Dairy News 25 January 2022

Dairy prices off to a red hot start. PAGE 3 FARM DAIRIES

Keeping liners in line PAGE 27

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY Brings cows closer to farmers PAGE 14

JANUARY 25, 2022 ISSUE 486 // www.dairynews.co.nz

GONG FOR TRAILBLAZER “It shows that we can all do whatever we put our minds to, regardless of gender, ethnicity or background,” – Jessie Chan, New Zealand Order of Merit. Page 4

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

NEWS // 3

Red hot start to the New Year!

SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

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have started the New Year in red hot form and ASB economist Nat Keall says a record milk price is now “a practical certainty”.

ASB is now forecasting a milk price of $9.10/kgMS. If achieved it will easily eclipse the previous record price of $8.40 set in 2013-14 season.

Whole milk powder (WMP) prices are now sitting over US$4,000/MT; cheddar and butter prices set record highs in last week’s auction. Overall prices lifted 4.6%, while WMP prices lifted by 5.6%.

Keall notes that, all up, the overall GDT price index made its largest single auction gain since last year’s March auction.

Tight global supply is the driving prices higher.

Keall says domestic conditions over the summer have been poor, with hot and dry weather the order of the day in much of the country.

This month Fonterra revised its forecast collections for the season downwards by 25 million tonnes of milksolids.

“With a softer production outlook also evident in Europe and North America, it’s a potent combination for dairy prices – there’s a willingness on the part of buyers to pay big premiums to secure supply,” says Keall.

He believes the underlying global

Milk production in NZ and around the world has been sluggish.

dairy demand and supply balance should keep prices supported over the remainder of the season.

“With all contracts trading north of US$4,000/MT at present and longer-dated contracts trading at a premium, prices should keep up the momentum over the near term.

“We think that’ll be enough to push this season’s farmgate price north of the $9 mark.”

Westpac is sticking with its

forecast milk price of $9/kgMS and its senior agri economist Nathan Penny expects weakness in New Zealand dairy production will further underpin global dairy prices, at least in the short term.

“After a run of cold and wet weather earlier in the season, dry weather is now compounding the weakness in New Zealand production,” says Penny.

With production in other

key regions like the EU and US similarly sluggish, risks to the milk price are mostly upside, he notes.

“For example, ongoing dry weather could put additional dents in New Zealand production and push prices higher again. Meanwhile, omicron-related supply chain issues could also lead prices higher.” @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

4 // NEWS

Trailblazer gets gong for services to dairy SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

CANTERBURY FARMER and agri-

business leader Jessie Chan says it feels surreal to have been awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit.

“While I am very grateful to be acknowledged, it feels surreal, as I know there are so many deserving people in the industry that have put in decades of inspiring work,” she told Dairy News.

Chan’s award was part of the New Year’s honours list announced by the Government.

She got an email from the Government awards department.

“I was told to keep it confidential and I didn’t know who nominated me.”

Chan is a trailblazer in the dairy sector, holding governance and management roles for the past 15 years.

Chan was the first provincial President of the Wellington Young Farmers’ Club between 2008 and 2009.

Between 2009 and 2017 she was on

the Federated Farmers dairy section national executive and vice president and chair of the Dairy Section of Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers.

She was awarded Fonterra’s Dairy Woman of the Year in 2017 and has

“It shows that we can all do whatever we put our minds to, regardless of gender, ethnicity or background.” served as a Fonterra shareholders councillor, an associate director of DairyNZ and on the Land Use Futures Board.

Currently she chairs the Ruralco board and is a director of Ngāi Tahu Farming Ltd, Alpine Energy Ltd and Bioprotection Aotearoa.

Her citation says she is a member of Super Diverse Women which showcases female leaders across all sectors

of the community.

Chan says her award shows that gender or ethnicity is no issue.

“It shows that we can all do whatever we put our minds to, regardless of gender, ethnicity or background. There are still some stereotypes to overcome, but I know we will get there.

“For example, I would love to see less talk in the dairy industry about women rearing calves and looking after staff, and more talk about how women run the business and participate in strategy and governance.”

Chan says she would like to dedicate the award to her father who passed away last year.

“He was a pivotal influence in my life and laid the foundations for everything I have learnt so far.

“In addition, I have had many mentors over the years who have gone out of their way to provide advice and help me grow.

“The primary sector in particular is very good at sharing knowledge and providing opportunities for the next generation.”

Jessie Chan wants to see more talk around how women can run businesses and participate in strategy and governance.

LESS MILK THIS SEASON FONTERRA HAS

dropped its 2021-22 New Zealand forecast milk collection by 1.6% due to weather constraints.

The co-operative now expects to collect 1,500 million kgMS from farmer suppliers, down from its opening forecast of 1,525 million kgMS. ASB economist Nat Keall says Fonterra’s decision isn’t too surprising given that

production has struggled to build momentum this season and the weather has been mixed.

“So, to some degree concerns around lower supply will already be priced-in,” Keall told Dairy News.

Keall says the news is further confirmation prices can be expected to remain well supported over the remainder of this season and the

ASB economist Nat Keall.

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“With dairy production in the US and EU also looking soft, global supply is set to remain tight for some time to come,” he says.

Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell says varied weather and challenging growing conditions across many parts of the country earlier in the season saw

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actual milk collections down on the same time last year.

“We were expecting conditions to improve over the Christmas-New Year period, but this has not eventuated.”

In response to the lower milk supply, Hurrell says at this stage no change is needed to the volume of product the co-op is offering on the Global Dairy Trade

(GDT) platform.

“Due to the high demand for off-GDT sales, we had already reduced the volume we were offering on the GDT platform earlier in the season.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and carefully manage our sales both on and offGDT.” @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

NEWS // 5

Kill the cull cows now THE HEAT IS ON!

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

IF YOU’RE thinking

about whether you should cull a few cows, err on the side of caution by doing it sooner rather than later, says DairyNZ general manager of farm performance Sharon Morrell.

Morrell warns that killing space is at a premium at many works and if the dry weather continues, the problem will only get worse.

She says up until December, most regions, especially those in the North Island, got rain and that allowed them to push forward with feed.

“But now, for most regions, the dry is setting in and some farmers are feeding out to supplement pasture.

Production is down by between three and four percent but the exception is Southland where they are ahead on production figures for last year for the season, although the daily volume of milk is now dropping as it gets dry, especially around South Otago,” she says.

Morrell says with the onset of the dry spell

DairyNZ’s Sharon Morrell says killing space is at a premium at many works and if the dry weather continues, the problem will only get worse.

there is an appetite from many farmers to go to some form of flexible milking arrangement, such as three and two, ten and seven or perhaps even once a day milking.

She says it is also recognition that the first several months of the season have been pretty busy, also with staffing pressure.

“So I think this is a case [of], we have got to Christmas, so let’s do what we can to kick back a little bit,” she told Dairy News.

“This is especially so for farmers across

the country where they have had staff shortages and have now resigned themselves to getting through the season. They are not hunting hard for labour at the moment but will be looking to get people in for next season,” she says.

Morrell doesn’t believe the shortage of labour has affected production too much. She says at the start of the season people put in a lot of effort because a lot is at stake then. She says they pulled out all the stops and made the best of the peak milk flow.

ANOTHER ISSUE that looms now with the dry weather, says Sharon Morrell, is the effect of heat stress – both for people and stock. She says farmers should look at managing milking times so that cows aren’t walking to the milking shed in the heat of the day.

“That can cause a drop in production and there is plenty of advice on that on the DairyNZ website,” she says.

With many farmers moving to more flexible milking schedules, Morrell says this is a good time of the year for them to review their operations and look closely at their budget – ideally seeing if they are able to pay off some debt.

While dairy farmers have managed the Covid crisis well thus far, Morrell says it is still on their minds with the threat

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trips because of this,” she says.

But it hasn’t been all bad news. It seems that the ‘surfing for farmers’ events have proved very popular with many getting off farm and spending time with friends. And one report from Northland says that those farmers who run tourist operations in conjunction with their farming operations have had a great summer.

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UNBEATEN 4FRONT

of the omicron variant almost certainly to come into play soon. She says farmers are weighing up how they will deal with a situation where they or their staff have to take sick leave.

She says through the summer holiday period it has also been a factor.

“People have often stayed close to home and done day

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Farmers should look at managing milking times so that cows aren’t walking to the milking shed in the heat of the day.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

6 // NEWS

Fonterra-owned GDT reaches milestone

NEXT STEP IN GOVERNANCE JESSICA MARSHALL

A PARTNERSHIP between Dairy Women’s Network FONTERRA-OWNED GLOBAL Dairy Trade

(GDT) celebrated its 300th event last week.

Launched in 2008, the online auction platform has to date traded dairy products worth over US$30billion.

GDT director Eric Hansen says the milestone reflects the platform as an essential part of the global dairy industry landscape.

“GDT exists to ensure buyers and sellers can trade with confidence in global and regional dairy markets.

“We look forward to further serving the dairy industry in the years ahead, by increasing liquidity on GDT Events and actively supporting the growth of efficient dairy derivative trading associated with it.”

“Achieving 300 trading events shows that GDT continues to provide an essential service to the global dairy industry.

“More than US$30 billion has been traded on GDT events since it was established in 2008, which equates to just over 9 million metric tonnes traded, with an average clearance rate of 97%.”

GDT offers dairy products from six global companies: Fonterra (New Zealand), Dairy America (USA), Amul (India), Arla (Denmark), Arla Foods Ingredients (Denmark) and Polish Dairy (Poland).

