Dairy News 28 February 2017

Online tool to benchmark farms. PAGE 6 SIGN OF GOOD TIMES

Power Farming investment PAGE 22

KEEPING TABS ON MILKING

Picking winners and losers PAGE 21

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 ISSUE 373 // www.dairynews.co.nz

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Online tool to benchmark farms. PAGE 6

KEEPING TABS ON MILKING

SIGN OF GOOD TIMES

Picking winners and losers PAGE 21

Power Farming investment PAGE 22

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 ISSUE 373

// www.dairynews.co.nz

KEEP THE FAITH

New conversion is a vote of confidence by North Canterbury farmer Peter Schouten.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

NEWS // 3

Blooming industry makes dollars, jobs PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

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off if all tariffs on our dairy exports were lifted, according to an economic report on the New Zealand dairy industry.

Commissioned by the Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ) and prepared by the NZ Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), the reports sets out the massive contribution the dairy industry makes to NZ’s national and regional economies.

It notes that the industry contributes $7.8b or 3.5% to NZ’s GDP, employs 40,000 people on farms and processing facilities and in three areas, Southland, Waimate and Otorohanga, provides one in five jobs. In Matamata-Piako, South Taranaki, Hauraki, Waipa, South Waikato, Clutha and Kaipara the industry provides one in 10 jobs.

The report also shows the contribution dairy farmers make to the general economy, noting that they are spending just over $12.2b on a range of goods and services in their communities to support their operations.

As for regional economies, in Southland the dairy sector accounts for 14.8% of the economy, West Coast 11.5%, Waikato 10.9%, Taranaki 8% and Northland 6%.

DCANZ chairman Malcom Bailey says the report was commissioned because some people are questioning the importance of the dairy sector to the NZ economy given a couple of years of lower prices and a volatile international market combined with a move away from trade liberalisation. The report was launched at a function at parliament last week before an audience of primary sector representatives, diplomats and government officials.

“The report is aimed at informing the people of NZ about the sector and fostering support for greater trade liberalisation. If we can get trade

DCANZ chairman Malcolm Bailey with the report.

barriers removed, there is a big prize awaiting NZ. Trade barriers are supressing the value of our dairy exports. Removing trade barriers will allow New Zealand’s dairy sector, ultimately, to maintain and build sustainability and value-adding momentum,” says Bailey.

One challenge, Bailey admits, is getting the message to the wider public about the positive things the industry is doing, e.g. farmers’ huge spending on sustainability on their farms.

“We are in much better shape than we were ten years ago but I am not sure we are getting the credit for that.

“I can assure you the farming sector and the dairy processors are totally on board which we think are the views of wider NZ in that we want to have our environment in better shape.

“Good communication is the key, but of course we live in a society where getting people’s attention is not always easy and a social media story

which is off the mark, capture their attention.”

Primary Industry Minister Nathan Guy praised the investment dairy farmers have made in sustainability and he noted the huge importance of dairying to the regions.

“One sentence sums up the importance of the industry to the regions: ‘when dairy farmers are smiling, the regions are smiling’. How true that is.”

John Ballingall, who co-authored the report, says that in the five years since they did the last report, the dairy sector has continued to grow its employment and exports.

A positive trend is the greater degree of diversification and value add products, “such as ice creams and infant formula – a diversification from basic commodities -- is very encouraging.

He noted there are now 1800 jobs in the dairy processing industry in Auckland. “I’m not sure many Aucklanders would know that.”

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

4 // NEWS

Dairy conversion is a confidence vote A NEW dairy conversion

is a vote of confidence in the dairy industry by farmer Peter Schouten, of Swannanoa, North Canterbury.

Schouten bought the 191ha dryland sheep farm on South Eyre Road about 18 months ago and set about converting it to complement his existing 382ha dairy farm about 6km down the road.

The conversion, operational since the end of October last year, was ‘launched’ at an open day in mid-February organised by the main contractors, Rural Building Solutions and DeLaval, to thank everyone involved in the project.

When the farm came up for sale in the middle of the dairy price downturn it looked like it could be “a bit much to chew off” but it also looked like the sort of farm they knew would not come up again, Schouten says.

He and his wife Kristy wanted their children,

Emma (3) and Ben (9 mths), to grow up on a farm.

“We live and breathe dairy,” he says.

Schouten is philosophical about the dairy price fluctuations, but says they put aside their money when they could.

“Really, after the $8.30 payout nobody should’ve been nervous about the payout that followed the year after, because we should’ve been able to put enough aside to suck

up the next year.

“It’s been harder for some than for others because of the big shiny boats and the baches, and the big trucks pulling the boats and what-not.

“But that’s their prerogative and their problem, too, to some degree. What we did at the time was pay off more of our loan than was asked of us.”

Schouten now has about 1900 milking cows and hopes to reach close to 2000. Running the

Peter Schouten

two farms in tandem allows him to milk yearround with autumn and spring calving mobs while still being able to shut down each shed regularly, which he feels is important for preparation and maintenance and for staff time off. With several hundred hectares of further leased land in support, the operation is self-sufficient in feed.

The Schouten family has been farming in the area since immigrating from the Netherlands about 17 years ago.

Peter’s parents, Aad and Marja Schouten, who were already dairying in Holland, bought a mixed stocking farm on South Eyre Road and arranged to have it converted to dairy even before they arrived in the country.

Added to and developed over the years, that farm was split between Peter and his brother Arjen when they bought out their parents six and a half years ago.

Peter Schouten’s new farm has a 60-bail rotary milking shed, with stateof-the-art automation

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covering “pretty much everything”. Though “we still have to put the cups on the cows,” he says.

Rural Building Solutions built the shed, yards and silage bunkers. DeLaval supplied the milking plant and associated automation including autodraft, and milk metering to detect problems such as blood in the milk.

“Because of the milk volume it will keep track of what cows get fed, and what they should have been producing, and why they’re not doing it,” he says.

He says the holding yard and feed pad were both oversized for the expected herd sizes but it increased ease and efficiency. “It means the last heifer doesn’t get pushed around by the old girls for a spot.”

The yards also has greenwashing, which reduces fresh water usage by using recycled effluent water for washing down.

Schouten says the yards can be flooded, together or separately, at the touch

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The 60-bail rotary has state-of-the-art technology.

of a button, with the wash collected in a sump then sent to a slope screen with no moving parts – “nice because it means it can’t break” – to remove the solids.

It is then stored for re-use in a flexible bladder rather than an open pond, to prevent nitrogen loss and smell problems.

Swannanoa is increasingly becoming a dormitory suburb of Christchurch, with many lifestyle blocks in the area and a new subdivision being established only 2km from the farm.

Schouten says the bladder solution is worth the extra cost, to pre-empt smell complaints.

“It’s not the cheapest way of doing it but we think it’s a way forward.

When you make the first investment it’s cheaper than when you have to reinvest.”

The greenwash system was provided by GEA. “The cool thing about this is that these companies DeLaval and GEA are in true

opposition to each other.

But they got on so well throughout the entire project. It was awesome to see.”

Schouten also pays tribute to his farming and environmental advisers who helped him convert a “barren wasteland” with no water or nutrient budget. He says the greenwash system, like the irrigation system, “ticks the environmental boxes”.

The property is irrigated by Irrigate-IQ variable rate pivots installed by PGG Wrightson. With soil moisture monitoring in place, Schouten expects the system to become ever more subtle and precise in delivering water only when and where it is needed.

“We will get to know the farm and we will identify areas that stay damp longer. I can pretty much write my name on the paddock in water.

That’s the beautiful part of it.” @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

NEWS // 5

Milk production up, prices dip PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

BETTER GROWING

conditions over summer than during a bad spring is likely a factor in the dip of 3.2% in the GlobalDairyTrade auction last week, economists say.

Fonterra has revised its 2016-17 season milk collection forecast to a 5% decline on last year, up from the previous forecast of a 7% fall.

Whole milk powder (WMP) prices at last week’s auction fell 3.7% to $3189/t, with fat-based products continuing to outperform, says Westpac economist Sandra Drought.

While WMP prices have fallen to the lowest level since October last year, they are still 55% higher than mid-2016.

“Overall, dairy markets have found themselves in a much more balanced position this year, as last year’s retrenchment in global supply begins to taper off, while demand has remained steady.”

Drought says Westpac expects global prices to ease a bit more in coming months as the stabilisation in global supply materialises.

