Omanuka Farming Horowhenua

Steve Edwards

Ben McKelvie, right, with farm co-owner and uncle Bruce McKelvie.

The shed has been built bigger to allow for possible future growth, including in-bail feeding.

A spacious yard gives the cows ample room as they await milking.

There’s probably not too many farmers who can lay claim to having an on-site cricket ground, but Ben McKelvie is an exception.

Along with a new dairy shed, the selfconfessed cricket ‘tragic’ has a full-size oval on the Foxton property he leases from his father Mark and uncle Bruce.

The history of Omanuka Farming is as colourful as its present set up, with Ben’s family connections on Omanuka (which translates to ‘among the scrub’) dating back to 1855.

Ben says it indeed started out as a gorse and scrub-covered block on the site of an old lake.

His great grandfather set up the home farm, in association with pioneer neighbour Bob Wilson as ‘share farmers’.

It was part of the area’s fl ax booms from the late 1860s to the 1970s.

Ben’s father added to the Omanuka portfolio over the years, with 2200ha still dedicated to sheep and beef.

Three dairy farms were also acquired, totalling 220ha and running between 580 and 620 cows.

Central shed

Two old herringbone sheds, 20-aside and 30-aside, serviced the dairy unit before Ben decided fi ve years ago to build a single, central milking facility.

A small stand of macrocarpa trees was cleared to make way for the 40-aside herringbone shed.

Ben says he wanted a dry, safe spot, with good access to power and supplies, plus space for required effl uent ponds.

Two staff are employed, with milking and clean-up taking two-and-a-half hours, and three hours in spring.

Ben says initial earthworks saw the area fl attened, with a race formed to connect the milking shed to the feedpad.

The new shed features automatic cup removers, cup wash and a specialist drafting gate.

Ben says the shed has been built bigger to allow for possible future growth, including in-bail feeding.

The yard has two backing gates, to bring cows to the bails from different points.

A washer/scraper on the gates, supplemented by a traditional high-pressure hose, sends material from the yard to an effl uent pond.

Ben says the manual vat wash is operated after pick-up by both the tanker driver and farm staff.

It was part of the area’s fl ax booms from the Two staff are employed, with milking and The design uses a straight rail, unlike the traditional herringbone, which Ben says helps in accommodating different-size cows in the bails. Automation important

MacDougalls Manawatu installed a 40-unit DeLaval Midiline ML2100 system including automated cup removers and an automated wash system, while also opting for a DeLaval variable speed Lobe vacuum pump.

Labour and time saving devices are a big part of the new dairy, says Ben.

“The automatic cup removers give us better staffi ng options in the new dairy,” he says. “Milker and cow comfort, along with cluster alignment, are great benefi ts of the swing-arm.”

Ben says the swing-arm presents the cluster nicely to the operator and ‘comfort start’ means less fatigue for the milker.

The herringbone milking shed is actually a straight rail, which Ben McKelvie says helps in accommodating different-size cows in the bails. Automatic cup removers are a feature of the 40-aside herringbone shed. The plate cooler provided by DeLaval.

Teat spray technology supplied by DeLaval.

Hot water cylinders provided by DeLaval.

Surfatex director Glen Sinclair admiring his company’s handiwork in the shed painting process.

“Cluster alignment is made easy because the swing-arm can be moved left or right as needed, for better placement.”

Also, he says you don’t need to be worried about over or under-milking with this system.

“Because the swing arm enables excellent alignment of the cups with each udder, the clusters hang correctly, which allows all quarters to be milked out evenly.”

Ben says vacuum effi ciency is important for a smooth milking, and the DeLaval MC3 clusters maintain stable vacuum even at peak milk fl ow and are capable of handling up to 12L per minute.

MacDougalls says the milk-line height above the cow fl oor has an impact on the vacuum required to run the milking system.

For every 100mm increase in milk-line height, an additional 1kPa in vacuum is needed.

Careful design of shed features can help minimise overall energy usage, says MacDougalls.

Automated detergent dosing ensures optimal detergent usage without milkers having to do anything other than keep the detergent tanks full and hooked up to the one-touch C200 automatic shed wash system. Professional painting

Painting was completed by Foxton-based Surfatex. Director Glen Sinclair says the bare walls and fl oors inside the pits, plus in the plant-room and offi ce were primed, painted and sealed.

The company uses a product called Acrafl ex, which Glen says provides a good-looking surface that is easy to keep clean and maintain.

“Our dairy wall sealers and fl oor coatings protect concrete from effl uent and corrosive chemicals, with a heavy aggregate resin overlay to ensure a non-slip surface for the cows,” he says.

Glen says the coating shows up every speck of dirt so the farmer knows which area needs cleaning. Surfatex supplied the coating as well as its application at the McKelvie property. Glen says the paint is rolled on, with a spray glaze to fi nish.

Earthworks on the McKelvie project were provided by Richard Algar Ltd, from Rongotea, about 30km out of Foxton.

Director Richard Algar says the company has helped digging drains and stacking with its diggers on the Omanuka Rd property over the years.

In the latest undertaking, Richard Algar Ltd dug effl uent ponds north of the cowshed and moved soil required for the milking shed site.

Richard says he also used his digger to spread ‘rotten rock’ on the race leading into the yard

The new milking shed is not the only engineering feat worth noting at Omanuka.

Ben McKelvie is a former polo player who, in recent years, has turned his attention to his other sporting love – cricket.

Cricket complex

An area behind his house has become a 1300 square metre cricket ground, complete with a clay batting block in the centre.

Omanuka Oval is the home of Palmerston North’s Bloomfi eld Cricket Club, which was established in 1994.

Ben originally played indoor cricket with club members, leading ultimately to his creation of a ‘home ground’ on the farm.

He initially cleared an area of pine trees and established a poplar/golden elm/akeake wind-break, before developing what is now a perfectly manicured outfi eld and pitch area.

The latest addition to Omanuka Oval is a scoreboard, with a pavilion in the offi ng.

Quite a change for a place once “among the scrub”.

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