“Global Dairy Trade brings together buyers and sellers from around the globe, with core commodity dairy products from four continents offered to registered bidders from over 70 countries.

Fonterra-owned Global Dairy Trade conducted its 300th auction last week.

“We look forward to further serving the dairy industry in the years ahead, by increasing liquidity on GDT Events and actively supporting the growth of efficient dairy derivative trading associated with it,” Hansen says.

While owned by Fonterra, it operates independently.

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event rules and structures, so that they are monitored and developed in a neutral and transparent manner. All trading events are run by an independent trading manager, CRA International Inc, a global specialist in developing and operating auctions. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

(DWN) and Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust (AGMARDT) has led to the creation of a new Associate Trustee role.

DWN says the role at their board table will provide a new opportunity and a next step on the leadership and governance journey for present and active members of the organisation.

Applications opened on 13 January 2022, with the first full 16-month term starting on 1 March.

The successful candidate will attend board meetings and Dairy Women’s Network events over the 16-month term while completing a targeted project focused on leadership or an industry challenge.

DWN chair Karen Forlong says the organisation is pleased to partner with AGMARDT, who are funding the pilot programme which provides the Associate Trustee with access to mentoring and external industry opportunities during the programme.

“Like many of us, AGMARDT have identified the potential of women in the industry who operate with purpose, and who are motivated to make change and craft transformation, to move into governance roles,” says Forlong.

“Our experience is that dairy women benefit from programmes that allow them to collaboratively discuss strategies and solutions while building self-confidence and learning new skills,” she adds, saying examples of this have been seen within DWN’s business groups.

“The aim now is to give women access to roles of increasing leadership and possibility.”

AGMARDT general manager Lee-Ann Marsh says the trust is ‘thrilled’ to support the development of the role and pilot programme.

“Not only will it provide learning opportunities for dairy women, enabling them to have greater impact in their sector, it will also offer a blueprint for other food and fibre organisations who recognise the value in growing future directors and in having fresh perspectives around their board tables,” Marsh says.

“We see this as a fantastic opportunity to grow our sector’s leadership through developing a best practice approach, while removing some of the barriers smaller organisations may face in establishing their own Associate Director programmes.”

Forlong adds that the programme brings the promise DWN sees in its members to the forefront, providing a pathway to build experience and confidence, and allowing them to develop a governance CV through actively participating in the governance framework.

“They can then take these experiences and skills to other roles and further opportunities, leading our industry into the future.”

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

NEWS // 7

MIQ still a barrier SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

DAIRY FARMERS can

now apply to recruit much needed overseas farm assistants and herd managers.

However, dairy industry leaders aren’t holding their hopes too high.

High demand for a limited supply of managed isolation (MIQ) slots mean the number of overseas workers available for farms remains uncertain.

Federated Farmers immigration spokesman Chris Lewis says just a handful of overseas workers arrived in the country last year.

He says MIQ remains the biggest issue.

“And it’s not just us.

How many vets, contractors and shearers arrived last year? Bugger all.”

While Lewis thanks Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and his team for securing changes to the class exemption scheme and securing more visas for overseas workers, he says the Government must take a serious look at its MIQ system.

“Farmers have to go through many hoops to secure a visa for the overseas worker and we follow the rules, but in the end everything depends on securing the MIQ spot,” he told Dairy News.

Lewis says the industry cannot afford another season without the required 1,500 overseas workers.

In June 2021, the Government provided provisional approval for 200 international dairy workers to apply to enter New Zealand under a class exception scheme. This included a limit of 50 farm assistants, with the remaining positions to be filled by herd managers and assistant managers.

Following months of advocacy, led by DairyNZ, the Government announced in December that more dairy farm assistants would be allowed across the border to meet strong demand on farms.

“We know many farmers are having difficulty finding Kiwis to fill dairy positions, and the demand for farm assistants is particularly strong,” says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle. “We have been pushing hard for the Government to recognise the need for changes to the quota to allow for greater flexibility and more farm assistants to enter New Zealand.”

The Government said in December it will remove restrictions on the number of farm assistants that are part of the quota of 200 workers, and allow the quota to be made up of any mix of farm assis-

QUARANTINE ON-FARM? DAIRYNZ SAYS it has put a number of suggestions to the Government about how the sector could manage the health risk and the labour needs.

On-farm isolation is an option, says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.

“Farms are already away from communities, and farmers are used to maintaining good hygiene standards.”

Alongside work to recruit international workers, DairyNZ has a range of initiatives underway to attract Kiwis into dairy, including GoDairy. A new campaign will also soon be launched to give Kiwis a better understanding of what it means to be a dairy farmer.

DairyNZ is also leading the development of a Dairy Workforce Resilience Plan which will involve farmers, dairy companies, sector groups and the Government in creating an evidence-based roadmap to put the sector on a sustainable path to recruit and retain people.

Salaries for people working on dairy farms have increased significantly over the past two years, and many roles offer accommodation on site.

tants, herd managers and assistant managers.

While the changes are positive, Mackle says DairyNZ continues to strongly advocate for another 1,500 international dairy workers to be allowed into the country this year to help fill a critical shortage of dairy staff – estimated at between

4,000 and 6,000 workers.

“Border closures and an unemployment rate at 3.4% are creating ongoing stress for dairy farmers,” says Mackle.

“Without the right number of people on farm, it puts animal welfare at risk, constrains the sector’s ability to make environmental prog-

ress, and places a greater burden on increasingly stretched teams, with staff often having to work extraordinary hours.

“While we acknowledge the situation is uncertain, there is no point having the class exception if people can’t actually then get into the country due to border restrictions.”

There is no point having the class exception if people can’t actually then get into the country due to border restrictions, says Tim Mackle, DairyNZ.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

8 // NEWS

ES, farmers at odds

Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell is unhappy with the Feds media statement.

PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

ENVIRONMENT SOUTHLAND (ES)

and Federated Farmers Southland are locked in a dispute over the release of draft limits and targets for nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, and E. coli load

reductions in the region’s rivers, lakes and estuaries.

Southland Feds president Chris Dillon claims they never found out about these until the end of December when, by chance, they got a Facebook link to the ES website and got access to the numbers.

Feds claim these draft

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limits and targets are based off science that has never been subject to a formal approval, consultation or plan change process, and which lack consideration of economic and community factors.

Dillon says it’s deeply concerning that ES chose to publicise the limits and targets over the holiday period, and without detailed explanation of their context.

“They were saying it was available on their website at an earlier stage but if you tried to find it was impossible,” he told Dairy News.

“We only found out because of the Facebook link. As I see it, they had a deadline of the end of the year to do this and putting it out on the last day was not being upfront.

They say they talked with us in November but none of those figures were available then,” he says.

But ES chair, Nicol Horrell, says he was a bit grumpy when he saw the statement from Feds, which he says is disappointing and could lead to confusion in the community. Feds deny this and blame the council for the confusion.

Horrell is adamant the council has not put out any new information over the holiday period, nor announced any draft limits or targets, and says the

information in question is not new, but has been on its website for some time.

“I am very surprised at all this. I went and addressed the executive of Southland Federated Farmers before the end of November, because this science paper was about to go on the website, and we had a discussion that lasted about two hours.

“Clearly some people just didn’t like the numbers and other organisations such as DairyNZ have come up with lower numbers, but even these are still high.

We are going out on the road to explain this... Yes the numbers are high but things will change in terms of technology and science, but we have start doing more now,” he says.

Countering that, Dillon says Federated Farmers has real concerns about how the targets have been arrived at, in particular the suggestion that the “Share Your Wai” campaign of a couple of years ago was the “community consultation” that led to the setting of these extreme targets.

“This is an aspiration to return our waterways to pre-settlement quality without considering the effect it could have on the major flood control modifications that were implemented for the good of the entire community.”

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NICOL HORRELL, himself a sheep and beef farmer, admits the numbers from the science modelling are confronting. But he says it’s important that people take time to understand the information and think about their own business be it farming or in the town and what improvements could be made.

“When we do a plan change we will likely put numbers in for the first 10 years. If you put 25 year numbers in it will cause problems and the reality is that nothing may happen for years. But if you break it down into a journey, and it’s not too eye watering, we will make greater progress,” he says.

While the two parties are at odds over this issue and there is clearly some mistrust, it seems that both parties want to keep the dialogue going. Dillon says they want a good relationship with Environment Southland and know that farmers have the solution to the problems going forward.

For his part, Horrell says since he became chair of the council they have had a much better relationship with Feds. He says he’s told them they won’t always agree but he’s always available on the phone and is happy to meet with them. He believes it is possible to reach a “Southland agreement” with all the groups working together.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

NEWS // 9

Showcasing Kiwi farming BEFORE COVID,

the Fonterra team in Singapore was always thrilled when Kiwi farmers dropped into the office during their travels and shared stories of life back on the farm.

With the end of these visits, due to travel restrictions, the team started to think about how they could connect with New Zealand dairy farmers some other way.

That’s what sparked the ‘adopt a farm’ idea of Fonterra teams in South East Asia following a dairy farm virtually through the seasons. The employees and farmers would connect via a video conferencing app and the farmers would take them on tours around the farm.

had immigrated to New Zealand.

“We ended up swapping stories in Bahasa,” said Fonterra corporate communications lead Nisa Rahmani from Indonesia. “That was really special, very personal.”

The virtual chats were held quarterly last year and focused on the biggest events in the farming calendar. From moving day and mating, to calving and milking, employees across South East Asia were given ringside seats of the inner workings behind the farm gate, via video updates and live conversations.

