitions … it will be exempt from this regulation. What I’m unable to see when I look at what’s here in the law … is where that exemption in fact lies. Because of course, what the law says here is that this will be for a ‘NAIT location’ or ‘other location’. ‘Other location’ to my mind – and I’m sure to the minds of many reasonably minded and pragmatically minded farmers – would include a school. “So if there is to be an exemption of the sort that the minister has assured the chamber about … it’s important that that is on the record. This goes to the very heart of what regulation is about.” Tim van de Molen, National MP for Waikato and a former dairy farmer: “I would encourage him [O’Connor] to seriously consider and adopt the Rt Hon David Carter’s amendment providing a sunset clause to this particular set of amendments we’re proposing today … It provides a compromise to say, ‘Well, look, let’s get this in place, but, actually, let’s put an end date on it subsequent to seeing the new proposed legislation’.”

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

PASTURE September 2018

Grow your own summer greens for better nutrition, at less cost

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F resh g reens g row n and ha r vested out of the back ya rd a re a lways going to be cheaper than ta keaways, and more nutritious too. T hat goes for both you r fam ily, and you r cows. I n fact, we bel ieve t hat you ca n g row 501 Ch icor y for less t ha n ha l f t he pr ice of a ‘ta keaway’ feed ( l i ke PK E) t hat comes on a tr uck. T here a re t wo steps to ach iev i ng t h is i n t he com i ng season. T he f i rst step is croppi ng t he r ight paddock w it h 501 Ch icor y – look for r u nout past u res t hat you k now won’t g row wel l over su m mer. T he second step is produci ng a h igh y ield i ng ch icor y crop. I n most sit uations, ch icor y ca n y ield 12 t DM / ha, much more t ha n old r u nout g rass g row i ng at perhaps 5 t DM / ha over su m mer. T h is g ives 501 Ch icor y a n

adva ntage of 7 t DM / ha over t he old past u re. A ssu m i ng esta bl ish ment costs of $10 0 0/ ha for a ch icor y crop, t h is prov ides su m mer feed for just 14 c/ kg DM. By contrast PK E is present ly pr iced at over 35 c/ kg DM. Not on ly is 501 Ch icor y cheaper, it is bet ter q ua l it y feed too. M E is 12.5 a nd cr ude protei n approxi mately 20 -26%, compa red to PK E w it h a n M E of 11-11.5 a nd cr ude protei n of 14%. Last, but by no mea ns least 501 Ch icor y presents l it t le risk to you r F EI g rad i ng whereas Da i r yNZ recom mend feed i ng less t ha n 3 kg PK E /cow/day to avoid risk i ng F EI pena lties.

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

If you haven’t yet secured your fodder beet seed for spring sowing, there’s still time to obtain Robbos but you’ll need to get your order in quickly. The ‘Boss’ of fodder beets has made a real name for itself this year because of its superior disease tolerance and leaf holding capability, as well as excellent yield for a medium DM type beet. Leaves are important for both cattle grazing the crop, and overall fodder beet performance – they are the main source of the crop’s protein, helping offset high levels of carbohydrate in the bulb, and they also improve crop yield through photosynthesis. Robbos has very high feed quality (12-13 MJ/ME) and typical yields are 18-24 tonnes DM/ha, with higher yields being achieved under irrigation and with very good management.

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

INSIGHT

UPFRONT FONTERRA

Words by: Anne Lee

Guiney, Fonterra settle

ree from the gagging order of an injunction Canterbury dairy farmer Leonie Guiney has been able to reveal parts of a letter sent to each Fonterra Shareholders’ Councillor earlier this year. Guiney, a former Fonterra director, was gagged along with a number of media outlets after Fonterra took out an injunction through the High Court restricting her from what it claimed would be “breaching her duties of confidentiality” to Fonterra. It’s understood the injunction related in part to the possibility of the contents of the letter being made public. An email letter sent to farmer shareholders shortly afterwards, by the then chairman John Wilson explaining the injunction, brought a swift reaction from Guiney and a counterclaim of defamation. But in mid-August, Guiney and Fonterra reached a settlement, with Fonterra agreeing to pay all of Guiney’s legal costs and the injunction lifted with no restrictions on her. Her letter to the FSC had confirmed she had not signed off the final dividend for the 2016-17 year, she says. “I said that I’d felt it imprudent to pay out such a high percentage of the earnings with a very high likelihood of significant near-term impairment on the Beingmate valuation and the unknown, but pending, outcome of the Danone claim.” She says the letter outlined concerns she’d had with the Beingmate investment – concerns that stem back more than 18 months. Guiney says she had persistently sought answers and she had concerns that included assumptions made over Beingmate valuations.

Guiney was not endorsed through the board’s director candidate selection process at last year’s elections and new rules related to timing meant she was ineligible to put herself forward for the election. In January this year the extent of Beingmate’s troubles began to be revealed when the company Leonie Guiney: Settlement sees Fonterra agreeing to pay all of Guiney’s announced a legal costs and the injunction lifted with no restrictions on her. significant earnings downgrade and expected losses of $171 million-$214m. participants. It was between then and Fonterra’s In an excerpt she shared from the interim results in March that Guiney sent letter Guiney says, “The defensive culture her letter to the council and the High I describe is a symptom of a failure to Court injunction was served. prioritise our use of capital in areas of In March, at Fonterra’s interim results, strength over many years – a symptom of Beingmate’s attempts to defend repeated investment problems in areas beyond our capability with manifested increasingly poor outcomes for New as a $405m Zealand farmer owners.” impairment on Culture change was about being able the co-operative’s to analyse and accept performance in a books. candid manner so that issues could be Guiney says she dealt with in a timely way. told the council “We have some very significant strengths she was sending that could be enhanced to deliver to the the letter because income of our farmer owners. But I argue she wanted this requires a different set of priorities. Fonterra to learn “It also requires a complete change immediately from the Beingmate saga. in attitude to the stewardship of owner She says she told the council the capital.” governance culture had imposed a heavy Fonterra’s woes are both strategic price on internal challengers of the official and cultural, she says, and the recent line and that shareholders had to take announcement to suspend the remaining ownership of the future and have the dividend so late in the financial year is “uncomfortable conversations and demand a symptom of those issues given farmers accountability at governance level”. themselves were querying Fonterra’s Guiney’s views, for a need to address guidance of a 25-35c dividend at half year strategy and reassess investments expressed and issuing of an interim dividend of 10c back in early March in her letter to the when a half year loss was being reported. council, are being echoed by industry “With a write down on Beingmate

‘We have some very significant strengths that could be enhanced to deliver to the income of our farmer owners. But I argue this requires a different set of priorities.’

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

value of $405m, a $183m cash cost from the Danone settlement, and interest cost annually in excess of $300m it was extremely difficult to see the prudence in the dividend guidance of 25-35c at half year. “Every 10c per share of dividend is $160m dollars on issued shares of 1.6 billion. “Even though write downs are noncash, the company value would still go backwards if you paid out up to $560m in dividend. “Normal commercial behaviour with a write down like that would be to suspend dividend and plan to pay down debt equivalent to the level of the write down to maintain the company value, especially when not meeting the stated debt equity

ratio targets and with uncertainty over potential further write downs on the Beingmate investment.” Guiney says it was frustrating as a shareholder that the response to finally suspend the dividend came so late. “And we also end up where milk price has to be used to subsidise profit. It suggests the existence of milk price as a back stop for management and the board – that makes for poor financial discipline.” She agrees with some analysts who suggest Fonterra simplify its strategy to one that serves its co-operative members and is a company that competes in its areas of strength. “It has been straddling two strategies – a competitive ingredients business and an aspirational consumer brands business

where it has lacked competitive capability and has relied on a milk pools strategy with undefined benefits to the NZ owners. “But it’s also been straddling two structures, a co-operative with the appropriate principle of share ownership reflecting milk supply, but a focus on a listed share as an investment vehicle confusing drivers for management. “Dogged defence of strategy, particularly the disastrous investments in China – and I include China farms and the ‘international milk pools’ strategy in that – has prevented timely response that could have mitigated some of the equity destruction Fonterra’s shareholders have suffered.” But she says there are still opportunities for Fonterra to be a competitive cooperative that delivers for NZ farmers through a continued strong milk price and value add returns. She’s calling for financial discipline, divestment of non-core and loss-making assets and replacing what she calls the egominded, ‘globally relevant’ target with a target of ‘locally and globally competitive’ as a good place to start. Appropriate post-investment reviews and accurate return on capital calculations are a must, she says. The idea that investments such as Beingmate could be defended as “strategic rather than financial” were nonsense, she says. “Farmers cannot afford their capital to be employed in loss-making ‘integrated strategy’.” Guiney calls the recent approach of announcing bad news (the dividend suspension and milk price drop) as upfront and transparent and commended leadership both within management and governance for coming out with the news.

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

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

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

Hedging

INSIGHT

– not the barberry type! Hedging for dairy farmers these days has little to do with growth on your boundaries. Susan Kilsby – NZX Head of Dairy Data & Insight reports. he term ‘hedging’ and how it is used by dairy farmers has evolved considerably over the past 50 years. When a dairy farmer used to speak about hedges they generally were talking about the barberry or boxthorn varieties used as boundaries and shelter. Today hedging tends to refer to a way a dairy farmer can manage their price risk by using financial derivatives such as futures and options. Neat and tidy hedgerows was once something dairy farmers aspired to. Many moons ago my grandfather Maurice Kilsby featured in a Dairy Exporter article which applauded the neatly cut barberry hedges on his dairy farm in Toko, Taranaki. I don’t remember any reference in the entire article to production or profits but he was judged worthy of writing about due to his ability to keep his farm neat and tidy Today, keeping your finances ‘neat and tidy’ is more likely to be applauded and is a prerequisite for most successful farmers. Hedging milk price is one way of mitigating risks but the tools used do need to be understood before being used. Cashflow budgets were once regarded as a tool only for financial savvy

farmers, but now not many farmers aren’t actively using this tool. Futures and options (collectively known as derivatives) are just more tools that can be used to manage finances. Milk price futures allow farmers to effectively ‘lock-in’ a milk price to provide more certainty as to future income levels. Milk price options give you the ‘right’ to a specific milk price which you have the option of taking up or not. Milk price futures (and options) were launched by the NZX in May 2016. Uptake of these has been quicker than expected but the early adopters have mainly been farmers with a strong financial background or access to these skills. While some small-scale farms have taken advantage of milk price futures and options it tends to be the larger-scale farms most actively using derivatives. Often these farms have board members who understand and are able to advise how to use them. These larger farms frequently have outside investors keen to limit their risk of not making a return on investment. Dairy derivatives are suitable for farms of all scale but it is imperative that you understand them before using them. It is no different to using new machinery. You could just have a go without reading the

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

UPFRONT MARKET VIEW

manual but you are much more likely to come unstuck if you don’t have a solid understanding of how the machine works. Futures and options are no different. The first step is to understand how exposed your business is to movements in the milk price. For example, if the milk price ended up at $5/kg milksolids this season what would that mean for your business? What is your break-even point? Then you need to think about your own appetite for risk. What keeps one person awake at night may only be considered a minor risk by someone else. If your business is highly exposed to the milk price and you want to change that then you should consider learning how futures and options work, or taking advice from someone who understands them. Milk price futures have been available to farmers in the United States since 1996. Many US dairy farmers review their futures and options positions several times a week. Others use products offered by intermediaries such as their dairy companies or banks. The dairy company may manage the risk on behalf of their suppliers by providing arrangements such as fixed milk prices. The company does this by hedging their own risk on the underlying derivatives market. In Europe the first milk price future contract was launched in August. The challenge European farmers face is that the product they can use for hedging settles to a milk price index composed from milk prices from Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland. The price paid for milk in Ireland is often quite different to that paid in Germany. This means the milk price won’t be a perfect hedge for any particular farmer as the price they will be paid will be different to the tool they are hedging with. This is referred to as ‘basis risk’. New Zealand dairy farmers who supply Fonterra who use the NZX milk price futures have a near-perfect hedge, and the basis risk for most other NZ farmers is minimal. So think about milk price futures and options as a tool, and ask if that is a tool you want in your toolbox. 25

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Jens Hermanussen and Joost Klein Herenbrink, left, from CRV – genomic testing is becoming more vital for Dutch farmers.

BUSINESS EUROPE didn’t exactly know what was coming,” Jens Hermanussen says. They increased their herd numbers from 140 to 220 cows, so to counter their increased phosphate they now send all their young stock to Belgium for grazing from five months old. The number of replacements they are rearing has dropped from 34-40% to about 25%. “We sold a lot of heifers to England and Spain, now with the phosphate limits it’s too expensive to rear them,” he says. Many Dutch farmers are rearing fewer replacement heifers and grazing young stock off-farm so they don’t have to be included in the farm’s phosphate calculations.

‘We sold a lot of heifers to England and Spain, now with the phosphate limits it’s too expensive to rear them.’

Genetics count

Increasing environmental restrictions are changing the way Europe’s farmers work, as Dairy Exporter deputy editor Sheryl Brown found during a recent visit.

reeding efficient and healthy cows has never been so important for Dutch farmers who are under restrictions due to imposed phosphate limits. The European Commission’s plan to reduce phosphate emissions from the Dutch livestock sector has led the Dutch Government to grant phosphate rights to farmers based on the number of dairy 28

cattle they owned on July 2, 2015. To increase their herd size from their 2015 figures, farmers must now pay about €10,000/cow (NZ$17,177) to buy phosphate rights. The Hermanussen family were in the middle of building a second free-stall barn in 2016 to increase their herd size when the limits were introduced. “When we started building our barn we

Farmers therefore want to know the genetic potential of their calves immediately and are increasing their genomic testing, CRV Holstein global product manager, Joost Klein Herenbrink says. “There is a big interest in genetics again. There has been a big increase in genomic testing by farmers.” The cost of rearing a heifer replacement is about €1400, so the break-even point for rearing a heifer replacement is two-to-three lactations, so longevity is important, he says. “There is more emphasis on cow health, not just breeding for production.” The Hermanussen family DNA tests every heifer calf born onfarm to ensure they are keeping the best genetic stock. The Hermanussens also work closely with CRV and buy and test 10 CRV heifers from the CRV Dairy Breeding Centre every year. “We buy them because we want to see how our cows go beside them,” Jens says.

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

KEY FACTS • Owners: Hermanussen Family • Location: Millseweg, The Netherlands • Area: 100ha • Cropping: 70ha grass, 30ha maize • Cows: 220 • Young stock: 140 • Farm dairy: Two free-stall barns, 4 Lely robotic milkers • Production: 2,100,000kg milk • Fat/protein: 4.40%/3.55% • Average milk production: 10,600l/ cow • Average DIM: 400 days • Average rainfall: 800-1000mm/day • Supplement: 8kg of maize silage, 7kg of grass silage, 0.5 kg hay, 1 kg brewers’ grains and 2.3 kg soya/corn flour and max 8 kg concentrates via the automatic feed dispenser in the milking robot. • Brewers grain, 1kg/cow/day, 1kg hay.

CRV has nine test farms in total where they place their heifers to show CRV’s breeding programme in practice. The Hermanussen family uses about 80% genomic bulls and flushed more than 130 embryos from their heifers last year to use across their own cows and sell to other farmers. They have bred numerous bulls into the CRV sire teams, including Barendonk Hattrick, Barendonk Red Spirit, Barendonk Trendsetter and Barendonk Famous. While many Dutch farmers spend a lot of time in the tractor seat, the Hermanussen family pride themselves on being ‘cow people’. “We are real cow farmers, there is always someone in the barn looking at the cows,” Jens says. They don’t use any heat detection so they have to have a good eye to spot cows on heat, throughout the year.

GRAZING PREMIUM With the increasing environmental regulations in The Netherlands, many older farmers are getting out of the industry, Jens says. The 24-year-old is focused on a profitable future by maximising the opportunities within the industry such as grazing cows outside for a premium milk price. Dairy co-operative FrieslandCampina now offers a €1.5/100kg milk premium to its farmers grazing cows outside for at least 120 days a year for a minimum of six hours/day.

Dutch farmers are sending their young stock to graze in Belgium to avoid phosphate regulations.

A partly pasture-grazing premium of €0.46/100kg milk is also paid to farmers putting a minimum of 25% of their cattle outside for 120 days and minimum of six hours/day. The percentage of dairy farms in the Netherlands that graze cows outside increased to 79.4% in 2017 and FrieslandCampina has a range of dairy products made from the ‘Meadow Milk’. The Hermanussens graze their cows outside from early April until the end of November, weather dependent. The farm has about 23 hectares they can graze the cows on, with the cows eating from 3-6kg drymatter (DM)/day in the paddock. The cows’ diet is predominately made up of grass silage (60%) and maize silage (40%), with a little bit of brewers grain, hay and concentrates. About 70% of the feed is made onfarm, with the remainder bought-in. “We want to grow up to 80% of our feed on our land, more grass, less meal,” Jens says. To be profitable the family is also cashing in on high-value dairy beef calves and mate 30% of their herd to Belgian Blue semen. They get €400 for a Belgian Blue bull and €200 for a heifer calf, compared with €40-70 for a Friesian bull. The calves must stay on their mother for the first two weeks and beef calves must be sold before 35 days, so most farmers aim to sell excess calves when they are two-three weeks of age.

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

FARM SUCCESSION Jan’s mother was milking 10 cows in the local village before his parents bought the farm they are on today. His father died when he was 13 and he has worked on the farm ever since. At 18 he took over the farm and was milking 40 cows. He slowly built up cow numbers and built a double five-aside farm dairy, which used to take him three hours to milk 90 cows. He installed two Lely robots in 2005 and bought another two robots in 2016 when they built the new 125-cubicle barn. His two sons Jens and Ivo work alongside Jan on the family farm now. Jens also works 20 hours on another farm and Ivo works at FrieslandCampina to supplement their incomes. “We need to grow by about another 30 cows, for it to be a good income for the two of us in the future,” Jens says. Their sister Tessa works alongside their mother Liesbeth in the family’s Agritourism business, which provides about 40% of the farm’s profit. The successful Agri-tourism business includes accommodation and business meeting facilities. Jan and Liesbeth converted an old barn into accommodation and opened a campsite 20 years ago and now have more than 10,000 visitors a year, with local businesses using the venue frequently.

Networking with international agricultural journalists.

A world of challenges

hen you’re under fire it can be reassuring to know you have allies. The New Zealand dairy industry faces challenges from reducing nitrogen leaching, bobby calves, Mycoplasma bovis, to the disruption of alternative proteins on the market. But we are certainly not alone. Dairy farmers globally are battling many of the same issues and are adapting their systems to meet growing public expectations. My recent trip to The Netherlands to attend the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ Congress highlighted the many issues the dairy industry is facing around the world. The New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists sponsored me to attend the congress. It was a fantastic opportunity to network with award-winning journalists and discuss what is happening globally in agriculture. Key themes were climate change, increasing environmental regulations, and growing public interest in how animals should be farmed and how food should be produced. Irish and Australian journalists were discussing the impact of their countries’ 30

BUSINESS EUROPE Words by: Sheryl Brown

FACTS ON DUTCH DAIRY FARMING: • Number of dairy farmers: 17,500 • Number of cows: 1.63 million • Milk Production: 1.4 billion litres • Land use: 864,000ha • Average farm size: 49.4ha • Milk production per cow: 8706kg • Cost of land: €50,000-€60,000/ha.

droughts, an American journalist told me he can’t report on climate change in his grain magazine because farmers abuse him and tell him it’s not real, while Romanian journalists told me about the influx of Chinese investors buying land in their country. Meanwhile in The Netherlands dairy farmers were facing one of their worst droughts. They hadn’t had rain for about a month when I was there in July. Farmers are scrambling to change their systems following new phosphate legislation. To increase their dairy herd farmers now must buy phosphate rights at €10,000/cow. Many are trucking young stock to Belgium to counter the phosphate

Take a bite: an Impossible Burger in New York.

loading on their farms so they can milk more cows. These Dutch farmers are putting cows out on pasture during summer because people living in Amsterdam want to see cows grazing outside and are prepared to pay a premium for their ‘Meadow Milk’ dairy products. Several of the farmers I interviewed told

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

IT’S ELECTRIFYING • Arriving at Amsterdam airport we jumped in a taxi – it’s electric. • Took a boat trip down the canals – the boat’s electric. All boats must be electric in the next few years. • Travel into the countryside and solar panels are everywhere. • Sense a theme? • Europe is going to renewable energy. All cruise boats in The Netherlands must be electric by 2025.

me farmers had lost their connection with the people living in the cities and they had to tell their story better. It sounded like what many farmers are doing back home. After five days visiting farms, including the site of the floating dairy farm being built at Rotterdam, I flew to New York City which was another education. I tried the Impossible Burger in New York, and as I wasn’t flying business class on Air New Zealand I had to buy it myself for US$12. While it had a strange sweetness to it, it was actually pretty delicious, but not as delicious as my Brontosaurus Ribs I had later in the week. Meat is still front and centre in America

and I noticed on several menus the meat was called ‘naturally grown’ – another indicator of where the market is heading. The logistics alone to bring in fresh food and feed a city like NYC is a comfort in itself to know farmers everywhere in the world will be needed for a long time to come. So I should have a job reporting on NZ dairy farmers for some time yet. I sat next to a young American tourist sitting on the plane home from Houston. He was visiting NZ for the first time and was going to Timaru to hunt chamois. He asked me about farming in NZ and I said we were in the process of meeting new environment regulations to be more sustainable.

