NZ Dairy by Waterford Press Limited

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AUTUMN 2014

Now you can open your storage bin roof from the comfort of your seat behind the wheel

An automatic sliding-roof option has been added to Interbloc’s storage bins – which relieves farmers of the chore of having to get out of their vehicle to open up their bin. The can now do it from the comfort of the their seat behind the wheel. Interbloc says nearly 50 sliding bin-roofs have been installed on bins around New Zealand. Interbloc advertisement - Page 19.

INSIDE

Cows take back seat to study - PAGE 6

‘Young gun’ blazes trail - PAGE 10

New from Plucks Engineering Before

Latest on farm effluent front - PAGES 18-27

Loyal breeders doubly awarded - PAGE 40

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Best of all the price is still the same!

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15/05/2014 3:01:31 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » James & Laresia Heke

Co-operation strong down on the farm Right from the start he got involved with industry training courses. “I attended any event Dairy New Zealand ran and picked up a lot of stuff. I was herd manager Co-operation or competition? In the management for Mary-Ann and the late Adolph Mathis. I learnt of human affairs, and business, it is a choice that a lot from Adolph just through daily discussion. determines processes and results. He pushed me to get involved with Dairy Push in Co-operation has elements of altruism, but South Waikato, and then the New Zealand Dairy can be frowned upon in business if it leads to Awards. I was Waikato runner-up in the farm domination by big companies at the expense of management award.” smaller businesses. Competition is despised by Heke reckons he’s a good listener. “I don’t some, yet is often the catalyst for advances in say a lot, but I absorb what’s relevant and ignore prosperity or group welfare. what’s not. It culminates in our being where we Dairy farming combines elements of both. are today: taking advice from people and annoying Globally, the farmer co-operative, Fonterra, is the neighbours by asking questions.” competitive with international dairy companies. All this co-operative activity and involvement At the individual farm level, dairy farmers in local discussion groups and Federated are often shining examples of co-operation. Farmers has led to him feeling he has a good Experienced farmers take young employees, show grasp of best practice. He now passes the them the tricks of the knowledge and cotrade, encourage them I don’t say a lot, but I operative attitude to his to do training, and farm worker, who he then watch them move absorb what’s relevant and hopes will step up to away to other farms become herd manager to put what they have ignore what’s not. of the 50:50 farm while learnt into practice as Heke takes on a lowersharemilkers or farm order sharemilking farm; eventually, the farm managers, and often, eventually, farm owners. James Heke’s farming career is a case in point. worker will be ready to do his own thing. Laresia has a full-time job in Rotorua, but is After eight years in forestry in Rotorua, he and his involved in the farm’s strategic planning and the wife, Laresia, decided it was time for a change. big decisions. “Farming was something I’d always wanted to James Heke describes the farm as “very nice” do. Laresia’s parents own a dairy farm. Now I love and says they are “lucky to be here”. it. I’m pretty passionate about all things dairy. I “To get to 50:50, we’ve had outside help – not can see myself involved for a long time.” family, but friends who are ex-dairy and want to He started farming in 2008. In 2009 and 2010 give back to the industry. We are very grateful and he was an assistant, and then did two years as it’s what I aspire to do. It has been hard work, a herd manager. This led to a contract position, and you have to earn the help. There are plenty of and then 50:50 sharemilking for Albie and Barbara Kuttel on a 94-effective-hectare farm, peak-milking people willing to lend a hand to a young person who is hard working and wants to achieve.” a herd of 285 friesian-cross cows.

Neil Grant

Rotorua farmer James Heke spent eight years in forestry before he and his wife, Laresia, decided it was time for a change. The couple (pictured with their daughter, Scarlett), started farming in 2008 and are now 50:50 sharemilkers.

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Now you can open your storage bin roof from the comfort of your seat behind the wheel

INSIDE

Cows take back seat to study - PAGE 6

‘Young gun’ blazes trail - PAGE 10

New from Plucks Engineering Before

Latest on farm effluent front - PAGES 18-27

Loyal breeders doubly awarded - PAGE 40

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

www.plucks.co.nz • enquiries@plucks.co.nz

After

Best of all the price is still the same!

Phone now to find a stockist and installer in your area.

0800 PLUCKS 0

www.plucks.co.nz • enquiries@plucks.co.nz Main South Road, Rakaia 7710, Mid Canterbury

15/05/2014 3:01:37 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Gary & Marie Hawken

Consent hook slows conversion Jo Bailey The multi-million-dollar conversion of Gary and Marie Hawken’s 600-hectare Kereone Farm on the South Taranaki coastline is behind schedule following some unexpected hold-ups. “We found out we were in a coastal-protection area and couldn’t pour foundations until we got resource consent after consultation with the Department of Conservation and local iwi,” says Gary Hawken. “We had hoped to finish the shed by February or March and buy a couple of hundred in-milk cows to get started, but had to flag that idea.” He says the family was unaware the property was in the coastal-protection area until they applied to build their new 60-bail rotary shed. “The shed is nearly two kilometres from the river and well over a kilometre from anyone’s boundary, so I wasn’t best pleased.” The Hawkens had already lost six weeks spent redoing their finances and debt structure after Open Country Dairy advised them a couple of months before Christmas that it didn’t have the capacity to buy the milk the farm would produce. “We had originally set our sights on selling to Open Country Dairy, so hadn’t factored buying 400,000 Fonterra shares into our first round of talks with the bank manager,” says Gary. “We got it sorted, but expect to see him popping in for lunch a bit more often now.” Construction of the new shed was close to halffinished when New Zealand Dairy spoke with Gary Hawken at the end of February. “The shed will have Waikato plant and most of the bells and whistles, such as the MilkHub monitoring system, and automatic cup-removers. I’d like to add milk meters in the future.” The Hawkens will also use a Milfos glycol milk cooling system that, in turn, heats the hot water and should “knock around $7000 off the power bill each year”. They hope to start milking 1000 cows in June or July. “We’ve already sourced around 750 first-cross friesians. I’m not panicking about finding the rest as there are quite a few herds coming out of the woodwork.” The Hawkens have kept aside around 180ha of their sizeable 580ha (effective) home block for grazing and growing supplements. “It will be our retirement block in the future but that’s a few years away yet,” Gary says. They were grazing 1000 cows for local dairy farmers, and aimed to have most of these gone by May so that they could re-water and grow grass.

Resource-consent problems relating to coastal-protection areas have held up Gary and Marie Hawken’s conversion on their 600-hectare farm in South Taranaki. The new shed (under construction, above) will have Waikato plant with a MilkHub monitoring system and automatic cup-removers. It took three years for the Hawkens to gain consent to take water from the nearby Waitotara River, which Gary says is “very tidal” and, therefore, takes some managing. “Some days we can take water for only four to six hours, then a couple of days later we could be getting 23 hours,” he says. “In high summer the high moon-tides push sea-water further up the river, with low water-flows leaving too much salty water behind.” A “special switch” on the irrigation system shuts everything down once a certain salt content is reached. “We will eventually build a big water storage pond so that we can pump out of that when the river is too salty, and replenish when everything gets back to normal.” The Hawkens have the provision to put in another two pivots.

We will eventually build a big water storage pond so we can pump out of that when the river is too salty, and replenish when everything gets back to normal. By the end of the conversion Gary Hawken hopes to have 320ha under irrigation – about 250ha on the dairy block and 70ha on the home block. The Hawkens’ daughter and son-in-law, Jenny and Dan Aplin, will work on the new dairy unit under

new manager Angela Haket, who has moved from the South Island. Gary and Marie also run their Hawken Contracting business from the farm; it employs around six staff, including their son, John. “We plan to keep the contracting operation going and eventually hand it over to John,” says Gary. “There’s a fair bit of juggling going on to make sure we still have the business at the end of the conversion.” With the huge amount of dairy development in the region over the last couple of decades, the conversion of Kereone Farm was inevitable, he says.. “Apart from the ocean we are virtually surrounded on all sides by dairy farms. Once this happens, the land value goes up, so you have to do something about it. It would have been too hard for me to pass this land onto the kids on a sheep-and-cattle income.”

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15/05/2014 3:01:42 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Scott & Aimee Charmley/Eugene & Sarah Cronin

New chum survives trial by fire

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Karen Phelps Scott Charmley reckons ignorance was bliss in his first season of sharemilking. “We inherited a big mastitis problem and had to strip 200 cows several times a week. There’s nothing more disheartening than when you get to the last row and you haven’t found the cows you need to find, so you have to do the same thing all over again at the next milking. “Of course, I didn’t know that wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, but now I realise how much work it was.” Charmley grew up on the farm but had no real interest in a dairy career until his parents, Bruce and Joy, offered him the opportunity when their sharemilkers gave notice. Scott worked for the sharemilkers for half a season before taking the helm as a lower-order sharemilker. He says this had positives and negatives: he didn’t have to wait long to get the first milk cheque, but it was trial by fire. “I picked the old man’s brains a fair bit and joined discussion groups,” he says. “Production wasn’t bad that first season, the pay-out was all right and I bumbled through.” That was in 2009. Charmley is just completing his his fourth season, and now has wife Aimee by his side. Last season they bought the herd of 220 jersey/jersey-cross cows and formed their own company. The herd is milked through a 20-a-side herringbone shed on the 78ha effective (92ha total) farm at Dannevirke. Through hard work, the somatic cell count average of 269,000 in the first season dropped to 52,000 the following season through culling and greater attention to detail and hygiene in the shed. After his crash course in mastitis, Charmley hasn’t had to strip the herd again and has an average somatic cell count this season so far of 62,000. The in-calf rate was also far from ideal when he took over – 8 per cent in the first season, 11% the following season. By inducing 4% of the herd, using CIDRs and getting cow body-condition right at calving, it has dropped to 4.5-5%, giving more days in milk through earlier calving. The couple continue to focus on mating and keeping pasture quality high. Recognising that clover fixes nitrogen in the soil and is a nutrient-

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They have their sights on a bigger job and are aiming for a 450 to 500-cow, 50:50 sharemilking position as their next step towards their goal of farm ownership. “Moving to dairy has been a good decision,” says Scott Charmley. “There’s a good pathway in sharemilking to land ownership. You’re working for yourself and I like that. I’ve certainly been lucky to have had the opportunity to go straight into sharemilking.”

Dannevirke sharemilkers Scott and Aimee Charmley with baby Cooper. high feed, they are targeting more clover growth by taking soil samples and assessing what nutrients the clover needs. They plate-meter each week to keep a control on cover and surpluses. The farm is supported by a 28-hectare run-off 2.5 kilometres away where they grow grass silage and run young stock. They also grow 4.5ha of turnips on farm and buy in 60 tonnes of palm

kernel. Aimee was working for the Greater Wellington Regional Council as a senior resource adviser until recently when the couple had their first child, Cooper, who is just weeks old. The plan is for Aimee to take a greater role in the farm business, book-keeping and taking care of the calves.

Working holiday a game changer for Limerick lad Karen Phelps Coming to New Zealand on a working holiday proved a life-changer for Irishman Eugene Cronin. He cites tax advantages, greater land availability and ease of borrowing compared to his homeland as decisive factors in moving to New Zealand to dairy farm. His Kiwi wife, Sarah, could also have had something to do with his decision, he adds. Cronin grew up on a 30-hectare dairy farm in Limerick, so farming was nothing new to him when he came to New Zealand nine years ago. Initially he was just looking to learn skills from New Zealand dairy farmers that he could take back home. He started working as a farm assistant on a 700-cow unit at Temuka, and was then second-incharge on a 1200-cow farm near Ashburton. After he met Sarah (a Cantabrian), the pair returned to Ireland for a year to decide which country they wanted to call home. They came back to New Zealand in 2008 to a farm-management position on a 500-cow unit at Temuka. Next they worked for Dairy Holdings for four years with a 950-cow herd at Te Pirita, on the Central Canterbury Plains, where they started lower-order sharemilking. They are now on a 209ha (effective) second-

year conversion farm a little further north “It’s easy to do well here because it’s a very good farm,” says Cronin. Pasture management has been a major focus and they are grazing in 12-hour breaks, leaving 1500-1600 residuals on 19-20 day rotations. They top only if they have to. Cronin says staff training has been important, as residuals are judged by eye. The couple have put systems in place to ensure correct grass management. The Cronins feed grain in the shed – 500 kilograms of crushed barley and 500kg of silage per cow each season. Silage is always viewed before buying to ensure it is top quality feed. They have also identified a few paddocks in need of re-grassing, and will do around 16ha this season. All of farm is irrigated, by three centrepivots and two turbo-rainers. There are three full-time staff. The Cronins say they are happy on the farm and are looking to expand their business through land purchase, probably non-dairy related, or a commercial property. They hope to eventually take on a second sharemilking position to help them towards farm ownership. At present they own 400 cows, which they lease out.

15/05/2014 3:01:48 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Hamish & Karla Hiestand

PHOTOS Left: Hamish and Karla Hiestand with his hot rods. Right: Karla Hiestand aboard one of the horses she breeds and trains. Above: The Hiestand boys settle for their own train.

Hiestands high on hot rods, horses Neil Grant Milking cows and building hot rods do not at first glance seem to have anything in common. But for Hamish Hiestand, there are parallels. He and his wife, Karla, have an equity partnership in a 96-hectare farm near Eltham, in Taranaki, where they milk 250 cows. The herd is largely medium-sized friesians with about 30 per cent ayrshire through it, based on 10 purebred ayrshires that were in the original herd Hamish Hiestand bought years ago. “We supply Open Country who want highprotein milk,” he says. “Ayrshires help here, and they keep the herd medium build. Heavy friesians do more damage to the pasture. Ayrshires provide ease of calving. “All-black-and-white herds are boring. If you mix it up, you get different patterns and colours, and more character.” A while back, the farm had 330 cows and was using a run off. Now, after installing a meal-feeding system in the shed, they have only 250 cows, and they are getting the same production. “Fewer cows, but they feed better, and we can concentrate better on calving,” says Hamish. “I didn’t want the system at first. But now they’re getting a shot of meal in the shed, and plenty of time to feed twice a day. “I don’t go for the expensive stuff. I want bang

I go to the group and listen to others and think ‘That’s a good idea’. So you take it home, and make it better and easier for yourself. Someone else has done the hard yards, and you end up saving money. Then, other people take it up from you. for my buck. The proof’s on the docket.” Supplementary feed is mainly pit silage, and the Hiestands make 300 big bales of hay. The 120 tonnes of meal bought in adds to that. To ensure he maintains quality cows in the herd, Hiestand nominates premium sires for the liquid semen he uses. He is an AB technician, so has the knowledge that enables him to choose what he wants. “It has paid off. If you get the breeding right, it ends up in the vat.” Because he farms pretty much by himself, local discussion groups are important to him. I’m stuck within my boundaries. But I go to the group and listen to others and think, ‘That’s a good idea.’ “So you take it home, and make it better and easier for yourself. Someone else has done the hard yards, and you end up saving money. Then, other people take it up from you.” And here is where the hot rods come in. Hamish Hiestand has been a member of,

and president of, the local hot rod club. He has had many cars, and has become a self-taught mechanic. His first job was in an engineering business, so he had those basics to start him off, but mechanics is a bit different. “The last car I built, I put a computer in it to run the fuel injector. The younger generation are whizz kids. I learnt from them. And it goes!

“I didn’t know anything about panel beating, but I met a guy in the group who came around and spent hours with me. Then he just dropped his tools and said, ‘There you are. Bring the tools back when you are finished.’ “You just meet these like-minded guys who say, ‘I can teach you to do this.’ It’s the same as with the discussion groups.” Karla assists with calf rearing and milking at times, along with “rearing two kids and looking after me.” She also drives a Mitsubishi dump truck for a contractor and breeds horses. One of her stars appeared at two Olympics. The Hiestands hope to, eventually, buy at least more equity, if not the whole farm. In the meantime: “We’re cruising along pretty good.”

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15/05/2014 3:01:53 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Andrew & Jenny McGiven

Farming takes a back seat Jo Bailey Andrew McGiven is taking a step back from the day-to-day management of his 140-hectare, 550cow dairy farm near Te Aroha to pursue off-farm interests. “Our farm manager is moving up to contract milking on June 1, so my plan is to get involved in some kind of strategic direction off the farm that could also provide a bit of financial benefit.” McGiven is interested in governance and directorships, and has joined the New Zealand Institute of Directors. “I’ve been the chair of the local school board for nearly six years and am also the chair of Federated Farmers at Te Aroha, which is a good starting point.” Employing a contract milker will also give him more time for his masters-degree studies at Waikato University. “I didn’t go to university when I was younger. It’s quite a bit of work, but I’m enjoying it.” Professional development has been an ongoing focus for him since he completed a National Diploma in Agribusiness Management Level 5 through AgITO in 2012. He decided to do the course after putting some of his own staff through courses at the training institute. “I thought the only way to see if it was worth spending the money on these courses was to do one myself. I also thought I should probably step up and set an example, as I didn’t have any qualifications of my own at the time.” He says he was amazed to discover how much he didn’t know after completing the course. “I’ve made a lot of improvements, especially when it comes to financial planning, budgeting,

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Waikato farmer Andrew McGiven has completed a post-graduate Diploma in Business Management at Waikato University and is now in his first year of the Masters programme. record keeping and benchmarking. It’s good to keep moving forward and improving, whether that’s in your business, career or personal life.” Since finishing the qualification, he has gone on to complete a post graduate Diploma in Business Management Studies at Waikato University where he is now in his first year of the We apply what you need, where you need it Ravtrak advanced guidance Proof of placement maps Application history stored online Experienced local operator Options for all terrain

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Masters programme. “Having some credentials behind my name is important as I take a new professional direction,” he says, Andrew and his wife, Jenny, have farmed their Waikato property since 2000. They leased the original 72ha block from Andrew’s grandfather’s family trust. It had been farmed by sharemilkers for 15 years before they took over and was really run down. The McGivens was to develop it and get it up and running again. They have bought two neighbouring blocks, built a 50-bail rotary cowshed, increased cow numbers

to 550, and lifted production from 690 to 1600 kilograms of milksolids per hectare. The McGivens’ ultimate goal is to buy the farm from the trust in the next two or three years. Their cows continue to be milked twice a day in two herds of about 270. Production is up two per cent on last season, with reasonable growth on the paddocks. In the last five or six years, they have replaced the farm’s large turnip crop with a fescue, chicory, plantain and clover blend that is more tolerant of the summer dry. They have also recently changed the fertiliser regime towards a zero urea programme which will minimise nitrate leaching. This move has been in anticipation of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan coming into effect. “We have used only two tonnes of calcium ammonium nitrate over the whole farm in the last year,” says Andrew. “We’re moving towards getting the farm biologically ticking over to eliminate urea use.” The most significant on-farm developments over the last couple of years has been the addition of a covered concrete feedpad and a covered standing pad with a woodchip floor. Both are connected to a lined effluent pond that was put in two years ago. Andrew McGiven says the feedpad has allowed them to feed out maize without damaging the paddocks, and has resulted in a dramatic reduction in feed wastage. The standing pad is used for calving and, if the McGivens don’t have a springer mob, the two herds spend alternate nights on the wood chips. “It gives them a break from the pumice and cement flooring on our other standing pads, and they can lie down on the wood chips.” As he prepares to hand over the day-to-day running of the farm, he is happy with his personal direction. “I’m keen to focus more on my studies and off-farm interests, which have taught me a lot and introduced me to a wide network of people from similar situations and backgrounds. I’d recommend both to anyone.”