“When you work in a brands business, it’s often easy to lose sight of where it all begins,” says Willy Low, director of Fonterra

“It’s been an absolute privilege hearing their story; farm, family and the lengths they go to deliver the dairy goodness that our customers and consumers love,” – Willy Low, Fonterra.

“It’s one thing to know that our milk comes from happy, grass-fed cows, but it’s sessions like these, seeing that for ourselves, even if virtually, that the message really hits home,” says Karena Chia, Fonterra marketing and insights manager of NZMP, based in Singapore.

The first farmers to get on board were Rob and Raewyn Van Vugt who have a dairy farm in Clydevale near the Clutha River. The Singapore team enjoyed being shown milking, calving and other activities on the farm, and in turn shared insights of the South East Asian dairy market with the Van Vugts.

One of the Van Vugt’s children, Alex, sharemilks with his wife and soon the team were introduced to Alex and Joy and their family too, who created farming videos to talk the team through during the calls.

The teams in Indonesia and the Philippines came on board soon after and adopted farms with Bahasa Indonesian and Filipino speaking farmers who

SEA’s Chilled Dairy Foods business.

“It’s been an absolute privilege hearing their story; farm, family and the lengths they go to deliver the dairy goodness that our customers and consumers love.”

One of the highlights for Fonterra employees in Singapore, was getting a behind the-scenes look at calving. The team were introduced to their very own calf, who they named Susu (milk in local Malay language) and have been following her journey since.

Meanwhile, a recent session with the team in Manilla had employees’ kids getting in on the slice of the action too, posing some basic but brilliant questions to Pinoy farmer Marco Concepcion who runs a farm located 20 minutes from Invercargill.

“We’re going all out to celebrate the provenance of products in market, so what better way to understand the care and hard work that goes into sourcing our quality, sustainable milk from those directly responsible,” says Robert

Cook, general manager, Fonterra Philippines.

“Our people build our dairy education with an insider view of the realities of farm life – and the

economics of it all. Our farmers get a closer view of our growth markets, our diverse cultures and what we’re doing with their precious milk.”

Farmers Alex and Joy Van Vugt and their family livestream their faming to Fonterra teams in Asia.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

10 // NEWS

Govt nominee in no rush to change milk price panel NIGEL MALTHUS

THE INAUGURAL Ministerial nom-

inee on the Fonterra Milk Price Panel says he is not coming in as a crusader with any preconceived ideas of a need for change.

Lincoln University Professor Hamish Gow says the system which sets the price Fonterra pays farmers for their milk is fundamentally solid and transparent.

Gow says the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) system creates a clear market benchmark, “And then the milk pricing model that we use is a very clear and defined process to be able to come up with a fair and equitable price for farmers.

“Actually, I think this system works a lot better than what most farmers and lots of the industry analysts probably recognise.”

The Milk Price Panel was set up under DIRA, the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act, to oversee the process Fonterra uses to set its price to farmers. It is made up of a mix of Fonterra and independent members but Gow is the first independent member nominated by the Minister of Agriculture, as established by last year’s DIRA review.

Gow explains that the Panel’s statutory role is two-fold: to oversee the way Fonterra sets the price in accordance with its pricing manual, and review the manual itself from time to time and recommend any technical changes that ought to be made.

He says the GDT sets the base prices under five different commodity groups, then the model applies a number of

Professor Hamish Gow

factors based on a “hypothetically efficient” milk processing company to estimate what should be the farm gate price to all to any farmer in New Zealand.

The system is designed to ensure that Fonterra pays an honest and efficient price to all farmers, and ensures it runs a highly efficient milk collection and processing operation.

He says its near-monopoly status might otherwise allow it to impose what economists term “quasi rents”

where farmers committed to large investments but holding time-critical product – such as fresh milk – would have no power to demand a fair price and could end up giving it away.

Although he has not yet attended a meeting of the Panel, Gow says, “As an outsider looking in, it’s a solid and welldesigned structure and process.

“It’s probably the most effective mechanism that we’ve had, and it does give farmers protection to milk price

movements with the way the structure is set up, and the way that Fonterra manages it.”

Gow recently took up the Sir Graeme Harrison Professorial Chair in Global Value Chains and Trade at Lincoln University, after several years as Professor of Agribusiness at Massey and a long career overseas helping develop international trade systems, including four years seconded to the World Bank.

Lincoln University says the focus of

the chair is on excellence in research, teaching, and extension to address the challenges New Zealand agricultural exporters face in becoming integral parts of major value chains and combating behind-the-border trade barriers.

In a statement welcoming his appointment to the Milk Price Panel, Lincoln said Gow’s appointment would fulfil that mandate by bringing an academic rigour to government and industry policy discussions.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

NEWS // 11

Cheese name ruling brings hope SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND cheese

processors are welcoming a US court decision to reject Europe’s bid to have exclusive use of Gruyére cheese name.

The ruling means Gruyére cheese does not have to come from the Gruyére region of Europe to be sold under the name. It reaffirms that all cheesemakers, not just those in France or Switzerland, can continue to create and market cheese under this common name.

Dairy Companies of NZ (DCANZ) executive director Kimberly Crewther says the decision is a good outcome “that we are pleased to see”.

Crewther told Dairy News that DCANZ agrees that Gruyére is a generic cheese and opposed its registration as a geographical indicator (GI) Europe.

“We have also objected to the EU’s request that Gruyére be protected for sole use under the EU-NZ FTA on the basis that it is a cheese variety with a long history of production in many countries beyond France and Switzerland, including NZ and the EU.” Crewther says the US court finding underscores the common nature of Gruyére as a cheese

Kimberly Crewther

term.

US dairy farmers and stakeholders have been fighting to preserve the ability of all players in the US market to use generic terms.

“This is a huge victory for common sense and for hard-working manufacturers and dairy farmers,” says US Dairy Export Council president and chief executive Krysta Harden.

“When a word is used by multiple companies in multiple stores and restaurants every day for years, as Gruyére has been, that word is generic and no one owns the exclusive right to use it,” Harden says.

NZ dairy processors have been expressing concern at continued efforts from Europe to monopolise common cheese names. However court battles can be costly.

Crewther says outcomes such as this US court finding are welcome, but the cost of such proceedings to defend the use of common terms creates a heavy burden for

Cheesemakers in the US have been given the green light to use the generic name Guryere for their product.

local processors.

“It is notable that the US court found that the arguments put forward by the European proponents were weak.

“There should be far greater onus on those parties seeking to claw back and monopolise common names to substantiate their arguments of uniqueness before imposing costs on other existing users to defend the common nature of the term.

“There are a number of simple criteria that can be used as markers for a cheese term being common, for example history of production in multiple geographies or the cheese name having been previously recognised as

common, either directly or indirectly in past international agreements.

“Gruyére is produced in many countries and the EU has previously acknowledged it as a generic cheese variety by using it as a descriptor for one of its WTO import quotas.

“Where a cheese so clearly ticks the box of being a common varietal term, any proposal for its use to be clawed back and monopolised should be rejected at the outset without imposing undue costs on other market participants to defend their legitimate use of the term,” says Crewther. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

TRIPLE THREAT THE EUROPEAN Union is pushing for New Zealand cheesemakers to stop using three names – Gruyère, Feta and Gorgonzola.

While free trade negotiations are continuing between NZ and the EU, a recent US court ruling allowing the country to use the generic name Gruyère is being welcomed here.

NZ Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) president Catherine MacNamara told Dairy News that it welcomes the news that cheesemakers in the US have been given the green light to continue to use the generic name Gruyère.

“The US is an interesting case for a single cheese name without a geographic reference to be approved,” MacNamara says.

“The NZSCA always thought

that it would be harder to protect a name without a geographical reference.

“The organisation will follow the case as closely as possible for an indication that Gruyère may be able to continue to be used in New Zealand.”

She says if NZ loses any of these generic cheese names, the cheese industry will have to rebrand and re-educate consumers – a very time consuming and expensive exercise. “The association believes that the move by the EU to claim exclusive use of generic cheese names, would give the EU an unfair advantage in our marketplace.

“This recent ruling in the US provides some hope that we too can retain the use of these names.”

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

12 // NEWS

Going swimmingly - what surviving f A FREE-STALL barn has

helped a Mid Canterbury family re-frame its dairy business and sustain production through some of the worst flooding their region had been exposed to in 200 years.

When the Stewart family first invested in their imposing 140m x 75m barn back in 2013, the subsequently falling milk price turned it into a bold move that raised some eyebrows.

However, with some resilient thinking, this family – anchored by David and Maree Stewart – weathered the challenge by switching up the business and including some bright minds with different thinking to make it work. The barn has now become a central part of the family’s ability to harness premium winter milk contracts, as they move towards 70% autumn-calv-

ing pattern on their 550cow herd.

It also helped them traverse the region’s flood disaster late in May, which has forever buried 14.5ha of their farm under riverbed rubble.

This is the first season that David and Maree’s sons TJ and Mark, together with his wife Stacey, have taken over leasing the operation.

Barwell Farm is sandwiched between the north and south banks of the Ashburton River, making the Greenstreet neighbourhood one of the worst-affected areas. The flood’s calling card also included deep layers of silt, trees and stones on another 20ha of the pastures around the dairy, which will take time to bring back into full production. In all, 50ha was impacted and 15km of fencing was wiped out.

The late, cold spring compounded feed shortages for many, and ravaged other winter-milk production across the region.

