ISSUE 5 SPRING 2017
D airyside SEE INSIDE Value of tracking young dairy stock to target weights weights with MiHub Protect against milk loss & skyrocketing refrigerant costs Save on a great Autodrafter & Walk Over Weighing combo deal
Spending to improve your returns Welcome to Issue 5 of Dairyside. This newsletter focuses on investing in herd performance and milk protection to ensure you get maximum dollars in the bank at the end of every season. Times, as we all know are still incredibly tight. Making sure your hard-earned dollars are reinvested to maximise your production returns and reduce costs, is as important as ever. In this edition, we outline research into the importance of reaching target weights in young dairy stock. We also introduce some new solutions, along with maintenance advice, to help you improve performance and reduce costs
www.tru-test.com
and risk. And there’s feedback from a couple of our farmers on the gains they’ve made from spending to improve their returns. As a dairy stock performance and milk protection specialist, Tru-Test is committed to helping you maximise productivity through whole-of-life livestock management. We are also committed to helping you protect your income through improved breeding and health, ensuring compliance, and reducing on-farm working expenses and risk of lost product. We deliver this through a range of herd performance and milk protection solutions and services that work to: reduce day-to-day expenses such as labour, power or feed; improve herd productivity through access to accurate animal performance data; reduce dairy refrigeration capital expenditure costs through tailored
solutions and maintenance; and minimize milk loss claims through compliance and monitoring. From autodrafting, Walk over Weighing, in-bail ID, feed control and in-line milk sensors to vat monitors and controllers, vat insulation, milk cooling and hot water recovery – we’ve got a solution that could add bottom line value and better peace of mind to your dairy operation. The start-point is Tru-Test’s team of dairy stock performance and milk protection specialists. Working with you, all recommendations are tailored for your operation. That’s why when it comes to reducing farm working expenses while at the same time making the everyday easier, we think a conversation might be worthwhile.
How are you tracking? Let’s talk. 0800 TRU-TEST (878 8378)
TRU-TEST Dairyside | Issue 05 Spring 2017 | Page 1
Weighing insights, made easy
Tracking young stock to target weights key
Tru-Test is proud to introduce MiHub Livestock Management, a specialist weight and growth rate management system. This free*, online software allows farmers to transform weigh session data into easy to understand graphs that provide visibility on animal weight gain and performance to target weights.
The accurate and timely weighing of young stock is key for dairy farmers. Research by both DairyNZ and Massey University has shown growth rates in young dairy stock can have a lifetime impact on milk production.
A quick summary of the benefits: asy to read graphics E for quick analysis and decision making Links directly to Tru-Test’s XR5000 or ID5000 via WIFI and to EziWeigh7i (and XR/ ID3000 scales) by using Data Link (phone or PC) eighing data accessible W from any device with an internet connection iles are safe should a F computer or Tru-Test device be lost or stolen llows users to share A weighing data with staff, vets or consultants without attaching files to emails imple to print or S download reports and graphs in common file formats ‘ Base’ plan free for Tru-Test weigh scale users and for a small monthly fee for non Tru-Test users*.
For farmers using Tru-Test devices, you can sign up for MiHub Livestock Management by visiting www.tru-test.com/livestock.
DairyNZ says liveweight at first mating and calving will have an impact on the reproductive performance and milk production potential of heifers. Heifers must be reared to achieve their liveweight targets; otherwise their first calving will be delayed, liveweight at calving will be too low and fertility during the next mating period reduced. Well-grown heifers will produce more milk in the first lactation, compete better with mature cows and survive longer in the herd 1. Dr Jean Margerison, senior lecturer in Animal Science from the Institute of Agriculture and Environment, is leading an ongoing study on dairy heifers by Massey University. “Weighing accurately is important, and the aim is to wean calves at the best weight for the breed type and the right proportion of the genetically-inherited mature weight. Weighing also allows farmers to use expensive calf rearing feed resources efficiently by not weaning at too large or too little of the mature weight,” explains Dr Margerison. Farmers wanting to analyse weighing information need to be proficient in Excel or confident using a complex herd management system. This inspired Tru-Test, as leaders in Electronic Identification (EID) and animal weighing, to launch MiHub Livestock Management. This online software
Research has shown growth rates in young dairy stock can have a lifetime impact on milk production.