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15/05/2014 3:01:59 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Rod & Gina Wellington

Good staff are the cornerstone of the 1300-cow operation managed by 50:50 sharemilkers Rod and Gina Wellington. The 532-hectare farm near Matamata is owned by Stuart and Beth Bay.

Unusual set-up helps growth Karen Phelps Rod and Gina Wellington admit they have been lucky to have had the opportunity to develop their business in a slightly unusual equity partnership. Th The Wellingtons are in their third season on Stuart and Beth Bay’s 352-hectare (effective) farm. They are 50:50 sharemilking a portion of the 1300-kiwicross herd; the remainder of the herd is owned by the Bays, and the Wellingtons are paid a management wage. “It gives us the opportunity to be able to get into this scale of milking,” says Rod Wellington. “This arrangement has allowed us to meet other people already involved in large-scale dairy operations and to tap into their network and knowledge.” He grew up in Matamata and spent his holidays helping out on farms owned by relatives. As soon as he left school, he started in a farmhand position for an uncle near Rotorua. He then moved into management positions in Matamata, Te Awamutu, Gordonton and Tokoroa. He and Gina met during this period, and the couple took on their first sharemilking position

It gives us the opportunity to be able to get into this scale of milking and grow our business. in Reporoa in 2000, milking 195 cows; that was followed by a 310-cow sharemilking job at Ngarua. They heard about the opportunity at the Bays’ farm through their farm consultant at Ngarua, who was also helping the Bays. “The Bays were looking at other opportunities rather than just a farm manager,” says Rod Wellington. “Because it’s such a large farm, it would be difficult for a sharemilker to be able to afford to take on a position here. So, we formed this arrangement with them to enable us to start buying the herd.” The farm is on Manawaru Road between Matamata and Te Arohal; it’s on flat land, with the Waihou River running along a border. It’s a small unit for the stocking rate, especially as all cows are wintered on farm, with only the yearlings going off to graze. Irrigation has

been pivotal – around 70% of the farm is under irrigation. The property is well set up with an 80-bail rotary shed with automatic drafting, Protrack, automatic cup-removers, a heat-detection camera, an in-shed feeding system, and a concrete feedpad capable of holding the entire herd. A new mixer wagon gives the opportunity for better mixing of feed on the system-four farm. A total of two tonnes of supplement (excluding grass) is fed to each cow annually. The Wellingtons say farming such a large farm has driven home to them the importance of staff: “Our viewpoint is that our people are our numberone asset,” says Rod. “We can’t run this job by ourselves; we have to look after our staff. If we do that right, everything else flows on from there.” The couple operate a seven-day-on, two-dayoff roster for most of the year. Every third week

staff have a three-day weekend. Staff retention has been good. “We’ve found that the three-day weekend gives staff something to look forward to,” says Rod. “It means they can plan to do something special.” Staff are also encouraged to do ITO courses (at the moment two are taking advantage of this), and good housing is provided (there are six houses on the farm). Rod Wellington says good communication is key. “You have to be able to create an atmosphere where staff can come to you with anything – workrelated or personal. We have to have an open-door policy.” Last season the farm produced 630,000 kilograms of milksolids; this season the aim is to reach 650,000kg. The Wellingtons have four children – Bre, 17, Kelsey, 15, Jade, 13 and Holly, 11 – who all enjoy helping on the farm. The arrangement with the Bays has worked so well the Wellingtons have signed up for another three years. They aim to buy more cows (they own around one third) or save to buy their own farm.

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15/05/2014 3:02:06 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Duncan & Kim Fraser

Duncan and Kim Fraser are 22% sharemilkers on this 172-hectare Feilding farm carrying 450 friesians. The farm is owned by Des and Marion Webb.

Benefits flow for award winners Sue Russell In a case of ‘third time lucky’ for Feilding dairying couple Duncan and Kim Fraser when they were judged this year’s Manawatu Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year. The couple are 22% sharemilkers on a 172-hectare (effective) farm carrying 450 friesian cows. The award not only recognised the couple’s commitment to striving for the best-possible

production from the low-cost system they apply to the farming operation. The business side of their farming was just as crucial to their success. “Achieving this award was always something I was keen to do, and one of the many benefits to flow is that it has really raised our profile,” says Kim Fraser. “I would recommend the experience of it to

• To page 43

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NZ Dairy 1-9.indd 8

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15/05/2014 3:02:15 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Simon Brough

Sharemilker chases the milk-grass equation Kelly Deeks Simon Brough is an advocate for once-a-day milking. He draws on research from Massey University’s demonstration farm and German trials to formulate a rule to establish the optimum time to switch from twice a day to once-a- day milking on the Walton farm where he is a 50:50 sharemilker. He says he aims to grow as much grass and produce as much milk per cow as he can. “My consideration throughout the year is to provide the right environment for ryegrass to flourish, given our farm conditions, and secondly to focus on per-cow performance. You can’t do much without the grass.” It’s a summer-dry farm, and from December

If you get rid of the percentage of the herd that isn’t suited to once a day milking, you have a herd that is more genetically suited to it. 15 when it gets to the point the cows are consuming grass at the same rate it is growing, he switches from twice-a-day to once-a-day milking. His supposition is that, from then on, he will be growing a bit less grass and the cows will be eating slightly less. “If cows that aren’t suited to once-a-day milking happen to bottom out a bit in the vat, you can put more condition on them, milk them for longer, and capture that production at the

While Duncan and Kim Fraser are committed to dairying and their cows, they stress the importance of maintaining a work/life balance.

end of the season. Your cows will stay in better condition because they haven’t had to walk to the cowshed, and they haven’t had to experience heat stress. “You can capture that energy expelled and turn it into more production. You take that stress away from the cows, avoid wear and tear on your races making your farm better, and just as importantly, your staff manage to enjoy some of the summer.” At the last discussion group, Brough says half the farmers were milking twice a day and half were milking once a day, and there was no difference in production per cow between the two groups. From Massey demonstration farm trials and research, Brough has gleaned he can do as well or better milking once a day. “If you get rid of the percentage of the herd that isn’t suited to once a day milking, you have a herd that is more genetically suited to it,” he says. “If you concentrate on selecting cows for once a day milking, you can make long strides.” He believes it should be possible to develop a strain of jerseys and friesians that can comfortably milk once a day. He has also looked into German research, saying Germany has done significant once a day trial work. “They milk holstein friesian high input cows, and they utilise once a day milking when the feed costs get too high,” he says. “It gave me a lot more confidence to see that high input, high

volume friesian cows are utilising once a day milking.” Last summer’s drought conditions saw him milking on for longer than usual, and he achieved an increase in production from the previous season with 148,000kgs milksolids from 375 cows. The cows were in very good condition and he staggered putting them on to once a day based on their condition. This season he is on target to produce 155,000kgs milksolids.

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‘Just getting things right’ the key • From page 42 anyone hoping to achieve long-term success in their business.” Duncan, who describes himself as fairly easygoing, agreed to enter the awards the first year having secured a friend’s agreement to ‘bake him a cake’. The icing on that cake is the package of prizes, valued at more than $17,000, that the couple brought home this year. In preparing for the two-hour presentation before the judging panel the very first year they entered, the couple realised they had to find out more about their business and develop a strategy or pathway that would carry them through their farming endeavours. Key to this was their decision to develop their business through investments and to map out their steps to growth in measured ways. This season’s production goal is 200,000 kilograms of milk solids, an increase of 14,000kg on the previous season. They have achieved this through tweaking farm and cow management. They say this season’s production will become a new benchmark for the farm. “Just getting things right, like concentrating on getting the calving season more compact, has positively affected our production,” Duncan says. He milks the herd through a “nothing fancy”, 36-bail rotary and has managed to maintain a very good level of cow condition by supplementing grass with 180 tonnes of maize fed out when the cows needed it. The rain that has started to fall is welcome and timely, he says. “I hope that now we have had some good rainfall that it continues for some time because I can already see the effect of what we have had on the pasture.” The farm’s owners, Des and Marion Webb, have been 100% supportive of the aspiring

NZ Dairy 1-9.indd 9

Just getting things right, like concentrating on getting the calving season more compact, has positively affected our production. couple’s determination and commitment to using the best possible practices on the property. The Frasers say this has been a significant factor in their success. However, they remain mindful of the importance of work/life balance. “It’s really important to have interests off the farm,” says Kim. Duncan enjoys fishing and hunting while Kim is interested in tramping (which fits in well with doing volunteer work for the Department of Conservation checking stoat lines), photography and Toastmasters. Irrigation operates over 60% of the farm’s area – a combination of centre pivot, k-kine and Southern Cross systems. Milking is a once-a-day process in the autumn, and Duncan says this practice is “backed up by real science”. The Frasers say they now intend to “take a step toward herd ownership, maybe equity or farm leasing or 50:50 sharemilking”. “There is a lot to weigh up with each of these possible ways forward,” says Duncan. Increasing staffing by one full-time labour unit is part of the plan to rationalise the amount of hands-on, day in-day out work, and help give everyone working on the farm a better work/life balance..

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15/05/2014 3:02:22 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Simon Washer

10 |

Young Kelly Deeks

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Simon Washer has bought his first farm (at Manaia in South Taranaki) and set up his own online stockfeed business, farmfeed.co.nz, at just 26 years of age.

Simon Washer is thankful for the influences in his life that have led him to dairy-farming success. At just 26 years of age, he has bought his first farm, in South Taranaki. If that wasn’t enough to celebrate, he has also just set up his own on-line stockfeed business, which he says is set to become the quickest, simplest, cheapest, and most user-friendly way of buying stockfeed in New Zealand. farmfeed.co.nz is the result of a chance encounter Washer had when he was farming in Canterbury about three years ago. “We had just bought $100,000 worth of silage, and the day we put it in the bunker, our neighbour was mowing half his farm as he was converting it. We asked what he was doing with the feed and he said he had sold it. We worked out that if we had known that feed was for sale, we could have pulled it over the fence and saved about $30,000.” This lost opportunity sparked an idea. Washer decided the answer could be an on-line hub where farmers could see all the feed available around New Zealand and put offers in for how much they would be prepared to pay for it. To get an edge on the competition, such as Trade Me, all feed listed on farmfeed.co.nz is quality-controlled through a partnership with Hill Laboratories, which does certified testing system on listings for dry matter, metabolisable energy, crude protein, and digestibility of dry matter. The website requires every listing to be tested for dry matter at least, with the other values optional. The aim is to keep things as simple as possible. Once sellers have entered a listing, they are sent a test-kit and instructions on how to take a sample of their feed, and a courier bag to return

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15/05/2014 3:09:03 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Simon Washer/Shane & Jacque Ashley

| 11

gun blazes career trail I’ve got a lot of respect for the way he does business. He puts the hammer down, gets the job done, and creates his own opportunities. the sample to Hill Laboratories. The results are then added to the listing and it goes live. To keep the costs as low as possible, buyers can register free and purchase off the website, and sellers are not charged commission, listing fees or photo fees. All a seller has to pay for is the laboratory tests, which come in at $40 for a dry-matter test and $65 for the full feed-value test. There is also an option for buyers to request a quote for freight from preferred transporters. “Farmers and contractors are busy people,” Washer says. “Every hour counts on the land, so farmfeed.co.nz has been developed to provide a simple, quick, user-friendly, one-stop shop for people to advertise and purchase farm-feed supplements nationwide in a fair market-rate environment.” Developing the website and the new business may have kept Washer busy for the past three years, but he has still found time to develop his dairy farming business. He has bought an 87-hectare dairy farm with an adjoining 45ha lease block at Manaia, near Hawera, where he will start milking 420 cows on July 20. He has been lower-order sharemilking on his father, Mark Washer’s Manaia farm for the past

two seasons. He felt he was ready to take the next step and go 50:50 sharemilking on another farm, and started talking to a good friend and neighbour who had just bought his first farm after eight years of sharemilking. “I’ve got a lot of respect for the way he does business,” says Simon Washer. “He puts the hammer down, gets the job done, and creates his own opportunities. He said that if I was going to go 50:50, why not stretch myself a bit further and buy my own place.” With support from his accountant Marilyn Davies and his local ANZ bank manager, Washer spent hours doing his sums and worked out that it was possible. Luckily he had some money left over to fill the farm with cows. Another relationship Washer is thankful for is with livestock manager Grant Weir. With a budget of $2200 per cow, Weir helped Washer buy some quality cows worth about $2500 to make up the nucleus of a herd he can breed from. They made up the numbers with some $1500 cows, and came in under budget. Washer will be supported on his new farm by partner Stacey Weir, whom he met last year after winning the 2013 Fieldays Rural Bachelor of the Year competition.

Riding high: Simon Washer has made an enterprising start to making his way in the world of dairy farming.

Shed size drives attention to per cow production Kelly Deeks Waikato dairy farmers Shane and Jacque Ashley have been working hard on their per cow production, and they are achieving some excellent results – in the realm of 650 kilograms of milksolids. The Ashleys – who milk 630 cows on their own 236 hectares (227ha effective) at Waharoa, near Matamata – expanded the farm by 51ha in 2005, then by another 74ha in 2008. They have a 40-bail rotary shed, which was on the property when they bought the first 112ha in 2001. They are implementing an input system 3, and, because of the size of their shed, they are concentrating on achieving the best possible per cow production. “The shed is a bit undersized for the area now,” Shane Ashley says. “So we’ve pushed per cow production rather than increase the size of the herd. “To achieve 400,000kg milksolids on average, we can milk 800 cows and do 500kg milksolids per cow, or we can milk 630 cows, which seems to be our happy number, and try to achieve 630kg to 650kg milksolids per cow.” The farm is on track to achieve the high end of its target this season, as long as the weather plays ball. The Ashleys grow 50ha to 55ha of maize on the

We’ve all got iphones which we can use on the Protrack system within 2km of the shed. If we see a lame cow when we’re out on the bike, we can plug in its number and she’ll be waiting to have her feet checked at the end of milking. farm every year, which yields about 1200 tonnes. They also bring in a 700 tonnes of palm kernel, which is fed to the cows throughout the milking season. “To get 600kg of milksolids out of the cows, we have to get 7.5 tonnes of dry matter down their throats,” says Shane. “That’s where the maize and palm kernel comes in. We think of palm kernel as a concentrate rather than as a supplement. “A cow can eat about 2kg of dry matter of grass in an hour; we feed 4kg of palm kernel and they gobble it up in about half an hour.” The Ashleys are now installing a walkover weighing system into the dairy shed to complement the Protrack herd-management system they put in last November. “We had heard such good things about Protrack, such as lessening the pressure on the staff as they don’t have to worry about drafting something out,” Shane says.

“We’ve all got iphones, which we can use on the Protrack system within two kilometres of the shed. If we see a lame cow when we’re out on the bike, we can plug in its number and she’ll be waiting to have her feet checked at the end

of milking. “We’re loving Protrack, and we and the staff are really looking forward to using the walk-over weigher as well.” Until now, the cows have been weighed periodically. They are split into two herds, with the jerseys and heifers in one, and the friesians in the other. The average weight in the friesian herd is 559kg, and the jerseys and heifers 475kg. Ashley says the jerseys and heifers do very good production. Herd-test results have the friesians coming in at 3.1 and the jerseys at 2.8.

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15/05/2014 3:09:09 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Kieran Clough

12 |

Run-off block a catalyst for growth Kelly Deeks

Kieran Clough (above) is in his fifth season on his parents’ Eltham dairy farm (below). He started on wages as a farm assistant, moved up to farm manager, and last season became a lower-order sharemilker.

