Nz dairy 2016 Autumn Issue by Waterford Press Limited

Autumn 2016

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

Dairy sheds drive success Builder Trevor Barfoote has nosy neighbours to thank for the success of his construction company. Page 65

INSIDE

Whitelock’s new crusade - PAGE 4

Getting the job done - PAGE 37

• Can apply raw effluent at application rates below 7mm/hour and application depths below 3mm • Combines reliable proven method of traveling with the performance of effluent raingun • Save time and money by covering more than double the area of traditional travelling irrigators

Ties to the land continue after sale - PAGE 69

The joys of life on the farm - PAGE 74

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Aaron & Fiona Campbell

NZ Dairy

An opportunity to buy the farm after their three-year sharemilking contract finished has fast-tracked Aaron and Fiona Campbell’s purchase of their first farm at Bunnythorpe, near Palmerston North.

Farm ownership offer hard to refuse Karen Phelps When Aaron and Fiona Campbell took on a sharemilking position three years ago the farm’s owners Peter and Val Donald were clear about the next career choice the couple must make. “They told us that we had three years to decide whether we wanted to buy the farm because they were selling it at the end of our contract,” says Aaron.

It has fast-tracked the couple into the purchase of their first farm at Bunnythorpe, Palmerston North, which they are taking over on June 1 when the sharemilking contract finishes. “We were excited until the pay out started driving south,” says Aaron. “But we’re planning our future here so it’s a matter of getting through the hard times.” Aaron grew up on a dairy farm in Foxton then completed a Bachelor of Agriculture at Massey University. He also qualified as a teacher working at

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They told us that we had three years to decide whether we wanted to buy the farm because they were selling it at the end of our contract.

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Autumn 2016

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

Dairy sheds drive success Builder Trevor Barfoote has nosy neighbours to thank for the success of his construction company. Page 65

INSIDE

Whitelock’s new crusade - PAGE 4

Getting the job done - PAGE 37

Ties to the land continue after sale - PAGE 69

The joys of life on the farm - PAGE 74

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Aaron & Fiona Campbell

Matamata College where he established the Piarere Agricultural School. Fiona, also a qualified teacher, grew up on a small beef block, rearing calves in Levin, so also comes from a rural background. When their first child was on the way the couple decided to leave teaching behind and return to farming, taking a position on a 240 cow farm at Matamata for a year followed by a semi-management position in the second year. They then took on a 50:50 sharemilking position on a 180-230 cow farm for three years, also in Matamata followed by a 50:50 sharemilking on a 460-485 cow farm for five years in Waverley before moving to their present 50:50 sharemilking position in Bunnythorpe. As of June 1, the Campbells will own 77ha of their 92ha effective/97ha total unit at Bunnythorpe and lease the remainder. They are peak milking a herd of 330 crossbreed cows through a basic 24-a-side herringbone shed. The Campbells have been working hard on their herd since they became sharemilkers and say they are now starting to reap the benefits. “When we first started, like most sharemilkers, we bought a very budget herd. In fact, we joked that we were lucky the cows had four legs and four teats,” says Aaron. “We’ve aimed to change these low producing cows as rapidly as possible through genetics focusing on low empty rates (5-6%) and high turnover of cull cows in the first eight years. The move from Waverley to Palmerston North meant a drop in cow numbers so we sold the bottom part of the herd which was the last push to get the cows in the top 5% BW.” When they first arrived on the farm, the best production was 117,000 kilograms of milk solids. Over their time, the Campbells have increased this to 158,000 kilograms last season and are on target to produce 155,000 kilograms this season due to a harsher spring. Despite the lower dairy pay out, the couple remains positive and are looking for ways to get them through the tougher times. Fiona plans to take a part-time teaching position off farm to assist cash flow and they are carefully investing in their farm in ways that will improve profitability and are constructing a 400-cow concrete feed pad to increase their feed efficiency.

PHOTOS: Bunnythorpe dairy farmers Aaron and Fiona Campbell with children Ethan, Matthew and Joshua.

They also plan to increase cow numbers slowly aiming for 350-360 next season. They will supply Open Country Dairy preferring to keep their debt to a minimum. The Campbells employ one full time staff member and one reliever. Fiona rears the calves and completes the farm accounts. Cadets also come onto the farm through Land Based Training to help assist the next generation of dairy farmers. The Campbells have three children: Joshua, 12, Ethan, 10 and Matthew, 8. They say family comes first as they are involved in their local church. Aaron coaches cricket and Fiona is involved in the local school Parent Teachers Association, as well as running a number of summer hockey teams. They admit owning their own farm has been a massive achievement and cite assistance from the various farm owners they have worked with over the years as being key. “Share milking is a fantastic route to farm ownership and it’s still possible to own a farm in less than 15 years,” says Aaron. “We talk a lot in the industry about cows and grass but it’s the relationship between share milker and farm owner that is the most important thing in the business. “Farm ownership has been a long time coming for us. We can make our own decisions now about our farm. That’s a good feeling.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » George Whitelock

NZ Dairy

Whitelock joins a different crusade Kelly Deeks Former Crusaders flanker George Whitelock has swapped the ITM Cup for the milking cups, coming home to the family farm at Linton, near Palmerston North, in June last year. Now retired from professional rugby, he says the idea is to get a season under his belt to see if dairy farming is for him, and for the future of his family, wife Kayla and nine-month-old daughter Addison. George had not previously worked on the farm, having started straight into his professional rugby career on leaving school. He is now in herd manager for 600 of the 1800 cows on the 750ha Whitelock farm this season, milking through a 36-a-side herringbone dairy shed, while the remainder are milked through an 80 bale rotary. He is employed by his parents, Braeden and Caroline Whitelock, as herd manager which is a full time gig. He is working every role on the farm to gain an appreciation for what the farm’s 10 staff do, and an understanding of what he is expecting of them. He says he is thoroughly enjoying dairy farming and keen to carry on under his mum and dad’s guidance, working his way into farm ownership. However his younger brothers, Adam, Sam, and Luke, with their professional rugby careers still in full swing, may also return home to the farm. George is supported by a very good team of staff, working closely with three of them at the herringbone shed, where he says the challenge of managing them has been helped tremendously by the leadership skills he has gained during his rugby career. Braeden and Caroline are also a massive support for the fledgling farmer and his family, with Braeden’s 30 plus years of dairy farming experience filling in the gaps in George’s knowledge. The Whitelock farm has been in the family for more than 30 years, with Braeden first purchasing a 60 cow rehab farm. This has now grown to 750ha and 1800 cows, a relatively low stocking rate as 100ha is floodable land on the banks of the Manawatu River. This area flooded in June, July, and August this season. “We do milk off that part, we just have to keep on top of our feed over there or there’s a risk we could lose it.” George says dairy farming is a big job, and a massive change from the rugby lifestyle. “The biggest difference is probably the need to organise my time,” he says. “While playing rugby we had training, but it was a lot more flexible and

George Whitelock with daughter Addison. The former Crusaders and Canterbury stalwart, who captained Canterbury to five successive national provincial titles, is now herd manager on the family farm at Linton, near Palmerston North.

we had a lot of down time in between travelling. On the farm it’s way more full on. You’ve got to milk the cows twice a day, you’ve got guys waiting on you and you’ve got to think ahead.” He is finding the practical side of the job pretty simple, but the bookwork is a different story. “I’ve got to be really accurate so I’m learning to slow down a bit. It all comes back to good organisation and being on top of everything. That’s why I’m lucky to have dad here, he picks up a lot of that slack.”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Andrew & Tanya Dobbin

Low-cost setup eases payout pain Sue Russell Andrew and Tanya Dobbin are lower-order sharemilkers on a 130 effective hectare farm due South of Mt Taranaki between Opunake and Stratford. The farm is owned by Trevor Hurley and this is the couple’s third season on it. For Andrew it has been a busy time of consolidating and building on an already successful farming operation. “Trevor bought 35 hectares last year so we have consequently increased the herd by 30 to 300 and so far we are 15% up on last season’s production. The cows averaged 360 kg each last year,” says Andrew. Their main area of concentration has been on bringing the new block, which is already in a good situation fully up to standard. Of late new races have been constructed and drainage issues resolved. What’s left to be done are the hardest pockets, lahar hills full of gravel. Break-even for the couple’s budget is $4.50/kg and despite it remaining lower than this for longer than he had hoped Andrew says this season the books are looking better than before. “We keep our costs relatively low. We are a system 1 farm so apart from turnip crops and producing annually 450 bales of hay and 300 bales of silage we rely on the grass.” Currently the farm is stocked to 2.35 cows/ hectare and with an elevation ranging between 280m to 350m above sea-level it receives nearly 2 metres of rain per year. Snow is not uncommon either and Andrew says his best defence against the elements is to make sure there is always a supplement buffer on hand should it be needed. He aims to increase the herd by a further 30 cows either next season or the one after that and feels the farm is capable of operating with a milking herd of 350 when all the infrastructure development has been completed. Tanya attends to her share of the farm responsibilities once the children are off to school. These include pasture management, the farm budgets, calf rearing and keeping the farm records up to date. Under foot the Egmont Brown Loam soil suffers from leaching at times so Andrew counters that with applying fertiliser little and often. Trevor looks after farm maintenance and the young stock. “It works out really well with Trevor and I. We learn off each other.” Andrew and Tanya are conveners of the local

High Altitude Discussion Group. Assisting farmers with advice within the group is Dairy NZ Advisor Michelle Taylor. The monthly meetings Andrew says are a really good place to bounce ideas off. Looking forward five years Andrew and Tanya hope to be in a position to be 50:50 sharemilking and be building toward complete herd ownership. When not busy attending to the business of farming Andrew and Tanya like to take their two children Siobhan (7) and Wyatt (5) fishing and occasionally shooting. “Spending time together off farm as a family is rare, so we take what time we can get. It’s a great community to live in and we’re lucky to have a great family and a lot of support from everyone.” That support he says very much includes owner Trevor and his wife Teresa. “I see Trevor every day and I guess you could describe our meetings as ‘vaguely formal’ every so often. It is not like I am working for a corporate owner where it is more about performance outcomes for the business.” The couple have enjoyed some success recently at the Dairy Industry Awards, making it to the finals of the Sharemilker of the Year category last year with the judges noting that the couple had bought