TRU-TEST Dairyside | Issue 05 Spring 2017 | Page 2
programme allows farmers to easily monitor the weight gains of their young stock and first calvers to achieve researchdriven, breed-based target weights. “As a developer of hardware for measuring animal performance, we are very aware this is an area dairy farmers can make a significant difference to their animal’s fertility and life-long productivity. Having the weight information, and being able to quickly and easily analyse it, is critical,” says Verne Atmore, Tru-Test’s NZ General Manager.
Well-grown heifers will produce more milk in the first lactation, compete better with mature cows and survive longer in the herd 1. The software transforms session files into simple, easy-to- understand graphs, enabling dairy farmers to quickly make decisions on young stock management, such as; optimum feed programmes, which animals to breed and when, which calves to keep, and which to cull. Early farmer feedback on the new software indicates it delivers what it’s designed to do with comments such as “I can see my lines going forwards and upwards, that’s good! If I can do this, anyone can use it”. 1. Source DairyNZ https://www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/ heifers/liveweight-targets/
Tru-Test’s MiHub Livestock Management enables dairy farmers to easily track and view their young dairy stock’s progress against liveweight targets.
Making the everyday easier HOME DAIRY Bryce & Nicki Clark, owners Ariel Raga, Farm Manager Location: Stock numbers:
Mataura, Southland 900 cows
Farm size:
330 ha
Shed type:
60-bail rotary
Dairy Automation Modules: Autodrafter Walk over Weighing In-bail Identification Feed Controller In-line Sensors MiHub Dairy Herd Management online and phone app
When designing their recent conversion, owners Bryce and Nicki Clark were clear from the outset, they wanted automation in their dairy shed. Farm Manager, Ariel Raga explains. “Bryce and Nicki saw an opportunity to make things easier with this shed. The initial attractors were reduced labour, the ability to monitor daily the weights of the cows, and close, targeted management of our supplementary feed.” Late last year they added In-line Sensors to help with mastitis detection and recently, the MiHub Dairy Herd Management phone app, which is already proving valuable.
“The phone app enables us to draft while we’re getting the cows in, rather than waiting until we get to the shed to input the IDs. I can see for mating it’ll also be a big help as we can just input any bulling cows in the paddock. You can also control the drafting gate, so even if you’re not in the shed you can still operate the gate with the app. It’s saving a lot of time just being able to do that.”
At this time of the year, when monitoring weight is critical to making sure cows are on a rising plane towards getting in calf, automation is a valuable tool for tracking and identifying issues early. The automation is cause for some envy with Ariel’s friends on farms without. “It’s definitely easier for us. For example, for them, during mating someone’s got to be on cups off all the time so cows needing drafting aren’t missed. So, it’s another labour saving. They think our system is very good.” “Being able to group cows based on a variety of factors is also really helpful. The information pops up on the in-shed screen and we all know what we need
Reduce labour costs. Install Autodrafting with Walk over Weighing O ne-man job in shed over AB = no extra labour
Home Dairy Manager, Ariel Raga loading cow ID’s into Tru-Test’s MiHub Dairy Herd Management app for drafting.
to do based on whether she’s a green, or she’s blue and she’s in this group. Reduces risk and means I don’t have to be in the shed all the time.” At this time of the year, when monitoring weight is critical to making sure cows are on a rising plane towards getting in calf, automation is a valuable tool for tracking and identifying issues early. “The Walk over Weighing is invaluable for this. By monitoring weights daily, we can quickly see the ones with issues. We can react and get on top of things much faster now. Those with issues, we just put them in groups and manage them accordingly.” Ariel’s advice to farmers and managers with manual sheds is that “whilst an expense to install, in the long term it will pay itself back easily in saved labour and costs, as well as making the job easier.”