“You want to be greener than you already are?” he asked. The reality is NZ is seen as clean and green by the rest of the world. It’s an image we need to ensure is accurate and a story we need to use to our advantage in the market place. After leaving NZ mid single-use plastic bag debate it did make me cringe seeing all the plastic bags and bottles floating in Amsterdam canals and the amount of plastic packaging on food in New York. The world has a long way to go on becoming more sustainable and maybe if NZ can lead that journey we can cash in on another premium.

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How the floating farm will look on Rotterdam Harbour.

Words by: Sheryl Brown

BUSINESS EUROPE

Farming on the water

ith 70% of the world’s population expected to be living in large cities by 2030, a Dutch company believes a floating dairy farm could hold some answers. The pilot farm is expected to be operating by the end of 2018, floating on the harbour in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Forty cows will be housed on the top platform, with a milk processing plant, manure treatment plant and area to grow crops underneath. The €2.5-million project is the brainchild of Beladon, a Dutch property development company that designs floating buildings. The time has come for more sustainable models for housing and feeding people into the future.

The human population is going up and migrating to cities and there is increasing pressure for food and clean water, project leader Peter van Wingerden says. “I’ve been travelling around the big cities in the world and there is huge migration to cities. We are getting another two billion people in the next 30 years – how are we going to feed these people and give them clean water to drink?”

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

Forty cows will live on top of the three-story floating farm in Rotterdam with a milk processing plant and manure treating plant underneath.

deal with waste. But the solutions will be solved with technology, he says. The concept of building farms to grow food on the water inside cities was conceived after Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in 2012. Every day in New York City, 1500 trucks drive into the Bronx to supply food. When the hurricane hit Manhattan was flooded and that transport route was cut off. It resulted in empty shelves and a city without fresh food for days. Instead of solely relying on food being

transported in, cities need to start feeding themselves and they could do that from the water, Peter says. Cities are the largest producers of waste which could be used to grow food. The floating dairy farm being built in Rotterdam will milk 40 cows and produce fresh milk to produce dairy products to sell to city residents. It’s expected they will produce 320,000 litres of yoghurt a year. The farm has been designed to be circular, taking waste from the city to

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Growing cities currently have to build up or out, essentially building more concrete on valuable agricultural land. “At the same speed the sea is rising, land is subsiding. Jakarta is sinking up to 25cm a year and it’s a permanent threat to the millions of people living there,” Peter says. “Why not grow these cities on the water? I believe there is room to grow on the water.” There will be challenges that come with building cities on the water, including how to source fresh water and food and how to

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create food for the cows, and returning food and fertiliser to the city. The cows’ urine will be purified and used to grow fodder crops under special LED lighting and the manure will be treated and turned into energy, and fertiliser that can be returned to the city. The ammonia will also be treated straight away.

‘At the same speed the sea is rising, land is subsiding. Jakarta is sinking up to 25cm a year and it’s a permanent threat to the millions of people living there.’

The farm will also make use of waste feed from the city such as grain from breweries, potato skins and grass from football stadiums. The floating farm owns land nearby and has transported bales of grass silage to store at the harbour. Animal welfare is their priority and the cows will have more square metres than in most barn systems, Peter says. The average cow in Holland has six square metres/cow whereas on the floating farm it is 15sq m/cow, he says. The top floor will consist of a soft rubber floor, which will be cleaned constantly, with plants and trees to provide shelter for the cows. There will be individual cow cubicles where the cows will sleep and a Lely robotic milker will milk the cows. Lely has partnered with Beladon in the project. Having floating farms in cities can also help rebuild the knowledge of healthy food and food production with a population that has lost its connection to producing food, Peter says. The floating farm will be an opportunity for education and research, a transparent farm where visitors can see the cows and become familiar with the processes that take place on the farm.

An idea to include the residents in the farm could be adopting a calf and when that calf comes on to the farm as a milking cow, that person gets a message to say their cow’s milk is being sold, and they start earning money, he says. Beladon wanted to start with a dairy farm because they wanted to take on the biggest challenge first and prove the concept. The company has plans to build a chicken farm and a vegetable farm alongside the floating dairy farm, creating a food strip in the harbour. “When John F Kennedy announced they were going to the moon they didn’t actually know how they were going to do it. We don’t know yet how we are going to do it, but we believe in helping the world.” The project is being privately funded, but Peter is hoping the government does step in to support them. They are yet to find out if they will have to buy the phosphate rights to milk the cows – which would cost €400,000. There has been huge international interest and Peter hopes the world sits up, takes notice and joins them on the journey toward finding alternative and sustainable ways of producing food. “It’s a crime to patent something on fresh food, I hope people copy it.” Rotterdam is one of the world’s largest ports and a great test location, but the real demand for this concept could come from Asia and Africa, continents with rapidly growing populations and a demand for alternative food production, he says.

Dairy Lady Myrthe: Myrthe Brabander has studied animal and livestock keeping and will manage dairy and retail at the Floating Farm.

Farmer Albert: Albert Boersen is the first floating farm farmer in the world. Raised among cows in Friesland, a business and agribusiness degree will see him caring for the cows and the stables on the Floating Farm.

‘I feel we are at a turning point, where we need to realise that instead of money, the existence of our planet should be our driving force.’ – Peter van Wingerden, Holland Herald.

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

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A feel for the future

BUSINESS PREDICTION

Words by: Jackie Harrigan

repare to expand your vocabulary – VUCA, nanotechnology, algaepreneurs and emtomophagy are coming at you. “The world is becoming more VUCA,” futurist Roger Dennis told farmers at the May DairyNZ Farmers

Forum. “VUCA is here – volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, terms first coined in the United States to show that the world is becoming a less certain place.” Dennis is a futurist working with global and national companies to foresee what is happening in the world, to equip them for the future. But to understand where your industry is going you must take a couple of steps back first, he believes. “At the broadest level look at what is happening in the world, how is that affecting your sector and so what should be your response? What are the right strategic questions for you to ask before you form a response?” Dennis outlined his top future trends that in his opinion are absolutely going to happen: 1. People are moving to cities in unprecedented numbers – cities are engines of opportunity. While it’s easy to move to a city, Dennis says it’s hard to scale up infrastructure to cope with population growth. Infrastructure is under pressure in many places in the world, big cities like Bangalore where city boreholes are dry and residents pay organised criminals for water, as they control the water supply. 2. Decline of the US and the rise of China, building a strong external powerbase while also spending huge amounts on internal security. 3. Everything that can go online is going online. Sensors are cheap and tiny and can talk to other sensors in real-time. 4. “Globalisation is over,” Dennis thinks. “One of the very good foresight teams at GE have abandoned the idea of huge centralised factories, they are now going to smaller facilities in-country – to avoid being locked out of markets.” 5. Technology is moving forward on many different fronts – and when you add building blocks of development together from various fronts, you can get huge leaps forward, he said.

Five great leaps forward B – R – AI – N – E • Biology – very important, not well understood right now. The price of understanding how biological things are made up has dropped hugely. The Human Genome project took 13 years at a cost of US$2.6 billion but by last year scientists could sequence a human genome in 27 hours. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

Building blocks of technology Growing tomatoes is a good example of the building blocks coming together to cause huge productivity gains, Dennis said. “To grow a kilo of tomatoes on a conventional farm, the global average for a kilo is 225 litres of water used, but if you start to combine the technologies – with sensors, with LEDs and artificial intelligence in precision environments, that number drops to eight litres – these building blocks combine and things pop out in new ways. “But the farm changes as well – from green fields to banks of LED lights, totally controlled nutrients, no pesticides, no herbicides, all precision-controlled – efficiency goes up, waste goes down, profits go up – the farm changes completely.” Plant-based protein is another good example. In 2012 the Impossible Burger wasn’t even written about, but by 2015 there were two restaurants in San Francisco where they could be ordered. They tasted fantastic, Dennis said. By 2017, with increased funding factory-based industrial scale production was ramped up and the burgers are now served at 1000 restaurants across the United States. Dennis says it’s important to understand where things are going in the world and what it means for your sector and what your response should be. “You need to get out and go to where the future has already arrived. “There are docking points around the world that show these glimpses of the future.” • Roger Dennis is a Christchurch-based business consultant working with companies on long-term thinking, innovation and strategy

Resource pressures building Food futurist Julian Cribb (pictured left) says food is poised to change more than at any time in history as fierce demand and resource pressures are building up in the food chain. By 2060 there will be 10 billion people on the planet, so science and food writer Cribb says food availability needs to double by then, but using half the amount of water, because the world is running out of soil, water, nutrients, energy, capital, fish and a stable and reliable climate. “The collision between great demands and greater scarcities is making food production the great challenge of our age.” The world is at or close to peak water – Cribb says ground water is being mined to grow food faster than it replenishes and 13 of the world’s 21 great groundwater basins are in distress, along with falling levels of snowpack and less reliable rainfall. “If nothing changes in water management by 2030 demand for water will outstrip supply by 40%, according to UN studies.” “As a water-rich country, NZ will enjoy a comparative advantage in a water-scarce era – dairying especially – but the art will be to make far more of the resources available, to waste nothing, to recycle everything and to eliminate both contamination and nutrient loss.” Cribb says NZ dairy farmers are leaders in the healthy food movement and are the experts in managing nutrients and water, and he suggests that knowledge might become one of NZ’s biggest exports. Half of world food production needs to be moved back into the cities – because half of the world’s nutrients flow through cities and out to sea. By 2050 eight billion people will live in megacities. With 800 million urban farmers needing to double in numbers, Cribb says look out for agritecture – structures for vertical and inner-city farming, floating farms, solar farms in the desert (with solar-powered desalination), aquaponics and aeroponics, microfarms and entomoculture (breeding and growing insects) and entomophagy (eating them), cultured meat and milk, biocultures and food printers, aquaculture and algaepreneurs (who produce algae for health food, for livestock, transport fuel, textiles, cleanup, biomining chemicals and paper.) “There are a raft of new ideas and technologies – some look crazy and some look quite promising.” Cribb thinks the systems will evolve to a point where traditional agriculture will produce the best, most expensive food and biocultures will produce the cheap food. “I reckon by the mid to late 20s, most of the snack food – the pies, nuggets, and sausages will be filled with lab-produced meat because it will be a fraction of the price of paddockreared meat and it will have a smaller footprint in terms of soil, water and pesticides.” • Julian Cribb is an Australian journalist and science communicator and author.

Futurist Roger Dennis on the bad news: the world is becoming less certain; on the good news: when the building blocks of new technologies come together huge productivity gains can result.

The cost of gene editing technology, CRISPR, has dropped from $10,000 to less than $500. “This has huge possibilities but interesting unintended consequences – like home gene editing kits that can produce bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics,” Dennis says. • Robotics – Autonomous robots with no tethering have made a huge leap forward and Dennis says the advancements show what can happen when all the building blocks come together – like advancements in energy requirements and computational power. • Artificial Intelligence – decades of work has been surpassed in a few months, as computers have become more powerful and able to perform hugely complex tasks in shorter timeframes. “We cannot comprehend how much data is generated and flowing around the world,” Dennis says. • Nanotechnology – computer chips are getting smaller and cheaper to produce. • Energy – there is a seismic change in the power sector, solar is now the cheapest unsubsidised source of power on the planet and has been for the last 18 months. “Solar uptake is going through the roof and combined with new ways of storing energy is leading to lithium ion battery technology powering electric bikes, cars, tractors and farm machinery – all sorts of stuff is going to be electrified.” Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

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

Companies link for a2 deal

upplying a2 Milk offers up a whole range of possibilities to New Zealand dairy farmers the company’s new chief executive, Jayne Hrdlicka believes. “It’s a great news story for farmers because it’s continued innovation by Fonterra and it’s demonstrating the importance of partnership and collaboration and how to create new opportunities,” she says. Only two weeks into her role, after being Jetstar’s chief executive for the last five years, she happily admitted her training wheels were still on during her recent visit to Auckland to launch fresh milk

THE A2 TIMELINE • 2000 A2 Corporation founded by Dr Corran McLachlan and Howard Paterson • 2003 A2 milk launched in New Zealand, establishment of A2 Australia • 2004 Launch of A2 fresh milk in Australia • Listed on the second board of NZX • 2007 Joint venture in Australia – A2 Corporation and Freedom Foods • 2010 Joint venture merged back in to A2 Corporation • 2012 Listed on the NZX main board • 2013 Launch of infant formula, a2 Platinum • 2014 Renamed The a2 Milk Company • 2015 Dual listing on ASX • Launch of a2 Milk fresh milk in the United States • Launch of a2 Milk whole milk powder • 2018 Becomes NZ’s largest listed company by market valuation • Strategic relationship with Fonterra announced • Launch of a2 Milk fresh milk in NZ with Fonterra

jointly branded with Fonterra in North Island stores. But she’s clear that the NZ experience is likely to mirror that seen in Australia where a2 milk sales make up around 10% of total milk consumption and continue to grow at a faster rate than the premium category and significantly faster than the segment overall. “Even farmers not in a2 milk pools in Australia have engaged in different ways and are doing creative things,” she said. They were producing niche butter and cheese lines keenly sought by shoppers. “We live in a world where we’re all very conscious that consumers have lots of options,” she said. Grant Watson, Fonterra Brands New Zealand acting sales manager agreed that other categories such as cheese and butter will be explored. “There are so many possibilities.” For the moment the co-op’s a2 milk supply is coming from just one herd in the Manawatu. There was already a reasonable level of interest from farmers close to the plant where the milk is processed in converting their herds so they can send their milk there. “We’ve had a very, very high rate of sales in the first few days and as the demand grows we’ll look to grow our milk supply base as appropriate,” he said. While the focus would be on farms close to the plant initially, depending on sales growth that collection area could be expanded. “Over the next six to 12 months we’ll have a clearer view as to how demand is shaping up,” he said. “But certainly at the moment there is an avenue for farmers to express their interest in supplying a2 through the Farm Source team.” It was too soon to say how consumer interest would translate into future milk supply volumes and the number of cows required to fill that supply. “We’re excited by the opportunity,” he said. “Australia gives us a lead as to what will happen and there’s every chance that will play out in NZ.

BUSINESS MARKETING Words by: Glenys Christian

Grant Watson, Fonterra Brands New Zealand acting sales director and Jayne Hrdlicka, a2 Milk’s chief executive.

Hrdlicka said fresh milk was just the first step between a2 and Fonterra in exploring broader things they could do together. There was the potential for a stronger milk pool requirement to meet the company’s ingredients demands. “So there are many different elements to the relationship which will represent opportunity for the dairy farmers of NZ.” These could unfold over the next year. “Bringing two strong brands together you create bigger outcomes than it’s possible to model on a piece of paper,” she said. “In Anchor, consumers see a brand they know and trust, a choice they didn’t have before and the opportunity to engage in dairy nutrition in a different way.” Watson said he was sure some Fonterra farmers would question the time it has taken for the co-op to enter an agreement with a2. “It’s taken time to work through,” he said. “We’re driven by consumer demand and we’ve responded accordingly. Fonterra’s food service and consumer business is all about value-add and a2 is a great way of creating value.”

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

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

SYSTEMS FODDER BEET

Jacob Holdaway – working on harvesting the narrower row spacings

Squeezing them in Sowing fodder beet in closer-spaced rows with more space within the rows has boosted crop yields in Canterbury trials, Anne Lee reports.

seemingly simple re-jig of the way fodder beet is sown may be bringing about a step change for the super crop with yields of 40 tonnes drymatter (DM) possible and more leaf. Lincoln University scientist Dr Jim Gibbs and Canterbury company Wholesale Seeds have been working together to develop the idea of narrowing row spacings from the traditional 50cm at the same time plants are spread out within rows so they’re positioned in a more equidistant, grid-like pattern. Wholesale Seed chief executive Patrick Davis says farmers using the narrower row spacings and reconfigured planting pattern have found yield increases to about 1520% or 3.5-5t DM/ha with some getting even greater lifts. One irrigated crop owned by MidCanterbury farmer Rick Daly was measured by independent company Canterbury 42

Feed Assessments at 40t DM/ha. Davis says Wholesale Seeds had carried out independently designed and run replicated field trials through the 2016-17 season near Mayfield. The trials looked at 30cm, 40cm and 50cm row spacings with seeds sown to achieve the same plant populations thereby focusing on the row spacing effect. While Davis says the data from the study is part of the company’s own intellectual property, the results convinced him the narrower row spacings could bring yield advantages at no extra cost in inputs such as fertiliser, sprays or seed. Farmer and agricultural contractor Jacob Holdaway has sown about 1000 hectares in the narrowed row spacings using a drill imported from Europe in time for last season’s planting. Designed for other crops it’s capable of precision drilling at 375mm row spacings. “We’ve had phenomenal feedback this season.

“We had some guys who were pretty sceptical so we planted half for them at the 500mm and the other half at 375mm and every single one of them is going to be at 375mm this season,” Holdaway says. Gibbs has pioneered the growing of fodder beet throughout New Zealand for wintering dairy cattle, grazing on the milking platform and for grazing beef cattle. He says NZ’s use of the crop in a grazing situation is unique but many of our agronomic practices have stemmed from sugar beet grown specifically for harvest in the United Kingdom and Europe, where there are strict nutrient limits. “Our leaf and nitrogen requirements are very different to sugar production, and while Wholesale Seeds was shifting to better approaches, agronomy here had otherwise blindly followed the UK. So I went looking for a better way. “A few years back, I realised with a jolt that it was the invention of the horse-

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

‘We had some guys who were pretty sceptical so we planted half for them at the 500mm and the other half at 375mm and every single one of them is going to be at 375mm this season.’

leaf particularly through autumn. Gibbs says traditionally the crop has been bred to lose its leaves through the autumn, again because it was for harvesting of the bulb. The crops will still lose leaves from autumn through winter but the new configuration plus a big shift in fertiliser timing allows the plant to grow more quickly and hold good leaf, increasing the proportion of DM coming from leaf. “More leaf equals more protein because it’s the leaf that’s home to protein and it’s the crop’s protein levels that can drive extra liveweight gain as it already has lots of energy,” he says.

drawn harvester that pushed farmers to Davis says their initial studies have been grow it in rows. Before that it was grown to confirm the effects of row width and to like any other crop and harvested by do that accurately plant populations had hand.” to be the same across the treatments. He then conducted a study tour of the It’s likely plant populations may be able US where beet is grown at scale. to be pushed a little higher under the new Gibbs visited many universities and configurations than the typical 80,000 to beet co-operatives asking why we plant in 110,000 plants/ha but as with the narrower rows – and could find no plant-based, agronomical advantage other than ease of harvest, which grazed beet doesn’t need. “So I had to ask if the wide row spacings, where plants are sown tightly down the rows, is the best way for each plant and the crop as a whole to get maximum yields.” It turns out it’s not, he says. “But the trick is not just closing the rows, it’s also about spreading them out down the row too,” Gibbs says. Paddock studies by both Davis and Gibbs confirm that. “Spreading them out more evenly and narrowing the rows reduces the competition within the row and enables the plants to get to canopy closure faster – leading to bigger yields and less herbicide needed,” Gibbs says. “The leaves intercept more light and, because those open spaces between the rows aren’t there any more, there’s the added benefit of less competition from weed species,” Davis Above: Bulbs are more even and yields higher with narrow row spacings. Patrick Davis with his team members from Wholesale Seeds Mellory Watson and Tom Bird, far right, with contractor Jacob Holdaway. says. Yield is related to how long the plant, or more specifically the leaf canopy has to intercept light and if spacings it’s likely that will depend on the While costs are said to be generally the plants have the right conditions to specific farm conditions such as climate, similar, Davis says there can be advantages maximise leaf growth early on then it irrigation and soil type. from quick canopy closure through a appears fodder beet yields also have room “At higher populations other conditions reduced challenge from weeds and a to grow. have to be optimum or close to it – potential saving on herbicides. Wholesale Seeds agronomist Tom Bird fertiliser inputs for instance – to support all Even if costs remain similar per hectare says he’s overseen numerous crops sown those plants,” Davis says. the significant increase in yields can also at the narrower row spacing and farmers Typically though, bulb size in the substantially lower cost per kg DM. are definitely seeing the advantages and narrower row plantings aren’t the massive Gibbs says he and Davis continue to quickly see the logic of what’s behind the specimens shown off in the earlier years of work together to determine the best row yield improvements. the crop’s history here. widths, plant numbers and optimum “It’s about capturing the light from the In a good, high yielding 40t DM/ha crop inputs including fertiliser efficiencies and sun and driving it through the leaf for they’re more likely to be medium-sized but rates. the bulb. The canopy is like a huge solar more even than bulbs from wide-spacing Research carried out by Gibbs in 2018 panel and the faster canopy closure can be configurations. is suggesting even narrower rows and achieved the longer that solar panel has An additional advantage of the change plant numbers above 125,000/ha. time to work,” he says. in row widths is the production of more “Today, the world record beet yield is Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

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Being able to easily harvest the narrower row spacings could be a game changer.

almost 50t DM/ ha. Both Patrick and I think this research really is the gamechanger for beet agronomy; here in NZ we have the chance to develop a completely new approach. “We haven’t yet seen the potential of this crop,” Gibbs says.