The purchase of a 43-hectare (effective) runoff block last season has allowed lower-order sharemilker Kieran Clough to run more young stock and grow more supplements to support his parents’ dairy farm, where he is milking. Clough is now in his fifth season on the 125ha (effective) property owned by Stephen and Deborah Clough at Eltham, in Taranaki. He started on wages as a farm assistant. By the end of his first season, a succession plan was in place and he bought 100 of the 415-cow herd. In 2011-12 he stepped up to farm manager, and last season, to lower-order sharemilking. Now, with full control of the farm’s expenses as well as its production, the purchase of the

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run-off has allowed him to cut his feed budget – an additional 5.5ha of maize is grown on the run-off to complement the 5.5ha grown on the dairy farm. The run-off will also winter 100 cows this year; 120 will stay at home and the remainder will go to a nearby grazing block for a 35-day stint. Clough is now bringing all his young stock through. He wants the heifers at their target liveweight when they come into the herd. “They will come into the herd the same size as a normal mixed age cow. The idea is they will do just as much production as the rest of the cows.” The Clough farm had a tough time in the 201213 summer drought, going to once-a-day milking at the end of February, drying off 100 cows in the middle and at the end of March, but milking the remainder through to June 8. However, production still reached 157,000 kilograms of milksolids, just 5000kg down from the previous year. This season he is targeting 192,000kgs milksolids. He has been working on soil fertility and has spent a bit of capital on fertiliser to lift Olsen P levels. Five years ago, the farm was growing an average of 14 tonnes of dry matter per hectare, and this season it will grow 18 tonnes, he says. No on-farm development has been done this season, but the house on the run-off block has been renovated for his parents to move into. This season Clough entered the Sharemilker of the Year competition for the first time, and completed a round of judging in February. While he didn’t make the top six, he says he gained valuable feedback and insight into the competition. “I did well in the pasture management side, but I spent too long doing the farm tour and didn’t have enough time for my presentation.” He intends to enter again next year and put more focus on the human-resources and health-andsafety aspects of his business. Competition judges were impressed with his production figures, particularly for a challenging farm. Clough says that for a South Taranaki farm, it is fairly summer safe – about a quarter is swampy land, but it gets wet and cold in the colder months. The flat to rolling contour, with steeper sidelings, is about 80% mowable.

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NZ Dairy 10-17.indd 12

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15/05/2014 3:09:18 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Greg & Carolyn Alexander

| 13

Farm and family a fine balance Karen Phelps Greg and Carolyn Alexander have been happy to run a modestly sized dairy operation, preferring to put family at the forefront of their business model. “We look at the farm as a base for family life and work around this,” says Greg Alexander. “We decided that 325 cows was a good number for us to milk. We thought about getting bigger, but decided this size farm was easier to manage by ourselves and gave us freedom to work things around family life.” After both growing up on farms in Taranaki, the couple entered the dairy industry in their 30s. They had spent 15 years in other careers – Greg as a diesel mechanic and Carolyn as a nurse. They started to think about a farming career when Greg’s parents, Des and Nyla, offered them the opportunity to work as sharemilkers on the family farm at Inglewood. They went straight into 29% sharemilking as was often happened in those days. Greg largely ran the farm that first year with the help of one staff member, while Carolyn continued nursing as they considered whether or not they really wanted to make a permanent career shift to dairying. When Carolyn became pregnant with their first child that year, they opted for dairying because they saw a farm as a great place to bring up a family. The couple began milking 180 jersey cows on 73 hectares. Four years later they started the process of buying the herd, and a few years after that, they were 50:50 sharemilking. They subsequently bought the farm and, with expansion in mind, approached a neighbour about selling. “He said his farm was always for sale, it was just a matter of what price we wanted to pay,” says Greg. They worked out a deal, and which expanded the Alexander farm to its present size of 120ha and milking 325 cows. The herd is milked through a 40-bail rotary shed with automatic cup-removers and teat sprayers. A more recent addition has been a meal feeder, and the Alexanders are in their first season of feeding more intensively. “We get about three metres of rain a year here,” says Greg. “Pugging is a real problem in spring. “This year we’ve gone to high-analysis meal and we’re feeding two kilograms a day from mid-August to mid-May. Previously we used lower-energy feed, and only to fill in the gaps in the feed wedge.” He says improvements have been immediate and noticeable. As soon as they introduced the higher-energy feed, cows started milking straight away and empty rates have halved from 12-13% to 7% this season.

Greg and Carolyn Alexander (bottom right) farm 120 hectares and milk 325 jersey cows at Inglewood.

Jerseys suit the type of country we’re on. They are easier to handle and calve. The use of CRV Ambreed EstroTect heat detection patches, which are stuck to cows’ tails to indicate when they have been ridden, has also contributed to the improved empty rates. This practice has enabled the Alexanders to be more accurate in determining when a cow is in heat. The couple are predicting they will achieve 130,000 kilograms of milksolids this season, largely thanks to a dry March, compared with their usual 116,000kg on a lower-input system. They think they could reach 144,000kg if weather conditions are right.

Greg’s father, Des, was a dedicated jersey breeder and a director of Livestock improvement Corporation. Greg and Carolyn have inherited the Greenbrae Jerseys stud. Around 100 of the herd is registered and the couple are members of the North Taranaki Jersey Club. They take part in the on-farm show each year. “Jerseys suit the type of country we’re on,” says Greg. “They’re a lighter animal, which is easier for us to work with on our own as we haven’t employed full-time staff. They are easier to handle and calve.” This year the Alexanders, who are both very actively involved in the farm, are looking to take a step back from the business and employ their first full-time staff member. With their kids grown up – Scott, 20, is studying at university, and Nicole, 17, is just finishing high school – the couple are free to start to enjoy the rewards of their hard work.

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For Further Information Phone Billy at: Ken G. Moratti Ltd • 7 Carrington Street, Inglewood Ph: (06) 756 8066 Mob: 0274 434 858 A/H: (06) 756 8804

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Alex & Narda Harvey

Northland farmers Alex and Narda Harvey have built a covered feedpad on their farm at Te Kopuru.

Big dry proves big headache Jo Bailey Northland dairy farmer Alex Harvey said the extreme drought in the west coast area of Kaipara was “not pretty”, when NZ Dairy chatted to him in early March. “We’ve had a really dry summer on top of a dry winter and spring. Our 2013 rainfall was almost a third less than the average, and there has been only 25ml of rain since December.” Alex had already culled two lots of cattle and was considering getting rid of more. “There’s not much we can do about it. It’s what we live with here.” Despite the tough conditions, Alex and wife Narda’s Crossroads Holstein Friesian Stud at Te Kopuru is consistently one of the highest producing dairy operations in Northland. The Harveys have won the Nutritech Performance Award for the region for the last six years, and have been placed for five of the last six years in the national NZHFA Merial Ancare Progeny competition for type and production. “It’s a unique competition, so the results are really satisfying.” Alex Harvey says the couple are starting to

“push the boundaries” of their operation with the construction of a large covered feedpad under way, to enable them to “feed the cows better”. “Aztec Building has just finished putting the roof on. It will make a real difference to our operation.” This season they have grown three paddocks of sorghum, which grows really well in the hot, humid weather in Northland, he says. “It gives us options because we can greenfeed it, bale it or break-feed it. “Until last year we had never used palm kernel, but this season we introduced it early, as soon as we saw it was going dry, to help conserve our silage.” The Harveys have been 50:50 split-calving for about 14 years. The new feedpad will see them move towards 80:20 to the autumn so that their winter-calving cows are dry through the peak of summer. Both calvings have six-week matings – four weeks of AI and two weeks with the bulls on the ground with typically an 80 to 85% six-week in-calf rate. Any cows that are empty after two matings are culled. Alex and Narda bought the original 100-hectare part of the home farm from Alex’s parents, Stan

and the late Doreen, in 1989. The couple have added more land and now peak-milk around 270 cows that average 496 kilograms of milksolids at 96% protein-to-fat ratio on a 150ha (effective) milking platform alongside their contract milker, son Lloyd, aged 30, who was a diesel mechanic before he returned to the farm four years ago. They also own a 100ha run-off block, seven kilometres from the home farm, for wintering cows, raising young stock and growing supplements. “The run-off is a work in progress as it was very run down and had a lot of gorse on it when we bought it. It is still only half effective at most,” says Alex. Crossroads Stud was started in 1975, with the original pure friesian herd, dating back to around 1920, coming from Alex’s mother’s parents. Today the stud’s pedigree herd is made up of a mixture of New Zealand and international genetics, mainly from World Wide Sires, Semex and CRV.

“Our average classification is about GP84 with 45% VG or better, well ahead of the industry average, which means we can’t always source the type of bulls we need in New Zealand to progress our herd. We use a lot of American and Canadian bulls which work well for us.” Alex has been on the Holstein Friesian New Zealand council for four years and is the local branch chairperson. He is also a certified TOP (Traits Other than Production) inspector and classifier; chairperson of the breed services committee, and a member of the sire-proving and classification committees. “I’ve gained a lot of confidence in these roles and am now much more comfortable when it comes to chairing meetings and public speaking.” He intends to continue with the Crossroads breeding policy of good type and high production, with a goal of each cow producing 600kg milsolids a year. “We are focused on fine-tuning areas and identifying where other increases can be made.”

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Proud to support Alex Harvey

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15/05/2014 3:09:25 p.m.

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15/05/2014 3:09:37 p.m.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Troy & Hayley Gillett/Tracey & Jimmy Sanderson

Better prepared for the big dry We went backwards a long way with the drought. This year we were drier than last year, but we’re still able to play catch-up as we’re better prepared

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Kelly Deeks Waitoriki dairy farmer Troy Gillett is playing catchup this year. Weather conditions are close to what he experienced during last year’s drought, but he is better prepared and not suffering the same losses. Gillett bought the 100-hectare, 220-cow family farm four years ago, then added to the property a year later with a neighbouring block, increasing the land area to 130ha and cow numbers to 264. He now grazes all his young stock on farm. He worked on the farm for four years before buying it; he was a farmhand for a couple of years, a 21% sharemilker for a year, and a 50:50 sharemilker for a year before he and his wife, Hayley, bought the property. “I was running the farm the way I wanted it run for a couple of years before we bought it,” says Troy. “My main goal was to push production, but that worked against me in the end because I had to pay more for the farm.” He managed to beat his father’s best per-cow production of 311 kilograms of milksolids with an average of 372kg. He attributes his production gains to the introduction of palm kernel to fill the feed gaps. He continues to do this, bringing in about 200 tonnes of palm kernel each year. He also feeds out hay and silage, which is made on farm. However, bought-in feed proved the profit-killer during the summer-drought conditions of last season: “We bought in $30,000 of feed, but we also lost $30,000 worth of production. We went backwards a long way with the drought. “This year we were drier than last year, but we’re still able to play catch-up as we’re better prepared. We planned for the worst and contracted a lot more

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Taranaki farmer Troy Gillett – pictured here with wife Hayley and their three children, aged three, seven and nine – says buying in feed to cover for last season’s drought conditions was a profit killer. palm kernel, but we ended up feeding about the same as we did last year.” This year Gilletts’ production target is 108,000kg milksolids, and they are on target to achieve that. They have increased per cow production to 410kg milksolids per cow. They have also just bought a new effluent irrigating system. Troy Gillett says he wanted to future-proof the farm because he foresees all Taranaki farmers probably having to install dualpurpose effluent systems, including ponds and irrigators. “We’ve got the ponds, so I’ve bought this irrigating system and we’re going to irrigate in the

Bought-in feed proved the profit-killer during the summer drought. paddocks below the dairy shed, as they’re close to the shed and flat.” He intends to call on friends and family contacts to help install it. With an engineer brother, an electrician father-in-law, and a jack-of-all-trades father, he says he is able to save a lot on hiring such expertise as they are always happy to help.

Stock lease deal helps Kelly Deeks Lower-order sharemilkers Tracey and Jimmy Sanderson are increasing their equity through a stock-lease deal worked out with farm-owner Bill Johnston. The Sandersons bought about 50 cows two years ago, which came into the herd last season. Now the Sandersons will own 70 cows, which are leased back to the farm for weaner calves in lieu of payment. The couple are also buying calves when they can, with the long-term aim of eventually acquiring enough cows to progress to 50:50 sharemilking. The Sandersons have been lower-order sharemilking on Johnston’s Manaia farm in South Taranaki for seven years. They milked 500 cows until the farm was expanded through the acquisition of a 50-hectare block across the road two seasons ago. They now milk 650 cows. Then last season, Johnston took on a 40ha lease-block in the spring; maize is grown on half

of this land, and the Sandersons are milking off the other half. They now have a total milking platform of 240ha. Maize is also grown on the farm for supplementary feed, with surplus grass fed out as silage. Some of the rougher areas of the farm are shut up to get a cut or two of hay, normally about 120 bales. Turnips are grown for summer feed, and play a major part. An in-shed feeeding system was installed ion the farm’s 60-bail rotary dairy shed the same year the Sandersons came. The system is used to feed mainly palm kernel and molasses, with some extras added in depending on what is happening with the grass. Jimmy Sanderson says the in-shed feeding system is good because there is not a lot of work involved, and cow flow is good coming into the shed. However, the cows do try to duck back in to their bails after milking. “It should be a one-person shed, but you really need one and half people, with someone on the

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NZ Dairy 10-17.indd 16

Hughson & Associates are proud to support Tracey & Ian Sanderson

15/05/2014 3:09:43 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Warwick & Adrienne Wilcock

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Walton couple Warwick and Adrienne Wilcock with their finished shelter (above left) and the Herd Home© under construction (right).

‘Fickle’ weather behind shelter Sue Russell Walton dairy farmers Warwick and Adrienne Wilcock have worked hard during the last two decades developing and expanding their farming operation. Two years before the couple were married, Warwick began his farming career, sharemilking a jersey herd of 230. That hard work, along with opportunities to lease family land and buy as they could afford, has brought the Wilcocks to a solid situation. “Warwick’s grandfather bought the original 100 acres in 1931, and Warwick’s parents and we have been able to buy neighbouring blocks over the years,” says Adrienne Wilcock. The current milking platform of 146 effective hectares is farmed in a combined ownership and lease structure with Warwick’s parents. The Wilcocks remain open to the possibility

of expanding herd numbers, but at the moment they prefer to concentrate on overall performance without moving into any systems demanding higher input. The decision to build a Herd Home© was driven by the “more fickle” weather the farm has experienced, especially in the past two years. It started with the very wet spring of 2012, and this has been followed by dry spells extending far longer than what is considered normal for the Walton district. “The Herd Home© gives us the opportunity to use supplements such as maize silage, grown on the support unit, more efficiently,” Adrienne Wilcock says. Installation of the Herd Home©, which has the capacity to accommodate 250 cows, began with stripping the top-soil last October in preparation for concreting. The capacity under the grating was made deeper to provide additional storage of cowshed effluent

pair increase equity other side moving the cows on,” he says. Particularly last summer, when the drought left the Sandersons with not a lot of palm kernel, and certainly no grass. However, the couple were still able to milk until May, with the cows drying themselves down to 1.1 kilogram of milksolids a day; production pretty much flat-lined from there. They fell short of the 2012-13 production target of 300,000kg milksolids by 39,000kg.

This year has been a lot better, says Sanderson “It got dry again, and was pretty harsh, almost like last year but very quick,” he says. “During February we almost got to the stage of a similar looking farm as last year. We put in a bit more palm kernel this year, and grew an extra two paddocks of turnips, which lasted through until April. “Because we had the lease-block on board, we had a lot of silage from that. We should have got more, but it was so dry.”

It got dry again and was pretty harsh, almost like last year but very quick. During February we almost got to the stage of a similar looking farm as last year. We put in a bit more palm kernel this year, and grew an extra two paddocks of turnips which lasted through until April. Because we had the lease block on board we had a lot of silage from that.

when wet soil conditions are not suitable for land application. Another bonus of the design is that it eliminates the need for daily clean-out because the dung and urine fall through the grating with the stored effluent then spread on the paddocks once or twice a year. They chose a top-of-the-range model, which comes with a hefty capital investment attached. They are convinced that the cost is justified given the multitude of benefits the space will provide, but remain undecided as to whether they will build a second shelter. “We prefer to maximise the use of one for now, because about 160 cows are wintered at the runoff, reducing the need for a second home during winter,” says Adrienne. While the Herd Home© is a relatively new, the

Wilcocks already sense that the cows like being in it and seem more relaxed. When it comes to environmental responsibilities, Warwick Wilcock thinks the public’s often misguided perception that farmers are not doing their bit on the ‘green’ front is unfortunate. “The perception is frustrating because farmers generally do an amazing amount of work enhancing their properties from an environmental perspective with projects such as fencing rivers and native plantings.” He says they will seek to improve the farm’s sustainability and compliance to future-proof it. “Our son, Rhys, is the fourth generation working on this land and it is something we take very seriously – to ensure it operates in sustainable ways into the future.”

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15/05/2014 3:09:47 p.m.

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NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » Holmes family

Multiple benefits flow from n Jo Bailey

The capacity of this 2.2-million-litre Permastore tank provides plenty of flexibility for the Holmeses on their farm near Matamata.

Permastore tank sizes range in capacity from 50,000 litres to 20 million litres. They are resistant to corrosion and do not require liners or cathodic protection.

The installation of a new effluent system has resulted in multiple benefits for the Holmes family’s dairy farm near Matamata. The system is the first of its type to be used in New Zealand and has operated on the farm since December 2012. Michael Holmes, who farms the 205-hectare (effective) property in partnership with his brother, Bryan, and parents, Terry and Carol, says effluent management is now “a whole lot easier” as well as being more efficient and cost effective. “As soon as a paddock is grazed, we can put the irrigators on, knowing there is plenty of liquid to do the whole area,” he says. “Our old system took much longer.” The effluent system, installed by Tanks and Silos New Zealand, includes a 2.2 million-litre Permastore steel above-ground storage tank with concrete floor; and a 30-metre x 5m stone trap, with a 5m x 5m pumping station at the end. “Effluent from the milking shed and the feedpad is captured by the stone trap and can be pumped either straight into the tank, or down the farm to the irrigators,” says Michael Holmes. “The huge capacity of the tank gives us plenty of flexibility, particularly if it’s wet or if someone is on holiday and we don’t want to irrigate.” Tanks and Silos NZ supplies and installs the Permastore tanks in New Zealand. The tanks are made in the United Kingdom. The tanks range from 50,000 litres to 20 million litres in capacity. They are resistant to corrosion, do not require liners or cathodic protection, and improved safety around the containment area. Paul Lowe, of Lowe Builders, who built the Holmes’ fully automated, 54-bail rotary cowshed around six years ago, installed the new effluent system. He is a 50 per cent shareholder in Tanks and Silos NZ. Two years ago he also helped Michael and Bryan Holmes to build a new feedpad on the property. This has been another hit with the Holmes family. “It gets quite wet here in winter, so we’ve always struggled to get food to the cows without making a mess in the paddock,” says Michael. “The feedpad has taken this problem away. We can now fully feed in wet weather instead of underfeeding on some days.” The labour savings have also been “huge” now that they don’t have to drive to the back of the farm every day to feed out, he says.