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things we learnt doing the DIA”, Tanya said. “I would recommend entering these events to any farmer because the awards process taught us so much.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Alistair Wicksteed/Michael Fitzi & Graham Cates

NZ Dairy

Debt reduction, replanting the focus Kim Newth Alastair and Nicola Wicksteed did not take long to make a mark on the Taranaki farm they moved onto as 50:50 sharemilkers last June. Together with owners Rob and Colleen Porter, they started rolling out a long term riparian planting plan within a month of arriving on the farm. The couple forged a good early relationship with Rob and Colleen, who gave their blessing to the plan. “Environmental compliance is important to us and it was something we brought up at the interview for this position,” says Nicola. “We have a plan in place for riparian planting to happen across the whole farm over the next five years.” The farm has 120ha effective and Alastair and Nicola are milking 360 cows at peak out of a 40-a-side herringbone shed. On swampy land, the farm is criss-crossed with drains that are now the focus of the riparian planting programme. Nicola and Alastair manage the milking themselves, with support from a regular relief milker. “It means I can then be there for the kids so they’re not missing out on afternoon activities,” says Nicola. The couple have three children, aged 6, 7 and 11 years. Last winter’s above average rainfall meant it was a tough start for the couple. In spring, they put the cows on a 16 hour milking cycle as the paddocks were still very wet and grass was not growing. “The cows were starting to lose condition so it made sense to switch to milking three times in two days.” Each month Alastair and Nicola spend time scrutinising their finances, comparing their budget with what has actually been spent. Their big focus is on reducing debt. “When the pay-out was high, we took advantage of that and got rid of a lot of debt, so it means we can service what we have now got.” Their goal is to keep farm working expenses at $1.90 per kg/MS,

or below. “Anything that’s left over goes straight off the debt.” Last year, the couple came third in the Taranaki Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year at the region’s Dairy Industry Awards. They also won a dairy hygiene award, and a risk management award acknowledging their up to date insurance and health and safety practices. At the time they entered they were looking for another 50/50 position, having just finished a twoyear contract on a farm in Mahoe. Their goal was to promote themselves and meet new people in the industry. It was also an excellent opportunity to look at their own practices and to improve their business. “We have both gained so much in confidence,” says Nicola, who adds that they have entered the awards again this year. “Our goal is to be grade free and have a somatic cell count (SCC) under one hundred.” The couple have come a long way since they began lower order sharemilking in 2004. Their goal for the coming decade is to own their own farm. A multiple share milking arrangement, lease or equity partnership may be an option for the future. “We’re just keeping our eyes and ears open to look at ways of growing equity.”

“When the pay-out was high, we took advantage of that and got rid of a lot of debt, so it means we can service what we have now got.”

Alistair and Nicola Wickstead with their children, Ryan, 11, Gemma, 7, and Cory, 6.

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Farm manager Graham Cates, left, with his second in charge, Kohl.

Farm on target for good results Karen Phelps Last season, the 113ha farm owned by Michael Fitzi in Walton, Matamata, achieved record production producing 125,000kg of milk solids from a herd of 280 cows. This season the farm is on target to achieve 130,000kg, milking 286 cows, according to farm manager Graham Cates who is in his fifth season in charge and brings 20 years of experience in dairy farming. He puts the good production targets down to a variety of changes that have been made on the farm and to the herd, which is a mix of Friesian, Jersey and Ayrshire genetics. “We’re hard cullers and rear extra heifers to support this regime. For example, the first season I was here I culled over 70, the second season around 40 and we have continued with this process of breeding more than we need each season. You’re better off milking fewer cows but better cows,” he says. Graham says that the herd has been DNA tested for the past four years and the farm is slowly breeding better animals as a result. Paying to graze heifers and young stock on a farm next door also assists this as they can keep a close eye on the herd. Other changes in his seasons as manager include building a new palm kernel bin, extending the maize silage pit, building a concrete load out area to enable the mixer wagon to be loaded more easily, building the feed pad, installing Protrack in the shed and rebuilding external fencing. The farm, which has a dairy platform of 102ha, milks the herd through its 28-aside herringbone shed, which also includes automatic drafting and a meal feeding system. Although the shed also has

automatic cup removers Graham doesn’t use them preferring more traditional methods. “I was born and bred on a farm up North and we never had them. The somatic cell count actually rose when we used them. Perhaps I wasn’t doing something right but it’s dropped nicely to an average of 160 now,” he says. Last season, a mixer wagon was used for the first time. The farm is not buying in feed at the moment preferring to grow everything on farm and on a 9ha support block. “The mixer wagon has helped us to utilise feed better. We have scales and we know how much we’re giving the herd now. This season we took two cuts of silage off the support block for the first time by using a short maturing maize. “We’re aiming to grow around 18-20 tonnes per hectare. If you have to buy in feed it’s dead money so we aim to grow it ourselves and be pretty self sufficient.” He says the current aim is to improve farm infrastructure to utilise the mixer wagon to its full potential. Currently, feeding out is done in the paddock but Graham says that the farm owner views anything that is left behind as organic fertiliser. Due to the dry summer the focus is on keeping cows in milk as long as possible. The farm has natural ponds and around 80 percent of the farm is irrigated by travelling irrigators. Conversely the farm gets very wet in winter due to these underground springs. They on-off graze in winter to protect pastures and aim to extend the farm feed pad so they can utilise this better although any capital investment is on hold until the pay out improves. “The farm owner and I agree – we only spend money if it needs to be spent and reinvest it back into the farm.”

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » David & Louise Powick/James McConnell & Aidan Richards

Identifying farm strengths one way to weather payout blues Kim Newth Pahiatua equity farmers David and Louise Powick are making the most of their farm’s main asset – good summer rainfall – to reduce reliance on bought-in supplements. The couple previously worked as 50:50 sharemilkers for the best part of a decade and in 2002 were named Sharemilker of the Year for Hawkes Bay/Wairarapa. David is also an experienced dairy farm consultant. This is now their fourth season in a new dairy farming venture at Pahiatua in the Tararua District, as one of three equity partners. The farm employs a manager who also has a minority shareholding in the property, while David has a supervisory role. The farm has been progressively redeveloped as a dairy platform in recent years. “It was converted twenty years ago from sheep and beef but the conversion was never fully completed,” says David. “So we have been doing a lot of development work, for example improving races, water supply and pasture to finish the conversion. “I enjoy the day to day running of the dairy farm. I’m also ‘the fix it man’ here.” The property’s 115ha effective milking platform is supported by 140ha of effective Tararua ranges hill country primarily used to fatten and finish stock. A dry stock block nearby is used for grazing off half the herd for eight weeks over the winter. “Our initial focus was on getting the dairy farm up and running but we’re switching our focus to the hills now. We’re doing some subdivision work and putting in tracks so we can get around on farm bike rather than on foot.

“We are now starting to harness the capacity of the hills to grow young stock, which are doing better than we expected on the hill country.” While the farm is currently classed as a nonpriority catchment within a Horizons Regional Council environmental management plan, the owners are not being complacent. A new effluent system was put in on the farm three years ago. As David observes, the hill block is also useful in that it can serve as a nitrogen sink. All dairy farmers are looking very closely at their costs right now. David advises working on farm strengths as one way to weather the ongoing low milk pay-out situation. “Our farm’s strength is its summer rainfall. We grow fourteen hectares of turnips. It’s a huge proportion of our milking area, around twelve per cent. Our cows graze on turnips for ninety days. This summer we got through with hardly any bought-in feed.” A re-grassing programme has also ensured that more pasture is now available for the F10-F12 herd of three-quarter Holstein-Friesian cows. At peak, the farm is milking 245 cows out of a 27-a-side Foxpac milking shed producing 490-515kgMS/cow. Compared to three years ago, the farm is using 40 per cent less supplementary bought-in feed. David says they have looked to trim costs in other areas such as herd testing and AB (Artificial Breeding), while still working to maintain essential cow condition. Off farm, the couple are busy raising their family and Louise also chairs Pahiatua On Track, a community committee working in association with the Tararua District Council.

Louise and David Powick on a drystock block with jersey weaners.

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Aidan Richards with his wife, Joanna, and children Reuben, 5, Charlie, 4 and Brody, 1.

Farmer continuing to learn Kelly Deeks Equity manager Aidan Richards has committed himself to continue learning this year and is pursuing his diploma in agribusiness management. He says he is using everything he’s learning in his own business. “I’ve been able to produce a farm business plan and that has been a good reference point for me,” he says. “Not just what we’re doing but why we’re doing it, and the core fundamentals of our business. We can get to our goals and enjoy the journey along the way. Our vision and values for the business are based around our faith in God being the central purpose for everything we do.” Aidan and his wife Joanna are working through an agreement with their farm owners James and Janice McConnell, whereby Aidan and Joanna are managing and gradually buying into the sharemilking business owned by both couples. “We’ve set up this business together with the end goal of progression and an easy buy-out option that works for both parties,” Aidan says. The Richards’ have been on the 700 cow, 200ha McConnell farm for six years now. They own a third of the business, and plan to buy more shares this June. Aidan says in these tight cash flow times, having a relationship with his business partners that is flexible has been a crucial component. “We believe timely communication with a strong sense of positivity is paramount,” he says. Aidan says the low milk pay out won’t cause him to make any drastic changes to his farming system. “We realise there are cycles in this industry, and ultimately we’ve really stuck to our plan after carefully considering alternative options,” he says. “We always farm for profitability. Cow numbers and production has stayed the same, and sitting in the middle as a system three, we can swing both ways.” Aidan milks all year round, and has done since 2012. He says he has been able to capture all the days in milk that he can by introducing autumn calving and following the calving spread as he dries the cows off.