Harvesting possible

Paul and Juanita Marshall – yields astounding

DOUBLE DRILLING FOR 250MM ROWS IN SOUTHLAND Western Southland farmer Paul Marshall had a proportion of his fodder beet crop sown in 250mm row widths last season and the results were astounding, he says. Having spoken to Lincoln University Dr Jim Gibbs about a new idea in the experimental stage, Marshall then asked his contractor Eddie Rabbit to have a go at narrowing the row spacings for 5ha of his fodder beet crop last year. Using GPS technology in the tractor he was able to accurately double sow the area, making one pass across the whole paddock at a 500mm row width before returning with another pass centred between the original rows. Compaction from wheels and the second pass didn’t appear to create problems with germination, though Gibbs is quick to note it often does. The yield in the accurately sown area was measured at close to 40 tonnes drymatter (DM)/ha while the yield in the

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

Canterbury contractor and farmer Jacob Holdaway has been lifting fodder beet sown in narrow row spacings by using a bit of Kiwi ingenuity. It’s admittedly meant burning a “bit of diesel” but unexpectedly finding they were unable to graze paddocks of narrow row spacing sown fodder this past winter for other reasons he had to come up with a solution so the crop wouldn’t be wasted. He’s been using a modified stone rake to push it into windrows on one tractor followed by a hired Stacmec beet harvester, designed to pick up beet out of windrows, attached to another. He’s looking at building a specialised rake and predicts that if farmers can be guaranteed they can lift fodder beet sown in narrow rows all fodder beet will be planted that way within just a few seasons. “The only reason the guys who have sown it in narrow rows still want some at 500mm is because they want the flexibility to be able to lift it. “If we can do that on the narrow spacings they’ll all want it sown at the narrow spacing because the yield benefits are too good to ignore,” Holdaways says.

remaining area was 33t DM/ha and that’s despite a tough dry start to the growing season. Typically, Marshall says his fodder beet yields have been about 22t DM/ha. The crops are unirrigated. Not only was there a dramatic increase in tonnage, Marshall found the early canopy closure (about 10 days earlier) meant one less herbicide spray was used at a saving of $500/ha. Bulbs were smaller but more even and he found a greater leaf-to-bulb ratio. “Fodder beet can get a bad rap because of low protein levels but in this high yield situation we’re getting more leaf to bulb and that’s lifting the overall protein cows are eating.” Marshall also grows 8ha of sugar beet to lift in November – 13 months after it’s sown – to feed to cows through the summer and they’re sown at 500mm to align with beet harvesting machinery. “If we can lift these narrow row spacing crops – well that would be a game-changer.”

SYSTEMS SILAGE

Adding flavour to silage Sunflowers and faba beans are among the crops on trial for use as silage. Anne Lee reports.

herd of Mid-Canterbury cows have had an extra drop of sunshine this past winter with the addition of sunflowers to their daily diet. The novel silage was part of an onfarm trial by both the user and grower of the crops with a sunflower-barley wholecrop cereal silage mix tested along with a mix of faba bean and barley wholecrop cereal silage. The experimental silages were mentioned in February as an aside to a report on Tom Mason of Terracostosa, a 3600-cow equity farming operation spanning five

coastal Canterbury farms. (Dairy Exporter, February 2018, page 81) At that stage the crops had recently been cut and ensiled but silage quality and full costings weren’t yet available. The ultimate proof – that of the eating – also hadn’t been done. Now both silage mixes have been enthusiastically consumed by cows as the daily entrée to the winter fodder beet diet and with quality, yield and cost data in, both Tom and growers of the specialist crops, arable farmers John Evans and Kai Tegels, have given them the thumbs up. John and Kai have doubled the area

of each they’re sowing this season to 10 hectares of each crop, fine-tuning the agronomy and trialling two varieties of bean. Tom’s happy to buy the resulting crops for use in the novel silages again this season given the cows like it, the cost has come out on par with cereal silage alone and he’s getting the added benefit of more protein in the feed. Added protein is why John and Kai came to test plant the crops for silage in the first place after questioning their neighbour over what, as a dairy farmer, Tom might be looking for that they could grow.

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“Fodder beet already has low protein levels so I was looking for something that could replace the straw and the fibre it provides but also give us a bit more protein. “We needed to be able to dust it with minerals and of course the cows had to like it. “We also had to make sure the cost was going to be right,” Tom says. He had barley, grown as a whole crop cereal silage available, but it too had low protein levels. John works closely with the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) and Plant and Food scientist Dr John de Ruiter. Discussions with them led him to investigate both the Faba bean and sunflower crops.

Faba beans in July after sowing in late autumn – one of the novel silage crops dairy farmer Tom Mason, left and arable farmers John Evans and Kai Tegels are trialling for added protein.

FABA BEANS The beans were sown in mid-May following a wheat crop. Ideally John says he would have sown it a little earlier, at the end of April or early May. The ground was cultivated and the seeds were spun on at a rate to give about 40 plants/square metre. They needed two fungicide sprays for

chocolate spot and an insecticide spray for black bean aphid during their growing period. They were also thirstier than the sunflower crop and required 250mm of water in total with irrigation events from the end of October through to December 10, timed according to soil moisture readings via neutron probe.

Faba beans just before they were harvested for silage.

The ideal stage to cut the crop for silage is when the pods at the base of the plant have started to firm up and go black, with pods mid-way up the plant still green and some flowers still present at the top of the plant. Unlike whole crop cereal silages, which are cut at the right drymatter for ensiling, the beans need to be cut and wilted to get the drymatter right. “We stopped irrigating on December 10 and gave it no more water before it was cut two weeks later,” John says. It was windrowed, left on the ground to wilt for two days and then picked up by a standard silage chopper. The length of time the beans are wilted for can vary but the aim is to have the drymatter at about 31-32% drymatter, de Ruiter says. “You can’t leave it too long because the leaves will dry out and drop off. “It’s a bit of a balancing act between the stems and soft beans drying out enough

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and not drying the leaves out too far,” he says. John used Wizard as the variety sown in autumn but it’s also possible to sow the crop in spring. This season he’s sown both a spring variety Ben and the autumn variety Wizard in autumn to test the yield differences. The wilted and chopped bean crop was delivered to the bunker at the same time the whole crop cereal crop was delivered so both were mixed in as the stack was made.

SUNFLOWERS The sunflower crop was sown on October 20 using a precision drill after the paddock had been sprayed out, cultivated and a good seed bed prepared before drilling. John used a sowing rate to achieve a high plant population of 90,000 plants per ha. When sunflowers are grown for seed the sowing rates are much lower as the plants are in the ground longer and high plant populations are at risk of lodging. Soil temperatures need to be 12C and climbing so mid-October is probably the earliest John would sow it. “But depending on where it fits in a rotation you could sow it any time from then up until December,” he says. He used an open-pollinated variety sown to produce bird seed but is aiming to

source a hybrid variety this season. A pre-emergence broadleaf herbicide was used and the only other weed control used was inter-row cultivation when the crop was 300mm high. They held off irrigating to force the plant to send its tap root down into the soil profile but then played catch-up to get soil moisture levels up through December. In total the crop received 125mm of irrigation. John says the sunflowers appear to be better scavengers of nutrients than maize and no additional nitrogen was required based on leaf test analysis. The crop was only in the ground for two months and was cut in late December when the sunflowers were flowering and before seeds had developed. De Ruiter says that again there’s a trade off when making silage as leaving the crop longer through to seed development means the stems become woody and thick making it difficult to ensile well. John says the sunflower crop grown for silage on its own isn’t a great returning crop on a per-hectare basis because of the lower yields but as a filler in a rotation it could have a place. While he’s not sure about ensiling it on its own, de Ruiter says both crops can be. He’s carried out trials ensiling them separately in tubes. The faba bean silage is

SILAGE AND CROP DATA Faba beans

Sunflowers

Yield (t DM/ha)

12.6

5.3

Time in ground (months)

ME (MJME/ kgDM)

10.5

10.4

Soluble protein (%)

18.2

13.3

Fibre NDF (%)

38.4

30.5

Cost standing (c/kgDM)

23-24

dark and doesn’t look appealing but providing it’s wilted properly it is of good quality. His quality tests give similar results to John’s but there can be variations as with any silage. He also points out that while there could be benefits to the cows of added protein over winter when fed with the fodder beet, the higher protein in the silages may have a detrimental effect on nutrient nitrogen loadings limiting the nitrogen budget benefits of the fodder beet.

Check out the video of flying over John Evan’s sunflower crop: www.facebook.com/DairyexporterNZ/videos/258547291443320/

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Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018 21/08/18 10:51 AM

Keeping everyone sweet Words by: Jo Cuttance

ontractors around New Zealand have given a few suggestions about what makes an amazing client and the flip side of the nuisances. To start the contractor’s day with a smile, have gates open and be ready when the contractor arrives. Have an up-to-date farm map printed off which clearly shows the paddocks, hazards in those paddocks and the best routes for getting to them. Communication keeps everything running smoothly, so book well in advance and let the contractors know how the crop is going before harvest. This gives the opportunity for the contractor to move their dates around to work best for all their clients. Dairy farmers who work in with the contractor when it comes to sending out their cows after milking are particularly well-liked. While the contractor is working on your farm it never hurts to check up on them,

SYSTEMS particularly if it is a very hot day, early morning and the ground conditions are greasy or just to make sure everything is going well. One farmer insists contractors either toot their horn loudly when they go past the driveway or phone so she knows they are safely off the farm. Pay your bill on time so the contractor can pay theirs. Lack of planning by farmers was the most common nuisance. This included not thinking about the position of silage stacks by not having enough room to drive on and off the stack and not having the pit cleaned out before the contractor arrives. Underestimating paddock size and using inaccurate maps upsets the contractor. Not supplying a farm map with adequate information. All hazards need to be shown and planning a route around the farm that involves the least travel can save a lot of money if paying by the hour for services. This may be achieved by pinning fences down. Tight squeezes are not great and this can be from tracks and raceways not being

wide enough for CONTRACTORS modern equipment and or trees and hedges needing a trim. When planning where to grow crops, consider ease of access. Contractors have an acronym for baling grass that is not good quality – GIGO: garbage in, garbage out. The grass being harvested is valuable, and not a bi-product rather a resource being conserved to feed stock when grass growth cannot keep up with demand. Contractors cannot perform miracles. Honouring the past and not looking towards the future can be frustrating. Technology is always evolving and farmers can gain knowledge from experienced contractors who may suggest different techniques and ways of doing something. The biggest frustrations: • Not paying bills. • Not booking in harvesting/cultivation job or alternatively booking several contractors and seeing which contractor turns up first. • Stock getting in the way.

No. 4928

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

SYSTEMS N LEACHING

Plantain : the latest tool in the toolbox of N loss mitigations.

Collective action Russell Phillips is embarking on a journey to raise the content of plantain on his Te Rehunga farm and supporting a research project to start a catchment-wide action to plant farms in 30% of the N-reducing forage. Jackie Harrigan reports. ussell Phillips has been dairy farming at Te Rehunga, south of Dannevirke since he was 21, on a farm that incorporates his grandparents’ original dairy block. But the 62-year-old sees the future of the whole Tararua region threatened if they can’t find a way to bring down the level of nitrogen leaching from his and others’ farms or mitigate the effects well enough to get a consent to farm from the Horizons Regional Council. Joining in with a Dairy NZ and Horizons regional council initiative to encourage farmers in sensitive catchments (like Russell’s Upper Manawatu River catchment) to establish and maintain a 30% plantain sward is both “about survival” and “brings a benefit to the whole community”, Russell says. Russell is one of 135 dairy farmers in

the Tararua region farming without a consent. He says he had just started the process when Horizons called a halt, having received a legal challenge to the implementation of their regional One Plan. Baseline modelling of the unconsented farms show that to achieve Horizon’s Year 10 targets for N loss, the median farm must reduce N-loss by 50%, a level acknowledged by both Horizons and industry sector groups as unviable to farm businesses. Russell agrees, saying the impact has been measured at a loss of $70 million in annual milk sales and about 300 jobs within the community, with huge social impacts. Recently the figures were updated by independent consultants at a higher level, and the absence of that money flowing into Tararua businesses would be devastating, he says.

Meeting the N-loss levels demanded under Table 14.2 of Horizon’s One Plan would force all farmers to lower their stocking rates, decreasing gross income by 30-40%, Russell says. “We need to maintain our operation and asset value and secure the value of our properties so that the community remains viable and the social impact of farming remains.” The Plantain Project could be a “gamechanger”, Russell says, who has thrown himself into helping with the codevelopment of the project, hosting trials on establishment and persistence of the plantain on his property. The premise is that catchment-wide planting of plantain at scale (around 30% Ecotain sward across all farms within the catchment) will show that, in conjunction with other mitigations, N-losses can be

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

FARM FACTS • Farm: Waka Dairies, Te Rehunga, Dannevirke • Owners: Russell and Karen Phillips, • Milking platform: 245ha • Cows: 2018/19 season 900 Kiwicross cows, generally spring calving, last season 850cows • Production: 2017/2018 season 850 cows @535kgMS/cow. 3.5cows/ha, 1850kg MS/ha • System 5 operation, • Harvesting 13 tonnes pasture/ha • Dietary inputs: In-shed feeding grains and meal, sugar beet and whole crop barley silage on feedpad (grown on runoff), chicory cropped for summer feed • Employees: Operations manager Michael Phillips, farm manager Andrew Evans, five other staff. reduced so that farm business viability is maintained. “A number of farmers in the Tararua region already have plantain in their farm systems, but in the big picture, how do you get 30% Ecotain sward across all the land? “And how do you maintain the ratio year on year? There are different challenges for different farms in doing that.” The science is locked in, he says, with the advantage of plantain as a mitigation being that it allows the farm to continue as a pasture-based system without investing heavily in infrastructure. Adoption

of Ecotain by beef operations would also reduce the total N loss across the catchment, Russell says. Research into plantain has shown it reduces N leaching by: • Dilution of the N urine concentration • A change in protein metabolism • Secondary compounds act as nitrification inhibitors • Increased uptake of N.

Plantain plans Along with working out the mechanics of lifting the plantain proportion to 30% of pasture, a big driver for the Phillips is to prove that the sward can be managed to increase the economic return for the farm. “We want to prove the plantain can increase our economic return, not just help us meet compliance – making more money is a much more compelling reason for farmers to embrace the plantain project,” Russell says. “If you go to the trouble and expense of establishing it, you want to see a return, not just stand still.” In January 2018 the Phillips directdrilled plantain at three different rates with 150kg/ha DAP after the cows grazed to a level of 1450kg DM/ha. Paddocks were sown at 4kg, 6kg, 8kg and 12kg/ha Ecotain, and the levels of plantain Mike and Russell Phillips: how much Ecotain in the sward would improve the farm bottom line and make meeting N leaching targets possible?

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

Waka Dairies of Dannevirke: trialling new Ecotain sward establishment techniques to help be compliant under Horizon’s One Plan.

establishment are now being monitored by Agricom with pasture cages. “We tried it in January to see how it would establish when it’s drier,” Russell says. “Every farmer varies in their ability to do the direct drilling thenselves, and if they are relying on contractors, we need to think about the windows of time that will work to get good establishment.” Trialling of different months for direct drilling will help establish the size of the planting window. “The bigger window we can find to get success, the easier it is for farmers to adopt a plantain establishment and management system that suits their place.” Direct drilling in January resulted in a 35% establishment in the 8kg Ecotain block; now the Phillips are thinking about management, to maintain it in the sward.

For the first grazing in late February, one paddock was mown before grazing to avoid pulling out the young plantain plants, and another paddock grazed without mowing, to track the effects. On another part of the farm, autumn planting in March of a mixed ryegrass and clover permanent sward with 5kg plantain /ha has been established and will be also

ryegrass and plantain and the other 25ha into plantain and permanent ryegrass sward. “We will also trial oversowing the plantain by broadcasting at different rates and measure the sward percentage; if we could oversow one third of the farm each year – would that be enough to be compliant?” Russell says. “For me, every farmer has to say what’s the annual cost to maintain that percentage of plantain to achieve that reduction of N? It will be different for each operation.” Establishment, maintenance and weed control are all factors in the mix, which for the Phillips is complicated by farming in a giant buttercup area where they blanket spray the whole farm to keep the rampant weed at bay. “We need to find alternatives though,

‘We need to maintain our operation and asset value and secure the value of our properties so that the community remains viable and the social impact of farming remains.’ monitored for plantain percentage. The Phillips grow 50ha of chicory as a summer crop, instead of turnips and rape, of which 25ha is resown into annual

ROUTE TO CONSENTABLE LEVELS While plantain is not a silver bullet, it could present one option in a system designed to help meet the conditions of consents in the future, Dairy NZ’s Rob Brazendale says. Catchment leader Adam Duker agrees, saying the catchmentwide Plantain Project sees Dairy NZ supporting farmers onfarm to maintain a pasture-based system while reducing their footprint as much as possible. “The plantain introduced at this level could help unconsented farmers reach a consentable level while giving consented farmers some headroom to continue refining their system.” Horizons regional council head of regulation and strategy Nick Peet reports the council are working on a calculator which when robustly peer-reviewed would help calculate the

amount of plantain required and amount of N mitigated. The Phillips family are one of the innovative farmers helping co-develop the establishment and management protocols around maintaining 30% plantain in a sward across the catchment. The challenges of the plantain project include the way the forage behaves like a hybrid rather than a perennial in a mixed sward and designing a farm system to achieve a diet of 30% plantain in the January-May period when N uptake from soil is slower, rainfall is higher and and more common drainage events mean higher rates of leaching. Research at Massey and Lincoln University is focused on proof at paddock scale and farm modelling will be completed by December on the amount of plantain required in the diet and the estimated reduction in N leaching in the Tararua district.

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

Building two herd shelters has been the latest mitigation for the Phillips family to cut N losses in winter and has other animal welfare benefits.

because Valdo/Preside kills the weed but also kills plantain.” Russell is working through other regimes with agronomist, Mark Evans from PGG Wrightsons and wondering if a lower rate will kill young buttercup plants but not the plantain. “We will experiment with a suite of other chemicals, but with great consideration of the environmental effects.”

Mitigating strategies Other mitigations the Phillips have used on their Dannevirke farm range from fencing off and planting all waterways, through to using different forms of N and limiting application to 18 units at a time and spraying effluent over 100ha. To meet future compliance in effluent management, Russell says there will be a need to invest in a new storage facility to delay application through the wet autumn and spring periods. The family have invested in two cow shelters, to allow them flexibility to winter cows off the pastures and cut down on leaching of nutrient. Cows were previously wintered on their runoff on fodder beet and rape crop. This has been their first winter using the barns, and Russell is very pleased with how the cows seemed to enjoy being warm and dry and while calving in the shelters. Fodder beet fed in situ was swapped out for 15ha of sugar beet grown and lifted by a new imported second-hand beet lifter from Germany. The sugar beet is fed at a rate of 4kg/ cow in the winter diet and at 3kg/cow in the milkers’ diet. “We took a calculated risk investing in the shelters, but the research we have done shows a 40-50% reduction in N footprint and there are advantages around labour savings, cutting heat stress in a hot summer, and efficiencies of feeding on the feed pad rather than in the paddock. “And there is also a risk in doing nothing.” The aerobically composting floor of the latest shelter built could be a game changer too, Russell says. While the 500mm of sawdust needs to be ripped twice each day, the aerobic composting means the substrate heats up to 40-45C and causes evaporation of liquid alongside composting of solids, and the top 200mm will be taken off and used as fertiliser at the end of the season. “We are just learning about the substrate – but it’s working very well thus far.” Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

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BRASSICA AND FODDER BEET GUIDE Cultivar

Sowing rate (kg/ha)

Days to grazing

Average yield – tonne (t) or metric tonne (MT) of DM/ha

Comments

42-56 (mid-spring sowing)

10-12t

Early maturing from spring sowing. Excellent quality, fast recovery from grazing with excellent subsequent yields. Strong plant survival from multiple grazings. Medium-maturity turnip. Excellent yield potential with improved leaf-to-bulb ratio. Full-leaved variety. Improved turnip mosaic virus tolerance.