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15/05/2014 3:19:06 p.m.

NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » Holmes Family

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new system “We feed mainly maize silage on the pad, with a minute amount of palm kernel and grass silage. The cows are way more relaxed and chilled out now and any issues with sore feet have disappeared.” With eight water troughs on the pad, the family can also keep a good eye on how much the cows are drinking, he says. “We struggle with water supply at the back of the farm, but on hot days, we can bring the cows up to the pad early and know they’re getting plenty of water. It saves our races too.” The brothers were at primary school when the family moved to the farm, on the Waharoa straight between Waharoa and Matamata. When they left school Terry encouraged the boys to learn a trade off the farm before deciding whether or not they wanted to go dairying. Michael become a qualified joiner and builder, and returned to the farm 13 years ago. Bryan, a qualified mechanic is in his seventh season back home. They are assisted on the property by two fulltime staff.

“Dad helps with the run-offs and managing young stock, but isn’t really involved with the day-to-day running of the farm these days,” says Michael. “Mum is still a little bit involved with the office side of things.” Development of the farm and expansion of the herd has been ongoing over the last decade. The acquisition of two neighbouring blocks of land saw cow numbers climb first to 500, then to the current herd size of 700 mainly friesian and friesian-cross cows. Production is on target for 335,000 kilograms of milksolids this season, around 12% up on the 2012-13 year. “It has been another hard season with drought, but putting more food into the cows has helped maintain production.” He says all the major development work on the farm is now complete. “It’s never easy joining farms together, but with the shed, irrigation, effluent system and feedpad up and running, we’re pretty much on top of it – apart from a calf -shed we plan to build this year.”

Brothers Michael and Bryan Holmes, in partnership with their parents, Terry and Carol Holmes, milk 700 mainly friesian and friesian-cross cows on 205 hectares near Matamata.

Effluent from the milking shed and feedpad is captured by the stone trap and can be pumped either straight into the tank, or down the farm to the irrigators. The huge capacity of the tank gives us plenty of flexibility, particularly if it’s wet or if someone is on holiday and we don’t want to irrigate.

Feed Pads

At Paul Lowe builders, building proper feed pads suited to your requirements is also what we do M: 0274 130 072 Paul Lowe M: 021 511 681 Dane Lowe P: 07 88 09 053 www.paullowebuilders.co.nz

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NZ Dairy 18-25.indd 19

• Interior dimensions: 4.2m wide x 9.6m deep x 1.2m high = 48m3 • 150mm thick concrete pad • Optional Interbloc cover system • Buy kitset or we install • *From $4,790.00 excluding freight and gst’ terms and conditions apply • Ask about our other feed storage solutions

Automatic sliding roof latest development on storage bin The Interbloc sliding bin roof has proved popular with farmers with nearly 50 roofs now installed on bins around the country. This success has led Interbloc to further develop the product and the latest release is an automatic sliding roof meaning farmers no longer even have to get out of their vehicle to open up their bin. “Pulling the tarp off the feed or fertiliser bunker, especially in the middle of winter, is no fun for any farmer so our sliding roof was designed to make the job easier. The new automatic sliding roofs can be opened with a remote control much like an electric garage door,” explains Scott Bright from Interbloc. While in the past such solutions have come with a hefty price tag, by heavily investing in research and development, Interbloc has come up with a cost effective pre-designed solution, which is available for under $10,000. The product is fully engineered and made from high quality materials right here in New Zealand. “Up until now farmers have had to individually get their retractable roofs designed and made. But by designing and producing a standardized range we can mass produce the bunkers and sliding roofs to bring farmers a significantly cheaper price,” explains Bright. The roofs can be fitted to an existing bin or one made by Interbloc. Interbloc bins work in a similar way to children’s building blocks except each block weighs a tonne. The uniquely shaped concrete blocks literally lock together providing an incredibly strong yet flexible and easy to assemble system.

Bright says the Interbloc concrete block system is ideally suited to the rural industry for palm kernel and silage bunkers, fertiliser bins and even buildings. One of the main advantages of the system is its incredible flexibility – the bricks can easily be disassembled and reassembled if at a later date the bunker or bin needs to be enlarged or moved on the farm. Interbloc manufactures the product at branches in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Kaikoura. The blocks are made from surplus concrete making them an environmentally friendly choice. Bright says that Interbloc uses the strictest quality control standards in the industry. Concrete is tested on delivery to the yard and the blocks are tested at least twice before dispatch. The product comes with a lifetime warranty. If a block breaks due to a manufacturing fault it will be replaced. Standard feed and fertiliser bins in the range are 4.2m x 9.6m and can be built to any height. If the company’s standardised solutions do not fit a customer’s requirements a designer option is also available, which allows customers to specify their unique requirements and Interbloc then designs a structure to suit those requirements. Recognising that many farmers possess the skills to build a feed, fertiliser bin or silage bunker themselves, Interbloc is presently working on a kitset DIY version including an instructional DVD and installation manual. For more information: www.interbloc. co.nz

15/05/2014 3:19:08 p.m.

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NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » Kliptank

Farmers latch on to Neil’s tank Jo Bailey An above-ground, effluent-storage system designed by Tauranga firm Kliptank Ltd is proving a hit with dairy farmers, according to the firm’s director, David Parker. “We’re on quite a roller coaster at the moment. Things are going really well. It’s a challenging, interesting industry to be involved with.” Kliptank took its modular, two-metre-high, above-ground effluent tank to the market around three years ago – about the same time there was a noticeable shift in dairy farmers’ thinking around effluent storage and disposal, says Parker. “With the regulations tightening, we’ve seen a major mindset change from ‘Why do we have to do this?’, to ‘When will I have to do it?’. We’ve become a regulation-driven business in many respects, with effluent tanks now by far the biggest part of our business.” Kliptank’s open-top effluent tanks suit farms with wet soil types or high water tables, he says. “Putting a hole in the ground with a synthetic liner works in some situations, but it’s not good for areas with a high water table or a lot of peat country. Our tanks can be sited anywhere on a flat platform. They look better than an unsightly green hole in the ground, and are much safer too.” The capacity of the tanks ranges from 74,000 to 3 million litres. They arrive flat-pack on the site and can be erected in three to five days, with only minimal earthworks needed. Because no steel sits on the ground. there is no risk of rusting. The tank’s flexibility is another advantage, says Parker. “It handles earthquakes very well as it is not a rigid structure and there is no concrete to crack. We built one at Rangiora, in North Canterbury, that came through all the Canterbury earthquakes.” The tank can also be covered to allow for collection of methane gas or to eliminate rain catchment and odour. The tanks have the same internationally patented clip-together, modular plastic and aluminium technology that is used in Kliptank’s other bulk-

NZ Dairy 18-25.indd 20

Left: This Kliptank effluent tank has a capacity of just over 825,057 litres. It can be used for dairy-farm effluent, but also a wide range of liquids. Below: Neil Peterken invented and patented the Kilptank system seven years ago. He has a background in marine engineering and road transport; he is the major shareholder in Kliptank and remains involved in development. Projects on the go include methane digesters and trickle tanks for waste-water treatment. storage products (which include closed tanks for water, wine, molasses, juice, oils and wood chips). The Kliptank system was invented seven years ago by the company’s major shareholder, Neil Peterken. He saw a need for a liquid-storage product that could be manufactured affordably, was easily transported, could be assembled quickly, was durable, met regional and district council requirements, and could be made in a variety of diameters, heights and volumes. He looked at many systems and materials, and settled on a modular design, using high-grade plastics with marine-grade aluminium and wire ropes for strength, and a liner for containment. Although effluent tanks have taken over from water tanks as the main part of the business, Parker says Kliptank is getting “more and more enquiries” for water tanks, as storage becomes a major issue. “It won’t be long before farmers will be paying for bore-water per litre, so they will be looking to store as much off catchment areas, such as shed roofs, as possible. This will be the next phase after the effluent upgrades are done.” Kliptank’s covered three-metre-high water tanks range in capacity from 34,000 to 1.2 million litres. Two tanks recently been sold to Todd Energy

for water storage at mining sites, and others to Australia for the same purpose. “We’ve even used Kliptank material to make a little yurt, a Mongolian tent, and a water-filtration system on the Chatham Islands.” says Parker. “It’s a versatile product that could also be used for a bach, a mai mai or a goat-house – anything that needs cover or containment. “I could see us building modern implement

sheds and lunging rings for horses with the system.” Kliptank’s shift into a new 3000 square metre factory in an industrial subdivision in Tauranga has made a big difference to the operation, says Parker. “We have a strong client base in New Zealand and a growing international market with water tanks already sold to Hawaii, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Australia.”

15/05/2014 3:19:16 p.m.

NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » KCL Civil Construction

| 21

A KCL Civil Construction Longreach excavator carries out remedial work on the Tarawhataroa Stream, near Kaitaia in Northland. The stream drains into Lake Tangonge

Specializing in the manufacture of digger attachments, Hydraulic Rams, attachment design and repairs.

Tighter regulations drive effluent work Jo Bailey The tightening of regulations around effluent disposal has resulted in considerable growth of the rural arm of Kaitaia firm KCL Civil Construction. “Our rural market has grown a lot, especially on the dairy side,” says operations manager Tim Garton. “In the last two years on-farm projects have begun to account for around 50 per cent of our business.” Tim Garton is a partner in the business with his father, Ken, who founded the firm in 1995. Most of KCL’s work in this sector has been in the installation of effluent systems, projects that require a fair degree of expertise, says Tim. “We custom-design and build for each farm. A lot of variables have to be considered, such as the size of the farm, number of cows, cowshed size, feedpads, shed-water, rainfall, soil types and, ultimately, the farmers’ wishes.” KCL’s accreditation as an effluent-system design and builder with Dairy New Zealand is a “huge help”, he says. “We have a background in the industry and also a good understanding of regional-council requirements. We use the DairyNZ farm dairy effluent calculator to work out the full design, from solid separation to irrigation, for each project.” Several farmers in the Far North have converted to the weeping-wall system after being impressed by its benefits, he says.

“Because it is a self-filling, non-mechanical solid separation system that harnesses gravity to remove the solids, there are no ongoing power costs and virtually no maintenance required apart from it being cleaned out once a year. This system allows farmers to forget about the solid-separation side of things when they’re busy, and empty it out when they’ve got time.” The weeping wall allows only clean water through to the main storage pond, which is then fed back through irrigation pumps to the sprinklers in the paddocks. Installing weeping-wall storage pond systems at Landcorp’s three dairy units at Sweetwater kept a KCL crew busy for seven months, he says. “At the moment we’re back on the Landcorp farms helping to install a pivot irrigator, setting up the irrigation pipeline, and constructing bridges where the pivot will cross the drains.” The company also does farm maintenance, earthmoving, land clearing, drainage and farm racing. “We have a good supply of brown rock for races that is good on the cows’ feet,” says Garton. “We screen it to remove coarse rock and leave the soft rock, which is easy on the cows’ feet.” KCL also provides a stabilising service for highpressure areas such as exit and entrance races on cowsheds.

• To page 23

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Karl Hogan Phone: 09 299 3640 Mobile: 021 329 430 Email: karl.hogan@xtra.co.nz 12 Croskery Road, Auckland 2110

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15/05/2014 3:19:28 p.m.

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NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » AgFirst Engineering

New system does wonder Jo Bailey AgFirst Engineering has completed a new effluent system on AgResearch’s 340-hectare Tokanui Dairy Research Farm. The project has helped the farm markedly increase its efficiencies in the distribution and use of effluent as well as significantly improve environmental compliance, says Davieth Verheij, who was AgFirst’s agricultural engineering consultant on the project.. The Waikato-based research farm was established by AgResearch to further research development into environmental management, productivity gains, and differentiated or speciality milks that will support a sustainable dairy industry. The farm’s previous effluent system had presented a number of challenges, main that its capacity was insufficient to cater for the farm’s needs. “Pond stirrers were not effective, resulting in solids build-up in the first pond and troublesome system management,” says Verheij. “The overall system wasn’t sufficient to support the total effluent volume and 1.2ha rainfall catchment area of concrete feedpad and yards.” AgFirst Engineering came up with a response that included a gravity-fed, solid-separation system of twin sludge beds with weeping walls. This enabled solids to be removed from the system and, because the new pond no longer needs to be stirred, power consumption was reduced. The sludge beds provide 12 months of storage – a million litres of solids storage capacity, which gives the farm greater control over effluent dispersal. Liquid is pumped to a new 10.5 millionlitre lined effluent pond – a marked increase in storage capacity on the previous two ponds, which had 5 million litres in total. “Solids can be spread prior to cropping and prior to re-grassing once the crops come off,” says

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A 37kw Grundfos pumping system with variable speed drive does the work of three previous pumps. Verheij. “It’s easier to manage because it’s easier to accurately determine the nutrient content-levels of the liquids and solids once they’re separated.” Because the system is gravity fed and does

not use pumps before solids are removed, the risk of breakdowns and wear on pumps is reduced, and storm-flow capacity is provided off the large catchment area.

The system is connected to 7000 metres of pipe, which was already installed underground; this allows effluent to be spread over 78ha of the farm. A new 37kw Grundfos centrifugal pumping

15/05/2014 3:19:32 p.m.

NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » AgFirst Engineering/KCL Civil Construction

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ers for effluent efficiency system with variable-speed drive can pump out a greater volume than was possible with the previous system at lower kilowatts (averaging 25kw/hr). This results in considerable power savings and greater system flexibility, says Verheij This new pump now does the duty that was previously done by three pumps. The pumping system is mounted in a pumpshed on the shore of the pond, removing the need for a floating pontoon on the pond (which posed a health and safety risk). A full-time staff member used to be employed to take care of the system; now, a PLC-controller allows the system to be shut on or off and pipelines to be changed automatically at the touch of a button, via an LCD screen in the pump shed. “The variable-speed drive on the main pump means that the speed of the motor is controlled by the required pressure, reducing power consumption,” says Verheij. “The pressure can be adjusted depending on the part of the farm the effluent is being spread over. This gives greater control over dispersal and means the farm can now use the full fertiliser value of the effluent, he says. Automatic valves on the two pipelines going from the pump can be shut on or off as desired via the control panel, rather than someone manually change over the pipes. “The staff member no longer has to continually clean in-line effluent filters, unblock irrigation equipment, and drain lines and change hose connections. This person can select the sprinklers or travelling irrigator (or both), which line and programme, and how long it will run. Verheij estimates the new system will reduce workload by 30-40 per cent. The farm also has a green, water-recycling system to wash the feedpad, thereby reducing farm water consumption. The irrigation system has large, low-rate uni-sprinklers as well as a travelling irrigator. It comes with a failsafe system that

AgFirst Engineering’s gravity fed twin sludge beds with weeping walls under construction. includes GPS monitoring. “The system senses the location and speed at which the irrigator is running and will automatically switch off if it senses a risk, is out of area, or has completed the irrigation run.” AgFirst Engineering is part of the AgFirst Group, which was formed in January 1995 and provides services to the rural sector. The firm has 40 consultants in 12 locations

around New Zealand. These consultants have skills in sheep and beef, dairying, engineering, horticulture and valuation, and most of them have more than 15 years of consultancy experience. Verheij says that AgFirst Engineering is an independent organisation with the ability to carry out nationwide and cross-sector projects. It offers a full turnkey service, from design to the finished project, he says.

“This gives us good control and means a lower risk of problems during construction. We are independent professionals who are not affiliated with any particular products or system. “We can go to the farm, assess what the needs are, and then recommend the right system for that client. “No one system we build is the same; it’s always tailored to suit the individual client’s needs.”

A KCLCivil Construction crew spent seven months designing and building a new effluent system on Landcorp’s three dairy units at Sweetwater, in Northland. The work included a HDPE-lined storage pond (under construction, above) and a weeping-wall, solid-separation system (below) .

GPS `huge asset’ for company • From page 21 “We find that stabilising the ground and laying rubber matting over it instead of concrete is cost effective, and also better on the cows’ feet.” GPS is a “huge asset” for both the company and the farmer, he says. “It allows us to ‘TOPO0’ large areas of land with ease and then design the project and insert it into the TOPO. For any of our projects, we can design the pond for the site and give the farmer a three-dimensional of how it’s going to look on the property. The GPS also allows us to perfectly balance the cut to fill amounts so that no earth is moved unnecessarily. The technology speeds up the efficiency of our jobs no end.” KCL has recently bought a new 20-tonne, longreach excavator with 15-metre reach, and this is also proving its worth: “It’s great for cleaning ponds or building new ponds.” Outside the rural market, KCL’s 15 staff are involved in earthmoving and civil-construction work, including road construction, subdivisions, seal repairs, lime/cement stabilisation, pile driving, house sites, tree work, slip repairs, and capital works. Clients include Fulton Hogan, Downers, the Northland regional and district councils, and land developers.

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15/05/2014 3:19:37 p.m.