“There are a few efficiencies we can gain.” And he’s milking once a day. “My wife and I have business goals to achieve, so the system has to be progressive, or it doesn’t work for us,” he says. “We want to run a low cost, high profit business, where staff are happy and goals are set and achieved.” Aidan and Jo employ two full-time staff members, Henry and Andrew, and one part-time staff member Sharron, who all bring great strengths and play a significant role in seeing the farm goals come to fruition. Aidan is also setting personal goals off farm this year which has been a point of difference. “I set a goal at the start of the year to run the Huntly half marathon, which I achieved in March,” he says. “I also completed the Generator multisport event which was awesome!” He says its been great to have something to look forward to and aim towards off farm.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Johan & Theona Blom

NZ Dairy

Equity partnership new challenge Kelly Deeks 2015 runner up New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year from Central Plateau Johan and Theona Blom have fast tracked their dairy industry progression with a surprise invitation to join an equity partnership in Canterbury next season. Theona says accepting the invitation, while providing an exciting future for their family, has meant the Bloms are facing a complete change of direction. “Our plan was to get bigger in sharemilking, building up our herd, and eventually getting to farm ownership,” she says. “Our first step to farm ownership was something that was quite far in the future, but now it is happening sooner for us,” she says. The Bloms will join a corporate group which will purchase the couple’s 270 cows, and contract milk 750 cows on the 250ha farm close to Hororata. The Bloms had interviewed with the same company a couple of years ago for a sharemilking position, and they did well in the selection process but were competing against some strong balance sheets. Understanding the Bloms’ ambition in terms of farm ownership, when this equity opportunity arose, the company felt they would be well suited for it. Theona and Johan are both looking forward to the new challenge. Milking almost triple the amount of cows is a huge excitement for them and Theona says it won’t be a huge difficulty, however the different environment could pose a challenge. “I suppose the Canterbury winters could be a bit hard,” says Theona, from her nice warm home in Ngakuru, south west of Rotorua. “And in the first year on a new farm, the farm can very easily manage you instead of you managing the farm. We’re confident first of all in ourselves, and also in the company as there is good support, good systems in place, and a good corporate structure which will help with management issues.” Having shifted a few times since arriving in New Zealand in 2008, the Bloms have lived in Tokoroa, Cambridge, and Broadlands before moving to Ngakuru for the 2014/2015 season. “I haven’t come to a community where there wasn’t good people in it,” Theona says. “There was always someone who stepped up from somewhere that has been where we are. I’ve found this in every single rural community we’ve lived in, so I’m confident we’ll find the same in Hororata.” The Blom’s three children, aged 17, 15, and 13 are all making the move south as well, and are as excited as their parents. “I always thought I would

Johan and Theona Blom face a change of direction with an invitation to join an equity partnership contract milking 750 cows in Canterbury next season. like to settle the children before high school, and that’s not happening, but I believe stability comes from inside and I can see that in my children,” Theona says. “They have adjusted to all the changes we’ve had up until now, and they do us very proud.” Theona’s working life is a far cry from the office job she always saw herself in, and she has surprised herself in how much she really enjoys farming. “It comes down to what we stand for,” she says. “Our intention in life is to excel in the balancing of social, ecological, and financial interaction, and that is what we also aim for with this farm. If we can get there and achieve a good balance at the end of the day, we’ll make it.”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Jared Going

When the going gets tough . . . Karen Phelps Rugby balls and cows might seem an unlikely combination but a dynasty of All Black legends has been successfully farming in the Maromaku Valley in Northland for generations. Jared Going, who represented the successful New Zealand Sevens for four seasons, which won four IRB titles as well as the World Cup in Argentina in 2001, is the fourth generation to farm the family land, a 284ha total/170ha effective unit milking 360 cows this season. Jared is the son of legendary All Black Sid Going, who many rate as New Zealand’s greatest running half back and has been appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to rugby. It was when Jared stopped playing professional rugby that he purchased the family farm in 2004. Famous family history aside, today Jared and wife Lijana see themselves as ordinary dairy farmers trying to make a go of the land as so many others are at the moment in the present dairy pay-out situation. Their predominantly friesian herd is milked through a 54 bail rotary shed with automatic cup removers, drafting, milk metering, teat spray and wash. Jared says that some of the dairy platform is not the best dairy land with areas inaccessible to a tractor making it difficult to put in better grass species. The flipside is that the land is useful in winter as a stand off area if the farm floods. Jared is aiming to generally improve pasture species and fertility on the farm. Around 100ha per year of annual and Italian ryegrasses have been sown by drilling through older pasture. Crops are used as a means of pasture renewal as well. The farmer grows around 7-8ha of maize on milking platform and 8-10ha on a 142ha lease block, which is also used to run the dairy replacements. Around 10ha of chicory was sown this year and next year this figure will double. The system three farm has a concrete feed pad and in-shed feeding system. In response to the dairy pay out, Jared is tightening up his systems, focusing on fully utilizing pasture and being more accurate in measuring so he knows exactly what he’s feeding each cow. This season the farm has used 180 tonnes of palm kernel. Because of the predicted El Nino weather

To reach his goals, Jared is looking at how he can utilise the farm better and is considering putting some of the herd on once-a-day milking next season. the Goings dropped their herd back to 360 this season so next season they are aiming to increase numbers to 450. The farm employs one full-time and one parttime staff member. This season, the farm is on target to produce 145,000kg. The goal is for the farm to produce 200,000kg of milk solids within the next five years. To reach his goal, Jared is looking at how he can utilise the farm better and is considering putting

some of the herd on once-a-day milking next season on the less productive parts of the farm and better feeding the twice-a-day herd on the more fertile parts. He aims to increase the milking platform as he improves the land and sees a lot of potential for the farm. The Goings have four children: Kaelin, 7, Quinn, 4, Keegan, 18 months and new arrival Mackenzie, who has just been born. Despite the tough times for

dairy famers Jared remains positive. “I think it’s been a good thing because when things are going well and the pay-out is high you can waste a lot of money. “Now that things are tight I really have to look at the efficiency of the business. It makes you a better farmer. If you can make it work on this pay-out then when times are good again everybody will be a lot better off. But at the moment we are doing a lot of hours for virtually no money.”

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Jared Going with two of his children, Kaelin, 7, and Quinn, 4.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Dan Noakes

NZ Dairy

Production costs under microscope Karen Phelps Cath and Peter Noakes established their successful farming operation by starting out sharemilking on Peter’s parents’ farm. Now their son Dan is forging his own career by 50:50 sharemilking on Cath and Peter’s farm. Located at Whangarei the 220ha effective/250ha total unit milks a herd of 600 predominantly Friesian cows through a 40 aside herringbone shed. Dan grew up on the property but it wasn’t until 2008 that he returned to start a lower order sharemilking position on the unit after working on a beef and arable farm in England for two years. Dan and partner Jodi Antunovich are now in their second season of 50:50 sharemilking and say cost of production is the primary focus this season. Recognising that the six-week in-calf rate is a major driver of profitability they have achieved a 74% rate this season and believe this is an area they can improve on. Mid August is the first time calvers are separated from the mature cows to help maintain their condition prior to mating. The farm was previously run as a system three but with the last few years of dry summers the farm has slipped into a system four importing around 380 tonnes of dry matter of palm kernel. This season the amount of imported feed will be reduced to 170 tonnes taking the farm back to a system three. Around 16ha of maize is grown each year, some on the farm, some on an 80ha support block, which the family owns. Dan says that pasture management Is another big focus. The team regularly assess pasture cover targeting a pre-graze level of 2800kg of dry matter and post graze residuals of 1500-1600. They top if necessary. “Pasture assessment also helps to determine round length and forecast any surplus/deficit. Cows are break fed on a square meter per cow basis,” explains Dan. The farm is 90 per cent flat and 5% floodable. Over the last ten years 100ha of the farm has had subsurface drainage put in and also in 2012 the feedpad was concreted and covered with rubber matting. Dan says that both of these developments have been a huge asset in helping increase pasture utilisation. Effluent is spread on around 27ha of the farm. Peter and Cath have hands-on involvment in their farm taking charge of the young stock and Dan says that over the years Cath has worked hard to get the herd genetics in the top 5% nationally. Dan and Jodi have previously entered the Sharemilker of the Year Awards, taking out third place in 2013 along with the human resources and pasture management awards. In 2015 they also experienced success winning the pasture management and dairy hygiene awards. They also say taking part in Dairy NZ Milksmart workshops and local discussion groups are invaluable. The couple aim to consistently produce around 400 kilograms of milksolids per cow and are targeting a cost of production at under $4. Last season the farm produced 250,000 kilograms of milksolids and this season the target is 230,000 kilograms. The farm has been gradefree for the past seven seasons. Dan says that the high value of the farm means that it might be out of their reach to actually purchase the unit but he is keeping his options open. For now the aim is to pay off their herd.

Production costs and pasture management will be the focus for Whangarei sharemilker Dan Noakes (above) this season. Dan and partner Jodi Antunovich are 50:50 sharemilkers with Dan parents Peter and Cath (below).