Agricom – Brassica Ceres Hunter forage brassica Ceres New York turnip

Ceres Rival turnip

56-70 (early autumn sowing) 1.5-3 (late October to early November sown)

112

8-12t

1-2 (January to February sown)

126-140

6-8t

1.5 - 3

84-98

8-12t

Early maturing diploid summer turnip. Excellent leaf production and leaf holding. Tankard bulb with high proportion above ground.

98-112 (late October sown)

14-15t

126-168 (Nov-Dec sown)

10-14t

Medium-tall kale with excellent yield potential. Late flowering variety that maintains leafy crops into early September. Relatively thin stemmed with good leaf to stem ratio.

98-126 (Jan-Feb sown)

8-10t

Ceres Sovereign kale

Domain swede

0.5 in 60cm ridges, 1.0 in 20cm rows, 1.5 broadcast

168-210

10-14t

Spitfire forage rape

3-4 alone, 3 with herbs and clover, 1-2 with short-term ryegrass (midOctober, early November sown

91-98

First grazing 6-9t, total 11-13t (depending on number of grazings)

3-4 alone, 2 with short-term ryegrass (mid-October, early November sown)

6-9t

0.5 in 60cm ridges, 1.0 in 20cm rows, 1.5 broadcast

168-210

12-14t

Very high yielding, yellow fleshed, first crop swede. High dry rot tolerance and suitable for all stock.

98-112 (late October sown)

14-15t

126-168 (Nov- Dec sown)

10-14t

Modern New Zealand bred intermediate height kale with very high total leaf yield, and high total yield for an intermediate kale. Late flowering variety that maintains left into September.

98-126 (Jan - Feb sown)

8-10t

70-84

10-12t

Triumph swede SovGold Kale

Mainstar forage rape

3-4 alone, 2.5-3 with herbs and clovers (mid-October - early November sown) 3-4 alone, 1-2 with short-term ryegrass (February to March sown)

5-8t

Early maturity, yellow-fleshed, first crop. Dry rot tolerant. Palatable for stock. Very good table swede. Multi-purpose, high yielding, intermediate-height rape with low stem drymatter percentage. Suitable for summer, autumn and early winter feeding. Excellent aphid tolerance.

Versatile, early maturity with excellent regrowth, frost tolerant, good aphid tolerance. Ideal for mixing with shortterm ryegrass, herbs and clovers. Fast recovery from grazing with excellent subsequent yields.

Barenbrug Agriseeds – Brassica Caledonian kale

4-5

150-220

15-20t

Medium-tall, high-yielding kale with softer stems. Better animal performance over older tall cultivars.

Dynamo

2-3

60-90

10-16t

High yielding, high ME and protein summer crop. Large volumes, low-cost.

90-110

9-10t

Tall, fast-establishing rape, suitable for summer, autumn, winter feed. High yielding, high nutritive value for all stock.

0.5-0.8 ridged, 0.8-1.5 drilled

170-250

12-18t

Late maturing, yellow fleshed with high bulb and leaf yields. Holds quality well into spring.

Interval rape Invitation swede

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

Cultivar

Sowing rate (kg/ha)

Days to grazing

Average yield – tonne (t) or metric tonne (MT) of DM/ha

Comments

Cropmark – Brassica Coleor kale

4-5

150-180

12-16t

Medium height, very leafy kale (>50% leaf).

Marco turnip

55-65

10-16t

Very early maturing tetraploid summer turnip with large bulb.

Pillar rape

4-5

90-110

8-12t

An new fast establishing, high yielding, multigraze giant-type forage rape.

Proteor kale

4-5

150-180

12-16t

High yielding, intermediate-height kale with palatable stems.

PGG Wrightson Seeds – Brassica Gruner kale

150-220

15-17t

Giant type. Very high yielding. Excellent tolerance to frost.

Pallaton Raphno

50+

12-18t

High yielding multi-graze brassica crop with excellent drought, aphid and club root tolerance. Pallaton Raphno is a new brassica hybrid between kale and radish.

Kestrel kale

3-4

150-220

12-14t

Medium height. Bred for low SMCO levels. Good regrowth if lightly grazed during the summer.

Cleancrop Firefly kale

150-220

14-16t

High yielding intermediate height kale with a high leaf percentage. Excellent crop utilisation due to selection for soft stems.

Regal kale

150-220

14-16t

Very high yield. Intermediate height. High leaf-to-stem ratio.

Corsa kale

150-220

15-17t

Very high yielding giant type with excellent leaf percentage. Good aphid tolerance.

Goliath rape

90-110

11-14t

New generation rape x kale interspecies cross.

Cleancrop rape

90-110

11-14t

New generation rape x kale interspecies cross. Multigraze. Multipurpose forage rape with excellent summer/autumn/early-winter feed.

Titan rape

70-90

9-12t

New generation rape x kale interspecies cross. High yielding multigraze rape with medium-height stem. Excellent aphid and virus tolerance.

Clutha Gold swede

0.8-1.5

170-250

14-18t

Very high yielding, yellow-fleshed bulb with medium maturity. Excellent winter keeping qualities. Clubroot and dry rot tolerant.

Cleancrop Hawkestone swede

0.7-1

170-250

14-18t

High yielding yellow-fleshed swede. Dry rot and clubroot tolerance similar to Aparima Gold swede.

0.8-1.5

150-220

13-16t

Yellow fleshed bulb. Early maturing variety with soft bulbs. Light purple skinned.

Barkant turnip

1-3

60-90

11-15t

High leaf-to-bulb ratio, high protein. Tankard shaped bulb to increase utilisation and reduce choke risk.

Green Globe turnip

0.8-2

90-120

11.5-12t

Multipurpose – can be grazed in summer, autumn and winter. Winter hardy bulb turnip.

Cleancrop bulb turnip

80-110

10.5-14t

High yielding bulb turnip. Suitable for sowing from late spring through to late summer.

Cleancrop Leafy Turnip

42-70

10-11t

Multi-graze with reduced bolting. Excellent plant persistence after multiple grazings.

Pasja II leafy turnip

42-70

8-10t

Minimal ripening. Fast establishing, high-quality. Excellent persistence after multiple grazings.

SF Envy turnip

2-3

60-90

8-12MT

Fast-establishing crop providing early ground cover to reduce weed invasion. Energy crop.

SF Fuel kale

4-5

150-180

12-14MT

High yielding with good tolerance to diseases.

SF Greenland forage rape

3-4

70-84

5-12MT

Very late flowering, leafy type. Medium plant height. Good palatability with multigraze flexibility.

SF G2 turnip

0.8-1.5

110+

8-12MT

Diploid, green-skinned, white-fleshed turnip. Replacement for Green Globe. Perfect for rotations breaking in new country.

SF Pacer leafy turnip

3-5

42-56

6-10MT

Fast seedling. Minimal ripening period, allowing early access. Quick grazing recovery.

SF White Star turnip

1-3

90-110

8-12MT

Flexible sowing and grazing. Mid-maturing. Erect, productive tops. Frost tolerance.

Major Plus swede

Seed Force – Brassica

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

BRASSICA AND FODDER BEET GUIDE Cultivar

Sowing rate (kg/ha)

Days to grazing

Drymatter content of bulb

Comments

Agricom – Fodder Beet Jamon Grazing

80,000

Medium to high (16-18%)

Very uniform, true mono-germ cultivar with orange bulb. Half of bulb above ground. Excellent grazing beet, high yield potential.

Monro

Grazing

80,000

Low (13-15%)

True mono-germ. Oval shaped bulb with 60% of bulb above ground. Most suited to grazing.

Rivage

Mainly grazing, but can be lifted

80,000 (100,000 if lifting)

Medium - High (1821%)

Very uniform, true mono-germ, ideal for grazing but can be lifted. Half of bulb above ground. High yield potential.

Grazing, but can be lifted

80,000 (100,000 if lifting)

Medium - High (18-21%)

Grazing

80,000

Medium (16-21%)

Brunium

Lifting or grazing

80,000 (100,000 if lifting)

Medium - high (17 21%)

Robbos

Grazing

80,000-90,000

Medium 15-17%

Genetic mono-germ with excellent DM yield, palatability and leaf keeping ability.

Ribondo

Lifting or grazing

80,000-90,000 (grazing) 100,000110,000 (lifting)

Medium to high 18-19%

Multi-purpose fodder beet that can be used for both lifting and grazing. Yellow flesh type, providing high yield with very even bulb size and shape. True genetic mono-germ.

Blizzard

Lifting

100,000110,000

High 20-22%

Barenbrug Agriseeds – Fodder Beet Cerise Ribambelle

True mono-germ cultivar. Uniform tankard shaped bulb, 40 to 50% above ground. High yield potential Uniform, true mono-germ, red-bulbed variety. Approximately 50% of the bulb above ground. Excellent grazing beet, with high yield potential. Uniform, true monogerm cultivar resistant to Rhizoctonia brun. About half bulb above ground. Suitable for lifting, option of grazing in good growing conditions.

High yielding, sugar beet type. Specialist lifting fodder beet. Excellent leaf holding ability and disease resistance.

Cropmark – Fodder Beet Lactimo

Mainly grazing but can be 80,000-100,000 lifted.

Medium (15-17%)

High yielding mono-germ cultivar with bulb that sits 45% above ground. High disease and bolting tolerance.

Geronimo

Mainly grazing but can be 80,000-100,000 lifted.

Medium (15-17%)

New high yielding mono-germ cultivar with bulb 45% above ground. Strong foliar growth, with improved bolting resistance, good resistance to mildew, ramularia and rhizomania.

THE BEET SPECIALISTS

e l b a t e e b n u Be

plant

TRACTA61015_BB_CW

R E I D A G SF BRI 56

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

*see seedforce.co.nz for terms and conditions

Cultivar

Recommended for

Sowing rate (seeds/ha)

Summo

Lifting or grazing

80,000-100,000

Drymatter content of bulb

Comments

Medium to high High yielding mono-germ cultivar with conical bulb (18-20%) 40% above ground. Good bulb storage quality. Good seedling vigour, strong foliar growth with good disease and bolting resistance.

DLF Seeds – Fodder Beet Bangor

Grazing or lifting

90,000

Medium (1718%)

A new high-yield cultivar suited to all animal types. Mono-germ.

Bergman

Lifting

110,000

Enermax

Grazing or lifting

100,000

Feldherr

Grazing

90,000

Low (13%)

Good yields and reliable performance, suits all animal types

Kyros

Grazing or lifting

90,000

Medium (1618%)

High-yielding and proven cultivar with good utilisation.

Troya

Grazing or lifting

90,000

Medium (1718%)

A new high-yield cultivar suited to all animal types. Mono-germ. High yielding with high proportion of bulb above ground.

Very high (23%) Very high drymatter sugar beet. Mono-germ, hybrid. High (19-21%) High-yield cultivar designed for lifting, storing and feeding.

Seed Force – Fodder Beet SF Blaze

Grazing/selfharvesting

Grazing 80,000-100,000

Low-medium

SF Brigadier

Grazing/selfharvesting

Grazing 90,000-100,000

Low

SF LIFTA

Grazing/selfharvesting or lifting

Grazing/self-harvesting 80,000-100,000 Lifting 100,000-120,000

Medium-high

Versatile variety with very high yields.

SF Solidar

Grazing/selfharvesting

Grazing 80,000100,000

Low-medium

Versatile variety for grazing or self-harvesting. High yield potential with low – medium dry matter.

SF 1505Bv

Grazing/selfharvesting

Highest proportional of bulb above ground, versatile variety suitable for all animal types, especially young stock.

Grazing 90,000-100,000 Medium-high

High potential yields from medium – high DM%. Suits both grazing in-situ or self-harvesting, ensuring feeding system versatility.

Grazing/self-harvesting 80,000-100,000 Lifting 100,000-120,000

Medium-high

High DM% helps ensure impressive yields, while consistent/even ensure suitability for a range of grazing and harvesting systems.

Lifting

100,000-120,000

Very high

Uniform bulbs and even crown height, bred for mechanical harvesting. Very high dry matter with high harvestable yields.

Agricom – Sugar Beet Tadorne Lifting

100,000-120,000

Very high

Recently bred, with upright leaf habit, uniform low soil tare, suitable for harvesting only. Rhizomania tolerant.

SF Gitty

Grazing/selfharvesting or lifting

Seed Force – Sugar Beet

UN BEET ABLE

SF 1505Bv fodder beet SF 1505Bv

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

> High proportion of bulb above ground with good quality leaf > Very high potential yields from its medium – high DM% > Maximum versatility suiting a range of feeding systems Talk to us about how SF 1505Bv can help increase production on your farm. Freephone 0508 733 336 or visit

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ACTA61015_BB_CW

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

SPECIAL REPORT

Finding the sweet spot 60 Meeting the index 63 Focus on the grass 67 Risks and challenges may squeeze sweet spot 69 Finding the sweet spot 72 Utilising every blade

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

The winter milkers on a lease block handy to the Lepperton farm.

Meeting the index SPECIAL REPORT SWEET SPOT

Intensifying the family farm in Lepperton, North Taranaki, has worked well to enable Adam and Taryn Pearce to buy it, but has come with issues to work around now they are facing potential milk grades under the incoming FEI testing regime. Jackie Harrigan reports.

dam Pearce has negotiated the journey of increasing cow numbers and intensifying to a system five operation on his family farm at Lepperton and transitioning to winter milking half of the 240-cow herd. Now he is working his way through making sure the mixed diet he is feeding his high-performing cows doesn’t trip them into grade-making territory under the new fat evaluation index (FEI) testing system Fonterra will introduce from September. When 33-year-old Adam was growing up the 60-hectare block was run as an all-grass operation, making the spring abundance into grass silage to feed on the shoulders and peak milking 180 cows at 2.7cows/ha to produce 65,000 kg milksolids (MS). Over the past eight years he has ramped up intensity to increase the profitability and to allow him to buy the property from his parents. While he is on track to double the production this season has not translated into doubling the profit, it has meant servicing debt is possible on the fertile and valuable Egmont Ash soils in the Huirangi district where market gardening and lifestyle block creep on the edges of nearby New Plymouth has driven up land values. Moving to a system 3-4 was made easy by the cheap and readily available palm kernel and Adam says he has always been open to trying new things and has used turnips as a summer

supplement, while trying other crops such as sugar beet. “Palm kernel is a pretty rubbish cow feed really, but it was cheap,” he says, admitting it has made his system much more profitable and enabled them to get to where they are. “But it does have the advantages of being really convenient, able to be turned on and turned off, high in drymatter and easy to feed.” Adam has transitioned half of his herd to winter milking, which requires careful feed planning and input, to ensure the lactating herd are fully fed through the winter and producing to meet their milk contract. For the first two years they milked their empties through the winter, last year 50 cows were calved in autumn and this season was

Farm facts Farm owners: Adam and Taryn Pearce, Lepperton, Taranaki Farm size: 65ha, numerous lease blocks as runoff, Cows: 120 spring calving, 120 autumn calving Kiwi cross herd Production: 540kg MS/cow, target 130,000kg MS System 5 Pasture utilised: 14t/ha Other feeds: 2150kg/cow fed over season, grass silage, maize silage, potatoes, palm kernel, molasses, DDG, soya hull, straw. Farm dairy: 18 aside herringbone, with cup removers

‘While profit is now dictated by the payout and the price of feed, it’s a much more reliable system and feed is not limiting now.’ the first year of calving 120 autumn calvers, Adam says. “It’s much more enjoyable calving in the autumn – and now we have better infrastructure we are getting set up for it.” An extended feeding area (Adam says he can’t quite call it a feed pad – that’s overstating the extended area of concrete with feed troughs) and two new silage bunkers have made it more feasible. Reacting to “a shit of a season last year” where calving early July cows with not enough feed was “somewhere I never want to be again”, Adam has moved to a later calving and system five operation where feed is more reliable. He has also bought in 24ha of grass silage and 8.5ha of maize silage from his vegetable-growing neighbour, along with reject potatoes and straw mixed and fed through a second-hand $5000 mixer wagon. “While profit is now dictated by the payout and the price of feed, it’s a much more reliable system and feed is not limiting now.” Milking cow numbers hit 240 from September to December, when they will drop to 120 plus around 30 empties from the autumn herd. These 150 cows are milked through from January until the end of February when the autumn calvers start calving and numbers grow to 240 until June when they drop back to just the 120 autumn calving herd plus 30 empties from the spring herd and a few other bought-in empties. Adam’s other big driver to intensify and move to a system five operation and 3.7 cows/ha this season was to build profitability and allow him to take on a part-time staff member who could reduce his work load and allow him to spend more time with his wife Taryn and three daughters, Amelia, 10, Maddeline, 8 and Penelope, 6. Taryn is a primary school teacher in nearby Inglewood, and Adam now leaves their team member Anthony Moore do the afternoon milking, so he can finish work at 2.30pm to meet the girls off the school bus, taking on the afternoon parenting role and sports runs.

Adam has spent hours tracking his herd FEI and tweaking their diet to ensure come 1 September the milk is settled in the green A and B zone.

“We needed to decide which system worked for us – this gives me a life after work whereas when I was a one-man-band I was always on the farm and all the work fell to me. I missed out on a lot of time with the children. “Of course having mum and dad still living on farm and willing to pitch in when needed has been great but this gives me more profit for the farm and some time off the farm each day and much more balance – it’s a good life at the moment.”

Fat evaluation index In the past grass, grass silage and palm kernel fuelled the system three operation, feeding up to 5-6kg of palm kernel in a dry spell or feed deficit. “We knew this FEI grading system was coming up so we started tracking the FEI and started feeding some Procow supplement – a 30% molasses 70% palm kernel mix – but that caused a spike in the FEI because the cows liked it so much they ate more.” He pressed on, tweaking the mixture to figure out how to keep the FEI in the A-B zone. “Pushing back the grading implementation to 1 September was a great move from Fonterra – the winter milking farmers needed that time to try different feeds and see what the effect was on the FEI. “That’s what this winter has been all about – trying out different scenarios so that we are not going to get graded. “We have been in the red most of the winter – we have been using 4-5kg palm kernel as its cheap – but I have been very mindful of getting it down by 1 September. “At 3-4kg of palm kernel we were still in the red – and starting to panic a bit. “When I pulled back the palm kernel component it took a long time for the drop to show up in the test – we were told that changes to the diet should show through in 24 hours but its taken up to four days to drop down. Even when we dropped the palm kernel to 2.5 and then 1kg we still graded – but now the FEI has come down to settle in the B zone and we are feeding 2kg palm kernel per cow. “I use my vet Hollie Hoffman to help to get the mix right –– we just need help every so often.” While not at all willing to be graded and lose potentially 10%-20% of collection day income, Adam agrees with Fonterra’s stance to produce milk with the correct fat profile for the customer. “I think it’s brilliant in terms of getting the final product right. I am all for Fonterra bringing this FEI in – I was a classic farmer feeding 5kg of palm kernel trying to get a lot of production out of the cheapest feed – and our end result wasn’t a good product for the consumer. This system gives us a guide of what we can and can’t feed now, before we didn’t have a clue.”