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NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » Paul Steiner Contracting

Waikato-BOP holding-pond design wins international award Working with some of the most difficult effluent projects on non-compliant farms in Waikato and Bay of Plenty has led to the development of an internationally award-winning effluent holding pond design. The system, developed by Hamish Forbes of Pondco, in conjunction with Paul Steiner of Paul Steiner Contracting, won the Small Project Award at the 2013 International Association of Geosynthetic Installers awards, one of only four awards presented at the biennial event. The judges said, “Runoff from these farms had affected the health of the Waikato River. For farmers, compliance was a problem and there were not industry standards to guide them. Pondco came up with a design they called the ‘Centroid’ to solve these issues and now farmers can cost effectively comply with the effluent requirements.” Hamish Forbes says the centre of Pondco’s Centroid Series FDE effluent holding pond is the closest point to the water table and also incorporates a pressure relief valve to combat unsurpassed rises of the phreatic table. “The pond has been designed to prevent water and gas pressures building up underneath, and also natural groundwater transgressing through the hills and embankments on its way to gravity.” He says the success of the pond is due to a combination of design and the use of superior products including water and gas drainage products and a flexible EPDM Firestone membrane. “This is a well-proven product that is durable and dependable. Firestone has been manufacturing rubber for over 150 years, and there are effluent ponds made out of these materials in Europe that are 40 and 50 years old.” He says the flexible geomembrane can stretch three times its length in the event of an earthquake or ground settlement. The very latest geomembrane products come in large panels,up to 15m x 61m meaning less seams and faster installation, he says. “Most ponds are completed within a day. Our

Two Pondco-produced effluent ponds...the Tony Lynsky project (left) and a triangular pond (right). system also has a secondary seam for effluent ponds to strengthen the seams against ground settlement or ground movements which are quite prevalent in New Zealand.” The ponds’ longevity and cost-effectiveness are big benefits of the centroid system, he says. “This system is up to six times cheaper per cubic metre contained than an above-ground tank storage system.” Hamish didn’t expect to win the prestigious IAGI award, so wasn’t at the 2013 Geosynthetics conference in Long Beach, California to collect it. “It is great recognition for the system. We’ve since been presented with an award from Firestone USA for achievement in excellence, which is the first time they’ve presented this award to any of their installers around the world.” Hamish is both Firestone trained, and InfraTrain New Zealand certified in the design and

construction of farm dairy effluent ponds. Sam Waite (Pondo’s head installer) has just become a certified welding technician with the International Association of Geosynthetic Installers in USA. “We’re the only company in New Zealand to hold that ticket for EPDM. You have to have installed one-and-a-half million square metres to apply. With seaming not covered by manufacturer’s warranties, having the right people on the job with these sorts of qualifications is vital.” Hamish has been in business 25 years, and says rural effluent projects currently make up around 70 percent of Pondco’s business. “We offer a complete design and build service, covering earthmoving management, assistance with permits, warranty cover and custom fabrication. “Our network of effluent advisors, effluent

irrigation system providers, engineers and earthworks contractors are ready to deploy to projects nationwide.” The firm builds a wide range of other ponds, from large irrigation ponds and frost ponds, to natural and decorative ponds, and small backyard fish ponds. It also designs and builds natural swimming pools and waterfalls; and works on water storage, wetlands, and waterproofing projects. “One of the more unique jobs we undertook was waterproofing underneath water features at the Auckland Art Gallery,” says Hamish. Overall he is happy with the progress of the company, which has branches in Auckland, Paeroa, and Hamilton. “We’ve built a good reputation in the market and continue to grow. We are looking at opening a new yard in Morrinsville this year.”

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NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » Paul Steiner Contracting

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PHOTOS Time in the office is a necessity for Paul Steiner (above) but he says ‘nothing beats getting out there on the machines’. And work on effluent ponds (such as this one, left) has spurred a 30 per cent in his business’s overall work over the last year or two. An ‘average-sized’ pond takes five to 10 days to complete, but size varies considerably – anywhere from a modest 1000 cubic metres to a mammoth 10,000cu m.

Firm ‘flat out’ on effluent ponds Jo Bailey Tightening regulations around effluent ponds has led to a 30 per cent jump in overall work for Morrinsville-based Paul Steiner Contracting. “We’ve been flat out building effluent ponds for the last 12 to 18 months and seem to have developed a good name for this type of work,” says company director Paul Steiner. “We do a lot of projects with Hamish Forbes, of Pondco, and have also started working on a few jobs outside the local area. These have come through referrals from consultants, irrigation companies or effluent companies.” With so much activity in the effluent sector, farmers often joke that contractors must be “in cahoots” with the authorities to create the extra work for themselves, says Steiner. “Of course, this isn’t true. However, it’s a unique time for the sector.” He says an average-sized effluent pond usually takes between five and 10 days “from start to finish”. However, size can vary considerably...

anywhere from a modest 1000 cubic metres up to a mammoth 10,000cu m. Steiner has also assisted Forbes in the design and development of an international award-winning effluent system, the Centroid Series FDE effluent holding pond. The system combines specialist earthworks with Pondco’s liners and products to prevent water and gas pressure building up beneath the pond. Around 95% of Paul Steiner Contracting’s work comes from the rural sector. The company is in its 21st year in business. “I grew up on a dairy farm and did my time as a mechanic, before deciding I didn’t want to stay in overalls,” says Steiner. “I went driving for a local contractor, then started up my own drainage and excavation business.” The firm started with one 10-tonne excavator. It now has 10 staff, and six excavators (from 12 to 25 tonnes), five trucks and trailers, and two bulldozers. He says the firm “cut its teeth” on clearing drains for farmers, and still does a lot of this work. Other services include: farm drainage; hedge, tree and stump removal; farm-race and tanker-

track construction and maintenance; paddock contouring; site work for cowsheds and feedpads; demolition; bulldozer and scoop work; truck and roller hire; metal, sand, fertiliser and lime cartage. A small amount of urban commercial work, mainly excavation of house sites or work for drainlayers, makes up the balance of the firm’s portfolio, “We don’t go looking for big construction-site work as we like to stick with the rural side of things,” says Steiner. “Our focus is on providing a convenient, high-quality option and great customer service.” There are not many dairy conversions in the local area, but plenty of ongoing development work, he says. “We don’t have the big conversions that you see in the South Island. Here we’re more likely to see a farmer buy 40 hectares next door and tack it onto his farm. But this often results in us putting in more raceways to link the farms up, and potentially doing siteworks for a new cowshed further down the track.” Paul says most of the firm’s work comes

through referrals and repeat business. “Word of mouth works well for us although I believe it’s important to do a bit of advertising to keep our name out there.” He says the company has several truck drivers, five excavator drivers and two bulldozer drivers, including Brian – he is supposed to be retired, but started back as a relief driver, and is now almost fulltime again. “He loves it and was doing so many hours we decided to buy him his own bulldozer again,” says Steiner. The company has been one excavator driver short for the last 18 months since things got really busy. ”It’s not that easy to find experienced operators who can also relate to the farmers and deliver what they want. The business is only as good as our operators, so it’s not something we are prepared to compromise on.” Paul Steiner is still “in the seat” himself most days. “I have a lot of other stuff to do, but nothing beats getting out there on the machines. I love it.”

PHOTOS Right: A Paul Steiner excavator loads soil on to a truck during excavation for an effluent pond. Below: Another of the company’s six excavators on board one of the five truck-and-trailer units ready to head to the next effluent-pond job. ‘We seem to have developed a good name for this type of work,’ says boss Paul Steiner.

Truck & Agricultural Tyres Sales & Servicing Proudly supporting Paul Steiner 565 SH 25 Waitakaruru Thames P: 07 867 3456

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Stockwater Cattle Underpasses Drainage Culvert

573 Te Rapa Rd, Te Rapa, Hamilton

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15/05/2014 3:19:43 p.m.

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NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems

‘Complete service’ two-way Karen Phelps Being able to provide a complete service for farmers when it comes to milking sheds and effluent systems has helped Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems develop longterm relationships with clients – and this has proved beneficial to both par ties, says company owner Daniel Gor ton. “We gain a better understanding of their businesses by helping them with projects on their farms, and farmers have only one company to deal with. We can take care of the whole job, doing most things in house.” Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems provides a variety of services to the dairy industry, from dairy-shed structural steel and yard construction to specialised, automated, in-shed, meal-feeding systems. The company’s engineering workshop can do all types of steel fabrication and precision machining work; its 15 staff include dairy technicians and engineers. Last year the company took on the GEA WestfaliaSurge dealership; it is also a dealer for GEA Milfos, Reporoa high-lift gates, Herdflow backing gates, AP meal-feeding systems and Lowara water pumps. Now that GEA Farm Technologies owns Milfos, Gor ton can also access the effluentprocessing technology developed by Canadian company Houle. He says this is timely given the dairy industry’s focus on effluent management to meet compliance standards. Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems does new-builds and upgrades as well as maintenance. Its services include 24-hour

A Tauhara Moana shed-build in progress near Taupo.

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NZ Dairy

EFFLUENT » Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems

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street maintenance and servicing of dairy-shed milking plant and water systems. Service trucks are on hand for on-site welding and repairs. Gor ton says the firm can handle just par t of a project if that’s what a client wants, but Gor ton says farmers generally appreciate having only one company to deal with rather than multiple contractors to manage. “It can be quite a daunting process and it comes down to getting a good team of contractors to work together,” he says. “My company has been around long enough to know who the good operators are.” In the central Nor th Island area, a lot of the work of the company’s work is on large farms owned by businesses. Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems

is about to star t work on a 44-a-side herringbone shed, which will milk 600 cows yet, by using technology, will use only 15,000 litres of water a day. The company, which operates through the Waikato and central Nor th Island areas, is currently working on eight new dairyshed projects, along with general repair and maintenance and shed upgrades. Its largest dairy-shed project has been an 80-bail rotary. “We work for a lot of long-standing clients and focus on looking after them,” says Gor ton. “It’s not just about doing the job and that’s it. We need to understand clients’ business and what they want to achieve. The impor tant thing is to back up everything we do up with after-sales service.” Top: A rotary platform with meal feed system. Bottom Left: A Milfos Vacuum Pump System. Bottom Right: The centre of a 54-bail Milfos rotary shed.

Delvin Flow are pleased to supply & support Mainland Engineering with their valving needs. Call us to learn why

“Build it once build it Wright” {BUILT WRIGHT CONSTRUCTION} • Chapman Dairy Palours • Farm Houses • Feed Pads • Pole Sheds • Effluent Traps/Sumps Ph/Fax: 07 378 1580 MOB: 0275 659 421 EMAIL: built-wright-construction@xtra.co.nz

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Kiwi kitset crew crosses the Tasman When looking for a shed, barn, garage, or even a house or a commercial building, New Zealand owned and operated company Easy Building Systems is offering a wide range of kit set options for steel framed, portable buildings. Easy Building Systems was established by builder Simon Johnson in Dunedin early in 2013, and the company has now expanded into Australia. Easy Building Systems New Zealand sales manager Eric Bygate says the company has been built on a foundation of quality, service, and competitive prices. “With a history of building combined with our hybrid design and installation expertise, we’re capable of creating sheds, carports, barns, and many other structures of any size,” he says. Easy Building Systems can either provide a kit set and leave its clients to install it, or it can act as a one-stop-shop for the

duration of its clients’ builds. “We can take care of things like wind resistance, council fees, design challenges, excavation, delivery, installation, and laying of concrete slabs,” Bygate says. “If you think you might want to put something in a tricky area, we can help you work out the details.” He says Easy Building Systems provides three quotes, with a kit price, a slab price, and an installation price, so clients have the option to choose as many or as few services as they require. As the products are kitset, they are delivered anywhere in New Zealand for free, whether it’s the Bay of Islands or Bluff, and can be installed anywhere. If a standard design isn’t what you’re after, Easy Building Systems can build a shed, carport, garage, workshop, or barn to any size or speciﬁcations. “You can have custom drawings and plans drawn

up and emailed to you within minutes of requesting a quote,” Bygate says. The company is now offering accommodation kit set systems, with 7m x 3m and 7m x 6m buildings completely selfcontained with bedroom(s), living area, kitchen, and bathroom. An Easy Building Systems building offers ﬂexibility and future prooﬁng with the ability to resell or relocate the building after it has been initially installed. As well as having the capabilities to install a new garage, carport, or barn, Easy Building Systems can also offer a range of labour services relating to building and installation of garages, sheds, carports, barns and other related structures. “If you’ve bought a shed and realised the install is going to be a bigger job than you thought, you might need some extra

help,” Bygate says. “We can install any structures you might have, and give you advice on what else to get.” Easy Building Systems provides excavation services, and often lays concrete slabs for custom building projects, and can also construct car parks, helicopter landing pads, and any other area. With an easy to navigate website, Easy Building Systems’ intuitive online store is able to provide prices for kitset, installation, concreting, and council fees for certain products, all online instantly. “When you buy online, you don’t have to worry about council approval, engineering, installation, and the associated work that comes with managing them,” Bygate says. Easy Building Systems 0800 544 322 Easybuildingsystems.co.nz easybuildingsystems@gmail.com

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www.easybuildingsystems.co.nz NZ Dairy 26-31.indd 28

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NZ Dairy

ON FARM » Rex & Sharon Butterworth | 29

Two beats one when it comes to shelters Kelly Deeks Walton dairy farmer Rex Butterworth’s 450 cows are warm and cosy this winter with two new herd shelters on the property, alleviating both chilliness and heat stress and making for happier, better conditioned cows. Butterworth started looking for a way to reduce the pressure the farm was under after the drought of 2009-10 summer. His 113-hectare(106ha effective) Matamata dairy farm was milking 500 cows, and he decided to destock down to 450 to make things a bit easier. He says that while the stocking rate, spread over the home farm and the 55ha (52ha effective) support block, was not excessive, it was too severe on the milking platform during times of

We can take the cows off and put them into an animal-friendly environment. We are winning, the cows are winning, and the pastures are winning.

poor growth. He always had enough feed, but couldn’t always use it properly feeding out in the paddocks. “After that big drought, we decided we weren’t going to go through that again,” he says. “Destocking worked, but not well enough. It took some of the pressure off, but also meant we weren’t in a position to take advantage of good payouts and good periods of growth. “The immediate response was to look for a more robust, long-term answer that would not complicate or compromise our low-cost, profitdriven system. We wanted to set ourselves up to take out the troughs in our production graph and create a flatter curve, so we started investigating herd shelters.” Butterworth decided to go with a HerdHomes© shelter, and his first, 250-cow capacity shelter was completed by mid-March 2013. After a couple of weeks of using it, he realised he was getting a lot of benefits from having one shelter, and could see even more benefits from having all his cows sheltered. “When the cows were offered shelter from the heat, they ate less and they used the feed better,” he says. “it’s too early to say, but we might even get more benefits out of the shelters in summer than in winter. During the summer months, heat stress has a huge impact on the cows.” So Butterworth called HerdHomes© back to build his second shelter, which was completed in

Rex Butterworth’s HerdHomes© shelters have slatted concrete floors with effluent storage underneath. Feeding is done externally with feed lanes on the outside of the sheds. December 2013. The HerdHomes© shelters have slatted concrete floors with effluent storage underneath. Feeding is done externally with feed lanes on the outside of the sheds. Butterworth had some changes to make to the standard design, as he wanted to use the shelters’ effluent bunkers for dairy-shed effluent storage as well. “We needed to pump directly into the bunkers and also be able to partially empty them at short notice without any disruption to the cows while they were in the shed. “By putting in an external pipe, we can do this easily. If a bunker gets too full or we have a few days of good weather, we can hook straight on.” The effluent storage gets a full clean-out twice a year when there are no cows in the shelter, but it could easily last for 12 months, he says. Butterworth is now taking the cows off the paddocks when they have grazed to a residual

he is comfortable with, or when they start to show signs of being uncomfortable or suffering from heat stress, or when the weather is too wet and the cows would start to damage the paddocks. “Now we can take the cows off and put them into an animal-friendly environment. We are winning, the cows are winning, and the pastures are winning.” The plan was to eventually get the herd back to 500 cows, Butterworth says he will make an increase of about 30 cows this year while feeling his way through the new system. He has achieved his three-year goal in the first year, lifting average production since destocking by more than 37,500 kilograms of milksolids without using extra feed. He is on track to produce 202,500kg this season. The shelters are also set to make a positive environmental impact on the farm. He says nutrient leaching should be reduced by a further 40 per cent, which will improve the farm’s already acceptable levels.

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15/05/2014 3:22:42 p.m.

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NZ Dairy

ON FARM » PKW Incorporated

PKW ramps up its land Neil Grant

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NZ Dairy 26-31.indd 30

The strategic goal of Maori incorporation Parininihi ki Waitotara is “to regain control of our ancestral land as the basis of our commercial development, and to benefit our shareholders” according to their website. Unlike the confiscations that occurred in the mid-nineteenth century, PKW has instead taken the long view, and used existing – and constantly changing – legislation to acquire land and use it to benefit its some 9000 shareholders. Since 1998, PKW has steadily bought the leases of dairy farms on Maori reserve land in Taranaki. “We’ve been very active in land acquisition recently,” says chief executive officer Dion Tuuta. “We average one or two farms a year, but this last year have bought 10. These have been a combination of using our first right of refusal, and direct approaches from farmers wishing to exit their leases. They have come to us directly rather than put the leases on the market.” Of course, getting the land is one thing. Putting it to economic use is another. Over the years some of the farms have been amalgamated into more practical units. Employing management and staff with the skills to improve farming practices and financial returns is vital, says Tuuta. Descendants now have increasing opportunities to be involved in the business, and younger members are enabled to become the next generation of dairy farmers and land managers. Establishing up-to-the-minute plant and equipment is essential to improving profitability. “Currently we are constructing two cowsheds, a wintering shed, and some underpasses,” Tuuta says. “A 200 and a 300-cow unit are being

Dion Tuuta...PKW chief executive officer. amalgamated. Work began in January and should be finished in time for next season. Like all our new sheds, it will have a 60-bail rotary and Waikato dairy plant. We will put a manager on that one.” The wintering shed is a trial. It will be an open shed on a farm in Opua Rd. “This is hard country. It is rocky and has wet winters. We hope we are developing something innovative that will keep the animals off the grass and protect the land. It is up to us to make sure it works. There could not be a more opportune time.” Cows will be able to feed in the shed, and can move in and out at will if the manager decides that is appropriate. The idea is to get maximum productivity from better feed utilisation in the herd home. Effluent management is also better controlled, which is part of PKW’s attention to being good

15/05/2014 3:22:53 p.m.