“We continue to forecast a farmgate milk

Nathan Penny

price of $6.20/kgMS this season, and have pencilled in $6.50/kgMS for next season,” says Drought.

“With most of this season’s production already sold, there would need to be a sharp decline in prices to create material downside for this season’s forecast, but next season’s forecast is a different story.”

She says the NZ dollar has been resilient this year, with the NZD/USD now about 71 cents. But with rate hikes on the cards in the US this year and next, the US dollar is expected to strengthen,

and push the NZD/USD lower.

“We’re forecasting the NZD/USD to fall to 67 cents by year end, and track a bit lower in 2018,” she says.

In NZ, production conditions in most regions have been much more favourable over the past few months following a “horrid” spring.

“Fonterra’s milk collections in January were down only 1.4% from the previous year, a far cry from the 8.3% decline recorded in October, and losses for the season to date have

been pared back to 4.9%.

“And as a result of better conditions, Fonterra has upgraded its forecast for the season’s milk production, from a loss of 7% to 5%. Consequently, they bumped up their expected offerings on the GlobalDairyTrade platform over the next 12 months by 1.6%, which looks to have been a key catalyst behind last week’s fall in prices.”

The trends in European production are crucial to the outlook for global supply, she says.

“With farmgate prices rising in recent months, we should see some supply response as the year goes on, although environmental constraints especially in the Netherlands may hold back some production. Large stockpiles of skim milk powder also need to be released onto the market at some stage.”

ASB senior rural economist Nathan Penny says an improved NZ production outlook led to the price decline last week.

Nationwide production for all dairy companies is forecast to decline 3% on last season – a 5% decline was previously forecast.

“Moreover, this season’s weather risks

NO CHANGE TO FORECAST PAYOUT FONTERRA LAST week said it was sticking to its forecast farmgate milk price of $6.00/kgMS announced in November.

When combined with the forecast earnings per share range for the 2017 financial year of 50-60 cents, the total payout available to farmers in the current season is forecast to be $6.50$6.60 before retentions.

Fonterra is required to consider its forecast farmgate milk price every quarter as a condition of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act. Fonterra chairman John Wilson says the cooperative is confi-

have largely receded.

With recent rain in most parts of the country and autumn around the corner, the improvements in production are likely to be maintained over the remainder of the season,” he says.

“As a result, we expect prices may soften further over coming auctions.

Over a longer period, we expect WMP prices, for example, to remain wellsupported in the low US$3000s.”

dent this forecast is at the right level, following the 75 cent rise in its forecast farmgate milk price in November last year.

“The global outlook for dairy remains positive. Since November, the global market for commodity dairy products has remained relatively balanced and we expect global prices to continue to hold or gradually increase over the back half of this season, a view shared by most global analysts,” says Wilson.

Fonterra also announced that it would increase the monthly advance rates it pays to farmers. The rate for February, paid in

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ister Nathan Guy is welcoming a new report showing a major improvement in bobby calf welfare last year.

MPI has vets at nearly every processing plant and in the 2016 season the mortality rate for bobby calves between farm and processing has halved – from 0.25% to 0.12%.

“This is a drop of just over 50% and shows that new regulations and education campaigns have made a real difference,” says Guy. Also, calves are arriving at plants in much better health and condition. “This is also a significant drop from 2008 when the mortality rate was 0.68%,” says Guy. “The wider industry and MPI have put a lot of work into

Nathan Guy

improving practices over recent years and they deserve recognition for this.

“While there are still a few in the industry who need to improve their behaviour, this pro-

vides strong evidence things are improving.”

This is the first season with tighter new rules for handling bobby calves. And from August 1 this year truckies will have to use

loading and unloading gear when young calves are trucked for sale and slaughter, and they must have appropriate shelter.

Guy has acknowledged the industry groups who in late 2015 formed a Bobby Calf Action Group – DairyNZ, Federated Farmers, the NZ Veterinary Association, Road Transport Forum, Meat Industry Association, Dairy Companies Association of NZ, the NZ Petfood Manufacturers Association and MPI. “The Government strengthened the animal welfare system with $10 million in new funding in 2015 and passed the Animal Welfare Amendment Act to improve compliance and enforcement,” Guy says. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

March, has increased to $4.85/kgMS. “Our confidence in the global dairy market at this stage of the season, combined with the strength of our cooperative, has enabled us to increase the monthly advance rates more than we normally would at this time of the year,” says Wilson.

Fonterra’s Global Dairy Update for February reported the co-op’s New Zealand milk collections were showing signs of recovery. Originally expected to be down 7% for the season, the NZ collections forecast has now improved to a 5% decline on last season.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

6 // NEWS

Online dashboard compares all farm results Waikato farmer Bill Aubrey.

SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

FARMERS CAN now bench-

mark their farm performances on a national scale, thanks to a new online tool.

Launched by Fonterra and LIC, Agrigate combines all farm data on an online dashboard.

Waikato farmer Bill Aubrey, who trialled Agrigate, says it enables farmers to benchmark farm factors on a scale never before possible.

“I can compare past and present, regional and national, to see how I’m tracking and how I measure up to other same-system farms, even in my own area.

“Simply put, Agrigate takes the complexity of dairy analytics and turns it into a straightforward way to help me make smarter decisions and improve my bottom line,” Aubrey says.

He reckons there hasn’t been anything quite like it before.

“Agrigate streamlines the way I view and analyse my farm’s most important data. Combining information from multiple sources, it gives me a top-line view of everything I need, at any time and in real time, on one web page. Weather forecasts, pasture growth and cover, production data and more, is all on one single dashboard.”

Agrigate chief executive Tim Cutfield says the new online tool stitches together “all those great apps out there that are specific to a certain element of your farming system”.

“We are not trying to be all things to all people; we give farmers a choice of whichever tool they want to use.”

He gave an example of farmers combining data from LIC’s Minda and Fonterra’s Farm Source to get kgMS/animal/day.

With Minda, farmers can see animals contributing to the vat on a given day; with Farm Source data, they get data from the vat/ day.

“Combine the two and you’ve got information you can’t get from either of those systems and that is where the value add is for farmers,” Cutfield says.

“You get even better insight into your business, compare with your peers on a regional or subregional or farm system type…. you can do all that through the platform.”

Cutfield says farmers will pay $30/month for a basic system subscription; add-ons will cost more.

Agrigate will be run by a fivemember board -- two representatives each from LIC and Fonterra and one independent director.

LIC chief executive and Agrigate chairman Wayne McNee says having data in one place and working in real time makes it

easier to make comparisons, see trends and make better management decisions.

“A key outcome will be enabling farmers to make the most efficient use of their resources, which is important in both tough and better times.”

“The ultimate goal of this project is to support our farmers by giving them a tool to help maximise their on-farm performance, productivity and profitability.”

Fonterra Farm Source chief operating officer Miles Hurrell says as a simple, easy-to-use tool Agrigate is a great example of dairy industry innovation.

“It allows farmers to identify areas of their business where they are performing well and areas where they can improve.”

Hurrell says Fonterra and LIC – as co-ops – are working together to benefit their farmer owners.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

NEWS // 7

Taranaki reeling from too much rain PETER BURKE peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

DAIRY FARMERS

living in the shadow of Mt Taranaki are doing it tough as the rain keeps on falling.

The net effect is poor grass growth and other problems, says DairyNZ’s head consulting officer in the region, Katrina Knowles.

She told Dairy News that the regional council said that in a period of 76 days there were only nine when it didn’t rain or cloud over.

The rain is falling at a time when farmers in the high altitude areas of Taranaki normally experience good pasture growing conditions.

“This is the time of year when these farmers would normally be making the most of the season. Instead grass growth is slow and we are even seeing turnip crops rotting in the ground,” she says.

Some of the high altitude farmers are milking every 16 hours, but it’s hard to say whether this is because of the wet or for lifestyle reasons, so they can have more time with their families.

The lack of sunshine has also affected maize crops in the region.

“The amount of maize harvested will be down

this year. We just haven’t had the hot days to get maize growing.

“In some areas like North Taranaki and the coastal strips, the crops are looking reasonably good but I don’t think they will be as good as last year.

“Interestingly, it is quite a mix. For example some crops up Waitara way went in later but they have done better because they have had more sunshine than others. Maize is a crop that needs heat once it is established and it needs heat to grow,” she says.

South Taranaki is now seeing production gains much bigger than during the same time last year, Knowles says.

This is because it is wetter there than it was 12 months ago.