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Tony & Lesley Landers

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Elite stock from embryo transplant Karen Phelps Embryo transplant work is resulting in higher quality stock for Tony and Lesley Landers, from Glenui Stud who have been trialling embryo transplant work on their best cows for the past few years. A number of their stock has been picked up by Livestock Improvement Corporation, including Glenui Ascent Shaun and Glenui Manzello Landon. “If we can sell bulls to LIC it gives us a bit of money back, which definitely helps as embryo transplant work is expensive and you don’t see returns straight away,” says Tony. The Landers are also finding that cows resulting from the embryo transfer process are milking well in their herd. Currently, there are six of these cows in their herd of 360. One of their star bulls, Glenui 5-Star Harry, who was also picked up by LIC, will have heifers milking this coming spring, so the Landers are excited to see the results. They also have 22 contract cows from LIC in their herd, thirteen of which are the result of embryo transplant. When the Landers began their pedigree jersey stud they started with a very low BW herd of cows. By implementing a targeted breeding and buying programme focusing on good functional cows producing high milk solids they now have one of the top breeding worth herds in the country. Both the Landers grew up on farms: Lesley’s parents farmed a dairy unit in the Manawatu and Tony’s parents a unit in Taranaki. Tony completed a bachelor of agriculture at Massey University, worked on a local farm for a year then undertook an agricultural exchange overseas. This saw him gaining experience on a dairy farm in Canada just out of Winnipeg and on a unit in Ireland in the mountains. He then returned home to contract milk on his parent’s farm at Kaupokonui milking 180 cows. Two years later, he progressed to 50:50 sharemilking, a position he held for 20 years. At the same time, he increased his business by going into an equity partnership on another farm with family. This helped the Landers to finance their way into their first farm, a 60ha unit at Taranaki, which they put a lower order sharemilker on while continuing to sharemilk for Tony’s parents. Five years later, they sold this farm and purchased a block next to Tony’s parents where they are now based. The Landers are heading into their seventh season on their farm, which comprises 79ha, which they own, and 61ha leased, of which 55ha is leased from Tony’s mother.

The Landers family, from left, Josh, Lesley, Sam and Tony. The Landers work Glenui Stud. They also have a 12ha run off. The herd is milked through a 44-bail rotary shed. The coastal farm backs onto the Kaupokonui River meaning sandy, stony soils at the back of their farm, which can dry out quickly. The farm has no water irrigation so they have to manage dry conditions as best they can. They do this by calving early on July 1, trying to get as much production as they can before dry conditions set in. They make silage on farm and buy in palm kernel, as needed, typically around 280 tonnes per season. Fortunately, palm kernel prices have dropped recently, says Tony. They are aiming to produce 154,000kg of milk solids this season, depending on how the current dry weather pans out. Due to the present pay-out situation, too, the Landers acknowledge they are reducing their investment in embryo transplant work for the meantime. This coming spring they will have two cows carrying embryos compared with 11 this season.

Glenui Integrity Lace ET, who is dam of Glenui Manzello Landon. “Embryo transplant is a long-term, slow process. It’s about creating more offspring from elite animals to fast-track things. For example,

one cow last year produced four heifer calves and you’d have to wait years to achieve a result like this naturally.”

“Embryo transplant is a long-term, slow process. It’s about creating more offspring from elite animals to fast-track things. For example, one cow last year produced four heifer calves and you’d have to wait years to achieve a result like this naturally.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Eric Steiner

NZ Dairy

Lucerne key crop for Galatea farmers Karen Phelps Galatea is one of the best regions in New Zealand for growing lucerne, according to local contractor Eric Steiner, from Steiner Brothers Contracting, whose business has seen an upsurge in lucerne contracting. “Farmers can get six cuts per year because of the free-draining soils in Galatea with a nutrient rich layer of clay half s metre deep under a layer of volcanic pumice. Warm summer temperatures with little wind provide good growing conditions. In Galatea if lucerne is cut at the beginning of January, a month later it can be cut again. Lucerne is the largest part of our business now,” he says. The high-protein crop is a particular favourite of dairy farmers in the region with around 80 percent of the crops Steiner Brothers Contracting deals with harvested into round bale silage with the remainder loader wagon silage or hay. Eric also grows his own lucerne crop to support the family dairy farms. The Steiner family owns 11 of the original ballot farms in Galatea. Around 140 servicemen were settled there after the war making Galatea the region in New Zealand with the highest concentration of ballot farms. The Steiner family farms include six dairy units operated by share milkers, including Eric’s son Michael and Eric’s brother Alf’s sons Ron and Karl. Being active farmers in the region also helps Steiner Brothers Contracting to understand its customers’ needs, says Eric. Steiner Brothers Contracting is owned by Eric and Alf. The company was started in 1964 with a Ford 3000 tractor and a hedge cutter in the days when farms had barberry hedges which needed trimming. As times changed, the company moved into silage and other services including square and round baleage, cultivation services, such as ploughing, levelling, power harrowing and roller seeding, and maintenance work for farm races and tanker tracks. The company, which works predominantly in Galatea, runs up to five drivers at peak. All farm machinery and tractors owned by Steiner Brothers Contracting are maintained and serviced by a family owned farm machinery repair business. The brothers love of machinery is well known in the region and they operate a tractor museum from their farm boasting over 40 fully restored vintage farm tractors and classic Ford cars. Eric is largely in charge of operating Steiner Brothers Contracting. Eric’s son Barry is an owner-driver of one of the company tractors and

In with the new: Bob Ogle, of R&R Tractors from Te Puke, hands over keys to Eric Steiner for the new NH T7. A Ford 3000 tractor, used by Steiner Brothers contracting when the company started in 1964, is dwarfed by its modern counterpart. completes most of the raking and spraying. Eric’s wife Betty does the book keeping for the business, as well as running one of the herds of cows on the couple’s 70ha effective dairy unit milking 160 cows when Eric is busy. Eric offers over 50 years experience in contracting and one of his drivers has been working

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for the company for 30 years. Eric says the secret to the longevity and success of the business, which is proud to have an extremely loyal customer base, is simple.

Beer can collection a must see Hidden away on a dairy farm in Galatea is a little known museum that would no doubt be many farmers idea of heaven – a museum containing over 12,000 beer cans. Dairy farmer Barry Steiner has been diligently collecting cans from 150 countries around the world and New Zealand for over 30 years and has now amassed one of the biggest beer can collections in the world. Barry started his collection at the age of 12 – a can of Tooheys Draught he found on the roadside in 1985. His interest quickly grew and so did his collection as he scoured bushes, roads and rubbish dumps for more cans. But it’s not the brown stuff inside that is the impetus for his collection - Barry says it is the artwork on the cans and the history that intrigues him. Perhaps though it is also something in the family blood – his uncle Alf collects and restores vintage farm tractors and classic Ford cars and 40 of these are also on display in the museum. Barry travels the world nearly every year to add to his ever-growing collection when the cows on his dairy farm are dried off and says collecting beer cans has been a great way to meet people from all walks of life who share his passion. He’s made lifelong friends around the world. The most Barry has paid for a can is around $1500. One of the stars of his collection is a series of cans showing the first seven Bond girls from the James Bond movies, which is worth around

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$10,000. But his most precious can is worth around $10,000 alone. It was made in 1935 and is one of the first cans to ever be made in America. He says one of the most distinctive New Zealand cans in his collection was issued when the Manapouri Power Station was opened in the sixties. He occasionally gets visitors who still remember drinking beer from these cans back in the day. The last can to be added to his collection was a one litre can from Russia and the can he’d most like to get his hands on is a commemorative can from San Francisco issued when the Golden Gate Bridge opened. The Beer Can Museum is housed in a 21 metre x 10.5 metre steel enclosed shed on the Steiner dairy farm at 374 Jolly Road. The shed was built in 2000 specially to house Barry’s growing collection. The quirky museum also contains 10,000 other pieces of beer related items such as signs, coasters, key rings and matches. Sadly the beer cans in the museum are all empty (typically the beer is removed by punching a hole in the bottom of the can to leave the tab intact) but visitors to Barry’s museum needn’t worry – everyone is given a free drink of beer when they arrive. • Admission to the Beer Can Museum is $5 per person and a free drink. Entry is pre-arranged by booking only by phoning (07) 366 4039.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Hayden Eales/ Jeremy & Jade Wade

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Lifestyle wins out for busy couple Kelly Deeks

A bumper crop of chicory has proved a bonus for Matamata sharemilker Hayden Eales.

Sharemilker ups the ante Karen Phelps

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Matamata 50/50 sharemilker Hayden Eales has upped the ante this season with a new job and increasing his herd from 210 cows to 550 cows and switching from a system 1 farm to a system 3. His original herd of small friesians and jerseys is struggling to compete with the new, large friesians Hayden acquired from the new farm. “We’ve had a size issue this season,” he says. ‘I’m trying to feed a 600kg cow and a 300kg cow at the same time. I’ve got them in two separate herds, but I still want to bring the big cows down in size and the small cows up a size.” He says he was lucky enough to have this new job secured by May, so all this season’s calves are

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nice cross bred friesians. He will continue to mate large over small and small over large until he has a herd which is more balanced and easier to manage. Hayden has also moved up in the dairy shed stakes, coming from a farm with a 20 a side herringbone shed to a 50 bale rotary on this new one. “We’re now milking 550 cows in the same time it took me to milk 210!” Hayden has one staff member, Julian, a dairy farmer with experience from the UK and on his third trip out to New Zealand. He spent the past two maize seasons working for a local contractor and jumped at the chance to get back into dairy farming when Hayden offered him a job as his right hand man. The pair are also assisted by Noel Eales, Hayden’s father who owns a quarter share of Hayden’s business. An engineer by trade, also with dairy farming experience, Noel is now working full time on the farm and his main role is maintenance and fencing. Hayden says the farm has always been well known locally as one of the worst in the area for metabolic and animal health problems. “We’re irrigating from open country and we have high K and P levels in the soil,” he says. “So we’re making some changes to try to improve this. Three weeks prior to calving, we’re taking the cows off the grass and feeding them 7kg of maize silage and 3kg of grass silage. That has lowered our milk fever issues from a huge amount, 110 cows last season, to 14 cows this season.” The paddocks calved on were then planted into chicory. “We’ve had 12ha of chicory under irrigation which has really helped,” Hayden says. “We planted it to put 350 cows on, but we’ve had such a good crop we put them all on.” He has also put in 6ha of maize which is thriving in the high K and P environment. Hayden has had a great summer and still has a lot of feed on hand he hasn’t needed, so is now going to take 120 cows through the winter, for the first time on this farm. The $1.80 winter premium won’t go astray in this low pay out year.