$24,999 Finance terms available
S et drafts for ‘bulling’ cows in paddock or race with phone app E asily set vet check groups eg dirty cows or CIDRs I dentify cows not gaining weight ahead of/during AB P ick lame, sick or non-cycling cows ahead of/during AB Offer available from 1 October 2017 – 31 December 2017. Pricing excludes GST, installation and MiHub subscription costs. Finance Terms available until 31 December 2017.
TRU-TEST Dairyside | Issue 05 Spring 2017 | Page 3
Tru-Test On-Farm Solutions Manager, Dave Gray talks Neal Conning through the results of his Milk Cooling Assessment and options for his milk cooling to meet the incoming regulations and his business goals.
New cooling regulation confusion potentially costing farmers Te Awamutu dairy farmer, Brian Chick, thought the new regulations were based on the milk temperature going into the vat, and so doubted his compliance. He contacted his local supplier whose assessment indicated he needed to install one of 2 options, ranging in cost from $25k – $40k. Seeking another quote, Brian contacted Tru-Test whose assessment showed he was already compliant. Brian now can’t stress enough that “it really pays to understand what the regulations actually require and talk to a number of suppliers.” Examples like this has made milk protection specialist, Tru-Test, realise there’s widespread confusion over what the new milk cooling regulations actually require. “This confusion is resulting in some farmers spending unnecessarily or over spending to upgrade their milk cooling equipment. Given the current economic climate, it’s more important than ever farmers are only investing where they need to and in ways that will give them the best return.” says Tru-Test’s NZ General Manager, Verne Atmore. TRU-TEST Dairyside | Issue 05 Spring 2017 | Page 4
As long as you’re meeting the temperatures for your milking timeframes, how you do it should be determined by what’s best for your business, budget and infrastructure. To assist with this, Tru-Test has sought technical clarification on the incoming regulations. Compliance is determined by the vat milk temperature at the end of the stated timeframes. Not the temperature of milk going in. It’s also meeting the stated temperatures at the end of your milking cycle whether that’s single or blended. Farmers need to first ask themselves “am I milking under or over 4 hours”. For those under four, there are only two things you need to worry about; that
your milk is down to 6°C within 2 hours of completing milking, and that your blended temperature is no more than 10°C during any additional milkings. For those milking for over 4 hours, it’s a little more complicated. You need to have your milk down to 10°C within four hours of the commencement of milking. It must then be down to 6°C within 6 hours. Snap chilling is only required in two instances; if milking longer than 6 hours or using a robotic milker. Otherwise, there are no specific rules on refrigeration type. As long as you’re meeting the temperatures for your milking timeframes, how you do it should be determined by what’s best for your business, budget and infrastructure. Tru-Test, offers a full range of Milk Cooling and Tank solutions. We can assess your compliance and then tailor a solution to meet your needs. We’re also serious about on-farm support with a nationwide team of qualified technicians and a 7-day customer call centre.
Keep a lid on the rising cost of refrigerants The cost of refrigerants is about to steeply increase, potentially adding significant running costs to NZ dairy farmers’ milk cooling systems. What is causing the price increase? The cost of refrigerants is set to sharply increase over the short to medium term. This is because of the way the pricing is structured. Imported refrigerant costs are based on the variable carbon price which is passed on to the end user. The importers pay per ton of carbon based on the refrigerant GWP (Global Warmer Potential) number e.g. R404A has a GWP of 3922. All imported refrigerants now have a zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) although the common HFC (Hydrofluorocarbon) refrigerants that are used still have a relatively high GWP.