Adam says the FEI grading system and their move “You can’t say that just the palm kernel affects the FEI – other feeds to winter milking has encouraged them to move to do too. I have heard that turnips could be an issue and the high starch the feed pad system and the mixer wagon. content of the potatoes and beet have also been flagged as potential Before the advent of palm kernel they used to make causes of FEI spiking. a surplus of grass silage, but building cow numbers “I have heard of farmers who say they don’t want to bother about it ended that. – they will just wear the penalties, but I can’t see the sense in that. We They need to have their own surplus or stockpile of feed need to figure it out and tweak our systems and feed regimes to keep on hand – next year they are going to double their supply of the fat levels right. maize silage, to let them feed it out all year, he says. “If you want to push the system and farm a higher stocking rate, “We will buy 8.5ha from the vege grower neighbour and also grow you have to be willing to understand the science and plan and farm 6ha of our own – it’s a cheap buffer, cheaper to make than grass accordingly.” silage.” Running a 20kg/cow diet, Adam says grass is always number one, but now he plans to plug the palm kernel gap with mainly maize silage, and also grass silage Winter milker’s diet: Spring calver’s diet as maize and cheap potatoes from the vegetable grower next runs out/grass lifts: Palm kernel: 2.4kg door. Dried distiller’s grains: 1.5kg “There are two options, you either plug in extra feed Palm kernel: 2kg and go to system five or go back to the lower stocking Potatoes: 2kg Dried distiller’s grains: 1kg rate and get in a little bit of silage. Molasses: 1 kg Molasses: 2kg “So the new reality for me is being organised and Straw: 0.5kg Soy hull: 2kg contracting feed to lock in the supply three to six Maize silage: 4kg Grass silage: 2kg months ahead. Rest grass up to 20kg “You have to be thinking that far ahead – you can’t Rest grass up to 20kg get those easy plug-ins soy and oat hull on the spot market – it’s not like the ease of availability of palm kernel.” In early August Adam pulled the palm kernel in his mix down and started a new recipe to see the effect on the FEI – keeping it in the Ideally Adam would like to move to fully autumn calving – once some A-B zone. more debt has been paid down from buying the farm – and drop the He values the availability of a 12-tonne truckful of the new recipe numbers to 200 cows. from the nearby Bell Block Grain Corp mixing facility. “We are pushing the stocking rate and the environmental pressure “If we are grading we will ease back on the palm kernel but if our up to high levels running the two herds on this soil type. Lowering FEI stays down in the A band then I can tweak the palm kernel back the number to 200 and all autumn calving would give us the six-eight up and take out some of the more expensive feed.” weeks dryoff period starting on Christmas Eve – why wouldn’t you There are numerous factors affecting the FEI reading, Adam is want to take the summer off to spend with the family?” finding, including the stage of lactation and time of year. Looking to the future, Adam says he is selecting only A2 bulls, “Last season at the end of the winter milking we had a very high FEI with a 10-year vision of breeding up to a full A2 herd and hopefully reading, but when the spring milkers came in the level dropped, plus capturing a premium from Fonterra. we were once-a-day because of the difficult wet season. It’s as though “We could probably be fully A2 in six or seven years,” he says. “If they have some sort of reaction at the end of lactation. the premium comes sooner, I would seriously consider culling all of “It seems to be affected by silage too – last year were feeding the A1s. I am going to test the individual status of each cow through spring silage, and as soon as we started feeding the autumn silage the milk samples to see the status of the herd so that I can make the FEI spiked. some culling decisions about it.”

Tweaking the diet:

Winter milking

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SPECIAL REPORT STOCKING RATE

Focus on the grass Getting the stock rate right for a resilient pasture-based system that keeps things simple. Anne Lee reports.

xacting pasture management and a simple, repeatable farm system is at the absolute heart of Alistair and Sharon Rayne’s Canterbury farm system. It’s what allows them to generate free cash from the business every year no matter what the payout, creating security, resilience and opportunities for their personal lives and for business growth. It’s the same recipe their staff learn and use to create their own pathways to equity and personal growth. Their system has to be simple, teachable and robust and above all profitable. For them it’s about focusing on New Zealand’s natural advantage Inisfree farm as a place to grow great grass and Owners: Alistair and Sharon Rayne then closely matching their feed Contract milkers: John and Michelle demand to the grass growth curve. Garvey Getting the stocking rate right is Location: Kirwee, Canterbury the first step and over time Alistair says they’ve gradually fine-tuned Area: 274ha, 260ha effective their cow numbers per hectare so Cows: 870 peak milked that rather than relying on bought-in Production: 350,000kg MS target feed their growth on average, meets Bought in supplement: nil the demands of cows through the Wintering: Cows wintered on spring to autumn. Nitrogen: 225kg N/ha “We keep a modest amount of supplement on hand as insurance Farm working expenses: $3.50/kg MS budgeted including contract milking against the vagaries of weather, and payment. if we needed to we’d buy feed in, but buying in feed isn’t part of our Farm dairy: 48-aside herring bone general farm system. Six week in-calf rate: 72-73% “We’re harvesting virtually Empty rate: 8-9% after 11.5 weeks everything we grow through the mating, no interventions cow,” he says.

Farm facts

Alistair and Sharon Rayne – a disciplined approach to a simple system

There’s no topping or pre-graze mowing and silage is made when there’s true surplus. “It really is very simple but we put a lot of effort into getting the simple parts of it right. “There aren’t a lot of moving parts to this so it’s not complex and when you take out the complexities, particularly of lots of bought-in feed, you bring down the risks,” he says. Getting residuals right is fundamental to their pasture management. It’s where Alistair and Sharon have spent a lot of time over the years when it comes to training staff. More recently that role’s been ably taken over by contract milker, Irish-born John Garvey. Alistair and Sharon’s links to Ireland and reputation as exceptional pasture managers mean many of their staff

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over the years have come to them for that training along with the very strong business focus Alistair continues to coach the staff on. “Everyone here understands very clearly what a 1500kg drymatter (DM)/ha residual looks like,” Alistair says. It’s the non-negotiable and achieving it while having well-fed cows means the system is humming. The target is to have seven out of 10 residuals at 1500kg DM/ha and three out of 10 at not more than 1600kg DM/ha. “Everything else stems from that,” Sharon says. “We’re not production focused, we’re profit focused and when you get the pasture focus right the production and productivity comes,” she says. Hitting that residual sets the pasture up to be high quality in the next grazing round. Weekly farm walks are always carried out and through the shoulders of the season or periods where climatic factors are bringing widely fluctuating growth rates, those walks tend to be twice weekly. Paddock covers are fed into Agrinet pasture management software to create a feed wedge and determine which paddocks will be grazed when. It also identifies any looming feed surpluses or deficits early so action can be taken in a timely way. “Our guys then have to be good at back calculating to determine the area they’re allocating at each grazing,” Alistair says. Through the season they make an assumption on what cows are offered based on what they need to be eating and the residual. Based on that and the paddock pre-graze cover they then determine the area needed. “Through the immediate post-calving period we think the cows need to be eating about 12-14kg DM/cow/day rising to about 17-18kg DM/ cow/day through the mid-season, dropping back down to 14kg DM/ cow/day through autumn. “We’re very careful with the spring planner and average farm cover through calving and we’re monitoring and adjusting that all the way through,” Alistair says. Pre-grazing covers through the front half of the season, in particular have to be right, at about 2800-3100kg DM/ha, so ryegrass isn’t going beyond the three-leaf stage increasing dead matter and so that reproductive stems are kept in check. “If we’re getting those pre and post-grazing residuals right then the quality is going to be really high – plenty of leaf – and it’s leaf that drives cow intakes not stem or dead matter,” Alistair says. Cows are allocated 12-hour breaks so there are two chances every day to double check accuracy of allocations and that residuals are right on target. “Monitoring is a big part of doing this well and the guys will go out after breakfast and watch the cows to make sure they’re contented and see they’re not under or over-doing them.” Unless they find an allocation is well out they’re seldom moved during a grazing, instead the allocation for the following break will be adjusted if need be. If they weren’t given enough they’ll get more in the next break and if they haven’t hit the residual a row or two of cows will be put back into that paddock to clean it up.

Pasture Summit Alistair is secretary for this year’s inaugural Pasture Summit conference being held in Hamilton and Ashburton. “It doesn’t matter what kind of system you prefer, our competitive advantage in the global food market is producing nutritious dairy products at relatively low cost, from grass fed cows. “Future opportunities for onfarm profitability, sustainability and product value all have exciting outlooks from pasture-based systems and the roundup of speakers at the Pasture Summit from here and overseas look like they’ll open our eyes to those.” See www.pasturesummit.co.nz for more information.

“We don’t expect the same rows to do that job but it’s likely to be from the first two thirds of the herd not the last couple of rows.” Nitrogen is used as a tool to and last season 225kg/ha was used. As the organic matter has built up in the soil and irrigation improved with the addition of centre pivots, nitrogen inputs have been reduced. From late January and early February, the round is extended using a combination of strategic culling, fertiliser and if necessary some silage fed to kick start covers and push them out. Using pregnancy test results, getting empty cows off is another tool used to reduce demand and push pasture ahead. “We’ll look closely at how covers are going and if it’s a good season we may hold culls longer,” Alistair says. But what’s not negotiable is the winter dry-off plan which is based on cow condition, age and calving date. “We have a matrix and a plan based on it so that from March we know which cows are being dried off when.” Generally, Sharon says they feed about 200-300kg DM/cow of spring saved silage through the season. DairyBase calculations over several seasons put their pasture eaten at 17 DM/ha. Their disciplined but uncomplicated ethos extends right across their system and leads to a low-cost operation. Farm working expenses consistently sit between $3.20-3.40/kg milksolids which includes everything except depreciation and wages of management. They get great pleasure too from showing their staff what’s possible, including sharing the farm financials and in doing so create the belief in them that dairying still offers a pathway to farm ownership. This season Alistair and Sharon have brought 57ha into their milking platform and enabled their contract milkers John and Michelle Garvey to put their 132 cows into the herd, with Alistair and Sharon leasing them. “That’s the beauty of a system that’s repeatable, simple and profitable – it gives you choices and freedom,” Alistair says.

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“The benchmarking has been F invaluable and we now have a comprehensive set of data that can be analysed and modelled to make sure we are hitting the sweet spot.”

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“ There is a strong correlation between days in milk and the bottom line” 27

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

The two significant changes in operating expenses over the preceding 10 years had been imported feed and debt expenses.

SPECIAL REPORT FLEXIBILITY

Risks and challenges may squeeze sweet spot Words by: Glenys Christian

sweet spot of farm working expenses (FWE) between $3.00 and $3.50 per kilogram of milksolids (MS) on a DairyNZ System 2 to 3 farm may come under pressure as farmers respond to biosecurity risks and environmental challenges, Taranaki dairy farmer Dale Cook believes. He came up with the figures when he investigated whether a sweet spot existed in the New Zealand dairy industry in his 2016 Kelloggs Rural Leadership Project and says he doesn’t think the fundamentals have changed a great deal since then. “It comes back to farmers’ ability to build in a buffer,” he says. “And banks have been good at indicating the drive to do better onfarm. What hit home to me was the need to have flexibility if the milk price shifts.” He and wife Mel milk 420 cows historically producing around 1000 kilograms of milksolids (MS) per hectare over 140ha near Patea. They run a pasture-based, self-contained system which he says is moving up to the DairyNZ system 3 operation with the recent installation of an in-dairy feeding system, which they hope will see them hit their target of 1200kg MS/ha this season. For his project he defined the sweet spot as the point where the operational cost of production, FWE/kg MS produced, had the flexibility to mitigate downside risk and capture upside risk in a sustainable farming system. He interviewed Taranaki farmers, rural bankers, farm consultants and accountants to get their different views surrounding the sweet spot in the region. He also reviewed literature on the industry’s competitive advantage strategies, looked at resilient farming systems

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

and analysed the five dairy production systems. Those farmers who were perceived to be operating within the sweet spot had a low to medium input farming system, of DairyNZ System 2-3, with FWE in the range of $3.00-$3.50/kg MS produced. “However while farmers believed they were operating within the sweet spot, the rural professionals in contrast believed that only 25% of their clients were,” he says. His idea of a sweet spot in the dairy industry was reinforced when he came across research led by Massey University’s Nicola Shadbolt which analysed the difference between farmers who best showed flexibility around risk. As well as finding out whether such a spot where farmers were most likely to satisfy their own personal drivers as well as financial goals existed he wanted to know more about how it was reached and whether it was static or moving. He focused on the buffer capacity or ability of a farm system to move or flex within a turbulent environment and found farms proven to be resilient over five years were technically efficient and able to produce more milk as well as being financially efficient. They generated more profit per unit of output and had a high return on assets. More liquid cash was earned for drawings, capital expenditure or investment and managed debt-servicing capacity at DairyNZ system 3 operations. Milk production per hectare and operating profit margin were the dominant key performance indicators (KPIs). Cook found the two significant changes in operating expenses over the preceding 10 years had been imported feed and debt expenses. While farmers were moving to growing and harvesting more grass when he carried out his survey he says this is even more important

at present as shown by palm kernel imports stabilising and the introduction of Fonterra’s fat evaluation index (FEI). He selected four groups; farmers (including owner-operators, sharemilkers and farm employers), bankers, accountants and farm consultants, developed a pilot survey of interview questions and tested it with a farm consultant and a farmer. “Once given the definition of the sweet spot all but one of the farmers were confident they were currently operating in the sweet spot,” Cook says. They defended their farming system by saying their sweet spot was relevant for their farm in their climate. There was also a strong link between understanding their own financial position and achieving the sweet spot. They believed the FWE sweet spot occurred between $3.00-3.50kg MS with a farm system between a DairyNZ system 2-3. Asked about tools available to help find the sweet spot, budgeting was highlighted as the most relevant. Other tools that mentioned were using an accountant, banker and farm consultant. The quality of relationship or service from these rural professionals had a strong bearing on finding their particular sweet spot. Building a good team was also highlighted with the most important person being the farmers as leader. Having a slightly lower than average stocking rate was seen as a tool to give flexibility, meaning farmers could add imported feed to increase production and capitalise on higher milk prices. They advised farmers to keep an open mind around different farm systems, research what other farmers were doing locally as well as nationally and internationally. They also needed to find out what personal drivers were really important, including financial goals and build the farm system around them. Other influences were term debt, other financial constraints and the influence of farm owners in share farming agreements. When assessing clients, bankers said only 25% or less of dairy farmers were operating within the sweet spot. Those who had

How to hit the sweet spot • Assess and research drivers for the farm business both financially and physically. • Build a team of family, mentors, rural professionals, or farmers with trusted advice. • Implement a strategy, plan to reach those goals, get feedback from the team. • Include strong buffer capacity (financial efficiency) which will add resilience and long-term security. • Monitor and measure these by benchmarking or using key performance indicators. • An in-depth understanding of farm financials and physical capabilities is critical, but even more so is the ability to control operating costs in line with the milk price.

strong financial knowledge of their own businesses were more likely to operate at or near the sweet spot at any given time. The bankers said FWE of $3.00kg MS achieved the sweet spot with these farms operating at DairyNZ System 3. And they linked benchmarking to the likelihood of finding the sweet spot. When he asked bankers to describe farmers operating within the sweet spot he was interested to get examples of those Dale Cook with higher than average debt levels. He was told their in-depth understanding of their farm and FWE gave the bank the confidence to support them. They were also very good at “stripping out costs” when the milk price indicated they should do so. So their farm system needed to have some level of stability but also some flexibility.

‘While farmers believed they were operating within the sweet spot, the rural professionals in contrast believed that only 25% of their clients were.’ “Getting the balance right is the key to finding the sweet spot.” Farm consultants felt farmers needed good people around them, a good awareness of cost structure and understanding of farm financials. They should also be monitoring their farm’s physical KPIs regularly. They felt the FWE sweet spot was $3.50/kg MS with a DairyNZ system 2 or 3. The key tools to help find the sweet spot were monitoring cashflow and benchmarking. But as the sweet spot was constantly moving farmers needed to plan, monitor and review. The farm accountants also believed only 25% of their clients were operating in the sweet spot and again nominated an FWE of between $3-3.50kg MS on a DairyNZ system 2 or 3 operation. They advocated flexible farm systems where the best farmers were achieving high production and operated low cost structures which were of reasonable scale. They pointed to farmers who had excellent cost control and were disciplined when it came to debt reduction. “The message that I found repeated and reinforced was the need to have an in-depth understanding of the farm financials and farms’ physical capabilities,” he says. “Farmers need to know how flexibility can be used in their FWE and farming systems in order to maintain the sweet spot status as the climatic and economic conditions change.” Cook also says his research broadened his own views of the sweet spot. “Where it occurs depends on the individual, their personal drivers and financial goals. It requires clear goals and strategies to add flexibility along with strong elements of financial efficiency (buffer capacity) and a great team to support the farmer.”

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

Finding the sweet spot

SPECIAL REPORT EXPERT EYE

Benchmarking a dairy business relative to its peers is an excellent way to guide a farm to its highest level of profitability, dairy consultant Chris Lewis writes.

s a dairy farm consultant my definition of the sweet spot is the farm system where an individual farm can consistently deliver its highest level of profitability. A key word is “consistently”. The farm system employed must be repeatable year-on-year, without deterioration of any farm resources. This means the quality of the cows, people, land, water and climate should not be eroded by the farm’s operation. A huge challenge for dairy farmers is to determine if their business is in the sweet spot, and if not, “why?” Benchmarking is an excellent place to start. Verifying how well a business is performing relative to its peers is a revealing and challenging process. An open-minded approach is essential as farmers benchmark. They must be prepared to acknowledge that their farm is not in a sweet spot and change is required. What makes this harder is that 80% of farmers believe they perform in the top 20%. Realisation for a farmer that they are not as good as they first thought, is unsettling. Those with the right attitude are galvanised by the news to do better. An excellent starting point for dairy farmers wanting to benchmark their business is through Dairybase or they might use their financial statements and a few quick maths on a calculator to compare with the DairyNZ Economic Farm Survey. In reviewing any credible New Zealand benchmarks a consistent

Why do some farmers make more money than others? Table 1: Groups of Farms Ranked by Quartile on Operating Profit $ per Ha Bottom Quartile

Bottom-Middle Quartile

Middle-Top Top Quartile Quartile

Milking Hectares

149

139

141

160

Cows

366

373

395

500

Stocking Rate

2.5

2.7

2.8

3.1

Cows per FTE

131

141

145

158

Milksolids per cow

344

363

379

420

Milksolids per hectare

871

994

1,058

1,312

Gross farm revenue $/kg MS

6.23

6.50

6.61

6.55

Operating expenses $/kg MS

5.56

4.90

4.45

4.05

Operating profit $/kg MS

0.67

1.60

2.17

2.49

Operating profit $/ha

554

1,493

2,220

3,184

Operating return on dairy assets %

1.7%

3.8%

5.0%

6.2%

DairyNZ Economic Farm Survey 16/17

finding is that the highest quartile profit farmers have a higher stocking rate. In table 1 the upper quartile farms for 2016/17 were stocked 0.3 cows per hectare higher than the middle to upper group, and profit was $1000/ha higher. They not only had more cows, but had higher production per cow – 420kg milksolids (MS) – and a lower cost structure –$4.05/kg MS. A dangerous response to this is to say “the sweet spot requires a high stocking rate”, so dairy farmers should just run more cows. This is definitely not the answer for everyone, and in fact would probably lead to implementation of a totally unsustainable farm system. Not every farm is going to deliver $5000 profit per hectare. The reality is not all farms have the same set of resources. So how do you identify the optimal point for your individual farm? BakerAg and Macfarlane Rural Business are consultancy firms using a tool called Dairy System Monitoring (DSM) which includes the Farmax software, to record and analyse individual farm performance. Among other outcomes it benchmarks and reports the results of individual farms. With two decades of information in this tool we have been able to identify the criteria, that if satisfied, are more likely to deliver an individual farm business into its sweet spot. In the following table you will note that the top 10% of DSM farmers, ranked on earnings before interest and tax (EBIT $/ha), are again the highest stocked, consistent with the DairyNZ survey. But read on because we suggest stocking rate should be subservient to other traits demonstrated in the table. (See Table 2) Our top 10% of DSM farmers do have a high stocking rate, but they also grow the most grass and crop. This group’s herbage production is superior per ha and, more importantly, per cow. In fact, we advocate from this evidence that a profitable farm system is designed first around having the right amount of home-grown feed per cow. Over a large number of seasons and payouts we have found the most consistently profitable farms have five tonnes of home-grown forage per cow. There are exceptions to this, but if you know how much feed you grow, divide this by five and you have a guide on stocking rate for the sweet spot. Example: I grow 12t DM/ha, divide by 5t DM/cow = 2.4 cows per ha. Let’s consider the other traits of our top 10% in the table, which must also be satisfied. The top 10% have the highest milksolids per cow which is a function of having more feed, but also superior feed conversion efficiency. There isn’t the wastage or losses that would be seen on a less-profitable farm. The cows milk longer. This is part of the efficiency story. There is

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

Table 2: BakerAg Dairy System Monitoring 17/18 season at $6.75/kg MS

less time in the nonlactating state, so more feed is being applied to the production of milk. We know these sweetTop Middle Bottom 10% 10% 10% spot, top 10% farms have good reproductive 232 240 166 Milking Ha performance. Feed is not 2.8 3.1 Cows per 3.5 used on an animal that is Ha slow to calve again. $4,642 $2,714 $961 EBIT per The top 10% cow Ha is also producing well $319 EBIT/Cow $1,343 $972 relative to its liveweight, $4.47 $5.07 $6.34 Cost of which is part of the Production sustainability story. This $1.59 $1.78 $1.82 Feed will not happen with Cost/kg a cow that is light in MS condition. 429 343 MS / Cow 464 Our top 10% have the 1,647 1,204 1068 MS / Ha lowest cost of production, 17.8 13.8 12.7 Pasture which in DSM includes & Crop Yield wages of management tDM/Ha and depreciation. This 5,154 4,928 4,119 Pasture happens for two reasons. DM / Cow 1. The farmer has good discipline around 271 264 250 Milking Days / spending. The operating Cow cost per hectare is 0.82 0.72 MS to LW 0.89 consistent with, or below 16.1 18.4 16.9 Feed what is expected for that Conversion farm system. Efficiency 2. If the farm is in the sweet spot, costs are in sync with production and you get a low cost of production. I refer to this as the dilution factor. BakerAg has examples of medium production farms, typically system 2/3, with a low-cost structure making high sustainable EBITs because of an excellent dilution effect. We also have high production farms system 4/5 with medium-cost structures deriving equally good EBITs. Again, it is the dilution effect. To summarise the story so far. Top 10% farms have the correct number of cows relative to the amount of feed that is grown, good feed conversion efficiency (minimal wastage), a longer lactation

Graph 1:

length, cows performing well relative to liveweight and expenditure that is in line with milk production.