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Contract milkers Jeremy and Jade Wade are choosing lifestyle next season, leaving their current 570 cow job at Reporoa for a new job on an Otorohanga farm with 270 cows. The couple have recently added to their family with a new baby born in November and a two year old. “We want to get a bit more lifestyle back in our lives and spend time with the kids while they’re young,” Jeremy says. “A smaller farm gives us those options.” The couple will run the farm by themselves, and concentrate on saving to allow them to take advantage of opportunities to expand their business in the future. The Wades are currently running the 570 cow farm for Colin and Shelley Guyton, where they started this season, following 3 years variable order sharemilking on Jeremy and Diane Robinson’s 320 cow farm in Reporoa, where they took out last year’s Ecolab Farm Dairy Hygiene Award at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards. With their focus being to get the most out of the grass first and use supplements second, the couple were brought to the Guyton farm to help improve pasture management. “The cows struggled a bit at the start getting used to eating grass again,” Jeremy says. “We focused on trying to get them to eat the grass early on to keep the quality, and they weren’t too happy for a couple of weeks but they got the idea. We’ve currently used half the supplement that was used here last season.” The low pay out has put restrictions on what Jeremy and Jade can do to improve pasture quality, but a focus on residuals has helped to ensure quality pasture is retained. “We’re trying to get 1500kg Dm residual every time.” The Wades are using a three leaf system to ensure high quality pasture, whereby they go into the paddock when the rye grass plant has grown its third leaf. “Setting our round with leaf emergence is a better way of monitoring the growth pattern. If you know your pasture quality is going to drop off, you can take some out for silage.” The Wades introduced the Guytons to the benefits of chicory this season, with Colin disappointed in last season’s turnips. “It’s been a

PHOTOS: Contract milkers Jeremy and Jade Wade (top) plan to downsize to a smaller 270cow farm next season. They are currently running a 570-cow farm at Reporoa for Colin and Shelley Guyton (below).

success,” Jeremy says. “It’s spread out our feed supply. We sprayed out in September, planted October 1, and I was in there in the middle of November. It was earlier then they recommended, but it was growing so fast. It spread the bulk feed over the season, rather than coming in a big lump in January/ February. We’ve yielded somewhere between 10 to 12 tonne off the chicory, which is better than we have off the turnips. Colin will carry on with that next season. He’s pretty impressed, he’s never used it before.” Jeremy says he knew chicory would suit the farm, which is fairly wet, but also most paddocks have a good half metre to a metre of top soil for the root to establish in.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Aaron Price

NZ Dairy

Young sharemilker in demand Kelly Deeks When it’s your bank manager calling to tell you to take on a third 50/50 sharemilking job, you must be doing something right. Tahuna sharemilker Aaron Price is 2015 Waikato sharemilker of the year. He was already involved with business partner John Assen in two 50/50 sharemilking positions, before the pair took on the new job on a farm near Morrinsville. Aaron oversees the day-to-day operations at Tahuna with one staff member, while Assen runs the second farm at Taupiri. Aaron’s location sees him the best person to also oversee operations on the third farm, which is managed by a couple. He says it was always the plan to look for a third 50/50 sharemilking position, but he hadn’t expected it to be quite this soon. However with he and John’s fantastic track record with banks, and feeling the current low pay out as merely a blip in the long term success of the dairy industry, he’s not worried. And the partnership, as well as the Dairy Industry Awards, have helped to drive fast expansion. It was Aaron’s fifth year in a row entering the competition, having placed runner up in 2013 and 2014. “I was making progress! And I’m not the sort of person to give up once I’ve got my sights set on something.” He says with a shortage of 50/50 jobs in the Waikato, it will get more and more difficult to secure the positions. “The awards made a huge difference in me getting the Tahuna job and the Morrinsville job. Being interviewed against others it gave me a bit more credibility, that what I do is best practice and I put every bit of effort into it.” Aaron is regional manager for this year’s competition, and has been drumming up entrants, liaising with sponsors, and later will help to organise judging. “We’ve got a good committee in the Waikato, everyone has a particular area to look after which really helps,” he says. The new job on Gavin and Marie Haddon’s farm became available in August. Aaron’s bank manager contacted him about it and he and John jumped at the opportunity. “It was a challenge taking over mid-season, as we couldn’t control the condition score or the calving spread, but basically it was like any other first season, getting the know the farm, getting some systems in place, and being able to maximise what we do after that.” After calving with condition scores sitting at about 3.7 when Aaron took over the farm, and a 12 week calving with about a third of the herd calving in the final month, mating was a challenge and the recent pregnancy test has shown an empty rate of 21%. “We pulled the bulls out on December 28,” Aaron says. “I knew it was going to be a higher empty rate, but we couldn’t have them calving any later so we just had to accept it and make improvements in the future.” Aaron will work on improving the condition score this year by drying the cows off in time and having enough feed to get them to target 5 for calving. He will also buy in in-calf, early calving heifers to make up the extra numbers.

Tahuna farmer and 2015 Waikato Sharemilker of the Year, Aaron Price, has taken on his third sharemilking job.

“It was a challenge taking over mid-season, as we couldn’t control the condition score or the calving spread, but basically it was like any other first season, getting the know the farm, getting some systems in place.”

Aaron Price and wife Sarah.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Ross Upton

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Planned developments on back burner Kelly Deeks Coromandel farmers Ross and Allan Upton are waiting for a lift in the milk pay out before continuing with planned developments on their Whitianga family farm. The 80ha farm has been owned by Ross and Allan’s parents for about 40 years. The 156ha the brothers are now farming has been made up with a couple of lease blocks in the past 14 years, and cow numbers increased from 180 to 550, enabling Ross to come home from Auckland and help his brother on the farm, as well as run his own agricultural contracting business. Allan takes care of the stock and does most of the milkings, while Ross gets the cows in and does all the farm and contracting work. The brothers are supported on the farm by two full time staff and one relief milker, and Ross has two part timers helping out in the contracting business. Rainfall is high in Whitianga, and some years it gets more than 1800mm, so after getting all the lease land together and increasing the herd to 430 cows, in 2012 the Uptons decided to set up a feed pad and introduce the mixer wagon, allowing them to reduce pasture damage during wet weather and increase the herd again to 550 cows. Before the dip in the milk pay out, the brothers purchased a 142ha run off block last season, with the intention to put about 20ha into maize and use the remainder to graze beef and young stock. “We rear about 120 replacement calves and about 300 beef calves which we raise to 100 odd kgs, then either sell them or carry them through. With this additional run off block we can also keep any cull cows and wait for a good price.” The Uptons have had a good season so far rain wise, reducing the amount of grass silage, palm kernel, and maize used compared to previous years, and are still on track to reach their target production. Next on the agenda for farm development is an effluent separator for the farm’s original effluent system, which the brothers were setting up for when they built the feed pad.

PHOTOS: Coromandel brothers Ross and Allan Upton milk 550 cows on 156ha on their Whitianga farm. Allan takes care of stock and does most of the milkings while Ross gets the cows in and runs his own contracting business. The brothers have already extended the area where effluent is applied to 37ha, but the installation of a separator will remain on the back burner for the moment due to the low milk pay out. The Uptons recognise the need to utilise the effluent and are seeing the results in the pasture of what they have already put in place, as well as

helping to reduce the environmental impact. The low pay out has also seen the Uptons monitoring their costs and they’ve identified and rectified some areas where spending tends to slip through the cracks. “Instead of just spending we ask ‘do we really need it?’.

“We’ve reduced our fertiliser a little bit, but we still have to run a farm.” The Uptons put on about six dressings of fertiliser a year. “With the high rainfall it saves on leaching, and I don’t have to see it all go down to the neighbour’s place!”

“We rear about 120 replacement calves and about 300 beef calves which we raise to 100 odd kgs, then either sell them or carry them through. With this additional run off block we can also keep any cull cows and wait for a good price.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Peter & Sarah Walters

NZ Dairy

Peter and Sarah Walters are completing their first season as owners on this 205ha farm at Mangakino.

Testing times for new farm owners Karen Phelps Peter and Sarah Walters are just completing their first season as farm owners. “It’s very satisfying to own our own farm,” admits Peter. “It’s been a lot of hard work to get there but it’s very rewarding when you’re out there working the land to know the decisions you make are your own.” Both grew up on dairy farms and studied at Massey University, completing degrees in applied science in agriculture. After completing his studies, Peter worked as a farmhand for a year before progressing to

a contract milking position on one of his father Robert’s farms at Maihihi milking 350 cows on a 120ha dairy platform. After meeting Sarah they both took on a 50:50 sharemilking position together on the same farm for two years. When a neighbouring farm came up for sale they bought 32ha of this themselves marking their entry into land ownership. Land increased on the sharemilking farm as did cow numbers to 670 and they stayed for a further four years. Looking to increase their land ownership they jointly purchased an 118ha farm in the district in an equity partnership with Robert. The farm milked 330 cows and joined their

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Peter & Sarah Walters

sharemilking position on the Maihiihi unit – which had reduced to 450 cows by this time when the farm was split in two - in the new partnership. Two years later another 50:50 sharemilking job was added milking 200 cows and by year four a 120ha unit milking 350 cows was added to the business. Robert bought out the Walters who then used the equity to purchase the farm they now own in Mangakino, which they took possession of in June 2015. The 214ha total/205ha effective unit milks a herd of 560 predominantly Friesian cows through a 40-aside herringbone shed with in-shed meal feeding system. The cows are milked in two herds split into young and older cows. The Walters say their initial focus has been on getting infrastructure up to speed including building a calf shed. The next step is to fix the farm underpass, tracks and races. They are aiming to optimise pasture, producing milk as efficiently and for as low cost as possible. The farm effluent system is a lined pond with a travelling canon that can cover around 70ha of the farm to maximise their nutrients. “It’s about responding to the milk price signals and adapting bought in feed accordingly,” says Peter. “We’re probably using half as much as we initially planned. The previous owners in partnership with their sharemilkers had done quite a bit of pasture renovation so we’re also following on from that.” To reduce reliance on bought in feed they

Building a new calf shed and getting other infrastructure up to speed has been a priority for new farm owners Peter and Sarah Walters. have planted both summer and winter crops – 8.5ha of chicory and 7.5ha of turnips for summer and 10.4ha of kale for winter. Everything is break fed. “Chicory has proved a good feed as it’s available over a longer period of time. We got dry

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in December and the chicory was ready but the turnips weren’t. Chicory gives us more options depending on what the weather is doing,” explains Peter. The Walters have four children: Caitlin, 10, Nick, 8, Cameron, 7 and Matthew, 5.