Yet, Barwell Farm’s production is up 3.3% year-to-date, with the operation managing to stay within its pre-flood feed budget. Because they could use the barn, damaged pasture has had time to recover, meaning the pasture that needs more work hasn’t hurt production by being out of a grazing rotation.

The autumn calvers that went through the flood are still on target to produce more than 650 kgMS (milk solids) per cow in 280 days. Their winter contract was 600 kgMS per day.

“We sat at 700 kgMS per day all winter,” says Stacey. “I think this is the best the cows have looked

Brothers Mark (left) and TJ Stewart flank Mark’s wife, Stacey, in the barn that has allowed them to remain on track with their production this season despite the crippling floods which forever buried 14.5ha of their Mid Canterbury farm under riverbed rubble in May 2021.

this winter compared to previous years.”

The numbers support Stacey’s observation. Usually, they would be averaging about 1.8 kgMS/cow/ day at this time of year.

However, at the time of writing, they were averaging 2.3 kgMS on 550-cow

herd (with 320 autumn calvers).

Barwell Farm didn’t lose any stock, but they were scrambling, and the milking herd spent 20 hours standing in the dairy yard without feed, water or milking after their owners were evacu-

ated. David and Maree’s home was flood damaged leading to their evacuation, with photos of the family’s 10-year-old fox terrier, Max, making national news as he was loaded to leave.

Before they were evacuated, the Stewarts res-

cued their dry cows, who were up to their hocks in water by the time the family reached them. They then walked the animals to Glenalla and Snowfed Farms, owned by the Gilbert family, which gave the Stewarts free grazing for 180 head.

Local farmer Duncan Barr, who has a lot of experience in disaster planning and working with government agencies, visited and helped the family rationalise their shock and devise a plan. Angela Cushnie, from Federated Farmers, was also active in the conversations.

The Stewarts, who will have to climb over some $150,000 to $200,000 in flood-damage costs, said community support was critical in the aftermath, and the continuing solidarity remains a high point in the horrifying experience.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

NEWS // 13

g floods looks like SUSTAINING THE BUSINESS SUSTAINING THE family business and production has landed in the ballpark of MilkMaP’s senior farm business consultant, Cameron Burton.

Having helped balance cow nutrition with profitability for the last three years, Cameron has now helped them work through post-flood feed budgets, strategies to sustain production, submitting insurance claims, and righting the cows’ ship in general. His work has allowed the Stewarts to sustain cashflow.

The farm swings between a total and partial mixed ration; whether livestock are fully pasture-fed depends on the time of the year and the weather.

“There was naturally a bit of stress around the environmental impacts at the time and there were suggestions from some to go to once-a-day milking,” says Cameron. “We quickly decided that wasn’t going to be the way forward.

“During the floods we talked about how to bring the cows back onto their milking ration from having only straw available for 24 hours, and we were happy to see a rapid increase in production over the 10 days post-flood with no metabolic issues or acidosis.

“We did have some somatic cell count issues, which we expected with a high-production herd that had fresh and peak-flow cows who had missed a few milkings. But they’ve got through that now.”

TJ said they have been pushed and tested as they work to bring the pastures back into line, but the way the cows had coped had been incredible. With Synlait paying up to $13/kgMS (for winter milk) the Lead with Pride producers are relieved that they have kept their production on-track. TJ said the barn had been pulling its weight for several years, but really came into its own this season.

“The carryover and autumn-calving cows are usually in the barn from late April to early May for one feed a day and overnight,” he says.

“They are then in the barn 24/7 from late May to mid to late September. By late October, we would usually shut it down until the next autumn calving – unless the season was dry in late summer.

“What the barn does is give us options to sustain production and maintain cow comfort.

It’s been a great add-on to the farm, and we wouldn’t farm without it now.”

TJ said Cameron’s role has been to help them to feed more efficiently for the business.

They are driving the bottom line from per-cow production on the system 5 feeding. For the past two years, it has included a formal lead feed to prepare cows for calving, which has made an impact on fresh cow performance.

“With Cameron’s advice, we bought in the raw materials and we just followed his recipe to make up the lead feed ourselves,” TJ says.

“We had the mixer wagon, so we decided to use it. It was a bit more work, but the cows are milking better because of it, without question.

I’d kind of done something like it before, but never as robustly as we’ve done in the last two years.”

Stacey said she’s also noticed the response in the cows.

“The cows have slick coats, they calved in really well and transitioned right. This spring calving we had the least milk fever we’ve ever had. We calved 320 in the autumn and 270 in August and September. In the autumn, we had eight to 10 downer cows. In the spring, we got to the middle of September before we had any issues.”

An example of the devastation which is too final to ever be pulled back into production.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

14 // NEWS

Wearable technology brings farmers closer to their cows HEALTH MONITORING devices

are becoming the next big thing for the national dairy herd.

Cow wearables, such as ear sensors and collars, are increasingly being used on New Zealand dairy farms to help monitor and manage animal performance, health and fertility.

Manawatu dairy farmer Jared Whittfield has been using CowManager’s ear sensor technology since the start of May to monitor his herd.

Although the technology looks like a standard ear tag seen on every dairy cow across the country, it delivers key insights to farmers 24/7 to bring them one step closer to their cows.

“One of the main benefits of these ear tags is early detection of problems,” says Whittfield. “You receive a health alert when a cow isn’t her usual self, and from there you can quickly diagnose the problem. It’s great from a herd productivity perspective because it means you’re picking up issues much earlier, or even identifying issues

GEOGARD

that might never have been picked up.”

Whittfield, who milks 1,000 cows on his 250ha farm in Moutoa in the Manawatu region, says it was easier to know each cow when herds were smaller.

“When you’re milking fifty cows it’s not hard to see if one is having a bad day, but when you have a thousand that’s a very different task. With cow wearable devices, you get that same level of connection to your cows again.

“Not only can you monitor individual cows, but you can also get a sense of how your herd is performing overall by looking at cows at different ages and stages of lactation and identifying whether there are any trends.”

Herd improvement and agritech co-op LIC has recently released a new development in its cloudbased herd management system, MINDA (via its app), to help Kiwi farmers unlock more value from cow wearable devices and further support the ‘connected cow’ future of the New Zealand dairy industry.

LIC has released a new development in its cloud-based herd management system, MINDA, to help Kiwi farmers unlock more value from cow wearable devices.

The new application will enable valuable data captured from cow wearable devices to join the rest of the animal’s records in MINDA to provide farmers with a one-stop-shop for their animal data.

Before the application was available, Whittfield had to do a daily transfer of data.

“The fact that these tags are now able to

link up with MINDA means there’s no double handling of data, which saves time on farm and ensures that you have access to all the data you need in one centralised place.”

Malcolm Ellis, LIC’s general manager of NZ Markets, says data is key to driving the next wave of productivity and sustainability improvements for the

industry.

“In this era of a stabilising cow population and increased environmental and regulatory considerations, there has never been a more important time for farmers to be focused on improving the quality of cows in their herd.

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management decisions is a key driver.”

Ellis says enabling data flow between MINDA, which is used by 10,500 dairy farmers, and thirdparty cow wearable devices has been hotly requested by farmers.

“We are seeing an increased uptake in cow wearable technology from our farmers so it’s great to now be able to offer them more value from their investment with improved access to data and insights.”

Ellis says everything LIC is doing in the technology space is focused on deepening

farmers’ connection to their cows.

“Tech is the future for many industries, but much of the value lies in integration. We’ll continue to investigate opportunities where we can partner with others in the tech sector to deliver to farmers’ needs and unlock more value for our farmers.”

Cow wearable devices from CowManager, Datamars and Allflex (via Protrack) can now integrate with MINDA, with more partners expected to get on board soon, including Afimilk and GEA Cow Scout.

Cow wearable devices – like the orange CowManager ear tags – are deepening the connection between farmers and their cows.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

AGRIBUSINESS // 15

‘Razor’ shares rugby secrets with farmers MAKE SURE you have

someone to talk to when life gets tough.

That was the key message from Crusaders coach Scott Robertson and some rural mental health advocates at a packed gathering of the Ellesmere farming community recently.

Ellesmere Sustainable Agriculture Inc (ESAI), with support from the Ministry for Primary Industries, invited its members and community to listen to four speakers sharing their experiences around leadership, stress, anxiety and depression and the strategies to cope with the pressures life creates in rural communities.

A capacity crowd of nearly 100 farmers, their families and their neighbours were captivated by Robertson sharing some of the secrets of the culture that created the Crusaders dynasty, including their methods to handle setbacks and stress,

which according to Robertson apply to both the rugby field as well as the farm.

Robertson explained how he built his coaching career on doing the hard yards, learning from others who have gone before him and building a support group he can lean back on.

He said that earlier in his career he used former Canterbury coach Rob Penney as his sounding board. These days he phones former Crusaders coach Robbie Deans for mentoring.

“You always need to have a plan or a person to call when things get difficult,” Robertson told the audience at the Lakeside Soldiers Memorial Hall near Leeston.

He explained that each person responds differently to adversity.

“Some players get angry, some get quiet and some withdraw,” said Robertson who stressed how important it was for

all of us to recognise and understand how we react to stress and respond accordingly.

“Instead of withdrawing or getting angry, it is better to take action. Talk to someone, get a team around you, stay connected. If you stay connected, you can stay on course.”

After answering questions about rugby as well as mental health, the coach handed the floor to three other speakers who each support the rural community and their mental health.

Geoff Spark, a supporter of the Farmstrong movement, shared his personal tale of dealing with incredible stress after 2,500 cattle were culled due to Mycoplasma bovis.