But empty rates for cows are up on last year.

“South Taranaki vets have pregnancy tested 15,000 animals and empty rates are up 2-3% on last year. Perhaps this is because people have had shorter mating periods, they didn’t use intervention like they normally would have and they didn’t have the money to do that.

“A lot depends on what people were trying to achieve – in some cases a reduction in staff.

“Heat detection wasn’t as good as it normally

MANAWATU ALSO IN FIRING LINE SOME DAIRY farmers in the lower North Island are also being affected by the wet weather.

DairyNZ’s head consulting officer in that region James Muwunganirwa, says farmers close to the Tararua Ranges in Horowhenua and southern Manawatu areas have been badly hit.

“It’s been a challenge for those guys. Pasture utilisation has been an issue– not growing as much pasture as they should because of the lack of sunshine hours. This is the biggest hurdle for them.”

But Muwunganirwa says further north in Manawatu it’s been drier and there is no hint of farmers drying off. In fact it’s quite the opposite: often at this time of the year some farms dry off their cows, but now they are steadily milking twice a day.

Muwunganirwa says even in southern Hawkes Bay things have picked up a bit with recent rains.

would be and there was a lot of pressure through that spring period. Pasture utilisation wasn’t good either because of the rain, and the heat would

have been suppressed by the weather.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Knowles says the warm wet weather as seen spore counts for facial

eczema rise. She says farmers need to play close attention to this now. @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

Katrina Knowles, DairyNZ.

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8 // NEWS

Smiles as drought’s grip loosens PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

EVERYONE WAS smiling recently

at a discussion meeting hosted by Okaihau, Northland dairy farmer Roger Hutchings on his farm where Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy on February 3 had officially declared the region was in the grip of a medium scale drought.

But since then two bouts of rain have got the grass growing on his and other farms in the area.

Nevertheless, he says, the next two weeks will be telling as to whether they are out of the woods with drought.

The rain has helped considerably, Hutchings told Dairy News.

“Since the drought was declared we’ve had one lot of 50ml and another lot of 60ml,” he says. “The grass has started to grow quite nicely now.”

Hutchings says it is looking promising. “It depends what happens over the next couple of weeks. If we get more rain then definitely the drought will have broken.

“The rain has lifted farmer morale and got people back in a positive frame

of mind, which is good.”

At the time Dairy News spoke to him two weeks ago, Hutchings’s Fonterra-supplier farm had not had any significant rain since October. He had moved to once-a-day milking and culled his 700 herd to 620.

DairyNZ is joining with other agencies and organisations to coordinate support for Northland, with a focus on facilitating farmer-to-farmer advice.

Other regions are also facing drier than average conditions.

DairyNZ’s Northland regional leader Chris Neill, says a wet spring followed by a dry summer has slowed crop growth. Farmers will still be finding conditions challenging despite the rain.

“Dry conditions have come on faster and harder than usual because temperatures have been higher and it has been a lot windier.

“Adding to the problem is the fact we had a wet spring causing the crops many farmers rely on to struggle to establish and grow. This means farmers are faced with tough decisions as they find a way to feed their cows now and look ahead to calving when they rely

Roger Hutchings (middle) and Minister for Primary Industries Nathan on his farm earlier this month.

on maize.

“Individual decisions will need to be made about how to balance feed supply and demand. Factors to weigh up include costs and how many cows to keep milking and how often.”

Neill says dairy farmers are good at sticking together and sharing information.

“Farmers have learnt a lot through

past droughts and have plenty of techniques for managing the supply of feed to their cows to meet the demands of keeping them in good condition,” says Neill.

“Sharing these techniques and experiences is important, especially for those new to the industry or to Northland.”

DairyNZ is using its local discussion

groups and, with other organisations, is hosting community barbecues to allow farmers to get off-farm and share information with others.

“We are working with the Rural Support Trust and a wide range of other organisations to ensure farmers know there are people they can turn to.

It’s important for farmers to know they are not alone,” says Neill.

“The best support can be talking to your neighbours and just hearing what others are doing. That’s what we’re trying to facilitate through our farmer networks. Farmers should contact their local DairyNZ consulting officers for updates on when and where these events will be held.”

DairyNZ senior economist Matthew Newman says Northland has had a challenging season.

“With three quarters of the season’s milk collected, Northland milk production is currently around 6% lower than last season,” Newman says.

“The improved milk prices this season are much needed as seasonal conditions have reduced production and increased costs for many Northland farmers. This has delayed the financial recovery for those in the north.”

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

NEWS // 9

China long way from self-sufficiency in milk pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

DESPITE ITS large dairy

herds China is still a long way from self-sufficiency in dairy and it is highly unlikely it ever will be, says Matthew Smith, Alltech’s vice-president Asia Pacific.

This is one impression gleaned by Dairy News during a visit to New Zealand this month by 14 Alltech China representatives, who visited dairy farms and saw our onfarm procedures. Many of the visitors were fluent English speakers.

Commercially milked cows in China number about four million – not far from NZ’s herd size, says Smith.

“That is a positive message because it shows quite clearly that the Chinese dairy industry would still be a long way from being self-sufficient in terms of cow numbers, the number of farms and the availability to grow forages,” he told Dairy News.

Smith says his visiting colleagues do onfarm audits in China to evaluate efficiency and look closely at nutrition.

They are involved in the “sea change happening in China in consolidation of farms”.

Any farm with fewer than 600 cows in China would now be considered very small.

All cows are fed indoors on silage and grain, Smith says.

“People have tried for years to put [an NZ-type] system in place with grazing cows, but the weather has not allowed them to… get forage all year round.

“The message that came home to me – and I worked in China for a number of years – is that for a business to remain profitable or relatively profitable, scale is the only way to go.

“We have seen a huge increase in China in the numbers of cows on farm as opposed to the number of farms. The number of farms is in rapid decline.”

While the dairy herd would be around about four million, in China it is difficult to get accurate figures.

“That’s why it is always good to try to travel to the country or spend time with people who are working in the country.

“We felt it would be a great experience for our colleagues in China to come to NZ and understand the state of dairying as at the beginning of 2017 – spending time with farmers, sharing experiences and making sure they can understand the drivers, concerns and opportunities in NZ for that relationship.

“What can they learn from NZ and take back and what can they share with our farmers here?”

They visited farms in Waikato, a large goat milking enterprise in Karaka, larger Northland dairy operations and a marae. They were very impressed with a trip to the beach at Omapere – simple, natural things we take for granted excited them.

“They were excited about looking at the goat operation because it is very high value milk in the stores in China, much sought after; currently there is no milking goat herd in China.

“That is a niche market that will continue to grow here and in Australia.

It is not necessarily a replicable model in China.

I am sure that trend for specialisation will continue.

“In terms of understanding the culture it is a great opportunity for our farmers here who maybe haven’t travelled to China – their numberone customer – to maybe understand more of the cultural aspects and importance, or the level of regard Chinese consumers hold for milk in NZ with all the attributes we see marketed.”

The visitors were astonished to see the high quality advertisements by Fonterra on prime time television which would be unheard of in China.

They were taken

by the “strong, high quality images of NZ and cows in the pastures, the target audience on prime time television at weekends, and that such advertisements would be on television at all”.

“It surprised them to see how close the industry is, and how important to the country, which obviously wouldn’t be so in China.” @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

Visiting Alltech China representatives.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

10 // AGRIBUSINESS

Co-op seeks open trade OPEN MARKETS encourage investment, increase competitiveness and allow for more consumer choice and product innovation in the dairy industry.

That’s the view of Fonterra’s trade strategy and stakeholder affairs manager, Dr Francis Reid.

He delivered the message at the Semex Dairy Conference in Glasgow, ahead of Brexit – the formal triggering of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union -- in March.

He said Fonterra and New Zealand were examples of the success of open market policy. His talk came amid warnings of a growing protectionist movement globally.

Reid spoke about the economic prosperity NZ has enjoyed with growing economic liberalisation.

He noted that in the early 20th century the UK was NZ’s largest trading partner and the main market for its dairy exports. This changed when the UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market, in 1973, which resulted in NZ losing its preferential access to the UK. Reid said the end of that close trading relationship imposed severe economic shock on NZ. To counter that NZ first adopted protectionist trade policies, including coupled subsidy payments for farmers and a highly controlled economy, to manage the risks the change brought.

But eventually NZ opted to deregulate its economy, open its industries up to competition, remove subsidies and pursue a policy of free trade. These policies have laid the foundations of NZ’s current economic prosperity and growth.