NZ Dairy

ON FARM » PKW Incorporated/Makowhai Farms

purchases

Shane Miles...PKW dairy operations manager. guardians of the land and environment. The herd home should have positive implications for animal health, it is hoped. Like other parts of the country, Taranaki has been experiencing dry conditions. Rainfall is well below expectation. “We have acquired dairy support land which enables us to make extra supplement,” says Tuuta. “We did this to insulate our system as much as we can. It has a cost, but it certainly comes in handy in drought years.” Kaitiaki, or guardianship of the land and environment, is an important aspect of PKW’s whole business. “We are conscious of the continually changing regulations (for environmental protection).” Tuuta says. “We’ve got to be on top of things and mitigate environmental impacts as much as we can.” He believes PKW is ahead of the game in Taranaki. For instance, the organisation has worked with the Taranaki Regional Council to achieve effective riparian management of streams flowing

We average one or two farms a year, but this last year have bought 10. These have been a combination of using our first right of refusal, and direct approaches from farmers wishing to exit their leases. They have come to us directly rather than put the leases on the market. through or by its properties, both those which it owns and those it has sharemilkers on. Over time PKW has also fenced off riparian strips and planted a quarter of a million plants in them to protect and enhance the region’s waterways. PKW has about 2600 hectares of land in its own dairy farms. This represents about 15% of its land portfolio. It is the largest milk supplier to Fonterra in Taranaki, and the 13th largest in the country. PKW farms collectively have an average annual productivity of about three million kilograms of milksolids. Its 2013 annual report shows the incorporation had a net profit of $15.8 million after tax. This was 8% ahead of 2012. If it continues to redress historical wrongs in this manner, by the time it has all its lands back under its control, it should be a shining example of how a peaceful people can regain sovereignty.

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Family farm heads into contracting – irrigation looms on the horizon Kelly Deeks Six years into a family equity partnership, the Manawatu dairy farming Taylor family continues to expand its business – a new contracting company is the latest venture. Six years ago Barry and Maree Taylor’s sons, Michael and Aaron, used the equity in their parents’ 490-hectare farm to buy their own 100ha farm two doors away. This is part of the family succession plan for the boys to take over once their parents retire. The family company, Makowhai Farms, owns the two farms’ cows, all the plant, and the Fonterra shares. Michael, his wife Amanda, and Aaron own the smaller farm; Barry and Maree own the home farm, which has been in the family since it was bought by Barry’s great grandfather. The company leases a 120ha run-off block, and owns two smaller run-offs (207ha in total); these are used to grow maize and fodder beet, and graze young stock. Barry Taylor finally managed to extricate himself from the milking shed three years ago, and now looks after an 80ha run-off, cultivating maize and fodder beet. The young stock at on the 127ha runoff at Bulls. Aaron oversees the two dairy farms, both of which have managers, while Michael handles the maize cropping and the barley – in-shed grain feeding systems were installed on both farms last November. Having bought a maize chopper to keep costs down on the dairy farms, the Taylors have

discovered a need for it on other farms, hence the new contracting company, which is run by machinery-mad Michael. The 198ha home farm has a 50-bail rotary shed, while the boys’ farm (now 129ha) has a 30-a-side herringbone shed. Barry Taylor says the in-shed grain feeding systems were installed because the family is trying to move away from feeding palm kernel as a supplement, towards barley. “We think barley is a better product, and we lease some land to grow our own. The new in-shed grain-feeding systems have been quite good so far – we just need to grow enough barley. The cows eat 2-3 kilograms while they’re being milked.” He says one of the best things since the in-shed systems were installed is that the backing gates have not been used at all; the cows march straight into their bails to be milked. The in-shed system also proving its worth through a dry period when less grass was available and more supplement more supplement was fed. Production is sitting about 10% ahead of this time last year. Last season the home farm produced 278,000kg milksolids and the smaller farm 133,000kg. With in-shed feeding sorted and a new silage bunker built on the home farm, Aaron Taylor is turning his attention towards irrigation systems as the next area of development. Both farms are suited to centre-pivots – the home farm is dead flat and there are some small hills on the smaller farm. A bore would be needed on the home farm to run the pivot.

Harris Agricultural Contracting Sanson Proud to support Makowhai Farms Balage, hay, straw, pit silage bought and sold Full cultivation service Full baling service Diggers, bulldozer work Tractor and machinery sales

Proudly supporting PKW Serving South and Central Taranaki for over 30 years and celebrating 25 years from our Princes St premises

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Proud to support Makowhai Farms Paddy - Owner/Operator 027 550 4664 Our range of molasses based feed programmes allows farmers to offer their herds a balanced, cost effective diet that results in optimal animal health and allows them to maximise the returns from their farming businesses.

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Are proud to be associated with Makowhai Farms

15/05/2014 3:22:56 p.m.

NZ Dairy

ON FARM » Neil & Shannon Withers/Knowles family

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Family takes setback in stride Karen Phelps Neil and Shannon Withers are on the look-out for a suitable position for the coming season after the contract they thought they had secured fell through at the last moment. “That’s the nature of the dairy industry. You have to take the good with the bad; it’s the same with the pay-out,” says Neil pragmatically. The couple, who own a herd of 100 friesian cows, are presently lower-order sharemilkers on a 125-hectare (effective) unit at Toko, near Stratford, in Taranaki. The farm, owned by David and Lynette

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Woollaston,will be sharemilked next season by their son, Jeff, who has been working there for the last 18 months. Although the Withers are sad to be leaving the farm, they are also excited about new opportunities, even though they are now not sure exactly what those may be. Neil’s parents were sharemilkers and he grew up on dairy farms around the Waikato. He met Shannon, a beauty therapist from Perth, Australia, when he was working in an administration role for New Zealand Oil & Gas. They applied for a farming job while on their honeymoon and were soon working as lower-order sharemilkers on a 100ha unit at Stratford, milking 310 cows. About 18 months later they moved to the Woollastons. The Woollaston property milks 460 cows – a high stocking rate of around four cows per hectare. With only a third of the farm flat land and the rest rolling to hilly, the Withers graze the flat paddocks during the day and the hills in the evenings when the temperatures are cooler and the cows don’t mind climbing to higher ground. About 10ha is bulldozed and planted with turnips for summer feed, then re-grassed each year. The farm adjoins a small sheep-and-beef operation, also run by the Woollastons, with around 100 sheep and as many beef animals. A 30ha run-off is used for winter grazing and growing supplement – around 400 bales of hay and three cuts of silage a year. Around 220 tonnes of palm kernel is bought in each year. The cows are milked through a 36-a-side herringbone shed. In the drought the Withers produced 143,000 kilograms of milksolids – just 2000kg shy of the previous season’s figure. This season they are on target for 160,000kg milksolids, up 10,000kg on their initial target. “We calved a few more at the start of this season and kept them milking because the grass was growing really well,” says Neil.

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A family affair: Neil and Shannon Withers with children Max and Leo. He is a keen advocate of the ayrshire breed and a member of the Taranaki Ayrshire Club. He has 18 cows (10 rising-two-year-olds and eight rising-one-yearolds) and three bulls. His yearling bull was the reserve champion in this year’s Taranaki Ayrshire Club Show; the year before, he produced the champion junior bull. “I like ayrshires – they’ve got plenty of attitude and a nice big build,” he says.

The Withers – who have two children (Max, 20 months and Leo, three months) had been aiming for a 50:50 sharemilking position next season. They are obviously disappointed they have had a setback in their career path to farm ownership (they have an eight-year plan to buy their own farm). but are now looking to secure a lower-order sharemilking contract or a farm-management position.

That’s the nature of the dairy industry. You have to take the good with the bad; it’s the same with the pay-out.

New dairy shed packed Kelly Deeks The Knowles family of Taranaki has outgrown the old 28-a-side herringbone shed and is looking forward to the completion of a new 50bail rotary shed by next February. The farm has been in the family since Barry Knowles bought it more than 37 years ago. It is now 50:50 sharemilked by his son, David Knowles, who is just completing his first season of herd ownership. He contractedmilked at 25 per cent for three seasons after having been assistant managaer for four years. He returned home to work on the farm after gaining three years of experience operating heavy machinery in quarrying work. The size of the flat to rolling Midhirst farm was increased to 158 hectares (138ha grazable) two years ago through the purchase of a 28ha block at the rear of the property. This was re-raced and re-fenced, and cow numbers were increased from 310 to 350. “We’ve outgrown the old shed,” says Knowles. “We needed to improve cow flow, and, of course ,if you want to have good staff,

you’ve got to have good facilities for them to work in.” The new dairy shed is being built by Stratford construction company Quintin Oakes Builders; it has plant from DeLaval, a meal feeding system, automatic cup removers, automatic drafting, and a Protrack automaticdrafting system. “We went with DeLaval as the platform is made locally at Eltham,” says Knowles. “We’re trying to keep local people involved as much as possible.” Construction of the shed is due to begin in October, and should be completed by February. “We’re getting it all done up front and operating so that the cows can get used to it and the staff can get used to it,” Knowles says. “The Protrack system ties in with the Livestock Improvement Company MINDA herd records service, which we’ve used for the past couple of years. With Protrack, we’ll be able to do our drafting from the back of the farm.” Knowles’s new position will see his parents move off the farm shortly, but they are not going far and will still be heavily involved in the farm’s operation. PHOTOS Left: Ground work for the Knowles’ new 50-bail rotary shed is under way on their Midhirst farm. Opposite page: Mist shrouds parts of the Knowles property, but Mt Taranaki clearly stands guard.

15/05/2014 3:32:13 p.m.

NZ Dairy

ON FARM » Shane & Sherree Edwards

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Dad’s little helpers: Manawatu sharemilker Shane Edwards has plenty of help washing down and milking.

Work/life balance high priority Sue Russell Manawatu farmer Shane Edwards didn’t start out with the intention of forging a life on the land. The qualified joiner must have decided the lifestyle suited, as he has now ticked off 12 milking seasons. “I cut my teeth as a farm labourer in my first position, and even though that job lasted only 13 months, I learnt a great deal,” he says. Next he took on a 220-cow management position on a farm at Eureka, between Hamilton and Morrinsville. It was another learning curve over two seasons. He remembers being pretty much left to do his own thing in the second year. Then three seasons of lower-order sharemilking near Bulls with 460 cows led to his present role. Shane, wife Sherree and their two children are at the tail-end of their fifth season of 50:50 sharemilking near Feilding. They milk their 300 friesian cross cows through a “very basic”, 26-a-side herringbone

Shane and Sherree Edwards...au pairs a success. shed; production this season is expected to reach 104,000 kilograms of milksolids. Another move is just around the corner. Come June 1, the Edwards take on a contract job at nearby Cheltenham to milk 1050 cows through a rotary shed with automatic weighing and drafting,

with bells and whistles

and in-shed feeding capacity. “The two senior staff on the farm are staying with me, while the two junior staff were moving on anyway,” says Shane. “While I did have aspirations towards farm ownership, I’m not sure now whether I want to own a small farm.” He says he’s looking forward to settling on to the new farm and into the role for some time. The property extends over 329 hectares and is flat but in three terraces. Sherree works full-time as a high school English teacher, and the Edwards employ au pairs to help with the children. The arrangement has worked out really well, says Shane – “They very much become part of the family”. He describes himself as the sort of person who copes well when things are tough. He also competed in industry awards last year and recommends the experience. “Out of the awards experience, opportunities to

network come along and these are really valuable just keeping you in the loop. Just making the decision to enter makes you think about what you are doing and why.” He acknowledges there are fewer and fewer sharemilking opportunities these days the incumbents are staying put with fewer moving into farm ownership. “Some of the big companies have sucked up a lot of what would traditionally have been sharemilking positions to advance through.” One of the key areas he plans to look at closely is is rationalising working hours for staff. “We are going to a six-day-on, two-day-off roster to get back to a 50-hour week. Staff in general need more time for work/life balance.” He expects that the economies of scale on the new farm will assist everyone working on it to achieve a sustainable work-load, leaving them time to enjoy interests away from farming. “Our children are six and eight years old and into kids sports and activities. It will be good to be able to spend more time with them.”

Shane and Sheree Edwards

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Thirty-year-old David, who bought his parents’ 350-cow herd at the beginning of this season, is concentrating on improving per-cow production. He supplements his grass with silage and hay cut from the 50ha run-off block owned by his grandfather, this grazes all the young stock and about 60 dairy cows over winter. Knowles also brings in about 150 tonnes of palm kernel. The farm hit record production of 140,000 kilograms of milksolids last season despite the

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kesty.manning@xtra.co.nz

drought. Without the drought, it would have got to 150,000kg milksolids, says Knowles. He says this year’s weather conditions have been comparable to last year’s drought. The big difference has been that hasn’t panicked as much as last year. He has employed the same strategy as last year, going to 16-hour milkings at the beginning of April, with plenty of grass ahead of him. He expects this season’s production to top 150,000kg milksolids

Proud to support David Knowles 94 Broadway, Stratford 4332 E-mail: alfamilker@xtra.co.nz Free Phone: 0800 756 8626 Phone: 06 765 5131

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Proud Service Provider to David Knowles 15/05/2014 3:32:17 p.m.

NZ Dairy

ON FARM » Mike & Cheree Hitchcock/Ivan & Sue Knauf

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‘A lot of money’ in sharemilking Sue Russell A lot of threads blend together to create their unique farming pathway, and in their 16 years in the industry, Mike and Cheree Hitchcock, now in their late 30s, have steered their own course of achievement. “Right from the start we made a conscious decision to move quickly as new opportunities and experienced presented,” says Cheree. Though each held down town jobs in the early

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days – Mike as a diesel mechanic and Cheree as an industrial technician – there was no looking back once they made decision to take on dairy farming. “We backed ourselves and we owned our own home, which we used as collateral,” says Cherree. “It’s always good to have a Plan B, so we knew that if things didn’t work out in farming, we had a home to go to.” They had great encouragement in the form of Mike’s parents. Mike cut his teeth working on their property as a farm-hand for one season, and their support contributed to the sense that farming was the right career choice. Following that first season the Hitchcocks applied for a small 50:50, 120-cow position at Egmont Village, in Taranaki. “We really struck it off with the 80-year-old farm-owner in the interview and got the job,” Cherree recalls. “We stayed there for two years, achieving 46,000 kilograms of milksolids on the all-grass, high-altitude property. Next, a move to Midhurst for two seasons milking 160 cows on a 56ha (effective) farm, and then another shift to a 65ha, 220-cow Waitara farm. “Over the three years we were at Waitara we expanded the herd to 250, with a small amount of molasses introduced into the feeding. Our best production was 80,000kg milksolids. By leasing small pockets of land near the farm, we were able to leave that farm with the herd at 300.” They moved to another 50:50 position at Opunake, milking 580 cows on a low-cost, allgrass system boosting production to 180,000kg milksolids over six seasons. During their tenure on the Brimelow family farm, the Hitchcocks bought a 56ha farm at Kaponga. They then bought a 120-cow going-concern at Inglewood and employed a manager. The hilly property achieved 38,000kg milksolids while

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Mike and Cheree Hitchcock are adamant that sharemilking is the best way to go. grazing young stock off. After six seasons at Opunake, the farm was sold. The Hitchcocks used this as an opportunity to selli their herd to the incoming farm-owner while cow prices were good. They are now in their second season as lowerorder sharemilkers with a 1000-cow crossbred herd for the I.D. & J.A. Family Trust. They employ five full-time staff. “We sold the Kaponga farm and bought a 150ha dairy farm at Inglewood,” says Cherree. “We have secured a lease on neighbouring 100ha, and intend to milk 550 jersey cows with a target of 200,000kg milksolids.” It has been quite a journey with a few twists and turns along the way. Looking back on the moves and decisions made, and opportunities taken, Cheree says there are some things they would now do differently. “We were never encouraged to pay back the principal on the first farm we bought and we felt this held us back when it came to the Kaponga farm

purchase. We learnt from our mistake.” As to advice for aspiring farmers, Mike Hitchcock says sharemilking is the best way to go. “Land ownership, to be frank, is my grey area. If we hadn’t bought the land and invested our earnings into repaying loans, I think we would have come out better. There’s a lot of money to be made in sharemilking, but you need to be a savvy saver.” He also encourages new-to-farming couples to get involved in industry awards. “Great for the networking and experience of it,” he says. “It is also really important to know where your business is at at all times with budgeting and cashflows, and getting on board with your financial supporters, the bank manager and accountant,” adds Cheree Meanwhile, and with a view to retiring in 10 years or so around the age of 50, then getting out to see the world, the couple plan to do as they have always done; seize opportunities for growth, work hard and create their own luck.