The phase down of high GWP F-Gas refrigerants has been indicated by the government as beginning in 2019 and consultation on how the phase down should be managed has begun. What does this mean for NZ dairy farmers? The refrigerant that you have in your system now can stay there. Refrigerant only needs to be changed if you lose some via a leak or upgrade your system. Additionally, as lower GWP refrigerants are produced, interim refrigerants will be used for new system installations
or to replenish existing systems whose refrigerants have already been phased out e.g. R12, R22 etc. Using a new lower GWP refrigerant in existing systems can cause performance changes, some will have positive or negative effects on the overall performance. The table below shows how a system will operate at a higher discharge temperature, although it will have a slightly improved COP (Coefficient of Performance) when operating on the new R449A compared to R404A.
R-404A - Med Temp Conditions Evap (kPa)
Cond (kPa)
Disch T (°C)
COP
GWP
R-404A
436
1,833
77
2.72
3922
R-449A
386
1745
89
2.82
1397
Causes for increased refrigerant use and what you can do to limit costs Don’t get bitten by the steep increase in refrigerant costs. Make sure your milk cooling system is serviced to help prevent loss. Carrying out a regular preventive maintenance check will help identify any noticeable or potential refrigerant leaks that could be remedied at the time of the visit. This includes eliminating any excessive vibration from the fans and compressor, and any support or additional brackets for copper pipework.
Carrying out a regular preventive maintenance check will help identify any noticeable or potential refrigerant leaks that could be remedied at the time of the visit.
Stay on top of your milk cooling maintenance to keep a lid on increasing refrigerant costs.
Tru-Test offers a range of proactive servicing plans along with reactive servicing. All servicing is carried out by our nationwide team of specialist milk cooling technicians. We also support our milk cooling customers with a 7-day call centre. For farmers wanting complete peace of mind and an annual visibility on their
milk cooling maintenance costs, Tru-Test also offers an Asset Care Plan which can be extended to include other Tru-Test on-farm cooling equipment. Talk to your local Tru-Test On-Farm Milk Cooling specialist today to book a Chiller Check Service or to find out more about our Asset Care Plans. TRU-TEST Dairyside | Issue 05 Spring 2017 | Page 5
Testing times give a valuable return APARIMA FARM LTD PARTNERSHIP Mike and Esmerelda Duffin, contract milkers Location: Stock numbers: Farm size: Shed:
Wairio, Southland 550 cows 221 ha Mike and Esmerelda Duffin with their milk saving Vat Manager Auto
56-bail rotary
Mike and Esmerelda Duffin like to keep up with technology. So, when Tru-Test came knocking, informing them they’d been selected, via MyFarm, to trial their new Vat Manager Auto, they happily said yes. “It sounded like a good product. Dairying is going into the future and we see we can’t stay behind. So, we look to be proactive in upgrading our systems to make the most of new technology,” Mike explains.
“If you’ve got an early warning system and an early detection system, then it’s just a really big benefit.” Esmerelda adds “We also wanted to keep track of how much milk was going into the vat. As well as have the peace of mind that the refrigeration actually does turn on when it needs to turn on, and that’s what the Vat Manager Auto is designed to do.”
us a percentage of the milk that is in the vat. That’s a benefit if we want to know before pick-up or if we want to report to Head Office to say that we’ve got say 10,000 litres in the vat. When the tanker picks up, it alerts you that the refrigeration is turned off as well. If there is any tampering with the vat, it also alerts you that the vat is open or there is someone there taking milk.” It has also saved their milk on a number of occasions. “We had a power failure and weren’t on farm. Following the alert, we were able to find out there’d been an accident, so the power was just cut off, meaning we didn’t need to get a technician out. We’ve also had an incident where the refrigeration unit failed. The Auto alerted us and we were able to get a technician from Tru-Test out to repair it without any loss of milk.” Before, they wouldn’t have realised they had an issue until it was likely too late. “It’s so easy for someone to miss that the milk temperature has gone up for some reason. Now we get an early warning so we can get on top of it really fast and really early.
Since the Vat Manager Auto has been installed, they have experienced a number of benefits.