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Fieldays, rural co-op in sponsorship deal RURAL SERVICE provider Farmlands has become a major sponsor of the National Fieldays.

It will support key events such as Rural Bachelor of the Year, No. 8 Wire and Tractor Pull.

A three-year partnership between the NZ National Fieldays Society and Farmlands Cooperative Society was announced recently at the annual Farmlands Supplier Awards evening at Lincoln University in Christchurch.

Farmlands brands NRM, McMillan and Gulf Oil are sponsors of other Fieldays Society events – Equidays (October) and The Transport and Heavy Equipment Expo to be held March 2-4.

“We are delighted at this partnership with Farmlands, and the opportunity it presents,” said NZ National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation.

“Farmlands’ brand is well known and trusted by farmers and people working in the primary industry. The Fieldays Society and Farmlands have similar values and passion for innovation and positive change in farming.”

The Fieldays Society was founded in 1968 and will mark its 50th anniversary in 2018.

Farmlands is NZ’s largest farmer owner co-op; it was set up in 1963. It is a top-20 company with a turnover exceeding $2 billion annually.

Farmlands chief executive Peter

Reidie says the partnership will benefit farmers, whose desire is “to work together for a better deal”.

Farmlands chief executive Peter Reidie shakes hands with NZ National Fieldays Society head Peter Nation.

ECONOMY BOOST IN 2016 the National Fieldays generated $430 million in economic benefit for the NZ economy.

There were 1462 exhibitor sites and 130,684 visitors during the four-day event.

Last year economists valued the Fieldays brand, which is

internationally recognised, at $380 million.

The theme for Fieldays 2017 (June 14-17) at the Mystery Creek Events Centre, is ‘leading change’.

Chief executive Peter Nation says the partnership with Farmlands Co-op will help

with change.

“Farmlands is a leader in its field and together we hope to assist in providing leadership and innovative thinking to transform the future of primary production in NZ,” says Nation.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

12 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Dairy doubters, read this

MILKING IT...

False optimism?

No oxygen for Greenpeace

NEW ZEALAND First is again batting for dairy farmers.

Party leader Winston Peters says it is sad to see the Global Dairy Trade price index falling 5.7% since December 20.

He’s not happy with the positive outlook hummed by some analysts.

“Farmers have heard enough of the false optimism before, and weathered the sad reality, so they will have learned to be cautious about these Pollyanna-like experts blowing smoke,” says Peters.

But with a forecast milk price of $6/kgMS, most farmers are much better off than at this time last year and the year before.

DAIRY NZ has dropped plans to appeal against an Advertising Standards Authority ruling.

The industry-good body says an appeal would only have increased talk about Greenpeace’s ad and its message.

Greenpeace says it is pleased there will be no appeal.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 12 complaints about the Greenpeace ad, saying it was misleading and put all blame for the country’s polluted waterways on the dairy industry. The authority dismissed the complaints last month.

Smoko break

Death subsidy popular

IT’S NOT often the police invite the public to have a little fun with cannabis (marijuana).

But that’s exactly what happened recently, when the Waikato police posted a photo of a couple of cows getting stuck in to some ‘grass’.

“While many of you think it’s god’s greatest gift to us, it is still illegal, which means we still police it,” the cops wrote.

“Rather than hitting you with stats and ‘don’t do drugs’ comments, we thought we’d take a lighter approach and run a competition. Caption the photo below. The comment with the most ‘likes’ will be the winner. I’ll have a chat to the boss about a prize.”

We will bring you the results.

DUTCH DAIRY farmers are queuing for a ‘death subsidy’ for cows as part of a plan to reduce the size of the national herd. Media reports say 60,000 cows, or 3% of the total number, have to be slaughtered this year to comply with European phosphate norms or the Dutch dairy industry will be hit with a hefty fine.

This means dairy farmers will either have to give up their business or return to the number of cows they had prior to July 2, 2015.

The Dutch Government has earmarked €12m in compensation for the first 10,000 cows but the subsidy was oversubscribed by 30,000 within a day.

Farmers who fail to get the subsidy, which will now be allocated by drawing lots, will have to wait until the next round of subsidies which are expected to be lower.

IT’S THE season for the doomsayers of the dairy industry.

As election day nears, all those with political agendas, who for whatever reason dislike the dairy industry, will fall over each other to get the media’s attention. How better than to be outrageous, sensational and even untruthful. After all, why spoil a good campaign with honest hard facts?

No doubt the lame-stream media’s attraction to such sensation will prove irresistible and some rubbish will make it big on our airwaves and in our newspapers.

Thankfully however, DCANZ has come timely to the rescue by producing a simply factual stocktake of the dairy sector and in particular its economic impacts.

Many of the critics live in the larger cities and don’t see or understand how important the dairy industry is to many rural cities and towns. Hamilton, New Plymouth and Palmerston North are good examples of cities whose prosperity relies on an economically successful primary sector. And in dozens of small towns, e.g. Hokitika, on the West Coast, the dairy industry is a major employer.

The DCANZ report sets this out simply and clearly and all dairy farmers, especially those in leadership positions, should take the time to read it and memorise a few facts to trot out when someone starts criticising their industry.

Facts should be treated as sacred these days in a world encircled by purveyors of fake, false and heavily biased news and information.

We might wonder at times where they see communities’ wealth coming from. The cow and the management of this versatile animal is now the mainstay of the primary sector, like it or not.

The dairy industry has performed exceptionally well considering the political and international market challenges it’s faced.

It has also got the message about value-add and is doing something about this, but there is room for improvement. There are questions about whether farming as many cows as we do in NZ is appropriate. Fewer cows better fed and managed on a low cost system would probably achieve the same numbers. Signs of change are appearing.

The dairy industry may not be perfect, but without the cow the relatively high standard of living we enjoy in Aotearoa would not exist. God save the cow.

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Dairy News is published by Rural News Group Limited. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of Rural News Group Limited.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

OPINION // 13

Are you ready for maize silage harvest? should always look for:

back-up. It allows you to extract the most value out of the products you use, and is invaluable when things don’t work as they should. Choose a company with knowledgeable local staff who can help you get the most out of your purchase of their inoculant products.

Make the most of your

IAN WILLIAMS

vest is running two-three weeks late in most areas because of later planting and cooler-than-average early summer temperatures.

Now is a great time to ensure you are ready for maize silage harvest. The usual checklist applies.

Clean out your stack or bunker to remove the residues of last year’s crop, make sure there is good access for harvesters, tractors and trucks, liaise with your contractor and order silage making supplies including silage covers, tape and inoculant.

Inoculant is an important part of the silage making process. Maize silage inoculants fall into two general categories: those which improve fermentation resulting in lower losses in the stack, and those which reduce heating resulting in lower losses when the stack is exposed to the air at feedout time.

What type of product should you use?

If your stack management is good (i.e. the face is always kept tight and you have a narrow stack and a high feed-out rate) or you are planning to feed out your maize silage immediately after harvest, a fermentation-enhancing product (e.g. Pioneer brand 1174 or 1132) is the best choice. Aerobic stability products (which reduce heating at feed-out time e.g. Pioneer brand 11C33) are a great option if your bunker has a relatively wide face and/or you like to fill the feedout wagon the night before.

Choosing an inoculant brand There are several inoculant brands on the New Zealand market.

There are a few important things you

Guaranteed bacteria numbers Independent experts agree that for an inoculant to be effective, it should contain enough live bacteria to allow an application rate of at least 100,000 cfu per gram of forage. Products with higher bacteria numbers are not necessarily better as some strains multiply more quickly and are more competitive than others. An independent study published in the US Journal of Dairy Science showed that a competitor product applied at 800,000 cfu/gram of forage didn’t keep silage cooler than Pioneer brand 11C33 applied at 100,000 cfu/gram1.

The right bacterial strains Most farmers would never buy cheap semen from unproven bulls to produce replacement heifers. Why? Simply because they don’t know what they are getting. The resultant progeny may milk well and be of even temperament, or they could be low performers who climb out of the bail.

In the same way, don’t buy a cheap, unproven silage inoculant (or additive) because you don’t know what you are getting.

A paper presented at the New Zealand Grasslands Association conference1 compared the aerobic stability of eight different maize silages inoculated with three commercially available silage inoculants. Pioneer brand 11C33 inoculated silage stayed cooler 55.5 hours longer than the untreated control. There was no significant difference between silage treated with other products and the untreated control2.