Rural sports MC and commentator Craig ‘Wiggy’ Wiggins from Ashburton then spoke about the unexpected demand for a weekly drop-in zoom call he started for farmers during

the first Covid lockdown.

“Lockdown shut the front gate and anxiety levels went through the roof,” said Wiggins.

The weekly online gathering evolved in a national campaign to encourage farmers to open up and share their worries.

Wiggins said that the ’Lean On A Gate, Talk To A Mate’ campaign aims to recreate some of the traditional opportunities when farmers used to connect at the saleyards or in the pub, which may not be happening as often these days.

He explained that when people get down, they struggle to remember the good times.

“So it’s important to connect to someone from the past, so you can remember those happy memories.”

The final speaker of the evening, Elle Perriam, spoke about her personal journey of depression after her partner took

Data in the hands of the farmer FARM REPORTING

software company Trev says it can now put operational data squarely in the hands of the farmer.

The company has released its application programming interface (API), a software intermediary designed for farmers to build and control their Trev data, enabling Trev customers to automate data sharing within their own systems or to permission data to be shared with approved industry data partners.

The company says it customers have always built their own datasets, extracting insights directly from the Trev platform. This new API means farmers can now

automatically transfer data to other platforms and services internally and externally, reducing their data burden.

Data can be taken directly from Trev’s platform and plugged into a farm’s own internal systems and processes.

Or should a customer choose, the company has the ability to send ‘farmer permissioned’ data to approved industry partner integrations.

Trev chief executive Scott Townshend says APIs certainly aren’t new to the ag sector, however, he believes this is the first time that New Zealand farmers will have the ability to transfer a wide breadth

Successful Crusaders coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson shared some of the secrets of the culture that created the Crusaders dynasty, including their methods to handle setbacks and stress.

his own life, and trying everything “to get rid of the pain”.

She explained how the depression eventually helped her to understand the mindset of people considering taking their own lives and helped to create Will To Live New Zealand which helps farmers with their mental health struggles.

Perriam, who grew up in Haast, but now

lives in Leeston, has reached over 15,000 farmers through her Rural Change Programme in recent months and has raised funding for farmers to access private counselling, instead of waiting for months through the public health system.

She encouraged all farmers to reach out if they wanted to improve their well-being, even

those who don’t have urgent challenges.

ESAI event organiser Jo Fearn said the night had been a huge success and the ESAI team were stoked with the big turnout.

“Mental health is one of the biggest challenges in the rural sector and creating a night like this to learn and to connect with your neighbours is incredibly important.”

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As New Zealand’s agritech industry has evolved, so too has the farming sector’s ability to record information, with data available in a lot of different places.

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“We did this firstly with our bespoke integration with Figured, and we’re now offering the service for Trev customers to use within their own systems and other Trev data partners in the future.”

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

16 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Time for action

MILKING IT...

The wait continues

Forrest moves into milk

Milking tricks

Reducing waste

THE WAIT continues for farmers and contractors looking forward to welcoming overseas workers in the coming weeks.

Last week the Government left it to officials to announce, late one evening, that MIQ room release has been postponed due to the “unprecedented number of Omicron cases”.

The Government says pausing the next allocation of managed isolation rooms for those entering the country is a “temporary position” while MIQ was under “extreme pressure” from those returning with the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

With no MIQ spots available in the near future, overseas workers with visas can only wait, leaving farmers without muchneeded help.

AUSTRALIA’S RICHEST man Andrew Forrest has quietly bought a 6.6% stake in one of the country’s biggest milk processors, Bega Cheese.

One of his companies, Tattarang AgriFood Investments, purchased more than 20 million shares in Bega Cheese this week for about A$108 million on New Year’s eve.

There is speculation over the ditch that that Bega could launch a takeover bid for Fonterra’s Australian business, which is under review and could end up on the chopping block.

Bega would have to borrow to pay for an offer for Fonterra, but with Forrest as a cornerstone shareholder, raising the money may not be a problem.

A FARMER from Turkey is “tricking” his cows into producing more milk.

Newsweek reports that İzzet Koçak is simulating green pastures on virtual reality headsets to reduce the cows’ stress, in an attempt to have them produce more milk.

In addition to having his cows wear VR headsets, Koçak also has the cows listen to classical music in order to keep their stress levels lowered.

He claims per cow milk production has jumped 5-litres/day to 27-litres/day since the cows have been wearing the virtual reality glasses.

Koçak said he was influenced by a farm in Russia that fitted its cows with virtual reality glasses.

UK SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons is to scrap ‘use by’ dates on most of its milk in a move it says will stop millions of pints being poured down the sink.

The retailer will instead place ‘best before’ on 90% of its own-brand milk and encourage customers to use a sniff test to check quality.

The BBC quotes recycling charity Wrap, who said Morrisons will be the first supermarket to make the move, starting later this month.

Milk is the third most wasted food and drink product in the UK, after potatoes and bread, with around 490 million pints wasted every year, according to Wrap.

It also estimates 85 million pints of milk waste may be due to customers strictly following ‘use by’ labels, despite research showing it can be safely used days after the date.

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TWO YEARS into Covid and New Zealand dairy farmers are still struggling to get skilled farm workers from overseas.

The urgent need of 1,500 overseas workers hasn’t come through lack of effort on the part of farmers.

In fact, the Agriculture Minister and the Ministry for Primary Industries cannot be blamed either.

Farmers – through DairyNZ, Dairy Women’s Network, Federated Farmers and others – have been working behind the scenes with MPI and O’Connor for months.

In June 2021, the Government provided provisional approval for 200 international dairy workers to apply to enter New Zealand under a class exception scheme. This included a limit of 50 farm assistants, with the remaining positions to be filled by herd manager and assistant managers.

Last month, the Government announced that more dairy farm assistants would be allowed across the border to meet strong demand on farms.

Farmers across the country have been asking for boots on the ground to help milk and feed livestock and the dairy assistant is the right role for doing this.

Sadly, very few farmers have seen overseas workers land on their farms, almost eight months since the first announcement.

The finger must be pointed directly at MIQ, a Governmentrun scheme providing quarantine facilities for overseas arrivals.

While the border exceptions have been approved, employers and their workers are still faced with a complex and lengthy process to get employees into New Zealand and onto farms.

The border exception is just the first part of this process: farmers and their potential workers have to sort MIQ, flights and all the associated paperwork.

This is not an easy or cheap task for either party, but with unemployment at such low levels, this is really the only option for many of the primary industries at the moment.

The lack of MIQ spaces is undoing all the hard work done by farmers, workers and their industry groups to secure visas.

And many dairy workers have given up on coming to New Zealand because they couldn’t line up flights with an MIQ booking.

That’s why the call to tie border exemptions to an MIQ allocation is the one way forward. The Government could also give migrant workers the chance to safely quarantine on-farm, an inherently remote area away from large populations.

Bringing in migrant dairy workers is a win-win: the local industry gains skills and innovation, while extra hands on the farm allow farmers more time off.

The industry cannot sustain another season without overseas workers. Unless the Government acts now, the coming calving and mating season could be a tricky one.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

OPINION // 17

Managing FE - not just about zinc JOE MCGRATH

FACIAL ECZEMA is

chronic toxicity caused by the ingestion of spores from pasture and their conversion into sporidesmin in blood.

The disease appears to be spreading into the North Island central highlands and even to the South Island. If summers get warmer incidence may spread further.

However, disease management continues to improve. Progressive farmers no longer count it as a non-manageable problem. Why so?

These farmers have learned to complement grass with supplementary feeding through in-shed feed systems and feed pads. This has been targeted at optimising milk yield to body weight in milk solids but it’s also allowed farmers to manage several nutrition parameters that traditional drenching and water dosing cannot.

Dosing through feed means more even dosing.

It allows use of safer, more effective zinc oxide.

Supplementary feed allows optimum pasture use, minimising fungal growth.

Supplementary feed intake dilutes spore intake in severe situations.

We can add other nutritional components that help maintain optimum immunity and metabolic activity, including, • Calcium • Phosphorus

• Vitamin E and selenium • Vitamin D metabolites Since the 1970’s zinc in the diet, as a drench, bolus, in water or feed, has been one of the most effective methods of reducing facial eczema impact. It’s sometimes, however, thought of as the only tool.

But when spore numbers are really high, zinc is often not enough to prevent damage.

What’s more, like many strong medicines, zinc comes with side effects.

For example, it can be antagonistic to other minerals, especially calcium, increasing the likelihood of milk fever.

With planning, these side effects can be offset.

There are other means in the tool kit of bolstering immunity and decreasing exposure to spores.

Feeding non pasture feeds allows spore intake to be reduced through dilution.

It’s been demonstrated that the right proportion of micro minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants, in particular vitamin E, can further contribute to the resistance of animals to facial eczema (Munday et. al.).

Therapeutic levels of zinc can reduce calcium uptake. However, the vitamin D metabolite Hy-D increases active absorption of both calcium and phosphorus, helping offset zinc antagonism and reducing milk fever risk.

We also need to watch copper intake while

spore levels are high.

Free copper is needed to create superoxide radicals. Organic (or chelated) copper in zinc supplements is sometimes offered as

safer. There is no safe form of copper. To date no published work demonstrates reduced impact.

• Dr Joe McGrath is Sollus head nutritionist

Dr Joe McGrath

Today

Tomorrow

SUMMARY ■

Zinc inhibits the generation of the superoxide radical by sporidesmin.

■

Copper causes the spore to become toxic.

■

There is no safe copper supplement.

■

Zinc reduces copper absorption.

