SYSTEMS LINCOLN UNIVERSITY DEMONSTRATION FARM
Putting fleximilking to the test Words by: Anne Lee
L
incoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF) is making some big changes this season, moving to a 10-in-seven milking regime and starting a pasture renewal programme that will ultimately see 30% of its grazed area as whole swards of plantain. The high performing farm sits among the top 2% of performers in the country in terms of both profitability and productivity and hasn’t been shy about putting new science into practice over the nearly two decades it’s been operating. The 160-hectare milking platform, 555cow farm is part of the South Island Dairy Demonstration Centre (SIDDC). SIDDC’s purpose is “to demonstrate tomorrow’s dairy farming today.” LUDF’s farm consultant Jeremy Savage from MacFarlane Rural Business says with SIDDC’s purpose in mind the farm’s current strategies have been set to focus on three key areas where farmers are facing challenges – people, animals and environment, but still maintain its high performance. The variable milking programme – milking cows 10 times over seven days instead of the typical 14 times with a twice-a-day milking programme – aims to improve both animal welfare outcomes and lift staff wellbeing.
LUDF cows, along with team members, will get Saturday and Sunday sleep-ins under the new 10-in-7 milking regime.
The plantain plan – renewing 10% of pastures each year and sowing whole paddocks of plantain and white clover until at least 30% plantain is achieved across the farm – aims to reduce nitrate leaching from 35kg N/ha/year to 26kg N/ ha/year. Jeremy says the first paddocks will start to be sown in plantain from mid-October once daily pasture supply has exceeded demand but the 10-in-seven milking frequency has already been implemented for this season. The aim of the variable milking plan is to create a workplace where staff have improved rosters, fewer early starts and more condensed workloads allowing for
more personal and family time. “We want to create a workplace that’s attractive to prospective employees, where the work loads and hours help make it a great work environment,” he says. The milking regime also means fewer walks to milking for the cows which should help reduce lameness. More time grazing and less time walking should also help boost cow condition and the overall vigour of the cows, he says. A 10 milkings in seven days frequency works in practice by having a three-intwo-day milking frequency from Monday to Friday and then once-a-day (OAD) on Saturday and Sunday.
Milking times and milking intervals
MON
TUE
AM
9.5 hours between
40
AM
AM
PM
18 hours
THU
WED
AM
PM
21 hours
9 hours
18 hours
21 hours
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | September 2021