Good technical backup. I am a firm believer in the value of technical

Dairy Sci. 92:690–697 2 Kleinmans et al, 2011.

Using silage inoculants to improve the quality of pasture and maize silage in NZ. Proceedings of the NZ Grassland Association 73: 75-80.

• Ian Williams is a Pioneer forage specialist. Contact him at iwilliams@genetic. co.nz

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1 Huisden et al, 2009.

Effect of applying molasses or inoculants containing homofermentative or heterofermentative bacteria at two rates on the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silage. J.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

14 // MANAGEMENT

Cups-off early saves time PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz

A TIME-SAVING strategy in the dairy is to shorten the milking time for up to 20% of the herd, says DairyNZ scientist Dr Paul Edwards.

Under the MaxT (maximum milking time) system 80% of the cows are milked out 100% as usual; with the slowest 20% of the herd the cups are taken off slightly early, “a little bit before the time we thought they may have finished milking,” Edwards explained at the DairyNZ Efficient Milking module at the Helensville Mini Milksmart.

Applying the MaxT milking strategy can increase the number of cows milked per hour in many dairies without changing the dairy, or affecting udder health or milk production and quality.

Cows are milked to a pre-determined end point – either a fixed time point or set milk flow rate threshold (if using automatic cluster removers).

Edwards asked the Helensville audience if the concept sounded “scary”.

“For a long time in the industry there has been this belief that if you don’t milk every last drop of milk out of a cow you would cause mastitis, you would lose milk, etc,” he says. “This was to the point where we put weights

on the clusters to try to milk every last drop of milk out of it.

“All the research suggests, at least for the modern cow, modern genetics, that we don’t need to milk every last drop of milk out. In fact we are more likely to be over-milking causing teat damage which then causes mastitis, rather than under-milking.

“We are not leaving litres of milk behind; we might run into problems if we do that. But we are talking about leaving an extra 200-300mls in the udder.”

If a cow is milking 20L plus at peak lactation, that amount of milk left behind is not a high proportion. Taking an extra two minutes to harvest that milk is not efficient.

Edwards says the udder has two compartments – the alveolar, where the milk is made – and each corner has a cistern. The latter is only where the milk can be harvested from.

When you put the cups on, the milk in the cistern drains out, then there is a brief dry period before milk letdown from the alveolar. In leaving a bit of milk behind in the cistern, milk ejection happens before it goes dry, so the cups are harvesting milk constantly.

“All we are doing is deferring one bit of milk from one milking to the next milking for it to be harvested more efficiently. It is a bit counter-intuitive that you can leave milk behind, save

Dr Paul Edwards, right, and milk quality consultant Josh Wheeler at the Helensville Mini Milksmart event.

time and not lose production; it is almost too good to be true.”

Edwards says there are a few things to keep in mind. A high cell count – over 200,000 cells/ml – should be brought under control before applying MaxT. However Australians have done research on applying MaxT to high cell count cows and didn’t find a problem.

“Sometimes it is the over-milking that is causing the high cell count in the first place so applying MaxT can decrease you cell count.”

Genuinely elite cows doing 30% more than the herd average may take longer to milk out. However often they have high milk flow rates.

He could not definitely recommend MaxT for once-a-day cows as no research had been done. But after peak MaxT could be applied with caution.

“The guideline is to shorten the milking for 20% – maybe ease into it and do the first 5% to see how it goes for your individual situation.”

All milkers choose a different point at which to take the cups off, so some people are probably applying MaxT without even realising it.

In a herringbone, if you have 20 a side, 20% of 20 is four cows; when there are four cows left it is time to get going. With 40 a side it is the last eight cows.

In a rotary the rotation time can be adjusted (see DairyNZ website for calculation times). In some models automatic cup remover time settings can be adjusted; in others the low flow threshold should be adjusted from the default 0.2kg/min to 0.4kg/min.

An example of MaxT time saving: the slowest cow reduces time on the row from 11 min to 7.5 min; the operator time drops from 33 secs to 22s per cow; if you were milking 216 cows per hour you could now milk 318 cows; and you can save 53 minutes on a 2.44 hour milking time.

Edwards says New Zealand’s competitive advantage is low cost and we’ve always tried to make our farming labour efficient. All cows once were stripped before milking and machine stripped after. “Think of how much time that was costing.”

Stripping was progressively dropped as cows were bred that did not need it.

“Here today we don’t do either of those; now this is another evolution.

Yes, there may be some cows that don’t suit the system. But if we breed for that, and end up culling them, we make the cows suit our system rather than working to the cow.”

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

16 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Mastitis experts ponder extended treatment ‘THE BENEFIT of

extended therapy for mastitis: myth or fact?’ was the topic at the third global milk quality expert forum, held on January 16-17 in Barcelona and organised by global animal health company Boehringer Ingelheim.

Fifteen milk quality experts attended from 13 countries.

Boehringer Ingelheim says scientific data shows that extended antibiotic treatment of Streptococcus uberis and Staphylococcus aureus mastitis significantly increases clinical and bacteriological cure rates. However, extended therapy also has its limitations. While risk factors (e.g. age of cow, number of colonies, somatic cell count) need

to be taken into account, the added costs of labour, antibiotics and an increased milk withdrawal time might not balance out the gain obtained with cure.

But most importantly, participants agreed that extended treatment cannot be considered

AUT

judicious use of antibiotics if used as blanket treatment of all clinical or subclinical mastitis cases, and should only be implemented case by case.

What is the aim of treating mastitis: a bacteriological cure or prevention of recurrence?

According to unpublished

data, 43% of all clinical mastitis cases are recurrent. And of all recurrent cases, only 10% are ‘true’ persistent infections with the same strain, suggesting that tissue damage, genetic predisposition and environmental factors play an important role. Mastitis treatment

MANAGING THE FARMER’S FEARS SINCE HUMAN behaviour and perception is an important parameter to take into account, the group also discussed communication of scientific evidence to farmers.

It was suggested that, as farmers are often unsure about the effect of treatment, they may consider extended antibiotic treatment as ‘good stockmanship’.

T E AT C I T OMA

And if the evidence, e.g. the veterinarian’s scientific advice, is at odds with their own experience, they will disregard the advice.

Farmers prefer to treat as long as symptoms are visible – ‘better safe than sorry’. Communication on effective treatment is essential, and veterinarians should learn to manage the farmer’s fears rather than facts.

SPR

should therefore focus on prevention and thorough treatment of first-occurrence cases. Results of a study showed that intensive treatment of firsttime mastitis cases may help prevent recurrence.

DNA sequencing of milk shows that healthy quarters have a greater microbial diversity than quarters with clinical mastitis. Milk is full of bacterial organisms, of which many anaerobic organisms don’t appear on normal culture. However, pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. were only found in the milk microbiome if they showed up on conventional aerobic culture.

On the other hand, S. uberis seems to be part of the healthy microbi-

Intensive treatment of firsttime mastitis may help prevent recurrence.

ome, and was present in small quantities in all culture-negative mastitis samples. Intramammary treatment studies with a broad-spectrum antibiotic showed no real impact on microbial diversity of the microbiome. The hypothesis was raised that narrow-spectrum treatment may lead to a microbiome imbalance, thus indirectly contributing to mastitis.

A medical doctor pre-

sented data on mastitis treatment in women, for which standard antibiotic treatment is usually prescribed for 10-14 days – much longer than the so-called ‘extended’ veterinary treatment. In spite of the lack of evidence for the length of treatment, the message to the general public usually is to ‘finish the course of antibiotics to avoid antimicrobial resistance’.

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DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

18 // MILK COOLING & FARM DAIRIES

Right system means low energy costs

Choosing the right milk cooling system means lower energy costs on farm.

MILK COOLING affects

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for about 30% of the total energy costs of operating a dairy; energy demand and farm dairy operating costs can be reduced using different options that involve heat recovery from your cooling system.

Raw milk grows bacteria rapidly above 7°C. Meeting the new milk cooling standards, which come into effect for all farms on June 1, 2018, may mean changes are required for systems onfarm.

The Ministry for Primary Industries’ Code of Practice for the Design and Operation of Farm Dairies has new milk cooling standards.

The rules apply immediately to converted farms, and will apply to all farms from June 1, 2018.