■

Non-pasture feeds during risk periods will help limit spore exposure.

■

Zinc antagonises calcium absorption, increasing the risk of hypocalcaemia. The use of Hy-D can improve calcium absorption.

■

Vitamin E has been shown to act differently to zinc, helping to prevent damage by free radicals involved with facial eczema

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

18 // MANAGEMENT

Quinedale Farm & Stud - a f TAUPIRI DAIRY farmer

Balraj Singh jokes that when he married his wife Hardeep, he ‘converted’ her.

He’s not talking about sports teams or coffee brands, but cattle breeds.

“I’ve been milking cows since I was 14-yearsold, and I was brought up with Holstein Friesians,” he says.

“Before we got married, Hardeep had a small herd of 75 pedigree Jersey cows, but I convinced her to start milking Holstein Friesians.”

Since then, the Singhs have created a strong Holstein Friesian-based dairy farm and stud, milking 185 cows on 72ha outside of Hamilton.

Their stud, Quinedale, does not breed for breeding worth (BW), instead focusing on using North American Holstein Friesian genetics to breed a “good, handy cow with good conformation that will last”.

And last, they do. Their ‘once in a lifetime’ cow, Quinedale Igniter Daisy EX5, passed away in May 2021 at age 18 – well after she joined the retirement paddock.

Although the family has been at their current property for 20 years, Balraj and Hardeep bought their first farm in 1995, a 40ha property located between Morrinsville and Tahuna on Quine Rd. The farm was bought

Quinedale Igniter Daisy EXS passed away last year after a stellar career.

NO TIME FOR ‘UGLY’ COWS MATING IS usually completed in five-week blocks of AB but this autumn, Balraj Singh says they will undertake six weeks of AB, with no bulls, to tighten up the calving season a little.

They also use the Semex mating programme Optimate, a programme designed to improve the functional traits of cows.

“Each year before mating season starts, Semex representative Bob Hammond visits to identify the three worst faults on the two-year-old heifers,” Balraj says.

“From there we select our bull team for the upcoming season. The whole herd is matched with the bulls selected giving them a first and second choice.”

Quinedale’s standout cows to

date include Quinedale Monday Wazi EX4 and Quinedale Aladdin Ruba EX2.

“Wazi was an outstanding cow for Quinedale,” Hardeep says.

“In 2012 she was the HFNZSemex NZ Ltd On-Farm Competition – Hanoverhill Raider -Five-Year-Old Reserve Champion.

“Her best production was in the 2012/13 season, producing 11,954 litres and 749 kgMS in 273 days. She has left quite the mark on the herd, with 25 family members currently in the herd. She may have left her best for last with a promising two-year-old daughter, Quinedale Uno Wazi, just entering the herd.”

Ruba, known as Snuggles to the Singh family, has been another standout animal from a very young

age; she was Jahan’s Calf Club calf in 2008.

“Snuggles’ highlights include winning the 2019 HFNZ-Semex NZ Ltd Waikato On-Farm Competition - Veteran Cow class,” Hardeep says.

“Her best production was in the 2013/14 season where she produced 12,441 litres and 826 kgMS in 305 days.”

However, Daisy’s success remains unlikely to be repeated, certainly in terms of longevity.

Daisy was named one of New Zealand’s top Holstein Friesian cows, achieving five Excellent scores in her TOP/Classification inspections. In 2011 she was HFNZSemex NZ Ltd Waikato On-Farm Competition – Mature Cow Reserve Champion and her best production

was as a 14-year-old, where she produced 9,632 litres of milk solids, 442kg fat and 272kg protein in 299 days.

“She had great longevity and was always able to get back in calf,” Hardeep says.

Daisy had her last calf in March 2020, by Walnutlawn Sidekick, and spent her last season raising calves in the paddock; the family is excited to see if her last daughter will follow in her mother’s footsteps.

Quinedale was also mentioned in the August 2021 Holstein International Journal amongst herds worldwide with the most EX cows, currently sitting fifth in New Zealand.

In the future, Balraj says they would like to achieve more

production per cow. He would also like to lease a support block to graze-off their autumn cows, to ease the strain on the pasture.

“It’s a lot of pressure on the farm to have all the animals on at once,” he says.

Balraj is enjoying working with Shneil as he settles back into farming, and they are always looking to improve the herd with the addition of new genetics – a welcome detour from the day-to-day routine of farming.

“When you’re milking cows 365 days of the year, we all agree we want to be seeing good looking cows in the shed and paddock,” he says.

“Life is too short to be milking ugly cows.”

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

MANAGEMENT // 19

a family affair as a going concern with 100 crossbred cows, and Balraj and Hardeep went on to purchase 13 pedigree Holstein Friesian in-calf heifers and eight pedigree Holstein Friesian cows from Russell and Pat Wilson at Morrinsville.

Quinedale’s original herd had New Zealand bloodlines – including Bear-Path Fantastic and Pukeroro Norbert Lou – but from there Balraj decided to use Semex and World Wide Sires genetics from Canada and North America.

Quinedale is a family affair, with no outside staff. Balraj and Hardeep’s eldest son Shneil works fulltime on the farm, having returned to New Zealand in 2020 from Japan, where he was playing professional rugby for Toyota Verblitz.

Balraj rears the calves

with Shneil’s help, and Hardeep milks and helps with all other farm work that needs doing.

Their younger sons Jeevan and Jahan both work in the building industry but are happy

built so they could grow more pasture with less damage, and fully utilise supplementary feed.

Cows go onto the feed pad 30-40 minutes before morning and afternoon milking in the 24-a-side

“You can get a lot more done with a third person on farm,” Balraj says. “With Shneil home, I am now able to get on top of the farm maintenance jobs I could rarely find time for.” to help on the farm as required.

“You can get a lot more done with a third person on farm,” Balraj says. “With Shneil home, I am now able to get on top of the farm maintenance jobs I could rarely find time for.”

Three years ago a covered feed pad was

herringbone dairy. In addition to pasture in the paddock and in-shed feeding, grass silage, maize, straw and minerals are combined in a mixer wagon and fed on the feed pad.

Cows sometimes get a little palm kernel, and when available, kiwifruit.

Last year’s average

production was 530 kgMS/ cow, and this season’s target is 550 kgMS/cow – hopefully more if the season goes well.

The herd at Quinedale split calves, with Planned Start of Calving (PSC) dates of March 20 and June 10. This allows them to make good use of the winter milking premium offered by their dairy company, Open Country Dairy.

They aim to rear 40-50 replacements annually, but last year they artificially bred all autumn heifers and ended up with 50 replacement calves from autumn calvers alone.

This season, they will have 85 replacements in total; some will go to the export market, sold at 100kg weaned. They also have 20 carryover cows.

Taupiri dairy farmers Balraj and Hardeep Singh strive to keep dairy farming interesting by breeding a high-producing, good-looking herd.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

20 // ANIMAL HEALTH/FEED

Soft grass cushions farm footprint PASTURE RENEWAL is all about

setting yourself up for the future, says Barenbrug pasture systems manager Blair Cotching.

“Farming is changing fast; sowing the right ryegrass is one way to keep up with those changes.”

Cotching claims tetraploid ryegrasses 4front, Shogun and Forge aren’t just great for cows. They have encouraging environmental features as well, to help future-proof your farm, he says.

And what makes them friendly to both animals, and the environment?

The short answer is taste, Cotching says.

“Cows love them: they have juicy leaves, with softer stems, which are very easy to eat. And that applies even when they are a bit longer than what we would say is the best grazing height for diploid ryegrass.”

This difference in leaf length before grazing is quite small – only about half a leaf more than diploids.

But it leads to a cascade of potential benefits, starting with more metabolisable energy (ME) per hectare, higher cow intakes, and up to 10% more milk per cow.

When every cow generates extra milksolids, because it’s so easy for her to eat as much ME as she needs, it then becomes feasible to run fewer cows without sacrificing overall production or income, Cotching says.

“Smaller herds have a smaller footprint. You don’t need as many replacements, for example. Animal health, supplement, rearing and other herd costs drop.

“As ryegrass re-grows after grazing, its carbohydrate levels rise, while crude protein and nitrogen content fall.

“So grazing them when they’re a bit longer reduces the amount of nitrogen eaten by your cows.”

That’s good for leaching, Cotching points out. When cows eat more nitrogen than they need, they excrete

the surplus in urine or dung. It’s this surplus that contributes to leaching.

Being able to leave these tetraploid ryegrasses slightly longer before grazing also means each plant has extra leaf area to capture energy from the sun, Cotching says.

“Think of this as giving the plants bigger solar panels for photosynthesis.

“Again, it’s not a huge difference in itself. But when you multiply this effect across thousands of plants in a paddock, it adds up to higher pasture growth.

“Other benefits associated with tetraploid pastures include a longer grazing round; more time for the ryegrass plant to respond to nitrogen fertiliser and a proportionately higher nitrogen response.” @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

Blair Cotching, Barenbrug Seeds says it’s all a matter of taste.

DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

ANIMAL HEALTH // 21

Keeping BVD at bay in four easy steps DAVID DYMOCK

BVD (BOVINE Viral

Diarrhoea) is a viral disease of cattle.

It is widespread in New Zealand; about half of dairy and beef herds are actively-infected with BVD at any given time.

BVD is spread by persistently-infected (PI) cattle. PI cattle are those which were infected with the BVD virus before birth and before their immune system has developed fully and therefore PI cattle never recover from the infection and remain a ‘virus factory’ for the remainder of their (usually short) life.