They employ two full time staff and this season the Walters are targeting 205,000 kilograms of milk solids after initially budgeting to produce 195,000kg. Their three-year goal is 230,000kg.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Dean & Sharyn Petersen

NZ Dairy

Sizeable farm business family affair Karen Phelps Spending time on his uncle and aunt’s farm in Opotiki was when Dean Petersen first became interested in farming. It marked auspicious beginnings as he and wife Sharyn have now built up a sizeable farm business in the region. They diligently climbed the dairy ladder like everybody else. When Dean left school he completed a three-year dairy farm cadetship then spent five years working for a local contracting business. It was during this time that he met Sharyn, whose experience of the rural life at that time was limited to bee keeping. Deciding that a dairy career was for them they returned to Dean’s uncle and aunt’s farm – Robin and Delwyn Brown – where Dean worked as a farm assistant for a year. A management position then a contract milking position for a year on a 350-cow farm, also at Opotiki, followed. They progressed to a 50:50 sharemilking position at Ngakuru where they saw herd numbers raise from 200 to 280 over three years. They then moved to Onepu 50:50 sharemilking a herd of 460 cows for four years. It was in 2002 that they purchased their home farm in Opotiki where they are now based. The 96ha effective/160ha total unit milks a herd of 260 predominantly Friesian cows through a new 28 aside herringbone shed complete with automatic cup removers and drafting. They are now in their second season of milking through the shed and Dean says it has resulted in calmer cows, quicker milking times and a lower empty rate. Milking times are now 30 to 45 minutes faster and the empty rate has dropped to 7% from 12% the previous year. But this farm is only part of their business. In 2007 they purchased a second farm they call the Waiotahi farm, also at Opotiki, where they milk a herd of 330 predominantly Friesian cows through a 28 aside herringbone shed. The farm totals 140ha with a 110ha dairy platform. The farm has a covered feed pad for standing off as the farm is prone to flooding They are also 50:50 sharemilkers on the Browns’ 660cow farm, which totals 400ha with a 220ha-milking platform. The predominantly Friesian herd is milked through a 50 aside herringbone shed and the farm also has a covered concrete feed pad. In 2014 they

Opotiki farmer Dean Petersen has built up a sizeable dairy business, producing 464,000kg of milk solids across three farms. purchased a 70ha run off block, which they use for grazing and running the overflow of heifers from the farms. The property also contains an avocado orchard, which they lease out. With the low dairy pay out the Petersens are fortunate that they need to buy in little feed as they run a virtually self-contained system. They grow 3.5 ha of maize on the home farm and another 4ha on a run off. They grow 14ha of maize on the Browns’ farm and buy in 7ha of maize for Waiotahi. They use around 40 tonnes of palm kernel on the home farm and the same on Waiotahi. The remainder of the feed is grass silage that they make. Their main aim across all the farms is to farm sustainably. “We have a lot of waterways around the farms so looking after the environment is a priority. We run a low-cost operation with farm working expenses on the farms we own at $3.50 and $1.60

on the sharemilking job.” They have a contract milker on their home farm and managers on the other two. The farms employ a total of seven staff plus a permanent relief milker. Sharyn takes care of the bookwork and Dean looks after all the run offs, completes tractor work and oversees the operation. Last season they produced 464,600 kilograms of milk solids across the farms. This season the target is similar. The Petersens have four children: Troy, 22,

Alana, 21, Kayla, 18 and Nicole, 11. The couple is currently considering succession planning and has involved their children in the process. “It’s been an eye opener for the kids to know the scale of our business and the opportunities it could present them with no matter what they decide to do in the future,” says Dean. “We are aiming to create a flexible plan as the kids decide what direction they want to take in life –and help them reach their goals whether it be farming or something else.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Noldy Rust

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Growing voice for small herd farmers Kelly Deeks

Sam Marneth-Rust, Noldy’s nephew, is now the manager, having worked at the farm over his university holidays. “Unfortunately I can’t just give him a bit of Auntie Bev’s home baking and a $5 note anymore, I actually have to pay him,” Rust says. Sam is learning the ropes and as a one-man operation. It’s a hands on job where he may not be managing staff, but doing everything else and improving his all-round skill level. And he has a good tutor. Following basic pasture management saw Noldy win this year’s Pasture Renewal Persistence Competition, run by the DairyNZ-led Pasture Renewal Leadership Group. Noldy was declared to have the best pasture more than three years old. The winning 1.3ha paddock was actually 11 years old. A mix of alto and arrow ryegrass, Noldy originally planted the crop as part of an Agriseeds trial to compare the two cultivars. The pasture’s performance was so good he kept it. He says the biggest contributors to good pasture management are to avoid pugging and overgrazing, and keep on top of the weeds. Using the right weed spray at the right time ensures his clover stays healthy. “There’s no rocket science there,” he says. “It comes down to basic management and a good paddock really.”

A group established to offer support, information, and a sense of community for smaller herd farmers is gaining momentum and holding more events in more regions, welcoming mainly smaller herd farmers but also anyone from the farming community to talk to and learn from each other, as well as a variety of guest speakers, all with valuable information to share. Noldy and Bev Rust have farmed 200 cows at Te Pahu, a rural community south west of Hamilton, since 1996. Noldy is the national committee chairperson for SMASH, Smaller Milk and Supply Herds, and he believes the group offers huge value to smaller herd farmers with presentations from speakers as well as the opportunity to network with other farmers of similar herd size. “We’ve now got more events happening in other regions, with events planned for this year in Northland, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, the West Coast, and Waikato,” he says. “One of our members has been working part time to get these regions established, get teams set up in these areas and help them run the event.” He says SMASH was established because although more than 53% of New Zealand’s dairy farm businesses have less than 350 cows, smaller herd farmers could still feel overlooked or irrelevant. “We realised the needs of smaller herd farmers are different from large herd farmers, and SMASH is an opportunity to develop events specifically for them,” he says. “We want to foster a supportive farming community and let everyone know smaller herd dairy farmers are an essential part of the dairy industry. What we do is immensely valuable.” The initial group of enthusiastic volunteer farmers formed an organising committee then enlisted the support of Dairy NZ. The result was the formation of the SMASH Trust and some highly successful conferences, workshops, and field days. The feedback from those first events was overwhelmingly positive, and since then, the team has gone from strength to strength. There are a range of different farmers coming to the well patronised SMASH events, always some with more than 400 cows but Noldy says SMASH is in it for the industry and is doing what it can to provide value to all sorts of farmers. Noldy’s farm is now run by a manager as he fills his role as King Country area manager for Pioneer Brand Products.

Noldy Rust, national committee chairperson for SMASH (Smaller Milk and Supply Herds), with farm manager Sam Marneth-Rust.

“We realised the needs of smaller herd farmers are different from large herd farmers, and SMASH is an opportunity to develop events specifically for them. We want to foster a supportive farming community and let everyone know smaller herd dairy farmers are an essential part of the dairy industry. What we do is immensely valuable.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Grant Allen

NZ Dairy

A digital impression of a Cowhouse Ltd dairy house.

All the luxuries at the ‘cow hotel’ Karen Phelps Cows lounging about, giving themselves a good brush when they feel the need and having unlimited access to whatever refreshments take their fancy. A new Simple Shelter dairy house on Grant Allen’s 110ha effective dairy unit at Waitara in Taranaki could be seen as kind of a cow ‘hotel’. The theory is that happy cows are the key to increasing farm efficiency and reducing the cost of production so the farm has recently moved from a pasture-based system to a hybrid farm model with the new dairy house, which is capable of housing 400 cows. “An Olympic athlete won’t be a champion without the right environment,” explains Harmen Heesen from company Cowhouse Ltd consulting, which did the feasibility, designed and project managed the build of the dairy house. “It’s no different for a cow – they need a high level of comfort and care to produce well. In the New Zealand there are farm locations where climatic factors such as rain, cold, wind etc, compromise

a cow’s ability to rest, feed and perform at their best. With a dairy house we eliminate a lot of the stresses that can be placed on a cow.” He says Grant Allen’s farm, which milks a herd of 350 friesian cows, was already producing at a very high level, over 600kg of milksolids per cow, which is nearly double the New Zealand average. The high genetic capability of the herd and the professional level of management meant that there were opportunities to further enhance the system in other ways to get the most out of the herd. “Grant always focuses on the weakest link in his farm system. I believe that’s been his secret to success and what has enabled him to really outperform typical pasture-based systems. A key driver of the investment in a dairy house was to eliminate pugging and increase grass growth as well as improve cow condition.” Pasture damage is a key factor in lost efficiency, especially when a farm has a high genetic worth herd, says Harmen. “When you have high producing animals standing in a corner of the paddock because of rain obviously this affects production and doesn’t make the best use of grass or that animal.”

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The Simple Shelter dairy house, which was completed in August last year, is a free stall layout with a membrane cover resulting in a lot of air and light entering the interior and complements the farm’s 44 bail rotary shed with Tru-Test MilkHub herd management system. Feed bought in and fed through the dairy house is around 350 tonnes of barley, 200 tonnes of palm kernel, 160 tonnes of distillers grain and 10 tonnes dry matter of straw. Cows have unlimited and free access to whatever they need to make them happy but it’s not all a free ride at the dairy house ‘hotel’. Harmen says the aim when designing a dairy house is to create a balance between the investment in the system and the economic return. The objective with Grant Allen’s dairy house is to deliver a return on investment of around 8-10% and a return on equity of around 12-15%. This will be achieved through savings in key areas such as the ability to better capture effluent and urine for more effective utilisation on the farm to enhance pasture quality and growth. “A herd of 400 cows produces approximately 38,000 kilograms of nitrogen. If even half of that is captured that is a total of 38 tonnes of fertilizer

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Grant Allen

recovered and recycled saving significantly on farm fertilizer bills,” says Harmen who estimates that Grant will eventually save between 50-80% on his current fertilizer bills. It’s a five-year programme to align the farm with the new system to maximize productivity with key targets being to increase the herd to 400 cows and

production to 750-800 kilograms of milk solids per cow and reduce the replacement rate from 23% to 18%. Harmen predicts the result will be a gradual increase in lifetime production average with happy, longer living cows delivering every farmers’ dream cheaper milk and higher profitability.