Son’s management skills Kelly Deeks Hawkes Bay dairy farmers Sue and Ivan Knauf have welcomed their eldest son, Lewis, back home to manage their 780-hectare Maraekakaho farm. The Knaufs have owned the farm for 14 years. For the past few years Lewis has been pursuing a civil-engineering career with Fulton Hogan after the company gave him a scholarship to attend Canterbury University. He went on to be involved in the project management of a number of civil construction projects, including Christchurch’s new southern motorway. When that was completed, he turned his attention back to the family farm, and shifted home with his wife, Mel, last April. This season started off with a bang for Mel and Lewis, who had a baby girl, Tilly, who arrived right on calving time. Ivan Knauf says Lewis’s management and engineering skills are a great help on the farm. “He understands what is required from a manager, and he loves running the business. Our business is big enough for him to get his teeth into, with 1600 cows and a staff of 10.” A large construction project is under way as the farm’s effluent system is upgraded and expanded – 90-day storage ponds, a weeping wall, and green water from the pond irrigated through the pivots and guns. But Lewis is leaving the project management to the contractors as he concentrates on managing the farm. The Knaufs have been installing centre-pivots progressively over the last 14 years. They now

He understands what is required from a manager and he loves running the business have five centre-pivots and two hard-hose guns irrigating up to 420ha of the farm. Ivan Knauf says 600ha of the total 780ha is irrigatable, and work will continue after more high pay-out years. The support block is included in the 780ha, along with 400ha of dairy platform, 60ha of steeper land in plantation forestry, 20ha of native re-growth in a steep gorge, and 35ha of wetlands with a population of bitterns and New Zealand falcons. “Irrigation makes us more self-sufficient feedwise, and it also increases the productivity of the land we have,” Ivan Knauf says. “We grow 90ha of maize and 20ha of fodder beet, and we also have 30ha of oats during the winter.” Part of the Knaufs’ risk-management policy is to buy in a certain amount of supplements, which includes palm kernel, hominy, fodder beet, and maize. “We can’t rely on the weather, so we have to have a risk management policy in place,” Ivan says. “If we rely on irrigation and it gets shut off, we have to have plan B. We have feed on hand in silage or contracted feed to cover us in those times.” The Knaufs are winter-milking and calving

15/05/2014 3:32:26 p.m.

NZ Dairy

ON FARM » Trevor Hurley

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Droughts come and go up on the ring plains Kelly Deeks Taranaki dairy farmer Trevor Hurley isn’t scared of droughts. He is a third-generation dairy farmer, and his grandparents had a farm near the little south Taranaki community of Hurleyville, inland from Patea. In 1979, Trevor Hurley bought his father’s Awatuna dairy farm, which has been in the family since 1955. He had grown up on the farm, and never worked anywhere else. “Dad had bought another 200 acres (80 hectares) which he broke in, so the total farm is 350 acres (140ha), with 80 acres (32ha) used as a run-off for grazing young stock and making supplement,” he says. “I’ve also just taken over another 75 acres (30ha) on the western side of the property that will increase the farm to 425 acres (170ha). Now it’s big enough to put a woolshed up and start running sheep.” The new block backs on to the milking platform, and because it needs a bit of a tidy up, Hurley says he will use it to graze heifers, look to start milking off half of it in 2015, and milk off the rest in 2017. He will work his herd up from the current 260 cows to around a conservative 330. This season the Hurley farm is poised to improve on last season’s drought-induced production losses. Production is heading for a record 93,000 kilograms of milksolids on a 100%-grass system. “I’ve been brought up with droughts,” he says. “I remember in the late 1960s, early 1970s when my old man was running the farm, and he said ‘There’s no way I’m putting up with another drought – I’m buying an irrigation system’. We had 30 lengths of four inch aluminium pipes which we used to move around on the back of the TS3 Commer truck. The irrigation system worked off a Ford 3000 tractor.

When the rains come we get going quicker up here on the ring plains than they do on the coast. We’d start at 7am, the pipes were moved every two and a half hours. All that work shifting pipes! I was spitting whenever we couldn’t get it to go.” He says he last used the system during a record-breaking heatwave in the summer of 1976. After that, he chucked it under the trees and forgot about it. “I’ve lived through droughts. When the rains come, we get going quicker up here on the ring plains than they do on the coast.” Hurley’s 2013 drought recovery strategy included pregnancy-testing the herd early, and getting rid of the culls before the end of March, then drying off 50 of the lighter heifer stock. From mid-April 2013, the farm started to experience some really heavy dews and rain, which helped grass growth take off again “When the rains came we thought we could have kept milking some of the cows we had dried off until May. Nine times out of 10 you can still put condition on our cows in the ring plains.” The 2014 dry spell broke on the farm in early April with 363mls of rain – the on the farm in April for decades. Andrew and Tanya Dobbin are in their first season of lower-order sharemilking on the Hurley farm. Hurley says he is lucky to have had good sharemilkers all the way through, and the Dobbins are no exception. “When you’ve got staff that are singing off the same page, its bloody good.”

bring a new dimension 1100 cows in spring and 500 cows in autumn, which can make things difficult when they have a drought. “The feed costs a lot more in the winter. In the drought palm kernel went from $300 a tonne to $450, but you couldn’t even get it at that price. We were about 5% down in production last season, with 585,000 kilograms of milksolids.” This season they are on target for 630,000kg, which will beat the record of 623,000kg. Ivan Knauf says improvements on the farm this season include a management team that is putting farm policy into place, and good, stable staff since he implemented a drug-testing policy in 2012. “We had almost a complete change of staff 12 months ago, and one of the things we changed was to bring in this drug-testing policy and write it into their contracts. “Bringing that in has encouraged people

to come and work here because it’s a safe environment. ” He believes drugs are an underlying issue in the dairy industry: “Before we got rid of it, we were in constant turmoil. There were dramas the whole time. Our drug-testing policy has got rid of 90% of the drama – we’ve got stable, pleasant staff, and very few disciplinary issues.” Lewis’s return has freed up Ivan to undertake other projects. He has been training for the past 12 months with Fonterra’s governance development programme, has been involved with Dairy New Zealand’s environment leadership forum, and is on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s TANK group (Tutaekuri, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro, and Karamu river catchments) – a collaborative stakeholders’ group that makes recommendations on water management for some of the most productive and developed areas of Hawke’s Bay.

Trevor Hurley is a third-generation farmer in Taranaki. He bought his father’s Awatuna dairy farm in 1979 and has expanded it to 170 hectares.

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15/05/2014 3:32:35 p.m.

Producing your own power gets the thumbs up Farmers’ foresight and ability to be early adopters of technology is seeing Solar PV Power Systems become a key part of their operations. With Right House seeing customers saving 40% upwards on their power bills, this technology is proving its worth across the country.

WHAT IS SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV)

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels positioned on a roof generate clean electricity by converting sunlight to electricity. PV is different to solar hot water systems - which are also mounted on rooftops, but use the heat from the sun to provide hot water for household uses. During daylight hours, Solar PV panels produce a DC current, this runs through an inverter that converts the current into AC electricity. It is then suitable for electrical appliances and export to the main electricity grid. A PV system can be easily retrofitted to an existing roof on a house, garage, cowshed, etc. The panels are unobtrusive, need minimal intervention and with no moving parts offer reliable, long-term energy production. There are PV panels delivering power today that were installed more than 30 years ago, so with output warranty of 25 years, homeowners can have confidence that their panels will be producing at least 80% of their rated power after 25 years.

WHAT CAN YOU SAVE

Potential savings can be measured in a variety of ways but they are immediate. Right House currently sees most customers enjoy a Return on Investment in the range of 6% to 10% per year. In the Chisholm’s case (outlined below), their estimated Return on Investment is an attractive 12.8% but everyone’s power usage is different. The team at Right House determine what size system would be appropriate for your home or farm and help estimate your potential savings. Another benefit of Solar Power is that the power you generate but don’t consume; can be exported back to the grid and you can receive a credit from your retailer for that excess electricity. As well as increasing the capital value of their property; people just love seeing a smaller power bill every month and knowing they are protecting themselves against rising electricity prices.

THE BENEFITS OF SOLAR PV • There are many benefits; firstly the ability to take control of your own electricity and knowing that you locking yourself in for cheaper power for the next 25 years always makes people feel good. • Savings are immediate. After the initial cost of the system you continue to enjoy cheaper power for years to come. Right House are seeing customers saving 40% upwards on their power bills, so this technology is proving it’s worth across the country, but it varies depending on the size of the system and the customer’s electricity usage pattern.

• The Return on Investment (ROI) on a Solar PV system is more attractive now that the price of solar panels has dropped in New Zealand. Right House estimates a 6 – 10% ROI but is seeing 10 – 12% presently, especially in rural installations. • A Solar PV Power system increases the capital value of your property. Another benefit of Solar Power is that the power you generate but don’t consume; can be exported back to the electricity grid and you can receive a credit from your retailer for that excess electricity.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT SIZE SYSTEM YOU NEED?

The first thing the Right House team do is analyse the power usage. To size a PV system it is necessary to understand the current daily load profile and determine the daily breakdown in energy use. From there, an average solar yield and economic optimisation is provided. To maximise the economics of a solar system, exported power should be kept to a minimum, (so the more you can use yourself the better) but it’s important to match the right sized system to the projected power usage so the return on investment is better. After scoping work is completed; Right House will present an analysis, detailed plan of the proposed layout for the panels and a position to install the Inverter(s). It’s important to talk with a company experienced in renewable energy products and that you have confidence in their ability to deliver. Right House are experts in all energy efficiency matters; they are the largest independent insulation company in New Zealand, specify and install heat pumps, a variety of heating and cooling systems; and are one of the main players driving solar power technology forward in this country. Right House are owned by Mark Group, an international company specialising in energy efficiency solutions and renewable energy products, giving them access to the best equipment in the world. Right House has a unique structure which allows them to deliver an end to end service to customers. They are in control of the scoping, supply, and installation of the whole system. With experience across residential, commercial, and rural applications throughout New Zealand, Right House makes the process easy. Right House is committed to the rural sector and has an experienced team who understand their business and focus on sustainability. Sales Director Francis File from Right House said “We have seen the interest from the rural sector significantly increase in the past 18 months. The price of solar panels in New Zealand has become more affordable, but farmers are also historically early adopters of technology and tend to think long term. Farms are large electricity users so investing in a Solar Power System makes economic sense”.

A WAIKATO FARM KEEN TO CONTROL THEIR ELECTRICITY

A 28kW Solar Power Photovoltaic (PV) system recently installed on a large Putaruru dairy farm promises substantial savings for the owners. Owners’ Hugh and Sue Chisolm were tired of ever increasing power costs; and ready to take control of their electricity. Milking 1100 cows, the Chisolm’s power bill is substantial so they wanted to future proof themselves against this essential farming overhead. Right House installed 112 Canadian Solar panels onto the Chisolm’s cowshed roof and two Fronius IG 150 V3 Inverters. Their newly installed 28kW Solar Power PV System will have a simple Return on Investment of 12.8%*. The Chisholm’s see the capital cost of the system as a smart investment, and part of the improvement plan for their farm, but also are excited about being able to generate clean electricity. “Solar energy is free so it makes sense to utilise it” says Hugh. But one of the drivers behind our decision; is also our aim to leave our farm in a better state when we leave it one day.” * Calculations based on a power cost of 21.6c per kW and an export price of 0.6c a kW.

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38 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Ferry View Farm/Charles & Raewyn Brown

NZ Dairy

Call of south too strong Karen Phelps Ferry View Farm in Rangitikei has been facing a worse drought than that which hit farmers in the 2012-13 season. It’s a dry spell that has been isolated to the Rangitikei region. Recent soil-moisture tests indicated Ferry View was 9 per cent drier than it had been the previous season. Subsequent rain has eased the situation, but farm manager Blue Benseman says that to avoid a major impact on production, he has had to feed out more supplement. He has bought in 300 tonnes of maize silage in addition to the 20 hectares he was growing this season. However, despite these challenges, the farm has met production targets and is well on its way towards achieving 400,000 kilograms of milksolids from the herd of 1060 friesian-cross cows. Although Landcorp Farming owns or leases more than 375,000ha of land spread across 137 properties around New Zealand, and 1.6 million stock units – which makes it New Zealand’s largest farming operation – there has been a recent shift to management and partnerships rather than owning farms outright. Ferry View is one of 13 farms in the Tahi group, established through a Pengxin New Zealand Farm Group Ltd and Landcorp joint venture to manage these farms. Benseman is in his first season on the farm after a varied career, which has included being a

Landcorp farm manager Blue Benseman plans to move back to the South Island next season to take on a contract-milking position on a 850-cow farm at Murchison. prison officer at Mt Eden for 15 years, building and sharemilking. He managed a Landcorp farm at Cape Foulwind, near Westport in Buller, before going to Ferry View in search of a new challenge. Ferry View, 45 kilometres east of Palmerston North and 13km from Bulls, has a 324ha milking

The plan is to calve for nine weeks in the coming season. The calving date will be brought forward one week to July 20 with the aim of getting more days in milk.

platform, 255ha of it under irrigation via centre pivot. The water comes from an artesian bore on the farm. Benseman says this has been a godsend in the recent dry conditions. The cows are milked through an 80-bail rotary shed. Addressing the slow calving pattern of 13-14 weeks has commanded much of his attention. He achieved a 71%, six-week in-calf rate by taking the bull out earlier, but the sacrifice was the higher empty rate – 13% – that was required to get the calving pattern more in sync. The plan is to calve for nine weeks in the coming season. The calving date will be brought

forward one week to July 20 with the aim of getting more days in milk. Another focus has been a major re-grassing plan to improve pasture species on the farm. This season 75ha of the milking platform and 80ha of the 200ha neighbouring run-off block have been regrassed. All waterways and wetland areas have been fenced. The farm employs five full-time and two casual staff and Benseman has monthly meetings with Landcorp. But, as a result of winning the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards’ Westcoast/Top of the South farm manager of the year title, Blue Benseman has received a few job offers and has found the

Effluent system upgrade Kelly Deeks

• Dry Matter • Full Soil Test • Full Feed Analysis • Effluent Testing-Total Nitrogen

Walton dairy farmers Charles and Raewyn Brown are set to start some developments this season with an upgrade to their old, two-pond effluent system with more storage, which will allow the couple to hold off irrigating during wet periods. The effluent system upgrade is due to begin this winter, and Brown is looking at his options. He says he wants an above-ground tank with a separator, and a bit more storage so that he doesn’t have to irrigate when the weather is wet. The Browns are milking a 680-cow pedigree jersey herd in the Eastern Waikato, on the 147-hectare (effective) farm they have owned for the past 13 years. They started with 80ha and milked 180 cows. About 10 years ago they bought neighbouring farms on each side and doubled the size of the farm. Before shifting to the Waikato, the Browns were living at Drury, on the southern fringe of Auckland, milking friesians on town-milk supply. After a few wet winters where the friesians were doing things a bit tough, the Browns decided in

1990 that they would be better off with smaller animals, and bought a pedigree jersey herd. “We’ve kept it that way since we bought it,” Charles Brown says. “At mating time we’re always looking for conformation and body-size, as we’re trying to breed a bigger jersey for more production. We alternate about five bulls for AB.” The Browns have been split-calving for the four years – they calve about 80 cows in the autumn and avoid having to cull the good empty cows. A 50-bail rotary shed was built eight years ago to replace the 28-a-side herringbone shed; and it halved milking time. Charles Brown says it is good to keep using it as much as possible. With a flat to easy rolling contour, the farm has a few low-lying areas that can become wet, so drainage work and overflows in these areas is ongoing. The farm is supported by a 40ha run-off block, where maize is grown, and bulls and dry cows are grazed. The Browns grow 15ha of chicory on farm for use over summer, and that area then gets regrassed with the best available ryegrass.

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NZ Dairy 32-39.indd 38

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15/05/2014 3:32:49 p.m.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Ferry View Farm/Charles & Raewyn Brown

for Blue

| 39

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Four snapshots of farming on Landcorp’s Ferry View property in the Rangitikei. pull back to the South Island too hard to resist. Next season he and his wife, Cecelia, will head to Murchison to take on a contract-milking position on an 850-cow farm. He says he has enjoyed his time with Landcorp and will miss the corporate structure of working

for the state-owned enterprise, which put all the systems in place to run a large-scale farming operation. His eventual aim is to own a herd setting him up for a comfortable retirement. However, watch this space as goal-posts can be moved.

on the winter schedule

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The Browns grow 15ha of chicory on farm...the chicory has definitely helped out during drought conditions. Charles Brown says his farming system is getting near to high input – maize from the runoff block and about 500 tonnes of palm kernel is fed to make sure the cows are always fully fed. “The chicory has definitely helped out during drought conditions,” he says. The cows are fed on a feedpad in two herds, about 340 cows in each. Each herd is managed by a herd manager, and

one other staff member is employed. This season the Browns are heading for record production of 310,000 kilograms of milksolids, up from 283,000kg last season. Charles Brown says the farm has experienced drought conditions this season as well as last, but the difference has been the great start – a mild winter and lots of growth – to the 2013-14 season..

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03 983 5514 NZ Dairy 32-39.indd 39

15/05/2014 3:32:55 p.m.

DAIRY PEOPLE/BREEDING» Gareth & Louise Ogle/Mokairau Hereford Stud

40 |

NZ Dairy

The Ogle family: Taranaki couple Gareth and Louisa Ogle sharemilk 255 cows on a 72-hectare farm owned by Louisa’s parents near Manaia.