BVD causes pregnancy loss, diarrhoea, milk drop, and reduced growth rates.

It also suppresses the immune system, making animals more susceptible to other diseases, such as pneumonia and Salmonella. A herd with BVD infection over mating is estimated to cost affected dairy farmers $87 per cow and around $44,440 for a 400cow farm over five years.

Research in New Zealand and overseas shows that it pays to control BVD; it is always more cost-effective to do something than to do nothing.

Moreover, a wellexecuted BVD control plan will help you

achieve other farm goals, like improving animal welfare, reducing antibiotic usage, and improving reproductive performance.

It’s easy to make BVD and its management complicated, but boiling it down to the bare bones, there are four easy steps to remember to ensure that you keep your cattle protected and BVD free.

Step 1 – Monitoring your herd: To determine your herd’s BVD status, monitor by regularly testing the level of BVD antibodies in pooled blood samples or a bulk milk sample. Herd antibody results are reported as S:P ratios.

The higher the S:P ratio, the more likely that a PI is in contact with the herd or is in the herd5.

Checking your S:P ratio 2-3 times per year will help you track changes in your BVD status. If your S:P ratio is 0.75 or greater, or if it has increased significantly since your last test, find and eliminate PIs by virus testing the blood, ear notches or milk of suspect animals. You can also test calves for BVD to help prevent a PI entering your herd, tissue sampling units (TSU) made by Allflex (MSD Animal Health Intelligence) are a user-friendly way to take a skin sample and the same

sample may be able to be used for genetic testing as well.

Step 2 - PI hunt and removal: Hopefully, you can skip straight to step 3 but if a PI is suspected then work with your vet to decide how best to conduct a “PI hunt”. If an animal is confirmed to be a PI, it should be culled immediately.

Step 3 - Biosecurity: Hopefully you already have a biosecurity plan developed with your vet but some of the key features of a good plan include: • testing all purchased/ leased animals, including service bulls, before they arrive on-farm • improve boundary fencing (e.g., double fencing) and manage the use of road-side paddocks when neighbouring stock is nearby • spell shared yards and equipment for several days between use for different groups of cattle • clean and disinfect boots and equipment when moving from one group of cattle to another Step 4: Vaccination: Work with your vet to identify groups of at-risk animals, and fully vaccinate them prior to when they could have PI contact. ‘Fully vaccinating’ with Bovilis® BVD means giving two

doses of vaccine, 4 weeks to 6 months apart in the first year, then an annual booster for ongoing protection. Following a third dose (e.g. annual vaccination) Bovilis BVD provides 12 months fetal protection.

Groups of animals requiring vaccination for BVD control include: • calves/heifers away at grazing with groups of animals of an unknown BVD status • cattle which will having contact with animals of an unknown BVD status over mating or pregnancy • animals with very little BVD antibody (“naïve” herds) and the possibility of contact with animals of an unknown BVD status • all service bulls BVD control is good for your animals and good for your bottom line. Monitoring the herd, finding and culling PIs, improving biosecurity, and vaccinating at-risk groups of cattle are the steps of an effective BVD control plan. For more information about BVD control, speak with your vet or visit www.

TopFarmers.co.nz for BVD videos, fact sheets and more.

Bovilis is available only under veterinary authorisation.

• David Dymock is MSD animal health veterinarian.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

22 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Tractor upgrade delivers machine fit for a range of farming chores MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

ORIGINALLY FROM Switzerland, Wendel Sidler grew up on a 20ha dairy farm that supported a herd of 20 cows.

Arriving in New Zealand in 2014 to go sharemilking, by 2020 he and wife Manuela had started their own company, Green Farm Ltd. Today, the couple own a 40ha run-off block and sharemilk 480 cows on a 200ha farm near Riversdale.

In 2020, with the farm’s 12-yearold, 90-hp tractor, past its prime at 13,000 hours, they decided it was time for an upgrade.

“We wanted a bigger tractor, as the gear we are using has gotten bigger and heavier. We do our own regrassing, so we needed a tractor that could handle cultivation equipment and our 12-tonne trailer,” Wendel says.

He went shopping and, to his surprise, opted for a 150hp Kubota M7152 – a decision led by the quality of the machine, its price and the warranty package.

“We received quotes for some other brands, but we ended up purchasing the tractor from the Kubota dealer in Gore, who, unlike some dealers who only let you test drive a tractor for a few hours, left the Kubota with us for a week, so we had 30-40

hours with it,” Wendel says.

Some of that hard work includes a pasture renovation programme, seeing 20ha re-grassed annually, using transition crops that include springsown turnips, autumn-sown wheat or spring-sown oats and peas. The crops and new pasture are established using a range of implements, including a plough, speed discs, power harrow and Cambridge roller.

“Sometimes we use a contractor to do the ploughing, or sometimes I do it myself,” says Wendel.

The drilling is taken care of by a Krummenacher air seeder (made near Wendel’s home in Switzerland) that is attached to the roller or the power harrow.

“The Kubota runs all of these heavy cultivation tools, and it pulls our big feed-out wagon for baleage and hay and the trailer, which we use to carry gravel,” says Wendel.

Wendel notes the M7152 has a strong front axle and German-built ZF gearbox, while also singing the praises of the hydraulic system, brakes, and tyres.

“The tractor is built in France and fitted with an engine made in Japan, has a big cab and massive console. It has a tight turning circle, so it’s easy to get in and out of gates; even with the feed-out wagon attached, it can go from a lane into a paddock as easily as

Farmer Wendel Sidler opted for a 150hp Kubota M7152.

the little tractor we used to run. There is excellent all-round vision and we appreciate little touches like the handbrake warning buzzer.”

Up front, a Quicke front-end loader connects seamlessly to the Kubota’s console-mounted joystick, and with over 400 hours work completed confirms the decision to upgrade to the brand. So much so, they have also bought a KX080-3, 8-tonne excavator, which be used for cleaning out drains and powering a mulcher to remove gorse from several gullies. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 23

Swathers with a wider reach MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

CLAAS’ NEXT

generation four-rotor Liner swathers offers four models with working widths from 9.3 to 15m and feature telescopic arms, excellent ground contouring, ease of operation and a low transport height.

The telescopic arms extend and retract via a patented threestage system for rapid adjustment of the working width.

“Depending on the model, the width of each swath can be adjusted from 1.3 to 2.5m and the overall working width from 3.4 to 4.9m,” says Claas Harvest Centre product manager – Claas, Luke Wheeler.

The more basic Trend

configuration sees swath width adjusted manually using a simple springloaded lever, while raking height is adjusted using the crank handle on each rotor. In the premium specification Business configuration, working width, swath width and rotor lift are all hydraulically controlled using the ISOBUScompatible terminal inside the cab.

The layout of each model sees four equalsized rotors that operate at the same speed, allowing for optimal interplay between the wide-raking front rotors and the rear rotors, which handle a larger volume of forage, to ensure maximum throughput, uniform swathing and minimal contamination.

Each rotor drive assembly is continuously

lubricated and hermetically sealed for maintenance-free operation with friction clutches protecting each rotor against overload and allow work to continue non-stop even during load peaks. Claas claims the mechanicallydriven rotors have 50% more raking force than hydraulic drives.

The shaft speed in the two gearboxes on the main frame has been reduced from 540 to 350rpm, with the freewheel of the drive shaft positioned directly inside each gearbox, enabling the rotors to rotate freely in transport position.

Trend models are configured so each rotor is supported by a fourwheel chassis, while Business variants have a six-wheel chassis and

CLAAS’ next generation fourrotor Liner swathers offers four models with working widths from 9.3 to 15m.

wider tyre equipment.

The support wheels are positioned as close to the circle of rotation of the tines as possible to optimise ground contact and smooth rotor guidance.

“The upgraded floating cardan suspension system enables the rotors to move in three dimensions as they are pulled across the field,” Luke says.

“Only 20 percent of the weight is applied to

the front rotor wheels, enabling optimum ground-contour following by the rotors.”

Front and rear rotors can be raised and lowered in succession by sequential control, with the rear rotor wheels touching down first, which prevents the tines from digging in and damaging the grass sward.

The 57mm diameter tine arms are firmly

attached by a 20-spline shaft and secured with a bracket, and integrate a pre-defined bending point to provide protection for the rotor housing in the event of a collision.

Each arm is fitted with four 9.5mm dual tines, offset by 10 degrees to help crop lift, which are secured via a bolt.

All four-rotor Liner swathers fold to a 4m transport height without having to remove the tine

arms, with a transport width below 3m and foldable rear light arms to negotiate narrow entrances. Up front, a new two-point hitch has maximum turning angle of 80 degrees, allowing tight turning manoeuvres, while a semi-automatic stand and parking bracket with colourcoded hydraulic hose connections simplifies attachment and removal to the tractor.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

24 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Stay alert when fuelling up MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

WITH HARVESTING

season in full swing

and long hours being worked, it’s timely to remind tractor and machinery operators about a frustrating and sometimes expensive

issue around fuelling up – the utilisation of Diesel Exhaust Fluids (DEF).

DEFs such as AdBlue and GoClear are used in a post-combustion

process to lower exhaust emissions from diesel fuelled engines.

DEFs are not fuel additives, but a catalyst that is added to the

exhaust gases, so if they are placed directly in a tractor’s diesel tank, serious damage to your vehicle can occur. Rural Insurance

specialists, FMG, reminds its customers that commercial vehicle policies do not cover damage to fuel and engine systems caused by DEFs. In the case of agricultural contractors, currently in a season with limited or newly trained

DEFs such as AdBlue and GoClear are used in a postcombustion process to lower exhaust emissions from diesel fuelled engines.