What system? To explore who is making the high profits BakerAg has analysed the 2017/2018 DSM data to another level where it plotted expenditure per hectare (which tends to align with farm system types) and mapped this against milksolids production per hectare. (Graph 1) We then overlaid the data with a line that represents break-even for a $6.70 milk price. This is after meeting interest at a standardised $1.20/kg MS. The distance between the break-even line and the individual farm dot represents the discretionary farm surplus – cash profit. This graph demonstrates that we had several businesses, three highlighted with arrows, that are delivering a similar level of “profit” despite being very different farm systems. When we trialled different milk prices for this graph we found that for a payout between $5.70/kg MS and $7.70/kg MS, farm system type didn’t drive cash profit. This is a crucial finding because it says the current milk price +/- $1 should not be driving decisions around which farm system to use. Any farm system is capable of generating a top 10% profit result. How well you implement the farm system is likely to have a bigger impact on profitability. Where does this leave us? If you want to get your farm business into the sweet spot, start with benchmarking the farms financial and physical performance. When you then look at the numbers, and find you are not in the top quarter don’t get trapped by a “more cows” response. Look to define what resources you have to work with. The most important being home grown forage yield. Other indices around lactation length, feed conversion efficiency, reproductive performance, output per full time person in the business and others help to complete the picture. It could be that you are using your resources efficiently, and while your profit is not “top quarter”, it is good relative to the resources employed. If there remains a gap in performance, pull out a blank sheet of paper and consider what a farm re-design might look like. Look at the desired outcomes, then build out from these expectations to form a farm system. Will the cost to run that system be in sync with production? If you don’t have the dilution effect, you will be pushing a square peg into a round hole. Get out another piece of paper, start again. To conclude, the most important advice from all our work in dairy system monitoring: “once you have found the sweet spot – don’t muck around with it.” Meaning, if isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Get your business into the sweet spot and leave it there. • Chris Lewis is a senior dairy consultant and director of BakerAg NZ.

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

Rob and Hayley Hathaway won the Dairy Business of the Year Award for the Central Plateau.

Utilising every blade SPECIAL REPORT STOCKING RATE

The Central Plateau Dairy Business of the Year is a Reporoa operation running at 3.3 cows/ha. Dairy farmers Robert and Hayley Hathaway have bumped up milk production with a higher stocking rate by using efficient supplements and precision pasture management. Sheryl Brown reports.

hen Robert and Hayley bought their 160ha dairy farm on the Reporoa flats they were milking 460 cows at 2.8 cows/ha, producing 148,000kg milksolids (MS). The move to a higher stocking rate wasn’t planned. It was the result of a favourable calving season when they had a lot of heifers born. They reared the extra replacements and eventually brought them into the herd, bumping their cow numbers up to 500. With a higher stocking rate, they don’t make very much grass silage so utilising every blade of grass is essential, Robert says. “You have to be on to it with your pasture management.” They dry the cows off in May to ensure they have enough grass going into winter. “It starts to get too wet and there is too much pasture damage, the girls need a break too.” Earlier this year their tanker track was inaccessible from April when their creek flooded and took out their culvert, so the cows were all dried off earlier. They graze 350 cows off-farm for eight weeks and the young stock go off-farm after spring at 150kg to graze at Rotorua.

Key facts Owners: Robert and Hayley Hathaway Location: Reporoa Area: 227ha effective (160ha owned, 84ha leased) 2018/19 production target: 500kg MS/ cow Cows: 750 (500 on home farm, 250 on lease farm) Pasture harvested: 12t DM/ha Farm dairy (home farm)

REPOROA

44-bail rotary, Protrack, Waikato Milk Meters, Protrack Heat camera, ACR, inshed feeding Farm dairy (lease farm) 20-aside herringbone, ACR, in-shed feeding

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

‘I try and measure the pasture a week ahead and like to know if I’m feeding out or adding in more supplement. I don’t like to change it too much.’

DBOY 2018 Key Performance Indicators – Chikasa Trust (2016/17 season) Milk production: 485kg MS/cow, 1247kg MS/ha

Robert and his sister Louise Hathaway, a web and app designer, developed the Grazing Calculator App in 2013. Robert’s idea was to create a simple app that would do quick grazing calculations based on various scenarios. The app allows you to work out the number of days in a paddock, for pasture and crops, based on number of cows, kg DM you want to feed every day, target grazing residuals and square metres based on paddock size. Robert has also invested in a drone to measure pasture, but is now trialling SPACE from LIC, which he says is saving a lot of time. “SPACE is a bit up and down and it can’t always give us an accurate pasture cover for a particular paddock, but it ranks the paddocks well and we know where on the farm we have pasture.” Robert adjusts the supplement the cows are getting in the farm dairy based on pasture cover and if it’s too wet to feed out silage. “This is a wet farm and sometimes it’s too wet and there is too much mess and waste trying to feed out in the paddock. When it gets to that point where I’m not going into the paddocks with the wagon I can increase what they’re getting in the shed.

Benchmarking their business has helped Robert and Hayley spot the opportunities to improve.

Return on capital: 4.3% Operating profit margin: 28.2% Operating profit/ha: $3044 Cost of production: $4.53/kg MS Operating expenses: $4.87/kg MS Pasture harvested: 11.3t DM/ha Pasture % of feed: 61.5% Core cost per cow: $902 Labour efficiency cows/FTE: 132 Environment Score: 8/15 HR Score: 8.5/15 “I try and measure the pasture a week ahead and like to know if I’m feeding out or adding in more supplement. I don’t like to change it too much.” When they increased cow numbers, Robert was initially feeding a lot of palm kernel. It was cheap and the ‘in’ feed. However, four years ago he started experimenting with other supplements and he immediately saw the cows’ responding better and an increase in production. “Soya seems to work well, it might be more expensive (than palm kernel), but over the last two years we’ve seen better results.” Milk production has increased to 252,539kg MS on the home milking platform and their feed costs in the farm dairy are $350/t. “Our feed costs have been higher over the last couple of years because it’s been so wet,” he says. Robert predominately uses soya hull pellets, hominy (kibbled maize) and milk whey from Open Country Dairies. Soya hull makes up 70% of the dry feed, with 10% hominy, and the balance is made of palm kernel and minerals. The herd gets an average of 4kg/cow/ day, but the top performers can get up to 6.5kg. He also buys in 150t of grass silage and 150t of lucerne silage from Fiber Fresh, their next-door neighbours. They have a dosatron for mineral dispensing, but Robert wants to buy a mineral dispenser for the farm dairy feed because

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Robert and Hayley find buying in feed is more cost-effective and has bumped up their milk production.

Robert feeds supplement to the cows on the home farm based on their production, age and weight. The technology in the rotary allows him to feed cows individually, which he would like to be able to do on both farms. Robert has two full-time staff on the home farm, a manager on the lease farm, another full-time worker that floats between the two farms and a calf-rearer.

Benchmarking their farm

it’s more accurate and he can ensure the cows are getting their daily requirements. “In winter the cows just aren’t drinking enough water so they’re not getting enough minerals.” In previous seasons they’ve grown up to 12ha of turnips in the summer, but Robert is not planning on growing any this year. He has done the figures and it works out cheaper to buy in equivalent feed over summer because it takes too long to get the paddocks back into the grazing rotation. “Especially with the wet autumns we’ve been having, we haven’t been able to get on and graze the paddocks early enough.” He is planning to go from grass to grass for their pasture renovation programme instead which means they can put the new grass in by February or March and be grazing it by early autumn. When it comes to pasture species, Robert is not fussy and uses Ceres 150 grass seed in the burgundy pack. “My friends and farm adviser suggested it and I have had good results, it works the best on my farm.” He uses Shogun to undersow the farm when needing to boost pasture in paddocks, often those that have been damaged in wet conditions. The season has started off more favourably and the couple are hoping the weather is kinder this year. They’ve had three extremely wet seasons in a row, Robert says. The cows averaged 498kg MS/cow last season and Robert and Hayley are keen to nudge them over the 500kg MS/cow this year. The cows are run in two herds, the heifers and light cows are run separately so they don’t get bullied.

Robert grew up in Reporoa and met Hayley, who grew up in Oamaru, when he travelled to South Otago to study at Telford. The couple moved back to Reporoa in 2001 and have lived in the region ever since. “Robert never warned me about the fog though,” Hayley says. Robert worked for a year across his parents’ dairy farms in the area before taking on the role as manager on the 160ha farm. The couple went contract milking the following year and bought the farm off Robert’s parents in 2009. The couple have since had three children, Felix, 7, Willow, 4, and Remy, 2. Hayley, who has a NZ Diploma of Business, is chair of the Reporoa Primary board of trustees and vice president of the local Playcentre. The couple work with Intelact consultant Daniel Sullivan, from AgVantage Consulting and have entered the Dairy Business of the Year (DBOY) awards several times, almost as a default, Hayley says. Working with Intelact involves providing your financial and farm information, which you get a thorough annual report – which is used as your award entry. Winning the Central Plateau Dairy Business of the Year has given the couple even more encouragement to focus on other areas of their business. “Now we’ve aced milk production we need to look at all the other figures,” Hayley says. “We are not big budgeting people on a monthly basis, and our cost per cow that year seems to be higher compared to the other finalists, so we need to look at that and work out why. “We have learnt so much and are motivated to work on our return on capital, as that is 50% of the competition.” The couple are continuously looking at other farming opportunities that can help them raise their equity portfolio. “We are always looking at opportunities that come our way,” Hayley says. Entering the awards and benchmarking yourselves against other farmers is huge motivation and sharing a day at the Leadership Optimisation seminar with the other winners after the awards was an awesome opportunity, the couple say. “The knowledge we gained will really help us achieve our business goals,” Hayley says. The couple’s DBOY field day is on October 30 at 9:30am. Robert’s Grazing Calculator App can be bought on iTunes for Apple and Google Play for Android phones.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 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.

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Don’t lose your cool

any New Zealand farmers store their vaccines in a fridge on the farm with little knowledge on whether that fridge is storing their vaccine at the correct temperature or not. It is not uncommon for farmers to have expensive, modern refrigerators in their homes containing $200 worth of groceries and retired refrigerators in their sheds containing $3,000 worth of vaccines. A recent British study recorded the internal temperatures of nineteen farm fridges over a seven month period. The study concluded that each fridge recorded either above or below the recommended temperature of between 2-8°C and in a significant number of fridges, the temperature was outside the required range for long enough to affect the vaccine’s potency. Poor vaccine storage can cause wastage, reduce effectiveness and even cause harm to animals. For the 2018 Ultravac® BVD campaign, Zoetis is offering an alarmed fridge thermometer* for every two 250mL packs purchased or for every five packs of Ultravac® BVD 100mL purchased to aid in ensuring that vaccines are stored at the correct temperature. BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhoea) is one of the most common and costly diseases in New Zealand cattle. The problem with BVD is that many of the losses it causes are not obvious; your cattle may have this disease and you may not be aware of it. In New Zealand 15%-20% of dairy herds and 65% of beef herds are infected with BVD, and most beef and dairy herds will be infected at some point in time. Zoetis the makers of Ultravac® BVD, have stringent manufacturing, quality control and cold chain shipping protocols in place to make sure their vaccines arrive in our vet clinic ready to protect your animals. Make sure you get the most out of your vaccines by following these steps to maintaining correct storage temperatures: • Unless otherwise stated, vaccines must be kept at 2-8°C. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

• The vaccine should be refrigerated via a chilly bag/bin during transportation to the farm. Unpack and refrigerate the vaccine on arrival. • Place a digital thermometer inside the refrigerator and monitor the temperature regularly. • Store refrigerated goods so there is space between them to allow the air to circulate and better maintain target temperature. • Secure the fridges thermostat so it is not accidentally adjusted. • For further information on best practise vaccine handling and BVD control, talk to your vet today.

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Jamie and Felicity sell their young stock and buy empty cows.

STOCK CARRY-OVER COWS

Milk machines Concentrating on carry-over cows has seen a Nelson region couple achieve much greater production than they would if heifers were retained. Anne Hardie reports.

ll 700 cows belonging to sharemilkers Jamie and Felicity Thomas are carry-over cows and all of their heifers are sold so they can buy in empty cows as replacements. The Welsh and Kiwi combination run two sharemilking contracts on neighbouring farms in the Rainy River, southwest of Nelson, and apart from spending less on empty or in-calf carryover cows, the cows produce more in their first year back in milk. On average, Jamie explains, a carryover cow produces 15% more milk than other cows that have not had a year off production, while a typical cow without that break produces about 15% more than a heifer. It means a carry-over cow can produce about 30% more than a heifer coming into the herd. It’s a gamble buying empty or carry-over cows for a myriad of reasons, but that first season with 100% carry-overs they only had 10% empties and achieved 142,000kg milksolids (MS) – nearly 1300kg MS/ha – 90

from 300 cows on grass and silage, while their second season reached 500kg MS/ cow. Taking a step back, Jamie and Felicity took on a 2IC job on one of Mark and Julie Freeman’s dairy farms in the valley back in 2013 and a couple of seasons later were offered a sharemilking contract on a 112ha farm at the top of the valley. Mark buys and sells stock, including empty cows that are out of production the next season and then sold in-calf, so their first 300 cows to stock the farm were selected from those in-calf carry-overs. They paid $1700/cow for predominantly crossbred types tending toward Friesian, when cow prices in general were between $2000 and $2500. Being carry-overs meant more pressure at calving, with 270 of the cows calving in the first three weeks. In August, Felicity gave birth to their second child and through spring they had needed to give staff a break, so Jamie’s dairy-farming stepfather headed over from Wales to help out on the farm.

KEY FACTS • Farm owners: Mark and Julie Freeman • Sharemilkers: Jamie and Felicity Thomas • Location: Rainy River, Korere, Nelson • Business: 300 cows on 112ha and 400 cows on 140ha • Empty cows as replacements $800-$850/cow • Top production: 1300kg MS/ha

Toward the end of the 2015-16 season, Mark and Julie’s 140-hectare farm along the valley became available, prompting Jamie and Felicity to grab the opportunity to take up a lower-order sharemilking contract on it and employ staff to run the 112ha farm they had been on. Both farms have a mix of river flat, river terrace and steep hill on the side of the valley, with nearly 20% of the 140ha farm on hill

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

Jamie and Felicity Thomas with their herd in July.

country that is marginal for their side-byside vehicles, but is all part of the milking platform. Last season they went to 50:50 sharemilking contracts on both farms and bought the existing herd of 400 cows on the 140ha farm from Mark and Julie, with most of the cows leaning toward Friesian. Every year they are now buying in 160 empty cows via stock agents using a selection criterion for the cows based on Friesian type for a larger cow with more milk production, four good teats, good locomotion, between three and seven years old, a good breeding worth (BW) and C10 status. As empty cows, they are paying between $800 and $850, based on beef prices, then running them through winter on Mark and Julie’s drystock farm a little further down the valley at $4.50 per cow per week. The farm has wide river terraces where it can grow large quantities of supplement for both sharemilking operations as well as Mark’s drystock operation. Through winter, the carry-over cows

run with the main herd and Felicity says that gives them time to sort out their new pecking order through pushing and shoving before they calve and head into the dairy. As the new season gets under way they’re only milking cows that have had at least one season in production in the past and don’t have heifers to introduce to the system. Bringing new carry-over cows on to the property each year when Mycoplasma bovis is still an unknown quantity doesn’t particularly faze them. Jamie says they will take all the precautions possible, but in countries like the United Kingdom where his parents run a dairy farm, the infection is not a daunting problem. When he questioned his parents about M bovis, they had never heard of it, while the family vet in the UK told him it was not a major issue. Felicity says a mix of cows from different herds also has the advantage of increased immunity against various viruses as opposed to a closed herd, though they admit there will initially be no immunity

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

to M bovis in any herd. At calving, their sharemilking contracts allow them to provide milk and grazing without costs to 160 calves between the two farms so they select those with the best BW and usually sell them between six and 12 months old depending on the market each year, while selling the rest when they are four to seven days old. “We can buy an empty cow for the same price as an 11-month-old heifer,” Jamie says. “One year we sold in-calf two-yearolds – it all depends on the market and usually Mark buys our heifer calves, then gets them in calf to sell. “Carry-over cows don’t cause too many issues compared with heifers, so it’s easier on staff. And simply buying a carry-over cow gives us more milk production, which is one of our goals. Lower empty rate is another goal.” It hasn’t all been plain sailing and last year their empty rate took a dive and they are still trying to work out answers to that. The most likely reason to date seems to be the weather at a crucial time, as both of 91

their herds under different management had a dip in fat-to-protein ratio at exactly the same time. One of the herds also had been established with carry-over cows a season later than the other, so if it was following a similar path to the first herd, it should have had a good year. Pre-mating checks, using vets to check cows, using CIDRs and putting non-cyclers on once-a-day milking and run with bulls had all been part of their programme that had worked well in the past, but the poor result on both farms followed two very wet springs and Jamie and Felicity wonder how much that played a part. Especially as most of the cows had calved the year before in August and September, so had a good gap before mating. “We looked at the fat-to-protein ratio and could see a point where it went down for three days on both farms even though we had different people managing the two herds. It’s like some sort of event happened on both farms. We had so much grass growing on the top farm (112ha farm) and grass was being pre-mown, so the cows were fully fed and in really good condition.”

The in-calf herd on the farm owner’s drystock farm.

When the cows do calve, they dose them with JumpStart which has calcium, magnesium and molasses, mainly to protect them from milk fever and though it’s hard work to dose each cow, Jamie says it’s worthwhile and pays for itself. “We overload with magnesium by dusting the grass with magnesium oxide and put magnesium chloride in the water and give them magnesium lick blocks.” It gets the cows through that postcalving period and a good start to the season which will rely on a largely grass-based system. When they took on their sharemilking contracts, they were so impressed with chicory that they kept increasing the crop until it was a third of each farm. But things didn’t work out so well that year and they have since decided to stick with Shogun ryegrass to remove the gamble of a crop. For the first two seasons they planted chicory under their K-line irrigation – 7.5ha and then 17.5ha of chicory – it performed well and helped production, with the first farm milking 295 cows at the peak to achieve 153,000kg MS. “Going into our third season we put in a third of both farms in chicory. But the

‘Carry-over cows don’t cause too many issues compared with heifers, so it’s easier on staff. And simply buying a carry-over cow gives us more milk production, which is one of our goals. Lower empty rate is another goal.’

