Kaikaha Southland

from New Farm Dairies 2021

by Sun Media

Weavian Farms United Kingdom

Time saving

Clare Bayly

Adding 20 bails to the size of a new rotary dairy has reduced milking time by two hours a day on a Southland dairy farm.

˜ ose extra hours are being put to good use by Brad and Kylie Rhodes, who share-milk for Peter Hughes and Maree Crowley on their 540hectare farm at Edendale.

Brad and Kylie have been working with Peter and Maree on the Edendale property for 10 years, Brad quipping that they own “one leg and the tail of every cow in the herd”. ˜ e Rhodes are 50/50 sharemilkers on 500 cows and 21 per cent on the remaining 700 cows.

Standing beside the new dairy, Peter and Brad recall the rebuild nearly didn’t happen.

“˜ e old shed had been milking 1200 cows twice a day for the last ÿ ve years and everything was nearing the end of its life. We were starting to get breakdowns and having to spend a bit of time maintaining the shed,” says Peter.

“In late 2019 we were considering our options, interest rates were low, and with the cost of maintaining the old shed, it was time to consider building another dairy.

“However, we couldn’t have foreseen the Covid pandemic and the uncertainty around the lockdown and its impact on contractors and supplies. ˜ is saw us shelve the rebuild plans until we had clarity around what we could or couldn’t do.

“˜ e calving date had been put back 10 to 12 days to allow for the rebuild, so we were really wanting it to happen this season.

“Fortunately, we had a group of companies and contractors who were all committed to the project and were able, at short notice, to get into the build and deliver in a two month timeframe.”

Peter Hughes and Maree Crowley’s new dairy.

A glanded centrepole was installed to support new backing gates.

e dairy from the collection yard showing the new entry/exit.

E cient business

Peter says a signiÿ cant reason why they could proceed at such short notice was because they chose to enlist Waikato Milking Systems and Baz Janssen Building for the project.

“Being New Zealand owned and operated with most of their technology manufactured in New Zealand, Waikato Milking Systems had everything we needed in the country so there were no issues with supply,” says Peter.

“Our decision to go with Waikato Milking Systems was also backed by experience with the company and its products. We have a Waikato Milking Systems’ dairy on the home farm and have always been impressed with the quality of the build and the service we received, so it was a no-brainer to go with them again.

“˜ e existing dairy had 50 bails and, while this was relatively e˛ cient, in discussion with Brad we elected to increase the size of the platform to 70 bails – to improve the e˛ ciency of milking.”

Builder Baz Janssen recalls that when they got the green light to proceed with the build they had around two months to get in and get it done.

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New Biological Controls for Cricket, Cicada, Argentine Stem Weevil, Clover Flea –all added into solid and liquid fertiliser programmes. Biological PSA management options. Reams Soil Testing, Home Garden Fertiliser.

Biological Fertilisers

Solid and Liquid Fertilisers Liquid BioChar/Humus Builder /Cal-Phos

Increase soil humus and biological activity – from $15/ha

Soil Force

Biological Phosphate Fertiliser

Re-Charge/Nano-Cal/Multi-Cal

Calcium-Carbon Fertilisers

Stock Primer – Mineralised Carbon Drench

Build immunity, suppress pathogens; e.g. Rotovirus & E.Coli for as little as 4¢ per cow per day

Humates/Humic Acid/Fulvic Acid

Increased water retention & nutrient release.

New Biological Controls for Cricket, Cicada, Argentine Stem Weevil, Clover Flea –all added into solid and liquid fertiliser programmes. Biological PSA management options. Reams Soil Testing, Home Garden Fertiliser.

e entry/exit features rubber matting to provide secure footing for cows going onto and o the platform.

From left, Brad Rhodes and Peter Hughes say and Peter Hughes say the larger platform the larger platform and new technology and new technology has shaved two hours has shaved two hours o milking per day. o milking per day. e 2.7m wide deck of the Waikato Milking Systems Orbit concrete platform protects milking and electronic equipment.

Wooden rafters look great, are 100 per cent bird proof and absorb sound more e ectively than steel.

“Everything needed to be working by the end of July in time for calving.

“Months earlier I had talked to Peter to understand what he wanted to achieve and recommended that he went with a large footprint for the shed so there would be plenty of room around the platform, making it easy to keep the walls clean and providing a spacious, pleasant environment for milkers and cows.

“Having everything in-house enables us to complete large projects in tight timeframes. We design the dairy and then project manage the build – from site development through to engineering and constructing the yards and building.

“˜ e concrete in the original collection yard was in relatively good condition, only requiring minor modiÿ cation at the exit. We also added a glanded centrepole for the backing gates.

“˜ e shed has wooden purlins that look great and, in contrast with steel box section rafters, are 100 per cent bird proof. Timber purlins also absorb sound better than steel, adding to a quiet milking environment,” says Baz.

Brad says that once the decision was made to proceed with the new dairy things happened pretty fast.

“We dried the herd o˛ on a Friday in late May, and the following Monday the pipework came out, followed the next day by the demolition of the shed and, on day three, development of the site. Baz and his team were then on site and the build was underway with a target date of end July.”

Timber purlins also absorb sound better than steel, adding to a quiet milking environment,” says Baz.

Brad says that once the decision was made to proceed with the new dairy things

Better milking

Waikato Milking Systems’ Lower South Island regional manager sales and service, Braiden Paterson, says the deck of the 70-bail Orbit Concrete rotary platform slopes outwards easing entry and exit as well as ensuring e˝ uent runs to the outside of the platform.

Sharemilker Brad Rhodes at the cups-on console, which provides fi nger-tip control of the platform. Hecton Products new custom made stainless steel feed bins and modifi ed existing feed lines to utilise the existing grain silos.

The dairy’s large footprint provides plenty of room around the platform, making it easy to keep walls clean and providing a spacious environment. Waikato Milking Systems’ SmartSPRAY automatically applies teat spray to every cow at every milking and acts as a leg spreader, aiding application of clusters.

“The 2.7m wide deck provides a wide walkway in front of the cows while also protecting milking and electronic equipment.

“Ease of milking is ensured with Waikato Milking Systems SmartECRs (electronic cup removers) and probably the most popular cluster on the market, the 320 Milking Cluster with quadrant liners.

Spray tech

“The dairy is also equipped with BailGate Straps and SmartSPRAY, an automatic teat spray system that sprays every cow every time. Compliance with hygiene regulations is ensured with SmartWASH, a programmable automated wash system,” says Braiden.

The original grain silos were in good condition so Peter Hughes called in Hecton Products to install new feed bins.

Hecton’s Aaron Bremner says the stainless steel bins are custom made for each dairy, the Hughes’ dairy being larger than standard. Hecton Products also modifi ed existing feed lines.

The interior and exterior walls of the dairy are coated with Acrafl ex Dairy Wall Coating, which was applied by BB Cunninghame. Acrafl ex is acid and alkali resistant and easy to clean. The coating is backed by a 10 year guarantee.

B.J. Carter Builders has been working with Peter and Maree building and modifying homes since 2002.

“We designed and built a three bedroom, low maintenance, highly insulated and low running cost home on the Edendale farm,” says B.J. Carter Builders managing director James Carter.

“The home features wool blend batts and insulation in walls and ceilings. Wet areas were lined with pre-fi nished wet area board, easily cleanable after workers come in from a dirty day at the farm.”

Extra two hours

The new dairy was completed on August 5, 2020. Brad says it is a pleasure to milk in and saves around two hours a day, much of that being down to the larger platform and ease of cleaning.