For example, it monitors the milk inlet that’s going into the vat. One milking it alerted that the milk was going into the vat a little hot. It turned out the tap for the plate cooler had accidentally been turned off. We could see we had an issue, trace the source and fix it, before it affected the milk,” Mike recounts.
“It alerts you if there is a power failure or it alerts you if the refrigeration has failed to turn on for any reason. It sends you a text. To make sure that we know how much milk is in the vat, it also gives
Esmerelda continues “If we didn’t pick that up we would have had to dump that whole vat. At approximately 15,000 litres per day and around 1,500kgs of milk solids, if you times that by the
“We like that we can monitor this as well. We don’t have to be on farm. So, it’s just that double peace of mind,” Mike rounds off.
TRU-TEST Dairyside | Issue 05 Spring 2017 | Page 6
Mike and Esmerelda can review performance data and receive phone alerts wherever they are on or off farm.
current milk price, that would be a significant amount of money lost. So in actual fact, I think the system pays for itself really quickly because you are combatting even just one lost pick up.” They have found that it also helps with compliance. “The Auto sends an alert if the milk’s not cooling fast enough to the regulations and Fonterra’s standards. We know we’re compliant as we’ve never received a message.” She concludes, “the more information you have, the better for decision-making on farm. If you’ve got an early warning system and an early detection system, then it’s just a really big benefit. It saves you money and time at the end of the day.” Vat Manager Auto trials are continuing. Tru-Test looks forward to making it available for sale soon and can be pre-ordered.
Stay Cool – invest wisely Get sorted for the new milk cooling regulations. Sign up for a milk cooling assessment to see what you might need to do to be compliant
Beat the heat! Pre Cooling options for all requirements – water, ice, glycol
Know what’s going on with your milk. Stay informed 24/7 with a Vat Manager
assessment of your C omprehensive geration on-farm dairy refri imum itoring over a min C ontinuous mon data loggers of: with ings milk of four • vat temperature temperature • milk entry line ure r entry temperat • plate cooler wate rt including: A summary repo t parison of your plan • analysis and com the new NZCP1 milk performance with s dard stan ing cool r ns tailored to you • recommendatio s refrigeration need individual dairy with proceed • No obligation to s recommendation endations from R eport and recomm geration experts refri y dair experienced t investing in the righ are you ce Confiden ce. plian com places to achieve
Book Now!
Finance Terms Available
Finance Terms Available
Let’s talk. Call 0800 878 8378 Finance Terms available until 31 December 2017.
Like us to visit? We’re not far away from your place. Arthur Harrison
Shane Storey
(Dairy Automation only) Northland
(Milk Cooling & Tanks only) Northland
021 822 970
021 800 391
arthur.harrison@trutest.co.nz
shane.storey@trutest.co.nz
Dave Gray
Arthur Harrison
Central & North Waikato
Upper Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Coromandel, Franklin
027 291 6041 dave.gray@trutest.co.nz
021 822 970
Nick Callingham
Richard Koolen
arthur.harrison@trutest.co.nz
Lower Waikato, Lower Bay of Plenty, Upper ManawatuWanganui
Taranaki 027 471 3539 nick.callingham@trutest.co.nz
021 531 228 richard.koolen@trutest.co.nz
Tim Rix (Milk Cooling & Tanks only) Lower Manawatu-Wanganui, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington
Jamie Boswell
027 293 3403
Westland, Tasman
tim.rix@trutest.co.nz
021 534 373
Richard Koolen
jamie.boswell@trutest.co.nz
(Dairy Automation only) Lower Manawatu-Wanganui, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington 021 531 228 richard.koolen@trutest.co.nz
Trevor Green Canterbury, Marlborough 021 534 373 trevor.green@trutest.co.nz
Braiden Paterson Otago, Southland 021 829 338
3425TT01
braiden.paterson@trutest.co.nz
www.tru-test.com TRU-TEST Dairyside | Issue 05 Spring 2017 | Page 8
How are you tracking? Let’s talk. 0800 TRU-TEST (878 8378)