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

Cows that were once empty, now form the basis for the herd.

weather was bad and we had 10ha of crop on the top farm that had to be put into grass as it was waterlogged and didn’t grow. It was a poor growing season too.” When they had new chicory crops and new grass on the top farm, it was a long way to haul balage as well, whereas the Shogun they planted on the dryland areas was proving its worth year-round. They’d initially direct drilled Shogun – which they hope will last five years – to try and control grass grub, as well as rolling, spraying with bacteria that attacks the grub and stomping it with stock. It’s had success against the grub as well as improving pasture production, as Felicity explains. “It was growing so well that it outgrew the grass grub and grows well in winter as well. There’s obviously a cost with sowing it, but less with direct drilling and the extra grass that it grew made up for that. “The idea of having Shogun and not chicory is that you don’t have the downtime of putting a crop in,” Jamie says. “The dry season normally starts in January and goes through February and March and in March you’re thinking of regrassing coming out of crop, spraying out crop and putting in crop, so you’re lining yourself up for a deficit that you have to fill with supplement.” It doesn’t tiller very well though and they are now broadcasting it with clover and plantain to find out through a bit of trial and error what works best. Now about a third of both farms is planted in Shogun under irrigation, while the top farm has much of its dryland planted in the ryegrass as well. The greater part of both farms are dryland pastures, with 35ha on the smaller and 45ha on the larger farm under K-line irrigation, using water sourced from the local river and stored in ponds. They were moving the K-line twice a day, six days a week, but they now irrigate solely at night and have put in more lines to cover more land for the quota allowed. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

In short, they use the same amount of water on more land, at night. On the 140ha farm, they’re shifting the irrigation twice a day, seven days a week to get water on 45ha.

Dusting magnesium oxide onto grass in the lead up to calving.

Felicity says it now moves slower across the paddock, but the pasture has managed without drying out and the one paddock that takes the longest to irrigate seems to be the best growing paddock. Between wet and dry challenges, they haven’t reached the 140ha farm’s record production of 186,000kg MS and are hoping the weather plays ball this season. They’re buying in 100 tonnes of palm

kernel for the 112ha farm and 50t for the 140ha farm, with the latter capped by the farm owner until production increases. This season they are trialling the palm kernel at different times, which means they won’t be feeding it at mating as they have heard it can have a negative effect on conception. In the past they have used it at mating and though they used it through calving for cow condition, they stopped

feeding it before mating. They will feed it again if needed through the season such as the feed pinch through a dry summer and the tail end of the season. With palm kernel and grazing their carry-over cows, their farm working expenses works out at $2.20/kg MS for their part of the sharemilking contract. While they pay lower grazing costs for empty cows on maintenance than they would for growing young stock, balage is a major cost and their labour is higher than usual for sharemilkers. That’s because they employ two managers on the 112ha farm, with each manager having their own specific job description. Wages work out much the same as employing a manager and 2IC, but are split equally and Jamie and Felicity say it gives staff responsibility, allows advancement and is a way of retaining two good staff members. Looking ahead to when their contract ends in two seasons, the goal is to move to one larger farm with one dairy and less staff to simplify their business.

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

Improving your in-calf rate

STOCK DAIRY NZ

Improving optimum body condition scores is one key to better in-calf rates, Dairy NZ developer Samantha Tennent writes. hile we’re in the thick of calving, it’s hard to believe mating season is just around the corner. For many of you, improving six week in-calf rates is always high on the agenda, and I can understand why. All the farmers I’ve talked to with a high six week in-calf rate say it makes their life easier, the job more enjoyable, and not to mention the farm more profitable. The average six week in-calf rate on Kiwi farms is currently about 65%. That’s a wee way off the sector target of 78%. It’s a challenge, but some farmers are already hitting it. So what are they doing differently? The journalist in me wanted to find out. I contacted a former colleague at Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) and asked to talk to a farmer who managed to improve their in-calf rate. She put me in touch with Hawke’s Bay dairy farmer Mike Sales, who dramatically improved the in-calf rate at the previous 650-cow farm he managed with his wife Angela in Rotorua. The pair are now equity managers for a 1200-cow farm in Patoka.

Over the span of four years, Mike, Angela and their team managed to improve the in-calf rate from 52% to an impressive 78% just by making small changes. One key area Mike focused on was ensuring cows hit optimum body condition scores (BCS) pre-calving. He aimed for a BCS of 5 for cows and 5.5 for heifers. He says BCS targets are extremely important as if cows are too light or too heavy they won’t come in heat. “Your BCS target is your lifeline. It’s psychological for the cow; if she’s at the right weight she knows she’s ready to be in-calf,” he says. “After calving we try to hit 4.5 BCS. In the lead up to mating, we’ll increase the protein percentage in the feed supplement in the shed to give them more energy and help them reach their BCS target.” Mike also focused on training his staff to ensure they all knew what signs to look for to tell if a cow is on heat. He believes it’s important the whole team is trained in this area, not just senior staff, as improving in-calf rates is a team effort. Mike says record keeping is equally as

HEAT DETECTION Missing or wrongly identifying cows in heat can cost farmers thousands of dollars each year through reduced in-calf rates and later calving patterns. The best heat detection starts with careful planning, good observation and the effective use of detection aids. Key signs that indicate a cow is in heat: • Stands to be ridden – hair and skin rubbed off crest of tail • Behaviour is nervous, excitable, and restless • May ride other cows • May stand with back arched and tail in air • Spends less time than usual grazing • Displays moist, red vulva • Clear mucus discharge from vulva • May hold milk • Frequently changes from their usual order coming into the shed – often leads the herd from the paddock or lags behind. For more information on heat detection, visit dairynz.co.nz/heat-detection. Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

MIKE’S THREE KEY TIPS: • Focus on hitting BCS targets • Train your team to recognise the signs a cow is on heat • Record all observed heats important. “After three weeks of recording during premating, we have a list of those that didn’t cycle. We can then analyse why and decide what treatment option we will take. “It always pays to record what’s going on on-farm. It’s an additional workload but once you do it regularly it becomes a habit and it pays off.” He says communication is also vital so that your team understands what you’re trying to achieve. Finally, Mike encouraged farmers with low in-calf rates to remain optimistic. “It’s a long-term process. Consistency is key,” he says. It’s a busy time of year but it is important to come up with a plan with your team sooner rather than later, so you’re prepared to hit the ground running this mating season. If you’re stuck where to start, DairyNZ’s InCalf Fertility Focus Report, available through your herd recording software, is a great tool to assist with this process. It’s like a WOF for your herd’s reproduction performance and allows you to look for trends and opportunities that may only require a small change, but make a big impact. Alternatively, talk to your farm consultant, mating company, vet, or your local DairyNZ consulting officer, and check out dairynz.co.nz/reproduction. Finally, whatever approach you choose, don’t forget to review it regularly to track if its working and identify if changes need to be made. Samantha Tennent is a DairyNZ developer. 95

STOCK VET VOICE

Health after calving Post calving, cows can be prone to infections and other health disorders. Vet Katie Mason describes what to look out for and suggests preventative measures.

anaging cow health problems after calving is very important as it can have knock-on effects on fertility and production. Health disorders delay the recovery of the reproductive tract after calving and affect its ability to support a pregnancy. After calving, cows are in a state of what is known as ‘negative energy balance’ since they are mobilising fat stores to meet the energy demands of milk production. Cows also have suppressed immune systems post calving, making them more prone to infections, such as mastitis or uterine infections. After calving, cows may develop an infection in the uterus. There are many possible risk factors for uterine infection, including: retained foetal membranes; assisted calving; ketosis and still births. Not all uterine infections discharge pus from the cervix and the vagina, and those that don’t can be extremely difficult to diagnose. The best we can do is to use a metricheck device once the cow has been calved for at least three weeks and examine the vulval discharge. An infected uterus is not able to support a pregnancy so it makes sense that reproductive performance is not as good in cows with uterine infections. If you are unsure how many cows in your herd are infected post calving, the best thing to do is to check them all, since metrichecking is cheap and easy to do. Your vet can devise a treatment plan for infected animals. To try to prevent the disease, make sure your selenium supplementation is adequate (to minimise the risk of retained foetal membranes) and be sure to use easy calving bulls (to minimise the risk of assisted calving).

Optimising transition cow management is paramount to minimise the detrimental effects of negative balance and immunosuppression, as this goes hand in hand with the disease. Metabolic issues such as ketosis and milk fever are commonplace post calving, particularly in high-risk groups such as old cows (more than seven years old), overfat cows and those with a history of metabolic problems. Ketone bodies are intermediate fat metabolites and can build up in the bloodstream when cows suffer from excessive weight loss after calving, often causing a sweet ‘acetone’ smell on the cow’s breath.

The highest risk time frame for mastitis is often in the first two or three weeks after calving. Cows with ketosis often demonstrate strange behaviour like lethargy, incoordination or hyper-activeness. They also show a milk production drop. Milk fever cows will often appear ‘drunk’ and will go down around calving. To try to prevent metabolic conditions: • Avoid grazing effluent paddocks around calving to prevent milk fever. • Be sure to supplement the herd with magnesium before and after calving. • Magnesium is required to mobilise calcium and needs to be given daily as it is not stored in the body. Magnesium should be dusted at around 100g per cow per day for four weeks before

Infections contracted during the dry period will often come to light when cows start milking after calving.

planned start of calving, and until four weeks after the herd has finished calving. • Supplement with calcium after calving to prevent milk fever. • Calcium should be given to colostrum cows at a rate of at least 200g per cow per day if dusting. • Consider using ‘starter’ drenches in high-risk cows if a problem becomes evident. • Make sure your herd is adequately fed in early lactation: measure post-grazing residuals, aiming to leave 1500kg drymatter/ha. The highest risk time frame for mastitis is often in the first two or three weeks after calving. Often infections which have been contracted during the dry period will come to light when cows start milking after calving. The teat canal is open around calving and the cow’s immune system is working overtime so there are multiple opportunities for infection to set in. If more than 5% of the herd has clinical mastitis in the first month after calving, then post-calving mastitis should be addressed. Most infections around calving are environmental in origin, but it is good practice to milk sample cows with mastitis and freeze the samples to identify the main bacteria causing the problem on your farm. Be sure to teat spray effectively and maintain good milking hygiene. Check the concentration of the teat spray and make sure you get good coverage of all teats. Train all milking staff to recognise clinical mastitis and devise a routine for finding clinical mastitis at milking time so new cases can be treated as quickly as possible.

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

November

27 & 28 Talk directly to NZ’s industry experts See effluent management gear in action Topical seminars run by industry professionals Up to 100 exhibitors on site to discuss your requirements

8:30am 4pm

Food and coffee available Optional social function Tuesday November 27 from 4:30pm, meal and drinks (ticket only) and entertainment featuring “The Bitches’ Box”

FREE Visit: www.effluentexpo.co.nz Entry for more information Gold Partners

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

Mystery Creek Events Centre

Ben Fisher: ‘There are a lot of reels here, it’s time consuming.’

ONFARM

Where science comes first Being farm manager on a research farm where milk production is not the priority can be a juggling act. Sheryl Brown reports.

en Fisher is in his second season as farm manager of Scott Farm, the DairyNZ research farm at Newstead. Being a farm manager on the research farm involves juggling multiple herds and research projects while managing the everyday demands of a dairy farm. “The research side of this farm gives the role a bit of a twist, it’s a different challenge. We are at the forefront of what’s happening in farm system research,” Ben says. The job requires a different mindset than a conventional farm manager role because the research projects take centre stage and milk production is not the priority. “The research comes first, and milk in the vat comes second,” Ben says. The 29-year old grew up in the Wairarapa. His father had several sharemilking positions in the area and growing up the consensus of most family and friends was that Ben would end up being a dairy farmer, so in typical teenage fashion he rebelled. “Growing up everyone said I was going to be a farmer, so I said no I wouldn’t.”

He went off to Massey University in Palmerston North to study ecology but after one year swayed back to a more traditional Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree. “I realised there were more opportunities and that I did really want to go farming.” After graduation he went to Australia for a few months working and then landed a job as farm assistant on Scott Farm. During his first season he completed a post graduate qualification in business studies then worked as a research technician for DairyNZ – still involved with the farm, for four years before taking up the farm manager role last season. As farm manger his role is split between organising the logistics of running a research farm, including staffing, budgets and planning, with carrying out the onfarm work. “My role is 50% logistics of who is doing what and when. These projects are changing all the time, I get emails everyday from the technicians in charge of projects. “It can be challenging at times, doing some projects that you don’t typically manage onfarm.”

Ben employs seven fulltime staff to carry out the daily duties which includes looking after multiple herds. The 115-hectare farm has 15 herds, including 10 of just 14 cows. Each herd is designated to a different research project, which Ben must manage according to their specific requirements. There is always a revolving herd of about 150 cows called the ‘spare herd’ as a control herd. Scott Farm has 200 paddocks whereas on a conventional farm of similar size there would be only about 40. So feeding out and putting up break fences for the 15 herds takes time. “There are a lot of reels here, it’s time consuming.” The herds are also kept separate during milking so there are always two staff members in charge of bringing the herds to and from the farm dairy. The staff also herd test themselves every week. “We do a lot ourselves because we can have more control over what we need for the research projects.”

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

Biosescurity measures are critical with the . number of small herds

During calving they also have to collect calves from all 15 herds, they can’t run one big springer mob, which adds time. The colostrum cows usually can’t be kept in one mob either as each herd has to be kept within its research parameters. For example, some projects are specific to eating a certain pasture species or crop. Ben is in constant communication with the scientists and technicians who oversee the research projects to configure daily and weekly plans for the herds. The farm management decisions are not dictated to Ben, and he has a lot of input to how the projects are run and managed daily. Ben constantly juggles fluctuating stocking rates depending on feeding requirements of the projects, or area being taken out for planting new pasture species or crops for future projects. For example, if any of the scientists decide they want cows pulled off grazing paddocks to

protect the pasture, there is one covered stand-off pad onfarm that can be fenced off for six different mobs. In winter, if there is bad weather it can become a real challenge to stand off all the herd and Ben sometimes has to make sacrifice paddocks. That can often put pressure on the area designated to the ‘spare’ herd and can push the stocking rate up making it a bigger challenge to feed them. The protocol is to stick to a DairyNZ System 1 or 2, so buying in feed is usually not an option so Ben has to carefully manage pasture cover and utilise the grass silage made onfarm. They usually make somewhere around 100 tonnes drymatter of grass silage onfarm – although it’s not the contractor’s favourite farm to visit because of the small paddocks, he says. As part of his role Ben also spends quite a bit of time hosting visitor groups on the farm answering questions about the projects, which has got him more comfortable with public

A rural catch Ben put his farming skills and personality to the test and was runner up in the Fieldays Rural Catch competition this year. It was the first year the previous Fieldays Bachelor competition was opened up to women, with Taihape shepherd Mairi Whittle taking out the inaugural title. It was a great experience to step outside his comfort zone and enter a competition which was in the public eye, Ben says. Following the competition he’s been on a few dates, but is still on the singles market.

speaking. Being a research farm with multiple visitors, health and safety and biosecurity become even more paramount. “We do get a lot of visitors, so we have to be very on to it for biosecurity. It’s a constant thing and we have to be working on it all the time.” The increased focus on health and safety also impacts the farm system. For example, they don’t have bulls on the property because of health and safety and as they have so many herds they would need a lot of bulls and it’s a lot more mouths to feed, Ben says. With small herds and no bulls getting cows in calf is more difficult, Ben says. Their six-week in-calf rate this season was 70%, short of their target of 78%. Heat detection has been a problem in the past because the cows are in such small mobs, Ben says. The cows do wear DeLaval collars, but currently they don’t have the activity technology in the farm dairy so he is hoping to trial Flashmate this year to aid with heat detection. In the future Ben would be keen to go into an equity partnership with his family and be the farm manager. “I’ve always wanted to own my own herd of cows and one day my own farm. But I really enjoy the people aspect of this job. I don’t think I would enjoy going sharemilking a small herd on my own. “I definitely still see myself farming, it would be great to go into partnership with dad and my brother.” He is building his equity through property investment. He used to have a lease property with his friend where they bought and sold carry-over cows. However, since taking on the farm manager role he has less spare time and the pair have instead invested in a house which they are renovating.

CHINA

China is the new London

After a four-year OE in China, Cameron Massie reckons young Kiwis play a key role in unlocking Asia.

s I sat in my final year at Lincoln University a frequent topic of discussion for industry leaders and lecturers was the dominance of China, and the challenges of doing business there. Yet I felt as though there was a disconnection between the potential, and real extended on-the-ground China experience in the New Zealand agribusiness industry. This was when I changed my plan from a year playing rugby in the United Kingdom, to a move to Shanghai with the intentions of learning how to “do China better”– a daunting prospect for a sheep farmer from Dannevirke. I vividly remember landing in Shanghai, walking out of the airport into a 45C wall of heat, failing to order a meal with sign language and realising that with no forks in sight my chopstick skills would have to rapidly develop. Living in the vibrant country of China, unique experiences are frequent. The language barrier is overcome with sign language and a few 100

key words in the local language allowing for extremely efficient conversations. A few personal highlights of my time away included: • Playing rugby against the Chinese national team • Trying nearly every form of protein known to man • Visiting 25 of 32 provinces in China – it has amazing natural beauty and cultural diversity • Being the best man at two Chinese friends’ weddings – I stopped accepting invitations as after the third time, the next wedding has to be your own • Boating into North Korea • Learning Mandarin. After nearly four years living and working in China I have recently returned to NZ. Spending extended time overseas definitely builds perspective of how good NZ is. It is a very Kiwi thing to venture abroad for working holidays, often in locations such as the UK, Canada, or United States. Following my experience I would like to raise the idea of young Kiwis spending more time in Asian locations, and obviously with a lens Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2018

Don’t let them all go down

Far Left: Making 45 degrees work for me. Top Left: One of the 2-300 million sheep estimated in China. Bottom Left: A family trip found us in the highlands near Tibet.

towards China. Asia is home to six of our 10 of our largest trading partners, which emphasises the importance for the future of our agribusiness industry. With such scale and speed of development, there is a variety of work opportunities for young Kiwis in the region. I was lucky to work in a number of diverse roles and had some amazing experiences including:

I would like to raise the idea of young Kiwis spending more time in Asian locations, and obviously with a lens towards China. • Working in a 8000-cow super dairy with its own consumer brand targeting a small portion of the 22 million population of Beijing two hours away • Living in Shanghai selling NZ ice cream in the food service channel across China • Living in the tier-two city Dalian, working for a major importer of NZ and Australian red meat. The opportunities for young Kiwis in Asia are so diverse with the majority being agricultural nations but with small rapidly growing segments of wealth. Living and working in such locations has highs and lows, but overcoming the challenges will give you such a kick, and the confidence to cope in any situation. After returning to NZ I feel really positive about the role of agribusiness in the future of NZ’s relationship with China. Challenges for young NZ agriculturists to consider are: how can we capture more value from our limited supply of food products and how can we collaborate with China to mobilise their own resources to feed the masses. I believe young Kiwis play a key role in unlocking Asia, moving away from London with a less-thantraditional OE.

Red wine and round tables!

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

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FARM GEAR HEAT DETECTION

The WMS Navigate heat collars have a five year battery life.

Time for action

Heat detection systems help farmers at the busy and all-important mating time Tim McVeagh reports.

he influence of heat detection on seasonal production, and the shortcomings of traditional heat detection methods, particularly in bigger herds, are well understood. This has meant that there have been a range of products and systems developed of late to help the farmer achieve the best possible heat detection success rate. From simple observation, tail paint, and then enhanced mounting detection devices like Kamars, the development has largely been to devices which detect behavioural changes associated with oestrous, with electronic notification to the herd manager. With mating just around the corner, a look at some of these systems is worthwhile. Some of these products also claim to monitor calving status, eating, rumination, ill-health, and “general wellbeing”. The systems more recently being promoted fall into one of three categories: 102

• Rump contact devices activated by bulling by herdmates, and possibly automated monitoring of these. • Monitoring of cows’ activity and other behavioural or physiological changes associated with oestrous. • Monitoring of teaser bulls’ behaviour associated with oestrous. Farmers looking at these products need to consider capital cost, running costs, accuracy, reliability, convenience, suitability for heifers, rotary and herringbone dairies, ability to pick up silent heats, ease of use, and other information like calving status detected. DairyNZ’s Brian Dela Rue suggests farmers considering activity monitoring systems need to be mindful that these systems require some data house-keeping and data review to get the best results. Many of these systems also offer additional measurements like rumination time or grazing time that may add further value. “Our onfarm studies back in 2011 indicated that well-performing technology

can match an experienced farm manager in identifying cycling cows, but performance between systems was variable,” he says. The cost of some activity monitoring collars at around $150-$200/cow does makes the value proposition a stretch for many farmers. Camera systems can involve a lower up-front cost and require few changes to current manual procedures, but rely on the use and accuracy of heat patches”.

Rump contact devices activated by herdmates: Rump contact devices like tail paint, Kamars, Semex Hot Cow Tags, and CRV’s Estrotect have been used successfully by farmers for some time, but without automated monitoring at this stage.