Couple work their way up ladder Sue Russell

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There is a wealth of experience you gather up when you start your career in farming as a farm worker and work your way through the ranks to sharemilking. Such is the case for Gareth and Louisa Ogle, who are in their fifth season as lower-order sharemilkers on a South Taraanaki farm owned by Louisa’s parents near Manaia. Gareth and Lousia are milking 255 cows – mainly friesians, but with shorthorns, jerseys and ayrshires in the mix as well. The fairly flat, 72-hectare (70ha effecitve) property is on the edge of the Waimate Plain. Five hectares is set aside each year for growing turnips as additional feed, which allows old pastures to be replaced with new. Louisa plays an active part in running the farm and looking after the couple’s four children, but they employ additional labour during the busy spring time until the AB is completed. Last year, they produced 78,000 kilograms of milksolids in the face of drought, which saw no milk in the vat for five months. This year it has been a very different story –

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the 2013-14 production result was for around 91,000kg when NZDairy spoke to the Ogles. While the herd is sustained through an all-grass feeding system. High-protein supplements and PKE are added at each milking time in the new 30-a-side herringbone shed with automatic cup-removers. When the Ogles hosted the Fraser Road Discussion Group in March, the group scored the cows at a 4.4 body condition score. Gareth Ogle is very conscious about the animals’ well-being: I have got them in good condition and don’t want to milk the fat off them at the end of the season, so we are now 16-hour milking”. With recent rain and grass growth, the cows increased milk production and returned to twice-aday milking until the end of the season.

The couple see many benefits in discussion groups. Meetings are held on different properties and track through the full cycle of the season. Gareth and Louisa Ogle say their next step will be to increase their sharemilking stake to 50:50. “Achieving that will mean my dream of one day owning my own farm is just that little bit nearer,” says Gareth. “And that’s what we are working towards and focussing on at this time.” At the age of 33 years, he plenty of time to realise that dream. Meanwhile the Ogles maintain their work-life balance by spending time together as a family and getting off the farm every so often to enjoy a spot of fishing and motor-cross events, while Gareth plays rugby for the local Okaiawa club.

It’s a family affair at Mokairau • From page 44 won top prize national hereford, plus Mokairau Howard and Mokairau Jerome, successful bulls produced on farm. All bulls for sale are independently vet-checked. “We’ve tried to keep things practical and breed cattle that can survive the changeable conditions and droughts because it can dry up very quickly on the coast,” says Peter Reeves. “The cattle have to be able to handle the conditions and look right. We breed cattle for a deep red colour to maintain the identity of the breed. At the end of the day, we’re looking for balance.” Mokairau Hereford Stud currently runs 350 breeding cows. Between 120 and 150 commercial cows are run in conjunction with the stud.

The Reeves offer heifer grazing; they graze around 250 animals each year, which has proved good for cashflow. They also finish around 600 cattle each year. As well as the cattle, the Reeves carry 3000 poll dorset breeding ewes in a terminal-sire system. Early lambs are sent to the works from the end of October when they reach 18 kilograms. Peter Reeves says farm succession is definitely a priority at the moment, and he couldn’t be prouder. “The children are all passionate about farming and bring a deep commitment to the farm. Sophie even sent me a CV as a joke to apply for Jon’s job, now that he’s going to be in charge of the new run-off. It shows how keen she is, and it’s very special that they all want to be part of the family business.”

Herd something we should feature in the next NZDairy? Contact us today on 03 983 5514 Weaner herefords graze on Mokairau Station.

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15/05/2014 3:36:56 p.m.

NZ Dairy

BREEDING »Wayne & Leeanne Taylor

| 41

Double reward for Taranaki couple Kelly Deeks When Taranaki dairy farmers Wayne and Leeanne Taylor attended last year’s New Zealand Holstein Friesian Association annual conference in Invercargill, they had no idea they would win, not one, but two major awards. The Taylors were presented with the association’s Distinguished Service Award for almost 30 years of sustained commitment and service to the association and the breed. They also took out the Valden Cow of the Year Trophy with their 13-year-old Muritai Leader Willow. “Winning the Distinguished Service Award was pretty special,” says Wayne Taylor. “It was humbling to be recognised by our peers for the time and effort we’ve put in.” The Taylors have given years of service to the association, both within the Taranaki branch and at national level. Wayne is a long-standing national councilor who was elected Holstein Friesian New Zealand president for a two-year term in 2010. He is also a senior holstein friesian judge and was a TOP inspector for a number of years. Leeanne was the association’s national youth co-ordinator from 1999 to 2004. “The conference has become our annual holiday over the years and we love getting around the different regions,” says Wayne. ”There are some great people involved in the association. We’ve made some lifelong friends.” The Valden Cow of the Year Trophy has been presented for only the last two years, and the Taylors have won it both times. The award takes into account a cow’s longevity within a herd, lifetime lactation, protein production, daughter production performance, sons and grandsons marketed by AI companies, show successes, type and conformation, and Star Brood status. “Four of the six cows in the finals belonged to us and we were thrilled when Willow won the overall trophy,” says Wayne. ”We’ve had a lot of success and fun with her in the show ring, and now as a brood cow. She is in her 10th lactation, and to date has averaged 592 kilograms of milksolids per season.” The Taylors farm the Muritai Holstein Friesian Stud at Ian and Janet Finer’s 68-hectare (effective) property at Tikorangi, near Waitara, where they are 50:50 sharemilkers milking 200 cows. “The stud cows regularly produce above the 400kg milksolids mark, even when there’s a drought,” says Wayne. “This season is on track to

Taranaki farmers Wayne and Leeane Taylor (right) won two awards at the annual Holstein Friesian New Zealand conference in Invercargill – the Valden Cow of the Year Trophy with Muritai Leader Willow (above) and the Distinguished Service Award. be one of the best in the eight years we’ve farmed here.” The Taylors are big fans of the Queen of Calves nutrition programme which they have used for more than a decade. “It certainly makes a difference, especially with the young stock and helping to get growth into our two-year-old heifers before they come into milk.” Young stock is raised on a 20ha block two kilometres away, where the Taylors also cut bulk hay and silage. Wayne says cows from his uncle’s herd formed the genesis of the award-winning Muritai stud. “We registered our first animal in 1985 and have been very fortunate that farm-owners we’ve worked for have encouraged our involvement on the breeding side of things and allowed us to pursue it.” Not all the Taylors’ cows are registered, but it is something they are working towards.

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The couple have developed some strong families within their herd that have given them a lot of enjoyment and recognition, says Wayne. “We are seeing the fruits of those efforts with several of our young bulls going back into AI service in the industry. We found out during the New Zealand Dairy Event that CRV is releasing another of our bulls to the market this year. It adds another level of interest for us.” The bulls not sold to CRV or Livestock Improvement Corporation are sold at the gate for dairy-beef and bull-beef rearing, with a couple sent to the national sale each year. The Taylors say they have no desire to increase the size of their herd or farming business. “We don’t have a burning ambition to hang a multi-million-dollar mortgage around our necks,” says Wayne. “We’re at a stage in life where we’ll complete what we’re doing and continue to enjoy the progress of our children through the industry, who are all involved in sharemilking.

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15/05/2014 3:37:07 p.m.

NZ Dairy

BREEDING » Westell/Carse-o-Fern

42 |

Discovery a boost for breeders Jo Bailey The new-look Discovery Project is giving holstein friesian breeders the opportunity to develop top cow families, says chairperson Wendy Harker, who is also vice president of the New Zealand Holstein Friesian Association. “Our pilot programme has already created more than 400 embryos from high-genetic-merit animals to be implanted this year. There should be some nice animals coming through.” This year, the project, sponsored by Livestock Improvement Corporation and Animal Breeding Services Ltd, will see the genomic screening of up to 300 registered rising-one-year heifers; with 50 to be selected to participate. Their eggs will be harvested and embryos created for implanting. All NZHFA members in New Zealand can nominate their high-genetic-merit animals for the programme. “This is the first year we’ve taken nominations. It’s pretty exciting,” says Harker. The Discovery Project is one of her several off-farm interests. She and husband David farm the Westell herd under Mt Kakepuku, near Te Awamutu. She joined the NZHFA in 1989 and has been vice-president since 2012. She is a certified TOP inspector and classifier for the association, a calf-club judge, and part of the black & white youth and sire-proving committees. “I joined the association for a couple of reasons,” she says. “One, I never really grew out of calf club and always had a passion for cows; and two, we were concerned with the udder traits in our cows and wanted knowledge to help improve this.” The Harkers’ herd of 450 cows is 90% holstein friesians, and includes 40 pedigree milking shorthorns.

Team Harker: David Harker (left), Anthony Galey (rear) Wendy Harker, Tarn Harker (Back), Jay Seebeck and Brad Seager celebrate after winning the Supreme Combined Breeds exhibit at NZ Dairy Event in January. “There’s a family connection as my father always loved shorthorns. They are good, hardy animals, and I enjoy their colour variety. We’ll maintain a small number to try and keep the breed alive.” One of their shorthorns, Westell Empire Shelly, was judged the supreme combined breeds cow at New Zealand Dairy Event in January. The original piece of land on the Harkers’ 121-hectare (effective) home farm was bought by David’s parents in 1980. By 1983 he was sharemilking 120 cows on the property and in 1990 he and Wendy bought the farm.

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They have bought additional land, including two smaller farms that connect at the back of the home block, taking the total to 212ha effective. “One of these farms came with a cowshed, so we use this as a one-man unit where our herd manager milks 130 of our 450 cows and looks after our young stock. We sometimes put non-cyclers to the bottom block, or when it’s getting dry, put the lighter cows down there onto once-a-day milking.” In early March their production was ahead of last year, but the final result would depend on the tail end of the season, she says. “As long as we get some autumn rain, we should hit 200,000 kilograms of milksolids.” Wendy says the couple’s long association with the Waipa Club, and advice from its members has helped them take control of their breeding programme.

“We’ve refined our breeding for the type of animals we want. We think they suit our situation very well now.” The Harkers hold the annual Waipa Club sale on their farm where they present five to 10 of their own in-calf heifers. Wendy Harker continues to share her love of the holstein friesian breed with young people: “All our children have grown up, so I try to help other keen kids these days. I love working with them, whether it’s through calf blub or the Black and White Youth programme. Three of our calves were shown at Dairy Event by local youth we worked with.” She says she couldn’t indulge her passion for cows and off-farm interests if it weren’t for David. “He loves the land and doing all the contracting and pasture work on the farm while I look after the animals and get involved with things off farm.”

Doug happy with the tune of his Karen Phelps Dairy farmer, breeder and New Zealand Holstein Friesian Association president Doug Courtman, reckons there’s something to be said for being a one-man-band farmer. “The majority of farms in New Zealand are less than about 300 cows,” he says.. “When the kids were young, it was good; we got more family time together as the whole family could be involved on the farm. It’s a good lifestyle – you can work things to suit yourself as you don’t have staff to worry about.” Doug and his wife, Lorraine, farm 56 hectares (effective) of flat to rolling country on the main road between Otorohanga and Te Awamutu. Lorraine grew up on a farm near Cambridge, and it was the name on the gate of that farm – Carse-o-Fern – that Doug has taken as the name for his holstein-friesian stud. The Courtmans milk 140 purebred holstein friesian cows through a 14-a-side herringbone shed

with just one luxury – is meal feeders to reduce the workload by not feeding out in the paddock. The herd is fed four kilograms of meal a day during the milking season. The Courtmans use contractors when necessary, but do everything else themselves. They say they they are not particularly aiming to increase their business, but rather to maintain the status quo. Doug’s role as NZHFA president leaves little time for expansion anyway. He says the big issue occupying the association is the transfer of the Core Database to the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database following Livestock Impovement Corporation shareholder agreement and legislative change that means the database will now be run by Dairy New Zealand. “As a breed society, we’re fighting to ensure we have access to the data once the transfer occurs. It’s vital for the continuation of the breed society. We have been assured we will have access, but nothing has been finalised yet.” He says the membership base of the association has grown in the past few years to around 850

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15/05/2014 3:37:13 p.m.

NZ Dairy

BREEDING » Ruaview

| 43

Right: Ruaview Stud owner John Hammond with simmental and angus bulls. Above: Angus bulls

Conversion makes time for breeding Karen Phelps

There’s a lack of foresight by the beef processors. If they can’t get their act together and their marketing right, beef will soon be a very difficult product to farm.

Converting from beef to dairy will allow simmental and angus breeder John Hammond to concentrate more on his stud operation. “I’m a bull supplier more than a fat-stock supplier,” he says. “The payout beef and dairy offer are so far apart it made sense. Converting will also allow us to expand into a different market and diversify the business.” Growing frustration with the lack of direction of the beef industry was also an important factor. “Silver Fern’s eating quality system, in which any beef that hits the defined target market will be paid a good premium, is an exciting venture for the beef industry. But none of the other players are doing anything to help beef suppliers. “There’s a lack of foresight by beef processors. If they can’t get their act together and their marketing right, beef will soon be a very difficult product to farm. I found it frustrating.” Son Michael, who has been working on a dairy farm up north, will return to the family farm as a 50:50 sharemilker. He will be the fourth generation of Hammond to work on the 140-hectare Ohakune property.

The Hammonds will milk 200 friesian cows through a 30-a-side herringbone dairy shed with capacity for expansion. The conversion is under way and milking will start on August 1. But it’s breeding that John Hammond is most passionate about, and how changes in the beef industry, such as the eating quality system, will affect his regime. “The exciting part is the future of genetics and what animals will fit this programme, how and why? It could have a bearing on sires. I find this breeding and improvement of product very exciting.” He started his stud nearly 25 years ago for the challenge, having grown up on the property. He and wife Helen have been running 120 friesian bulls in their beef operation, buying in four-day-old and raising them 20 months, ready for slaughter. They now plan to calve down 30 simmental and

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members. A big part of this increase has been the association’s focus on recruitment, with a field officer, Balclutha-based Stephen Booth, employed in the South Island. The association is now looking to employ a field officer to service the North Island. Courtman uses mainly overseas genetics in his stud, and aims for a big high-producing cow bred for protein, udders and capacity. This has sometimes worked against him in terms of the breeding-worth BW system, which does not tend to favour larger cows. His herd averages around 450 kilograms of milksolids per cow. In the farm’s best year, the cows averaged 500kg milksolids. The Courtmans had around a dozen rising-twoyear-old, in-calf heifers in the Waipa Combined Breeders Holstein Friesian sale in April. They do not sell to overseas buyers. “I’d rather sell to the local market and have the stock in this country supporting the breed in New Zealand,” says Doug Courtman. “We feel we can add value to the holstein friesian breed by keeping our pedigree stock here.”

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60 angus cows in their Ruaview stud. Progeny will be reared on the home block in conjunction with the dairy platform. The beef cows and replacement dairy heifers will be grazed on a 60ha lease block . John Hammond has already had success with his breeding. At the New Zealand 2008 Beef Expo bull Ruaview Scotch was judged the supreme champion simmental and was reserve champion over all the breeds in the show. In 2013, Ruaview won the Best of Breed: European award at the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Steak of Origin competition. He says the issue for the beef industry is not only how to produce the best product at the

genetic level, but also how product is delivered and processed. The industry is investigating where improvements can be made. Hammond aims for high-performance animals rather than high-performance figures – an important distinction. He keeps his estimated breeding values at a moderate level, no more than 50% above the breed average for any trait. He says dairy farmers could benefit from his bulls. “Simmental and angus can offer enormous amounts of benefit to a dairy farmer. Angus have an amazing ability to calve easily. Simmental also calve well, but it’s the growth of progeny over friesians that should be highly sought after. “Mixing beef with friesian genetics offers good growth rates for bobby calves, so dairy farmers can increase the vaklue of these calves by using angus or simmental genetics.” Ruaview has an on-farm bull sale on farm on May 22; 16 angus and 10 simmental bulls will be offered.

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NZ Dairy

BREEDING » Mokairau Hereford Stud

It’s a family affair at Mokairau Karen Phelps Some farmers struggle to get their children interested in carrying on the family farming dynasty. Peter and Christine Reeves have the opposite problem – too many of their kids are keen on the farming life. They admit it’s a happy situation to be in, and it has seen them expand their business in recent years to prepare for the future. They’ve added 600 hectares to their farm and have just bought an additional 550ha block nearby, which they will use as a breeding unit producing bulls for the dairy industry. “We’ve got four sons, and a daughter and son-in-law. and all but one want to go farming,” says Peter. “They enjoy the lifestyle and the opportunities to hunt and fish with living close to the coast.” The 1600ha property, just north of Gisborne, runs parallel to the coast. Peter Reeves grew up there and is the third generation to run the farm. Staff are all family: sons Matthew, 30, and Jon, 28; daughter Sophie, 26 and her husband, Nick, 28. Another son Sam, 23, works on a farm nearby, and Richard, 32, is the police constable in Tolaga Bay. The story of Mokairau goes back well over 100 years. The family has farmed in the district since 1862 and their polled hereford stud (Mokairau Hereford Stud) was founded in 1954. As the dairy industry has grown in New Zealand, Peter and Christine Reeves have adapted their business. Mokairau was one of the first Eastland hereford studs to start onfarm auctions in 1986 and is having its annual sale, offering 35 bulls, on June 26 this year. The Reeves also sell after the sale in paddocks and direct to dairy farmers, who are becoming increasingly interested in the farm’s genetics. Peter Reeves says his herefords can offer hybrid vigour to dairy farmers’ herds. “The distinct markings of herefords with

PHOTOS Left: Jon Reeves musters cows on Mokairau. Lower left: Peter Reeves with some of the 35 hereford bulls for Mokairau’s annual sale on June 26. Lower centre: Peter and Christine Reeves farm the 1600ha Mokairau Hereford Stud.

five white points – feet and head – mean farmers know which of their females has been crossed by a hereford sire. This allows them to maintain easy control of their AI programme.” He says the temperament and growth rates of herefords are good for both beef and dairy farmers. Roughly half the stud bulls are home grown and the remainder have been bought from outside to keep fresh bloodlines coming through. The stud aims to produce a moderatebirthweight cow with well above average 600day weight (this year the herd averaged around 650 kilograms). Bloodlines in this year’s sale will include Kairuru Davis, a bull bought off farm which has

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Peter and Christine combining power and performance, growing clover and producing prime stock.

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