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small tank and, just like diesel fuel, are part of the daily service regime, meaning the driver must ensure it’s kept topped up. To try and avoid the issue, we’ve been painting our tractor fuel caps bright yellow/orange - the universally recognised colour for diesel - to

staff, workloads are high, and they are always under pressure to complete jobs in a limited time frame.

So, the cost of adding DEF directly to the diesel tank goes beyond vehicle damage, to the loss of time and productivity, especially if it happens in the middle of the season.

Palmerston Northbased Case IH dealership TransAg has seen this issue many times, so has created a simple tip which anyone can adopt to avoid the issue.

“DEFs are stored in a

trigger a reminder and try and eliminate any confusion,” says Brian Lett from TransAg. “By contrast, DEF tanks are always fitted with a blue filler cap” “It’s a simple yet effective action that TransAg have taken, so we wanted to share it so others could benefit from adopting it and help prevent making this avoidable mistake,” says Rosie Blackwood, FMG’s commercial segment manager. www.fmg.co.nz/advice

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 25

Self-propelled mixer wagons boasts wide range, mobility MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

WHILE STILL a rare sight in New Zea-

land, self-propelled diet feeders/mixers have been widely available in the northern hemisphere for many years.

Kuhn’s range of SP mixers now includes the SPW Intense, said to be heavy-duty and available in 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 25 and 27m3 capacities, with a Tier 5 Volvo 250hp engine to comply with the latest emissions standards.

Designed for loading, weighing, mixing and distribution, the former is achieved by a 2,000mm-wide silage cutter, using 200hp, for rapid filling of the mixing tub.

Mixing is performed by two vertical augers, ensuring a regular flow and homogeneous feed mix. As an optional extra, the mixing augers are available in K‑NOX alloy (made from chromium and ferrite) to increase their service life

and resistance to wear and tear.

Distribution is taken care of by a front-facing cross conveyor belt that discharges to the left or right, allowing the operator excellent visibility throughout the process. For those operating in tight confines, rear unloading equipment is available with a discharge chute or tilting belt conveyor, while an optional 4-wheel steering system also improves manoeuvrability.

The SPW INTENSE range has a forward speed of 25km/h, rising to 40km/h for the more road-focused options. The Visospace cab remains the most spacious cab on the market and boasts a panoramic view. A new CCI800 fullcolour touchscreen terminal displays information relating to the operation of the machine and is paired with a single, multi-function joystick for smooth and comfortable driving.

A new weigh system offers paperless data transfer, while by using a web interface or the smartphone app, the

Kuhn SPV Intense

user can change the feeding schedule remotely, as well as accessing all recorded data.

The engine, equipped with SCR technology, is installed in an overhang position at the rear of the machine,

transferring 65% of the total machine weight to the rear drive axle, ensuring greater traction in all conditions.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

26 // FARM DAIRIES

Teat cup liners impacts milking, a THE TEAT cup liner is

the only component of the milking machine that comes into contact with the cow’s teat.

It has a large influence on milking performance, udder and teat health.

Benefits of the right selection and maintenance of teat cup liners include: Improved animal health - ensures teats are not damaged leading to issues with mastitis.

Increased milking efficiency - the right liners will help to ensure clusters stay on and cows are not slow to milk.

Reduced stress on animals - ensure the liners are not causing pain which will lead to cow discomfort and animal handling issues.

A good teat cup liner will: Provide an airtight seal

at both ends of the shell.

Provide a mouthpiece and barrel of a size that will fit a range of teat shapes and sizes, minimising liner slips and cluster falls and damage which can lead to mastitis.

Milk out as quickly and completely as possible, minimising teat congestion, discomfort, and injury.

Be easily cleaned.

Choosing the right liner Choosing a liner is a compromise. One must consider the milking machine, its settings and very importantly, the cows.

Ultimately, if the proposed liner fits the milking equipment, it can be compared in the milking performance of your cows alongside other liners aiming for fast,

Liners should be replaced as they are worn out, not re-tensioned.

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DAIRY NEWS JANUARY 25, 2022

FARM DAIRIES // 27

, animal health efficient milking without any ‘ill’ effects.

Even then, a better performing liner may warrant some change in equipment.

The performance of cup liners is heavily influenced by the design and management of the whole dairy. Liner slip in particular is often not due to a problem with the liner itself. To optimise the milking process, milking machinery should be assessed in its entirety. Liners need to be carefully selected to suit the herd and machinery, and changed regularly.

Liners are commonly classified by their barrel size and shape, and by the material and/or method of their construction.

There are many liners available in New Zealand, the diameter of their mouthpiece lip ranges from 20-25mm, the midbore of the liner barrel from 20-28mm, and the effective length of the liner from about 120170mm (depending on shell length).

The majority of liners available in New Zealand are made from Food Grade Synthetic rubber.

Teat cup liner has a large influence on milking performance, udder and teat health.

MAINTAINING LINERS A GOOD cleaning system with regular hot alkaline washes is necessary to maintain liner performance. Poor cleaning can result in faster surface deterioration and bacterial growth.

Liners should be removed from jetter wash systems

after cleaning. Leaving liners on any type of jetter between milkings will not allow the system to dry and can increase bacteria growth.

Liners left hanging on button style jetters can distort the mouth-piece, increasing slip and reducing liner life.

Liners should not be retensioned by pulling them up to a second tension ring after half of their life, they should be replaced as they are worn out. Re-tensioning will only improve milking for a short time. Over-tensioned liners may lead to teat end damage.

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REPLACING OLD LINERS LINERS SHOULD be replaced as they are worn out, not retensioned. Re-tensioning will only improve milking for a short time and over-tensioned liners may lead to teat end damage.

The expectation that liners should last a full season does not take into account the growth in farm sizes in recent years. Liner life expectancy must be calculated for each

individual farm based on herd size/number of clusters and milking frequency.

As a general rule of thumb, if you notice a distinct improvement in milking performance after replacing the old liners, you have probably used the old ones too long.

Old liners can also cause plant hygiene problems as the internal surfaces of older lin-

ers are more likely to become cracked and harbour bacteria.

With older liners there is also an increased risk of the liner splitting. If this occurs milk will be able to flow between milk side and air side of the milking machine, potentially resulting in milk quality downgrades.

Liners should be replaced after 2,500 cow milkings.

Article by DairyNZ

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Driving dairy efficiencies?

We can help.

What does 2022 hold for you and your farm?

Whether you are looking to upgrade your whole milking system, or just looking to get your current system to work at a higher level, now is a great time to think about how you can make sure your milking system is optimised for the way you want to farm, and the way you want to milk – both now and in the future.

It’s not about machinery – it’s about you.

Before you start thinking about any upgrade to your milking system it pays to start by putting yourself at the centre of the process.

This means asking yourself some key questions about how well your current system works for you.

• • • • • • •

What do you like about the current system?

What don’t you like about it?

What are your development limitations in terms of consents, the site, utilities and maintenance?

What would milking faster mean for you?

What would improving udder health mean for you?

What are your plans for the future in terms of herd size, volume and succession?

How many people do you want working on the farm, and in the dairy?

It also means collecting some key data so that you are making informed decisions and setting measurable objectives for any changes that you might decide to make.

The best place to start is with DeLaval The team at DeLaval are perfectly placed to help you work through these questions, and with some of their exclusive analysis tools they can measure the performance of your current system, even down to making sure your liners are the best ones for your cows’ teat characteristics, so that you set some objectives for any upgrades or changes you might wish to make.

One solution does not fit everyone Where you farm, how you farm, your objectives and your plans for the future are all factors that influence the development of the right farming system, and the right milking system for you.

The good thing is that because DeLaval design, develop and build all of the key elements of a system themselves, you can be sure they will not be pushing you in the direction of a robotic solution, or a rotary just because that is the only type of system they have to sell. DeLaval support all the major systems and the cooling, storage, chemicals, liners and clusters, measurement, recording and management systems that work with them, which means that you can be sure that they will recommend additions, improvements or upgrades based on what is best for you and your system, not based on what they have to sell.

GO WITH THE FLOW We’re upgrading the world’s milking vacuum technology 2022 is the year DeLaval will make it possible to break through a milking performance barrier that has held back milking speeds more than any other – the old, slow one-speed approach to milking vacuum levels. In 2022 we will be launching DeLaval Flow-Responsive™ Milking. This exclusive technology adjusts the vacuum level automatically for each cow, based on her available milk flow. To find out what this could do for the udder health of your herd and the milking speeds of your herd – talk to us about being amongst the first to get all the details.

If you only upgrade one thing for next year – make sure you look at your liners and clusters The most cost-effective and simplest upgrade to any milking system’s performance is typically getting the best liner and cluster combination in place. At DeLaval we have introduced three exclusive and multiple award winning innovations in the milking cluster and liner space – The Clover™ Milking Liner, The Clover™ Milking cartridge, and the Evanza™ cluster. These are not necessarily the right combination for you – but with our liner matching technology and full range of clusters we can make sure you have the right combination in 2022.

We’ve upgraded our Parallel Parlours 2022 will see the launch of a new parlour which will bring all of the work efficiency, safety and animal welfare advances we have made over the last few years to the parlour space. It also means that because upgrading an existing parlour will be faster, easier and more cost-effective than converting to a rotary or robotic system – you will have more options to consider depending on your objectives and budget.

Talk to your local DeLaval dealer or visit us at delaval.com and let’s talk about how we can help you upgrade your performance in 2022.

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