Gallagher FlashMates: Gallagher FlashMate devices are glued on to the cow’s flank to one side of the tail

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

bone, and contain a microchip, and red and green LEDs. Once specific contact patterns associated with bulling are detected the red LED flashes for 26 hours, indicating the cow is ready for mating. A green flashing LED indicates that the cow has not come back in heat after 25 days of her last heat. If she does return, the FlashMate will flash red again. Users claim FlashMate’s main advantage is to accurately detect heats, including some silent heats not easily detected by tail paint alone. (See https://am.gallagher.com/ nz/products/12430/heat-detection).

LIC’s Protrack Heat: Protrack heat patches are monitored by a camera mounted in the rotary bail area or herringbone exit race. Cows with activated or missing heat patches can be drafted out by Protrack Draft, with reports generated at the end of milking. With existing Protrack Vantage and Vector these reports are accessible through the shed office environment, or on a smart device for the new Protrack modular system. These reports detail heat history allowing a mating decision to be made. While Protrack Heat integrates with Vantage and Vector 2G, Protrack ID and Protrack Draft, some older drafting systems may need an upgrade to integrate. (See www.lic.co.nz/products-andservices/automation/protrack-heat).

MAI Animal Health’s EstroScan:

dairy exit race and any cows with activated patches can be drafted for possible mating either manually or automatically. A handheld reader is also available. “Our experience has proved that these patches are very sensitive and are able to pick up young cows in particular, which may be mounted less frequently,” farm consultant John Dawson, one of the developers said. (Contact Kevin Hinton at MAI Animal Health NZ, Phone 027 870 4353).

Monitoring of activity and other behavioural or physiological changes:

Afimilks’ Afiact II and Silent Herdsman:

Cows in heat tend to be more restless and active between milkings compared with their herd mates, so monitoring this with an accelerometer-based technology mounted on the leg or collar, gives an indication of oestrous. Data is typically stored on the device for around 24 hours and downloaded when the cow enters or exits the dairy, while others may store the data for up to a week. The range of data capturing antenna may be limited, but may possibly be boosted by additional antennas. Farmers are generally alerted to cows in season by smart phone or a monitor in the dairy, and drafting may be automatic. As well as heat detection, some of these devices also indicate rumination, resting, and feeding status. Their accuracy depends to a large degree on the algorithms used to detect heat.

Afiact II uses long range wireless RFID pedometers, attached to the cow’s leg. The activity data for each cow is compared with herd mates to assess heat detection. “It also monitors resting time to assist in health monitoring, pasture management, and calving detection. It is smart phone compatible, and has full integration with milk meters and drafting,” Clint Brereton of Afimilk says. Silent Herdsman uses wireless activity collars which monitor activity, rumination, and eating, using three parameters for heat detection. Being wireless, heat detection in grazing heifers is possible, provided they are in range of an antenna. The Silent Herdsman is also marketed by Semex as their AI24. (See www.afimilk.com/ products/cow-monitoring).

Allflex Sense Time:

The Halter fenceless farming system was featured in June’s Farm Gear column. The Halter collar provides monitoring capabilities including heat detection. This is done by reading in physical sensor data from the collar for a particular cow, and from this, determining the particular behaviours that cattle exhibit. Through this analysis, algorithms and machine learning models are designed to categorise the current behaviour of cattle, which over time, can predict specific states like oestrous. “We use full 3D motion tracking of a cow to detect everything about the cow. Effectively everything a human could see but also all the small things that aren’t noticeable to a farmer,” Craig Piggott of Halter says. (See www.halter.co.nz).

Activity and rumination are monitored by Sense Time ear tags or neck collars, with an algorithm assessing each cow’s heat and health status. Farm staff are alerted to cows in heat or in need of a health assessment by a range of devices including smart phones. Drafting can be integrated with specific drafting systems. Distribution is through Farmlands and Centre for Dairy Excellence. (See http://www.scrdairy.com/cowintelligence/sensetime.html).

Dairymaster MooMonitor: Developed in the Waikato, EstroScan tags are a heat patch which contains an RFID chip placed on the cows rump area. They are activated by multiple mounting’s breaking a circuit within the RFID patch. An EstroScan reader can be placed in the

the cow is possibly in heat, definitely in heat, ready to inseminate, has a health alert, on a watch list, or scheduled to be drafted. And alerted cows can be automatically drafted by the Dairymaster drafting system. Software and collar upgrades can be made via the internet. Swiping the collar with a compatible phone allows the farmer to see the cow’s information, and cross reference collar and visual numbers at collar fitting. (See www.dairymaster. com/nz/products/moomonitor).

Collars with an activity device are fitted to cows. The collars collect the data, download to the base-station, upload to the cloud to process the data, and back to computers and phones connected to the internet. A phone app indicates whether

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

Halter:

IDS G-Farm Data Collection: Solar powered ear tags with on board 103

battery, GPS, and Inertial Measurement Unit are the basis of the IDS G-Farm Data Collection system. They use Long Range (LoRa) wireless technology for communication. This means animal identification, location, and behaviour are transmitted by the ear tag. The IMU helps to indicate whether she is in season by her walking. Other possible issues related to health are also alerted. Animal ID and location mean that alerts can be given when an animal strays outside a virtual fence drawn at boundaries or sensitive areas. This data is collected and collated by a base station, and presented to the farmer on his computer or smart device in real time. The system is suitable for heifers and expected to be ready for the market later this year.

Smart Farm Data’s smaXtec:

Basic boluses, (top) which monitor temperature and activity are administered to the majority of the herd. Premium boluses (lower) monitor pH, temperature, and activity. Data read every ten minutes is uploaded for analysis in the cloud, with results, including heat, are then reported via text message, email or browser.

Smart Farm Data produce two smaXtec sensors, (boluses) which monitor the cow’s health from the inside. Basic boluses read the cow’s core body temperature and activity, while Premium boluses read this and rumen pH. 104

“Because the measurements are done inside the animal, they are less susceptible to factors acting on sensors than those outside the animal’s body,”Neil Gladden of Smart Farm Data says. Data is read every 10 minutes and uploaded to the cloud for analysis. The results, including heat are then reported via text message, email or browser. The system looks at the cow’s activity and temperature patterns. Her pattern is compared with her standard pattern, her herd mates’ patterns and default pattern for heat. If there is a match, the farmer is advised and where the farm has a dairy platform management system, the cow is drafted for mating automatically as the cow is walking to the dairy or waiting to be milked. (See www.smartfarmdata.com).

New Zealand market. Collars fitted to teaser bulls have a battery powered RFID antenna which reads RFID tags applied to the cows or heifers. The bull/cow interaction is monitored over time, and the farmer notified via SMS message when the cow is in her standing heat. Moocall claim a 98.5% accuracy in heats detected. The Moocall Breedmanager app tells the farmer time of oestrous, whether the cow or heifer returns, prenancy confirmation, due date, bull activity, and cow fertility. (See www.moocall.com).

Waikato Milking Systems’ NaviGate Heat Collar: NaviGate heat collars are fitted with a gesture sensor which monitors the cow’s behaviour. This is compared to her normal behaviour, and assesses the likely cause of deviations from the norm, (for example oestrous). This data is downloaded to a reader when she comes within range of the dairy. An audible alarm as the cow enters the dairy alerts the milkers, and can enable automatic drafting. The six hour observation window allows her optimum insemination time to be captured. The collar’s battery has a five-year life, with an alert indicating replacement is pending. Heifers or cows not brought in for milking and fitted with collars can be checked using a portable battery powered gateway. “The other deviations from normal behaviour can indicate lameness, heat stress, short or non-cycling cows (cystic ovary), feeding behaviour, lying time, and overall herd behaviour,” Kevin Warner of Waikato Milking Systems says. (See www.waikatomilking.com/ products/herd-management/heatmanagement).

Monitoring of teaser bulls’ behaviour associated with oestrous. Moocall: “The bull knows best”, is the catch cry of Irish company Moocall who are currently looking for distribution partners for the

Teaser bulls are fitted with a Moocall collar which reads RFID tags on the cows they are grazing with. Cow / bull interaction is monitored, with SMS notification of cows in heat. Moocall claim 98.5% accuracy in heats detected.

The future: Dela Rue says “Our recently completed five-yearly DairyNZ technology use survey indicates that automated heat detection systems are installed in only around 3% of all farms, and new installations are likely to remain slow. However, the introduction of lower cost systems, such as activity monitoring ear tags, and a recent increase in farmer interest in an extended AI mating period of say 10 weeks with no bulls on the property, may drive adoption a little faster. “Further out, future developments may see heat detection technology using in-line milk hormone measurement, particularly progesterone, but currently this technology is too costly for on-farm use. In the meantime, the most cost-effective option for most farmers is to coach their staff in good heat detection practice and keep them motivated through the mating period”.

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

DAIRY 101 FARM FORESTRY

A long-term crop Planting trees as forest blocks, wind breaks, shade or just because they’ll look good, can have a range of beneficial effects. Karen Trebilcock looks at farm forestry.

ot that back gully with the ditch running through it that you don’t really want to fence off? It’s been good for sticking the few drys in there each year, or the bulls when they’re not needed, but now the waterway needs fencing and a trough put in somehow and for the number of stock it grazes you’re wondering if it’s really worth it. Maybe it would be better to plant it in trees. Trees are good for all sorts of reasons including soil retention, wind breaks and shade plus they can be money in the bank when harvested in 20 to 30-plus years. If planted right and looked after, they could pay off some debt. However, there is nothing wrong in planting trees just because they look good. Even a row of gums or poplars along a farm track will provide shelter for cows and habitat for birds as well as creating a nicer place for you and your staff to work. Maples, ash and sycamores provide autumn colour and then there are fruit and nut trees. Don’t forget the bees. These hard workers make sure your white clover is pollinated in pastures but they also need food in late autumn and early winter months to get them through hibernation. 106

Winter-flowering eucalypts and wattles plus natives such as flaxes, cabbage trees, five finger and pittosporums will keep them buzzing. Mix it up so there is always something flowering for them. Native trees can be harder to establish and grow a lot slower so need more weed control and TLC when they’re small. Under-planting native areas, which have been grazed out in the past, works well.

Planting trees for revenue can take a lot more thought and planning and getting the professionals in is not a bad idea. It will make sure your hard work and money is not wasted. Try to find out what grew in your area before it was turned into farmland and recreate native areas if possible. Otherwise look over the fence and see what is looking good at the neighbours. A walk through botanical gardens in most of our cities will show good examples of mature trees. We might not get to see what the seedlings we are planting will look

like in 40 or 50 years but our children and grandchildren will. Planting trees for revenue can take a lot more thought and planning and getting the professionals in is not a bad idea. It will make sure your hard work and money is not wasted. Think about the location and how the trees are going to be harvested in 20 or 30 years – hauling logs from it to the road, fixing farm tracks afterwards and refencing could take away all your profits. Radiata pine is the most commonly grown species for timber in New Zealand as it is fast-maturing and reasonably hardy as a young tree. Growth rates depend on climate and soils but expect trees to be ready about 20 to 25 years after planting. Slower-growing Douglas fir (40 to 50 years) is the second choice and there are a wide range of others vying for third such as poplar, eucalyptus, redwoods and blackwoods. These do not have the developed markets that pine and fir have but each have their advantages. Eucalyptus (15 to 25 years to harvest) is a hardwood that does not need chemical treatment to be used in-ground. And the great thing about trees is they don’t need to be harvested at a certain age. If prices are depressed, the soil too wet for transport, or you’re just too busy to get

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

A row of eucalypts along a farm track can provide shelter and shade.

it organised, they can keep growing for a few more years until you’re ready. The species and the site will determine what needs to be done pre-planting and also stems per hectare. Make sure you don’t skimp on weed spraying and remember rabbits, hares, deer, goats and possums love to eat young trees. Pruning and thinning cannot be forgotten if you want millable timber. The interval between each will depend on growth rates and species. And pruning is

not as easy as just knocking off the lower branches. For good knot-free logs, get it done right. Thinnings can be used as firewood or fence posts. Make sure pruning and thinning are budgeted for and in the diary for when they are due. After the capital outlay of planting, don’t neglect the next stages of your investment. If you plant trees you can apply for registration under the Emissions Trading Scheme and receive NZUs (New Zealand Units) also known as carbon credits. It’s voluntarily and you can apply with all of your forestry land or just part of it. At least every five years you must account for the change in carbon stocks (the trees) on the land you have registered and pay for units if there has been a reduction either due to harvesting or fire. But the NZUs you receive as the owner of the trees can be traded internationally which means you can start earning an income from your trees before they are harvested, potentially recouping the cost of planting in the first 10 to 12 years. When harvested, the stumps decaying in the ground and the new plantings can offset NZUs already sold. It’s complicated, as there are lots of rules and there is still debate about how NZUs and the Emissions Trading Scheme are going to work together following signature of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Googling to figure it out still raises questions (there’s lot of MPI-speak) so maybe get professional advice. Wind and fire are the two events that can destroy your investment. Try not to

plant in areas where the wind is funnelled and make sure adequate drainage allows roots to grow deep, anchoring your trees in place. When it’s dry, limit those allowed into your forestry block – don’t use chainsaws or anything else that could cause a spark. Forestry blocks, and their carbon credits, can be insured for losses due to weather, fire, landslips and other events – ask your insurance rep. Don’t forget about pest control. Farm forestry blocks provide a wonderful habitat for birds, bats and insects but can also be home to mice, rats, rabbits, hares, possums and deer. Make sure you regularly trap the area, lay poison or do some night shooting. Besides eating your grass, young trees, crops and supplements, these animals spread diseases such as TB. Also, consider becoming a member of the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association. There are branches throughout the country with membership made up of owners of small forestry blocks. As well as networking, the association provides information, runs field days and has an annual conference. Lastly, make sure you don’t plant trees that are poisonous to cattle. Macrocarpa, a firm favourite with early settlers, can cause abortions and the needles are easily spread over fences on to pasture by winter storms. Rhododendron leaves, when eaten by stock, cause vomiting and ultimately death and acorns from oak trees, especially unripe acorns, can cause stomach problems.

Left: Logs harvested ready for trucking. Right: Logs getting chained up on a truck ready for transport.

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

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PHONE FIT FOR ROUGH AND TUMBLE

f you are that person who drops, knocks, and runs over their phone, you need to look at the new Cat S60 rugged Smartphone. Being the most-waterproof phone on the market makes it much safer when it falls out of your chest pocket when you are leaning over a trough and it is also dropproof from 1.8 metres (although with the review phone I wasn’t actually game to get out the tape measure and check the 1.8m claim.) Handy for a klutz like me who has cracked every screen I have ever had, the phone has a market leading guarantee around screen damage – promising to repair or replace the screen if it is accidentally damaged or broken within the first 24 months. And for milkers in gloves, the touchscreen can be controlled with wet fingers or while wearing gloves. The

What’s

NEW?

feature that really intrigued my kids was the integrated SOLUTIONS thermal camera – handy, SMART PHONES I read, for picking up heat and measuring surface temperatures from a distance of up to 30m. While the camera is useful for detecting heat loss around windows, spotting moisture and missing insulation, identifying overheating electrical appliances and circuitry, we found the most fun was to find our black Labrador on a dark moonless night – see the photo! The range includes the Cat S31 and Cat S41, available from selected tech stores, Where’s the dog? and RRP ranging from $549 to $1099.

NZ Dairy Exporter has a Catphone to give away to one lucky Dairy Exporter electronic newsletter recipient. Make sure you are signed up to the monthly e-newsletter by November 30. Sign up @ www.nzfarmlife.co.nz

ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS FOR 20 YEARS Words by: Sheryl Brown

ertco is celebrating 20 years of leading the way with eco-friendly and innovative fertiliser products that are suited to the growing environmental demands on farmers. The Mount Maunganui company was established by Waikato farmers in 1999 because they wanted a broader range of fertilisers that were more ecologically sound, chief executive Warwick Voyce says. “That was during a time when farmers were relying heavily on nitrogen fertilsers. These farmers wanted to have a more environmental focus and that philosophy still holds true today at Fertco.” Fertco has the largest range of certified organic fertilisers in New Zealand and has the most efficient, yet environmentally friendly, phosphate fertiliser on the market. An increasing number of farmers and orchardists are looking to use these 108

fertiliser products to meet growing environmental regulations, he says. “Organics is the fastest growing part of our business with lots of farmers using them as part of their conventional fertiliser programmes.” In the 2000s eco-friendly and organic became ugly tarnished words, but today using these products on conventional farms helps to improve efficiency and meet industry regulations, Fertco national sales manager Arthur Payze says. “There are a lot of farmers using fishmeal, lime, gypsum and guano – mainly to mitigate nutrient loss.” “The market has come to us, we have always been doing this, it has always been common sense,” he says. Fertco’s new CloverZone fertiliser programme, which focuses on the physical, chemical and biological attributes of growing clover, is an example of how the company is leading the way

with its approach to fertiliser use, Arthur says. “Our focus is designing fertiliser programmes that optimise productivity, while mitigating nutrient loss.” All Fertco fertiliser consultants have industry qualifications and have all completed a Sustainable Nutrient Management Course. A major strength of the company is the team of people behind it, Warwick says. Many of its employees have been working at Fertco for more than 10 years and the company invests a lot into their capability. “We can deliver on service because of our team, we are very conscious of having good people throughout the business.” Fertco services Northland down to the top of Lake Taupo and sells 30,000 tonnes of fertiliser/year. It supplies the dairy, sheep and beef, equine, cropping and horticultural sectors.

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

What’s

NEW? SOLUTIONS FERTILISER

ON TARGET WITH LIQUID FERTILISER

educe costs, improve profitability, look after the environment and grow better grass. Tow and Farm, of Dannevirke, developed the Tow and Fert range of liquid foliar spray machines to specifically help farmers reduce their nitrogen fertiliser use. The Tow and Fert range offers patented technology to mix, dissolve and spray N fertiliser to your pasture, direct to the leaf of the grass, where it can be used by the plant. Not only do the tow and fert range offer a method of applying N in liquid form, its patented technology allows for fine particle suspension of

other nutrients required by your soil. Saving up to 50% of N fertiliser costs is a big chunk of any farm’s budget and if farmers can achieve the same, or better, grass growth with less N fertiliser then the gains are there for their businesses and for the environment. So while not quite a silver bullet, the Tow and Fert range of liquid foliar spray machines represent a big leap forward in your farms productivity and in your environmental compliance. • More? Call Tow and Farm on0800 337 747, or visit www.towandfarm.co.nz

Celebrating: left to right, Fertco directors, Dr Brent Wheeler, Ken Titchener and Ross Karl.

It imports its products from around the world, including Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company has a mandate to use only suppliers that are transparent and produce the product in an ethical manner, without harm to humans, animals or the environment. “We insist on transparency and do our own internal checking of products,” Warwick says.

While it holds just 2% of the NZ fertiliser market, there is a strength to staying smaller, Warwick says. A smaller company can deliver better results by delivering a superior service to its customers. “Surviving 20 years in any business is a feat in itself and we are very grateful to our customers for their support over the years.”

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

US HYPE CREATING UNNECESSARY CONCERN – AGCARM

eports from the United States are creating a frenzy of speculation about the food we eat, how it is produced, the residues that remain and the safety of using one of the most widely-used herbicides, New Zealand’s plant and animal science organisation Agcarm says. Glyphosate is used in New Zealand by farmers, land managers and home gardeners. It offers effective and safe weed control, is low-volatility and degrades quickly in soil. It has recorded more than 40 years of safe use and has been the subject of more than 800 studies, all of which have confirmed its safety, Agcarm says. Glyphosate continues to be rigorously tested by regulators in NZ and throughout the world, with more than 160 countries approving its safe use. This testing has, time and time again, showed that the herbicide poses no threat to human health – when used according to label instructions. At the heart of the hype is a misleading classification of glyphosate by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)’s in 2015. IARC classifies substances using terms such as ‘possibly’ or ‘probably’ carcinogenic to define the potential hazard of a substance. This has led to a number of everyday products, including coffee, bacon and talcum powder, being categorised as ‘possibly carcinogenic’. But the IARC report is not a risk assessment – it is the type and extent of human exposure that determines the actual risk. The NZ Environmental Protection Authority confirms glyphosate is safe when used according to label instructions. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) tests residues from commonly used agrichemicals. The food safety regulator confirms the NZ diet is safe and contaminants very low – far below levels that would be a food safety risk – and mostly occur naturally. MPI sets very conservative limits for residues in food. These are many times below levels that would be a risk to consumers. 109