The rules state that raw milk must: a) be cooled to 10°C or below within four hours of the start of milking, and b) be cooled to 6°C or below within the sooner of either six hours from the start of milking, or two hours from the completion of milking, and c) be held at or below 6°C without freezing until collection or the next

milking, and d) must not exceed 10°C during subsequent milkings.

Fonterra is leading the push for farmers to ensure they meet the new milk cooling standards by June 1, 2018.

In its message to farmers, Fonterra says that farmers, to confirm the capability of milk cooling equipment, must have an auditable system that confirms milk cooling requirements are met.

“As a minimum, milk cooling performance must be monitored and recorded on at least three occasions per dairy season.” This should include: i within the first two months of lactation, once the full herd has calved ii about the time of peak milk production iii February each year.

Where electronic data capture and recording systems are installed it is recommended that such systems should be capable of holding delivery line and bulk milk tank temperature data for the previous 30 days for milk and CIP (clean in place).

Regulation timeframe

THE PROPOSED tim eframes for implement ing the new mik cooling sta ndards are 1 August 2016: new farm dairies, farm dairie s undergoing a material change to the milk coo ling system and farm dairie s that are not capable of meeting current milk cooling criteria 1 June 2018 : all farm dairies

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

MILK COOLING & FARM DAIRIES // 19 DairyNZ urges farmers to evaluate all options before deciding on a new milk cooling system.

Will your milk cooler meet the new rules?

A PLATE HEAT exchanger (PHE) is the most effective means of cooling milk, says DairyNZ. But if your current plate heat exchanger and refrigeration unit combination are not capable of meeting the new milk cooling regulations you may need to consider a secondary cooling option.

A PHE consists of a series of very thin stainless steel plates. Water flows along one side of each plate while milk flows along the other.

Heat is transferred from the milk to the water via the plate. The capacity of a plate cooler is adjusted by adding or subtracting plates.

The easiest way to check the effectiveness of the plate cooler is to compare the difference between the incoming temperature of the cooling water and the outgoing temperature of the milk leaving the plate cooler.

DairyNZ says an efficient PHE should cool milk to within 2°C of the water temperature before it enters the PHE. For example, if the temperature of the incoming cooling water is 14°C, the temperature of the milk exiting the plate cooler should be about 16°C. Vat refrigeration is another option. In refrigerated/direct expansion tanks the refrigerant is pumped into the jackets (evaporators commonly referred to as ‘dimple plates’) on the internal surfaces of the bulk milk tank.

Here the refrigerant expands as it takes heat from the milk, is pumped out of the jackets, compressed then pushed into the condenser. The hot refrigerant is cooled by air (or water) flowing through the condenser fins.

The cooled gas condenses into a liquid and is pumped back into the jackets around the bulk milk tank to start the cycle again.

Direct expansion has the disadvantage of maximum power draw during and after milking, which is generally peak rate. If large electric motors are used there can be prob-

Milk Cooling Alert?

Call GEA...

Vat wraps can also reduce cooling costs.

lems in areas of poor power supply.

Direct expansion refrigeration systems are pressurised, which means they require a skilled technician for maintenance.

A secondary cooling option – necessary if your current plate heat exchanger and refrigeration unit combination are not capable of meeting the new milk cooling regulations -- may be costly and require a long payback period. But it may yield the benefit of heat recovery, enabling you to save on hot water costs.

DairyNZ advises farmers to carefully evaluate all options to ensure the system is fit for purpose without over capitalising.

Other options suggested by DairyNZ are; Cooling towers ■■ Cooling towers can very effectively cool water especially when humidity is low. Water can be cooled to within 5°C of the wet bulb temperature in a properly designed plant.

■■ The most effective plants are fan forced and turn over a large store of water every hour. They operate overnight to cool a large water volume, usually 4½ times the volume of the daily milk yield.

Ice banks

Ice banks generate ice along evaporator coils using night rate power. The ice is used to chill water for the pre-cooler. The warm water is then returned from the pre-cooler to the top of the ice bank and cooled again as it runs down the ice.

Snap chillers ■■ These use a refrigeration system to cool water or a food grade glycol/water mixture. Glycol systems tend to use a very small volume of fluid and create the chilled fluid on demand (at milking time).

Thermal stores ■■ Thermal storage systems chill water using off peak power and require an insulated storage tank to hold a large (one day’s milking) volume of chilled water.

Using more energy than a direct expansion tank, they have advantages in installation and maintenance.

Vat wraps ■■ Vat wraps are only utilised by 20% of dairy farms in New Zealand but can save about 15-25% of milk cooling costs. They insulate milk from outside temperatures, preventing it from heating up and reducing energy used by the refrigeration unit.

■■

Get the specifics about your current cooling system with a FREE Cooling Compliance Evaluation and make an informed decision based on your results and data.

Here’s what we’ll do: •

Record your current milk cooling performance

•

Monitor your system over multiple milking’s

•

Summarise and discuss data

•

Make recommendations based on your requirements

Book your FREE Cooling Compliance Evaluation today, contact us on 0800 GEA FARM (0800 432 327).

gea.com

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

20 // MILK COOLING & FARM DAIRIES

Making dairy shed wash cheaper MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz Numedic’s Hydrofan nozzle.

Milk Cooling Answers

All Herd Sizes No Obligation

Email: schmidtthermal@clear.net.nz or Freephone

0508 206 070

WATER REMAINS a hot topic, given the boomand-bust cycles and the likelihood of restrictions and higher costs for the precious fluid.

Hence the appeal of Numedic’s Hydrofan nozzle: it washes dairy shed yards to high standards but uses less water than is customary.

The Rotorua company shuns conventional design, instead making a nozzle that emits a wide, fan-shaped stream whose high impact shifts muck as all get out.

The stainless steel units have a swivel at the hose tail; they are available in 32 and 38mm sizes

The Waimanu Dairy farm in Canterbury says it now uses 20% less water for shed washdown.

to fit existing pipework.

Dairy News visited Waimanu Dairy Ltd at Coldstream, central Canterbury, getting insights on their water use. The farm milks 800 cows through a 54-point rotary

Solids Damage k l i M r e w o L lk Cooling i M e v o r p m I

THE NEW CSL FC280 MILKFLOW SPE Improve Milk Cooling Retrofit to any plant between milkings.

Contact us

CIAL DEA L AT ALL FIELD DA YS

0800 10 7006

shed from a 30m diameter collecting yard with an automated backing gate.

In a four-month trial with ECAN, the owners, Warren and Suzanne Harris and their son Robert, monitored daily usage, discovering the

ing process and cut water usage by about 12m3 per day. This saves 360m3 over a nine-month milking period.

Warren Harris says it has been an eye opener -- 20% less water used for washdown, less dirty

The nozzles might be a little dearer than conventional plastic designs, but they’re proving to be durable. average daily use at the shed and collecting yard was 61.6m3 through washdown hoses in the milking shed and eight hockey style nozzles on the backing gate. It worked in part, but they still needed a twice weekly washdown of the collecting yard, taking one hour to shift the build-up the backing gate nozzles didn’t shift.

Switching to Hydrofan nozzles, and reducing the number from eight to five on the backing gate has markedly improved the efficiency of the clean-

water passing to the effluent storage system, less effluent pushed out to the travelling irrigators and a resultant cut in electricity use which at the time of the visit was yet to be quantified.

He comments, “the nozzles might be a little dearer than conventional plastic designs, but they’re proving to be durable. The swivel allows the fan to be used just like a brush and the overall result is it’s cleaner and all the time saves money”. www.numedic.co.nz

www.corkillsystems.co.nz

QUALITY DAIRY HOT WATER CYLINDERS From 180 litres to 1500 litres

Superheat mains pressure domestic cylinders now available Available from your local dairy merchant.