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A key driver in Grant Allen’s investment in a dairy house was to eliminate pugging and increase grass growth, as well as improve cow condition. The facility at his Waitara farm can handle 400 cows and is an integral part of a move from a pasture based system to a hybrid farm model. Commercial Law Property Law Rural Trusts & Asset Protection

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Grant Allen

NZ Dairy

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PHOTOS: Cows enjoy a head scratch at Cowhouse Ltd dairy house (above) while on Grant Allen’s Waitara farm (top right), feed for his membrane covered shelter consists of around 350 tonnes of barley, 200 tonnes of palm kernel, 160 tonnes of distillers grain and 10 tonnes dry matter of straw.

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Vetcare Grazing a better way Back in 1993 John Pickering, of Whanganui Veterinary Services, was often called on to resolve disputes between dairy farmers and graziers to do with grazing standards. He was determined to find a better way, hence the creation of Vetcare Grazing, which has grown and operated successfully since then. From small beginnings – a couple of hundred heifers on one block – numbers grew to more than 2500 within four years. The grazing business was taking too much of John’s time away from being a vet, so ex-dairy farmer Jamie Anderson joined the business. The aims have always been simple: • Grow the heifers to their genetic potential. • Regular monitoring and reporting, thereby removing the need for owners to travel and check their heifers. • Set a performance based fee. • Continue to offer a high standard of grazing. Vetcare Grazing offers the total grazing package; weaners from late November, May to May heifers, May to June winter grazing for heifers, carry over grazing and bull hire. With the business expanding, another ex-dairy farmer, Kay McGillivray, joined the team in 2006. After 21 years at the helm, John Pickering has taken a step back and moved from Whanganui to Napier. He still has a part time role organising mating programmes, bull hire and being the business mentor when required. Vetcare Grazing now has a new Team Leader, John Guiniven. John also has a dairy farming background. For the last 14 years he and his family were farming in the South Island finishing on an equity partnership farm near Culverden. John brings with him plenty of practical experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to take the business on to the next decade. Twenty-three years on, Vetcare Grazing continues to grow, maintaining the same high standards set in the beginning. However the growth in the dairy industry has created new challenges in recent years, namely the availability of quality grazing. With dairy support land being converted to dairy farms, quality

grazing is becoming more difficult to source. Our grazing farms are now further afield, from Waverley to Highway 50 in Hawke’s Bay. Heifers are sourced from Taranaki, Whanganui, Rangitikei, Manawatu, Wairarapa and the Waikato. Due to interest from sheep and beef farmers, Vetcare Grazing now offers grazing for beef animals. Grazing with Vetcare Grazing offers a sound and competitive income to any other enterprise on the farm. If you are interested in grazing or would like to learn more, call Jamie on 027 245 2567. SMART SOFTWARE Do you want the Best Software for your Grazing Business ? New Grass is a software package which offers the ability to upload weights, analyse weighing data, send reports to the different parties, and much more. Clients can have confidence in the integrity of the programme. It has been tried and proven with a large commercial grazing operation, Vetcare Grazing of Whanganui Veterinary Services, over the last 3 years. • Animal management: Weights, Overall weight gain, Average Daily Gain, health notes: drench, vaccinations and vet visits all recorded. • Versatile: Can be adapted to any animal production system. New contracts created in minutes, simply click ‘Create new Contract’ and follow the easy steps. • Analysis: Easy to set up data base. Has the ability to generate a range of reports through Excel; Stats that provide up to date over-all gains which highlight the performers and non-performers. • Billing: Generates billing information for month to month charging. Automatically adjusts finances around deaths, varying start dates etc. Automated Financial Reports easily generated, ie Buyer created invoices for Graziers • Cloud based/Smart phones: Can be accessed anywhere where there is Internet coverage. Can add relevant notes to any specific animal while out in the field. Can access client information ie phone numbers, address etc . For further information contact John Guiniven 027 535 7211.

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cost effective all the way. Ecobag(tm Nutrient Capture effluent storage systems offer new possibilities of effluent storage and management all across NZ With lower payouts and pressure on farmers to improve environmental durability it’s not easy to decide what to do when it comes to upgrading or renovating older ponds. It’s in every one’s interest to ensure dollars spent are spent effectively and where possible create a return on investment made. Many farms still have oxidation ponds which gradually will need to be phased out , where more cows have entered the herd or where a feedpad has been added increased storage is often needed , many farms with just 3 day storage need to move to 90 days storage or more, the question arises what to do ? Some farmers and providers think solutions are in massive concrete basins and open storage, but often these do nothing more than waste a lot of money and collect more rainwater, which then turns into effluent... exuberating the issues. When building new, consider the following: Rain water, freeboard and sludge in the bottom of the pond or tank make up almost 50% of most ponds storage capacity... that means you spent 100% of your money for only 50% of the result... that almost sounds like a con... Maybe at an $8.- payout no one cares, but at $4.- ? and if we call storage a depreciating asset there is absolutely no sense in spending that sort of money for so little result .

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And what about old ponds? Most older ponds are structurally sound but not environmentally sound (they often leak)

but with then right technology they could be remodeled and used to be both compliant and offer more storage on the same footprint. Lining these ponds with a conventional HDPE or MDPE liner is almost impossible as often these older ponds do not meet engineering standards. However with ECOBAG™ Nutrient Capture Effluent storage systems that is not an issue. ECOBAG™ does not require expensive engineering or an engineered structure, just an embankment and what’s more this embankment can hold effluent up to 75-100 cm over and above the highest level of the embankment this means more storage at no extra cost. In addition ECOBAG™ does not need freeboard nor sludge residual in the bottom, this means an additional 600 mm storage, over a 20 by 20 meter pond that is 240.000 liters extra storage or 240 Cube. This together with ECOBAG™ not storing rainwater means an other of at least 1000 mm is freed up for actual storage, for the same 20 by 20 meter pond that is an additional 160.000 liters. Or 1600 Cube . Combine the 2 and we have an almost 100% increase of storage capacity on the same footprint. Old ponds are often “too close” to the dairy which means when the pond is enlarged or replaced it needs to move however in some cases trough the use of ECOBAG™ we maybe able to meet compliance without shifting the pond location. ECOBAG™ is fully certified by international standards, and offers farmers a real cost effective future proof storage system. Brought to you by TechniPharm, “we make farming ezy” Want to know more 0800 80 90 98 www.technipharm.co.nz visit us at all regional and national shows 2016

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Grant Allen

Grants farming operation has expanded

1/2, Southfuels Ltd and the1/2 machinery required has also

grown. Like many farmers, when it was time to refuel the tractors, the old above ground diesel storage tank with gravity supply meant that it would take over 20 minutes to fill the tractors diesel tank. There was also the risk of the operator leaving the diesel nozzle unattended only to return and find diesel spilling on the ground. The solution for Grant, was the installation of a Mainline 1950 litre on ground storage tank, fitted with a Piusi Cube electronic dispenser. We also attached an automatic shut off nozzle.

NZ Dairy

any moisture and filter the fuel down to 30 microns. Providing clean fuel for today's modern tractors. Another safety feature with the tanks, is the ability to lock the fill port and breather port. Reducing the risk of theft. Our message to any farmer that is not happy with their fuel storage tank, just give Northfuels a call, we can discuss your situation and see what solution we can provide. Mainline Sheetmetals Ltd is proud to work in partnership with North Fuels to provide an end user solution for diesel and petrol storage.

This enabled up to 50 litres per minute fill rate, greatly reducing down time and the automatic shut off nozzle reduces the risk of diesel spills. Needless to say, filling the tractors is a quick operation and less frustrating.

Mainline is a family owned general engineering company based in Hamilton. Our reputation is built on 30 years’ experience in the industry which means we are a major player in the fuel tank industry with strong partnerships with leading fuel suppliers and farm supply stores.

With todays modern common rail engines, fuel quality is important. With the Mainline fuel storage tanks, we have fitted the Piusi water captor filters, they trap

We specialise in the manufacture of mild steel tanks for diesel and petrol for farm, industrial and commercial installations. Our standard range of tanks includes

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overhead gravity tanks to 1950 Litres, on ground tanks, both single and double skin up to 10,000 Litres and diesel trailer tanks for fuel on the go. Purpose built tanks are fabricated to meet customers specific requirements while working within the compliance framework. We take compliance seriously at Mainline, with all tank designs registered with Worksafe NZ and Mainline being a Worksafe NZ approved fabricator. If you are unsure about your compliance obligations for storage of fuel, we can help. Mainline tanks carry a solid workmanship guarantee with high quality specifications including a zinc rich epoxy primer for superior galvanic protection. If it’s not right, we will make it right. Our product quality and added value features will ensure your tank is built to last for your future and beyond. We still welcome your phone call 0800 826 574 or visit www.mainline.net.nz for more information

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Paul & Keren Leslie

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Farming: grass is greener at home Kim Newth Sharemilkers Paul and Keren Leslie love sharing their rural way of life with their young family, but worry that the industry is not doing enough to retain its capable young people as they grow up and start making decisions about their future. The couple are 50:50 sharemilking on Paul’s parents’ farm south of Rotorua. Paul’s grandfather first started farming in the area after taking up a block allocated by ballot at the end of the Second World War under a scheme to assist returning servicemen. Paul and Keren are now bringing up the farm’s fourth generation: Conor, 8, Abby, 6 and Ruby, 4. While the youngsters have a natural affinity for agriculture, Paul wonders what the future holds. “At the moment, we do struggle to entice good young folk into the industry. Why is that the case? It is partly because there are very few really positive stories making into the media. “I think we also need to make sure we have farming techniques and systems in place that will attract the right kind of people into the industry. “I look at our kids and I know they are having a fantastic upbringing. They live in nature, they’re happy and healthy and right now want to grow up to do what mum and dad do. (But) are they still going to feel that way in future? “I hope they will see that the grass is not

necessarily greener elsewhere when the grass is still green at home!” Indeed, it has been a great season on the family farm. As a result of good rainfall in January and February, the farm is not having to rely on bought-in supplements and has been able to retain most of its animals this year. Paul says they are hoping to calve 520 cows next year. “This is one of the best summers we’ve ever seen. Right now, we’re in an amazing position. We have green grass and we haven’t culled anything yet. All the animals are fully fed.” The 180 hectare farm includes 80 hectares of irrigated land. “We turned the irrigation off for six weeks and that in itself was a massive saving for us, in terms of power. Mother Nature has been kind to us this year and for that we are thankful.” The farm has been on twice a day milking but expects to switch to once-a-day from April. With its relatively high elevation (300-400m) and frost-prone valley terrain, the farm comes with its own set of challenges. The current milk price situation is an added challenge, but Paul says they are one of the region’s lower cost-of-production dairy operations and are also achieving this with a low environmental impact. “I know we can survive scenarios like this. It won’t be flash and we have to supply debt servicing for the run-off we bought a few years ago. But I know we will retain this land.”