Manufactured by:

Superheat Ltd

Licence 2509

www.superheat.co.nz or phone 03-389 9500 for details of your local merchant

NZS 4604

Superheat Popular Sizes (measurements in mm) STANDARD RANGE AVAILABLE WITH COPPER BARREL, GALVANISED OR STAINLESS CASE 180 ltr 610 dia x 1330 high 3kW 200 ltr 600 dia x 1295 high 3kW 225 ltr 610 dia x 1550 high 3kW 270 ltr 610 dia x 1750 high 3kW 270 ltr 710 dia x 1350 high 3kW 270 ltr 810 dia x 1050 high 3kW 300 ltr 710 dia x 1330 high 3kW 350 ltr 710 dia x 1660 high 2 x 3kW 350 ltr 810 dia x 1400 high 2 x 3kW 400 ltr 710 dia x 1820 high 2 x 3kW 450 ltr 710 dia x 2010 high 2 x 3kW 450 ltr 810 dia x 1600 high 2 x 3kW

500 ltr 915 dia x 1400 high 2 x 3kW 600 ltr 810 da x 1900 high 3 x 3kW 600 ltr 915 dia x 1500 high 3 x 3kW 700 ltr 810 dia x 2200 high 3 x 3kW 700 ltr 915 dia x 1700 high 3 x 3kW 800 ltr 915 dia x 1900 high 3 x 3kW 800 ltr 1160 dia x 1400 high 3 x 3kW 1000 ltr 915 dia x 2400 high 3 x 3kW 1000 ltr 1160 dia x 1650 high 3 x 3kW SUPERHEAT STAINLESS SIZES WITH PLASTIC CASE 600 ltr 920 dia x 1650 high 3 x 3kW 1000 ltr 1170 dia x 1640 high 3 x 5kW 1200 ltr 1170 dia x 1865 high 3 x 5kW 1500 ltr 1170 dia x 2180 high 3 x 5kW

NEW SIZES AVAILABLE Now with stainless steel inner barrel and stainless outer case 350 ltr 400 ltr 450 ltr 500 ltr 600 ltr 700 ltr

710 dia x 1670 710 dia x 1860 710 dia x 2010 810 dia x 1690 810 dia x 2100 810 dia x 2370

2 x3 kW 2 x 3kW 2 x 3kW 2 x 3kW 3 x 3kW 3 x 3kW

Special sizes available on request.

Superheat cylinders include elements, thermostats, valve pack, vacuum break and sight tube.

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

MILK COOLING & FARM DAIRIES // 21

Technology picks out ‘passengers’ in herds DAIRY FARMERS with herringbone sheds can now make use of a new LIC Automation Yieldsense app to help them determine during milking which cows are producing the best or the worst on any given day.

YieldSense is an automated in-line milk sensor that shows yield and milksolid results.

The YieldSense Connected app is itself not new, but it now has new functionality giving it “wider farmer appeal,” the company says. It formerly suited only farmers with automated rotary dairy sheds.

Farmers equipped with YieldSense in-line sensors can use the YieldSense Connected app to immediately identify the ‘passengers’ (low value/ production cows) in their herds, and to identify high-producing (high value) cows.

The app captures information from the milk sensors, alerting the farmer to the results via their smart device. Results include a summary of the bottom- and top-performing individual cows in the herd.

Graham Cates, manager of a 300-cow herd in Walton, near Matamata, uses YieldSense Connected to record the yield for each cow in his herd; he taps into the technology for a 10-day period each month.

“We record the alerts when they appear. Whenever we’re alerted, we go to the bail, get the cow number and punch it into the phone,” Cates says.

The information backs up animal management decisions. “It makes our job easier, its user friendly and fast, and now we don’t herd test. We make our decisions about what we’re going to do: treat, dry off, or cull.”

The app goes beyond individual cow results, LIC says. Herd-level reporting helps farmers in herd improvement.

A flashing light system in the milking shed is an optional extra. The lights provide milking staff with an extra visual alert – signalling the bottom- and top-performing cows before they return to the paddock.

Paul Whiston, LIC Automation chief executive, says the app is affordable for most farmers, particularly those with small to mid-size herds.

“Until now YieldSense has been for farmers with rotary milking sheds with an in-bail cow identification system. The YieldSense Connected app opens the technology up to the entire market, including farmers with herringbones.

“YieldSense Connected, and the previously released CellSense Connected (released

November last year) offer farmers more choice and

flexibility with the latest automation solutions.”

Waikato farmer Graham Cates.

Dairy Cooling Solutions A Division of Eurotec Limited

WHY A DCS MILK COOLING SYSTEM IS THE BEST INVESTMENT IN YOUR FARM European design and quality - Over 50 years experience in developing milk cooling tanks and one of Europe’s leading Dairy Cooling Systems producers for the needs of farmers around the world – from Mexico to Japan, from Russia to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Horizontal Milk Cooling Tanks with Iced Water Cooling – 50% more effective in cooling the milk compared to standard direct expansion systems without any risk of freezing the milk due to the water temperature of +0.5 > 1.0degC. Highly suitable for AMS (Robotic Farming Systems) with low milk flows – no risk of freezing the milk.

Packo Milk Tanks

Energy Saving with Packo Ice Builders (PIB’s) – thanks to the ice energy store build-up during night time hours, a smaller refrigeration unit can be installed plus the potential savings of off-peak power rates.

Water Saving with PIB’s – bore water pre-cooling is not necessary with the correctly sized PIB. This is ideal for drought prone regions or where water supplies are restricted.

Improved Milk quality through Snap Chilling = potentially a higher return adding PROFITS to the farm.

MAKING SENSE OF YIELDSENSE ■■

Farmer selects the threshold for alerts based on a percentage of the herd

■■

YieldSense detects the yield and milk solid levels in the milk

■■

Alerts from the sensors are sent to the farmer’s smart device and flashing light system (optional extra)

■■

Farmer links the alert to the cow number

■■

YieldSense Connected provides farmers with instant, real-time, reporting on cows and herd and allows for better decision making at the right time.

PIB 25-160

For 30yrs Eurotec has been supplying the NZ Refrigeration Industry with leading Global Brands. The only NZ supplier of this technology providing nationwide coverage and After Sales Support with branches in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with over 30 Approved Refrigeration Installers throughout the country from Invercargill to Whangarei.

Check out the DCS website www.dairycoolingsolutions.nz, talk to your refrigeration contractor, and come and see DCS/Packo milk cooling technologies operating at the Northland Field Days, Central Districts Field

PIB 230 - 370

Days and South Island Agricultural Field Days.

Find us on Facebook too, www.facebook.com/DairyCoolingSolutions

Dairy Cooling Solutions Tradition meets Technology

www.dairycoolingsolutions.nz

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

22 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

New $7.5m building ‘sign of good times’ POWER FARMING has opened a new $7.5 million facility at Rolleston on SH1 just south of Christchurch.

Among the company’s top brands are Deutz Fahr, Kioti, Kverneland and McHale.

The 12,500m2 building will serve as a distribution point, receiving products from local and overseas suppliers and shipping them to South Island dealers, while the

adjoining building with a 1300m2 workshop, 650m2 canopy and 400m2 showroom will be the new base for Power Farming Canterbury, which is the retail outlet for the area.

The opening’s 550 customers and guests were welcomed by marketing director Brett Maber, who said the new facility will give existing customers easier access to sales, parts and service, and offer

potential customers a one-stop shop for tractors or machines for their operation.

Cutting the ribbon with his wife Linda, managing director Geoff Maber suggested there had never been a better time for agriculture in NZ. With the global population likely to hit 9 billion by 2027, much of that growth on the Asian sub-continent, NZ farmers were in an ideal

position to capitalise on the areas’ demands for high value proteins.

Maber commented on the need for New Zealand to increase output of milk, vegetables and fruit.

“The technological advances in modern tractors and machinery will allow Kiwi farmers to grow bigger and better crops, harvested in a timelier manner and delivered to customers with far higher levels of

Power Farmings’ new $7.5m facility in Rolleston, Christchurch.

quality.

“The investment in this facility will allow us to deliver those technologies to the local and greater South Island

communities, and it will serve as a central point for distribution and training for our sales and parts and service teams; these form the heart of

our business and the longlasting relationships we have with our customers.” www.powerfarming. co.nz

Seeding made easy

Guests at the opening of the new Power Farming facility.

AS WE move from

summer to autumn, many livestock farm-

FEED SYSTEMS SINCE 1962

Supreme quality stainless steel feed trays / Exceptional back-up support / Easy to use and maintain First class installations / Robust construction / Skiold Disc Mills Grain Holding Silos / Utility Augers / Mobile Auger

LK0080053©

DAIRY FEED SYSTEMS

ers will be turning their thoughts to reseeding or renovation of grassland, particularly in the north or east were drought has wreaked havoc with pastures.

The 3000 Series Grassfarmer drills from Aitchison offer a robust, simple design particularly suited to the doit-yourself brigade, available in either a tine or disc layout.

Both unit are linkage mounted and available in 2.1 or 2.7m sowing widths, with 14 or 18 rows, thereby offering 150mm row spacing.

The seed-only layout has a hopper mounted on a robust box section frame, holding 280 or 365L, respectively.

Tine versions have a 25mm section with spring coils for good penetration in all conditions, and are supplied with an inverted T-boot point which creates a pocket of tilth below the surface which is said to be conducive to rapid and even germination.

An optional disc coulter assembly mounted ahead of the seeder unit has 14-inch diameter units said to be useful in difficult conditions for slicing surface trash and deflecting stones.

Disc versions of the Grassfarmer series have the same specifications as the tine version but are set up with single 14-inch concave discs carried on a trailing arm with individual suspension to offer superior ground following, particularly in undulating ground.

Seed is delivered from the hopper by soft foam sponges and seeding rates are controlled by a steplessly variable gearbox which allows rates from 1-350kg/ha.

The seeding mechanism also has a rodentstop system to prevent vermin from attacking the delivery system when the machine is not in use. www.powerfarming. co.nz

– Mark Daniel

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 23

Gyrotedder covers ground quickly MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

KUHN HAS upgraded its range of high capacity tedders with a new chassis design and rotor lifting mechanism which allows higher ground clearance and improved contour following on undulating terrain.

The GF 13012 and GF 17012 Gyrotedders have the capacity to ted up to 15ha/hour, the former using 12 rotors across 13m operating width, and the latter using 16 rotors to cover 17.2m.

Improved headland

clearance: the outer sections are supported and held in position by self-reeling tension straps that allow all the rotors to lift in one motion.

The set-up, something like the seatbelt layout in a car, is claimed to reduce stress on the main chassis and individual rotor sections, and keep the machine stable across its entire width on rough ground.

The supporting straps also act as safety guards, replacing traditional steel items, saving weight and eliminating breakages caused by vibration or

metal fatigue. Rotors are raised hydraulically on the headland by a pair of transport wheels, to provide high clearance which offers the ability to cross windrows without dragging up heaps or clumps.

Terrain following is affected by the Kuhn Ground Save Control (GSC), where the rotor train is allowed to travel independently of the chassis, eliminating excessive ground contact, contamination and tine wear.

Rotor height is controlled by a single screw adjuster positioned

Super sized gyrotedder.

next to the 3-point linkage.

Despite their huge operating widths, both

machines fold compactly for transport, the GF13012 measuring 2.4m wide x 6.5m long x 2.68m

high, and the GF17012 measuring 2.4m x 7.5m x 2.68m.

Weight is 2800 and

3400kg respectively; power requirement is 80-100hp. www.kuhn.co.nz

US Army forks out heaps BRITISH CONSTRUCTION

and farm machinery giant JCB, having started 2017 with a secured order of US$142 million, is in the pink.

It’s the company’s secondlargest single order in its 71 years, placed by the US Army which set a record in 2005 with a US$206m order.

This new order is for 1600

527-58 rough terrain forklifts for US Army bases around the globe, for loading and unloading planes and shipping containers.

The new 527-58M light capability machines are 2m wide, 1.98m high and can lift 2.26 tonnes to 5.8m. They are powered by Built to the US Army’s exacting specifications, the machines will be made at the JCB North

America headquarters in Savanah Georgia, and powered by JCB’s DieselMax engine made by its power division in the UK; the transmissions will be made at the company’s Wrexham plant in Wales.

Over the last ten years JCB has supplied 4000 machines to 57 countries’ armed forces.

– Mark Daniel

Compact X4 packs a big punch THE SMALLEST new farm tractor in the McCormick

range from Argo Tractors -- the X4 -- should appeal for its low weight and compactness.

Using Deutz Tier 4 engines with 4 cylinders and 2900cc capacity, the X4.20, X4.30 and X4.40 deliver 64, 69 and 74hp respectively; and the X4.35 uses a 4400cc, 4 cylinder Perkins engine to pump out 75hp to Tier 3 standards. It is said to be very price competitive.

Features and specifications include 2 or 4-wheel drive, flat platform ROPS or modern cab versions, and a choice of transmissions with 12 x 12 or 16 x 16 speeds with creep, and a final choice of dry clutch, synchro shuttle or a wet clutch power shuttle version.

Hydraulics are provided by an open-centred gear pump set-up delivering 49L/min, and it has a separate, 28L/min unit for the power steering, braking and gearbox lubrication. Lift capacity is 2700kg as standard, although this can be boosted to 3400kg with optional assist rams installed.

On the cab versions, designers have fitted a full-size cab on this compact unit, to give space, comfort and excellent visibility. Forward vision is enhanced by a slim header rail and a deep screen, while the 4-post design, and the lack of B pillars gives easy access through full width doors.

Controls are grouped logically in the right-hand console, and angled towards the operator for easy access. www.agtek.co.nz

TR AILED PL ANTER 8-ROW NX WINGFOLD • A folding, pull-type frame – The advantage of the pull-type frame is that it can be used with lower powered tractors.

• Four wheel units – This pull-type frame is equipped with 4 hydraulic wheel lifts.

• High capacity fertiliser attachment with FertiDriveVM – for easy and rapid adjustment.

• Easy adjustments and operating – All planter functions operate from the tractor cab using a function selector.

www.tulloch.co.nz

0800 88 55 624

DEALERSNATIONWIDE

DAIRY NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2017

24 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Lighter Commodore with more bling Switch to belts better in crops

markd@ruralnews.co.nz

YOU MIGHT have to wait a

while to buy one, but Holden will premiere the new Commodore Sportwagon at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

It’s said to have been on a diet compared to the current model: clever use of lightweight materials has shed 200kg from the overall weight, but the load space is still a useful 1640L. Power plants will be a turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol or diesel, and a flagship V^ will deliver 230Kw and 370Nm torque.

A new adaptive all-wheel drive option will be available, combined with a twin clutch rear diff, and a first for Holden – a 9-speed auto transmission.

Expect to see plenty of

MARK DANIEL markd@ruralnews.co.nz

Commodore Sportswagon.

bling: an automated rear door lift which works when you swing your foot under the rear bumper, head-up display so the driver keeps his eyes on the road, and the now almost oblig-

atory safety features adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and rear cross traffic alert.

Also expect to see the loveit-or-hate it stop/start engine

system and a new adaptive FlexiRide suspension system offering tour, standard or sport settings www.holden.co.nz @dairy_news facebook.com/dairynews

A NEW roller conditioner system from grass specialists Pottinger, said to be more cost effective and maintenancefriendly, is now available for all Alpha Motion models, and the Novacat 262, 302 and 352 units.

The Novacat RCB conditioner is driven by twin toothed belts instead of a more traditional chain drive, which allows an increase of movement of the top roller by up to 25mm, offering better throughput and optimum

4

conditioning effect.

The company notes that with both rollers being driven, the risk of blockages is eliminated, and a wide swath placement creates optimum drying conditions.

An added benefit of the switch to belts means the drive system is maintenance-free, needing only periodic adjustment of belt tension from the outside of the unit.

A shot of grease to the belt tensioner pulley means there is no oil in the system, so the risk of crop contamination is removed. www.originagroup.co.nz

% FINANCE

40

**

MONTHLY

PAYMENTS

$4,990 FRONT END LOADER

5 YEAR WARRANTY

*Offer valid from 1st February to 31st May 2017 or while stocks last and is available only when purchasing a new Kubota M7-1 Series tractor. Prices exclude GST. **Finance is based on 30% deposit and 40 month total term. Lending criteria apply.

See your local Kubota dealer for full terms and conditions or visit www.kubota.co.nz

17KB008a - Imported by C B Norwood Distributors Ltd

MARK DANIEL

Ripcord Insecticide

Annoying aren’t they?

Rip into nuisance flies, lice and ticks with the proven power of Ripcord®.

Just one easy application provides long lasting protection from nasties around the herd and in the milking shed. And because Ripcord® is MPI approved for use in dairy sheds, there is no milk withholding period.

Ripcord® is the perfect product to use.

Don’t settle for fly-by-night treatments. Insist on Ripcord®.

Visit agro.basf.co.nz for more details or visit your local distributor.

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Stop by your local John Deere dealer to find the right 6 Family tractor for your business, and to take advantage of this limited time offer.

* Valid on new 6 Family Tractors factory ordered between 01/02/17 and 30/04/17. ^Conditions apply. Finance available through John Deere Financial Limited to approved commercial applicants only. Offer is based on 20% deposit, GST back and 36 month term. Fees and charges apply. If not amended or withdrawn earlier, the promotion expires on 30/04/17.

JohnDeere.co.nz/BeReady