PHOTOS: Abby Leslie with pet calf Rosie. Parents Paul and Keren Leslie are 50:50 sharemilkers on Paul’s parents 180ha farm near Rotorua.

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26 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Paul Franklin

NZ Dairy

Storage dam solves water woes Kim Newth Three years ago, central Hawke’s Bay farmer Paul Franklin faced the frustration of not being able to use six centre pivots for three and a half months due to a lack of available water. That scenario is unlikely to arise again now he has a new 500,000m3 water storage dam in place. After converting a farm at Onga Onga, near Waipukurau, to dairy in 1995, Paul secured water rights from the nearby Waipawa River. However, he can only take water from the river when it is running well above the approved minimum flow – hence, the dry period three years ago. Storage was the logical way forward to secure year-round water access, not only for the original dairy conversion but also for a neighbouring farm that Paul and his wife Rosemary, operating as Springhill Dairies, acquired in 2011. Their farm portfolio also includes a couple of run-off blocks, and a third dairy farm block at Eketahuna, (where water access is a non-issue as the district gets plenty of rain). The total effective land area being farmed by Springhill Dairies is 1600ha, milking 3500 cows. Construction of earthworks for the new storage dam, built to service the two central Hawke’s Bay dairy farms, was completed last May at a cost of approximately $600,000. It took until the end of September for the dam to fill. An additional 2.5km of pipes were then laid to feed water from the dam. “Those pipes went in just after Christmas. We used our own digger and did the work ourselves. So now when our supply from the Waipawa River gets cut off, we can switch to water from the dam. We have been doing that over the past month,

This 500,000m3 water storage dam will ensure Paul Franklin can access water for his farm all year-round. though we are rationing it a bit. “It makes a big difference – it means we can keep farming. We don’t need to buy in as much feed and dry off stock.” Irrigation has been a key improvement on the dairy farm block that Springhill Dairies purchased in

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2011. “We have also done some re-grassing there and grazing management work, as well as putting on fertiliser.” Two new pivots have been installed on that property. Paul is a born and bred beef and sheep farmer,

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brought up in hill country near Dannevirke. After converting to dairy at his Onga Onga farm, he spent the next three years trying to do so without irrigation. “I learned that it is hard to be a dairy farmer in the Hawke’s Bay without green grass, so that’s when I managed to secure the water take from the Waipawa River – it was the best thing I ever did.” Rosemary manages the farms’ accounts and administration. The couple have a 28-year-old son, working as a consulting engineer in Wellington; a 27-year-old daughter, an Auckland-based media buyer; and a 24-year-old daughter who is an electrical engineer in Hamilton. “It has been a busy six months leading up to our eldest daughter’s wedding, which we had at our house in late February.” The new water storage dam covers seven hectares so there is also scope for a little recreation. “We’ve already had a ski on it and we’re hoping we will have some rain before duck shooting season!”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Justin & Kim Dunlop

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Pasture, cow weights farm focus Karen Phelps Waikato-based dairy farmers Justin and Kim Dunlop are aiming to ensure that their cow weights are up to a condition score of five so that their herd is firing on all cylinders heading into next season. They have had a good summer with lots of rain and the herd is still milking well so they are off to a good start. The couple lower-order sharemilk on a 202ha effective/264ha total syndicate-owned farm called Papakauri Dairies. They work with Tim Barrett, from Farm Ventures, the company that manages the farm. Justin says working for a farm owned by a syndicate is much the same as working for any other farm except that he is required to speak at syndicate AGMs. “We can get on and do the daily work because no owners live on the farm. Tim is our point of contact and represents the syndicate. We are aware that a lot of people’s money is invested so we have to be very careful about what we do on the farm,” he says. Papakauri Dairies milks a herd of 650 friesian cross cows through a 50 bail rotary shed with automatic cup removers, teat sprays, automatic drafting, vat and plant wash. The Dunlops have been focusing on pasture quality sowing 2.5 to 3 tonnes of clover seed over the past three years. They have also focused on improving drainage as the farm averages 1800 mm of rainfall each year. The Dunlops also have a concrete feed pad capable of holding 400 cows. The farm has no water irrigation and because it is located in a basin experiences good rainfall throughout the year making it summer safe. Effluent is spread on around 60ha of the farm through k-line pods. Papakauri Dairies is a fully self-sufficient system that is supported by a 30ha run off block located across the road, which is used to grow 600-700 tonnes of maize then put into annual grasses for the dry cows for winter grazing. This summer, 20ha of turnips was grown and 3ha of kale as a trial as an extension of the farm’s winter feed. Justin developed a passion for farming after growing up on a forestry farm in the Manawatu. At the age of 17 he decided to give dairy farming and go on a 460 cow farm. He is grateful to the farm owners, Bruce and Jane Coombes, whom he says took him under their wing and taught him the basics of dairy farming. After a year, he progressed to second in charge

Waikato-based sharemilkers Justin and Kim Dunlop with children Keegan, Corban and Sophie and twins Kynze and Bree. The couple milk 650 cows for syndicate-owned Papakauri Dairies (insert). on the farm. After spending seven years there, by which time the farm had grown to 1000 cows, Justin and Kim moved to Australia to take on a four-month dairy farming contract. Although Kim didn’t grow up on a farm her family had experience relief milking. Returning to New Zealand, by the age of 21, Justin was managing a 1000 cow farm in the Hawke’s Bay. A year later he worked on a series of managing jobs in the Manawatu for the next four years. Justin entered the Farm Manager of the Year awards twice, gaining second in the Manawatu regions and also winning the farm management and

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attitude awards. The couple then took on a lower order share milking position on a 730 cow farm, also in the Manawatu, where they remained for a year. They then came to Papakauri Dairies and are now heading into their fifth season. The Dunlops own 240 of the cows in the herd and are leasing 160 back to the owner and the rest to another dairy farm. They also graze out 40 yearlings of their own meaning that they are well on the way to their next goal of 50:50 share milking within two years. The farm employs two full time staff, Justin takes on the day to day management and Kim

completes the calf rearing. They take care of the farm bookwork together. The Dunlops have five children: Sophie, 14, Keegan, 12, Corban, 8 and twins Kynze and Bree, 6. The Dunlops consider the present market offers good opportunities for their future: “We see there are good opportunities to buy cows at reasonable prices so will aim to keep growing the herd to take us into a 50:50 share milking job,” explains Justin. “We’re eager to carry on in the industry and move up. Farmer ownership is the ultimate goal. You’ve got to be positive and we’re in it for the long term not the short term.”

“We see there are good opportunities to buy cows at reasonable prices so will aim to keep growing the herd to take us into a 50:50 share milking job. We’re eager to carry on in the industry and move up. Farmer ownership is the ultimate goal. You’ve got to be positive and we’re in it for the long term not the short term.”

Call Roy 021 854 434 Full Service Drainage & Earthworks Diggers, Trucks & Grader Roller, Round Bale Silage & Hay Maintenance, Dairy Conversions, Cropping & Regrassing e.t.c

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Wilfred & Rachel van Beek

NZ Dairy

Good grass the holy grail for Wilfred Karen Phelps Wairarapa dairy farmers Wilfred and Rachel van Beek say their goal is to keep focusing on the basics and improving each year. The couple are 29 per cent lower order sharemilkers on a 155ha effective/170ha total unit at Greytown. It is their fifth season on the farm where they peak milk 480 cross-bred cows through two cow sheds. The larger cows are milked through a 20 aside herringbone shed while the heifers and smaller go through an 18 aside herringbone. The farm, owned by James and Jane Smallwood, has a separate herd manager for each shed. The van Beeks say their main focus is on optimal pasture utilisation and maximising pasture grown. They have delayed calving by 14 days to match the demand for grass on the unit and now calve on August 1 when they typically have plenty of cover. They prefer not to make baleage, instead focusing on fully feeding the cows. Rotation length is vital – 19-20 days if grass is growing fast – but they are on 28 days at the moment due to the dry weather. “The plants come before the cows,” says Wilfred who believes that if they get the grass right everything else will follow. “If we haven’t got enough grass we’ll send cows to the works.” The focus on grass has led the couple to this year individually soil sample each paddock to optimise their fertiliser regime, making it specific to each paddock. Around 85 per cent of the farm is irrigated by k-line and sprinklers. Effluent is dispersed through travelling irrigators and spread on about one third of the farm. The next project is to build an effluent storage tank but this is a complex project as the farm has a walkway going through it, borders a river and has some 40 neighbours. The van Beeks place great emphasis on their herd, ensuring young stock is fully grown out. They don’t believe in using CIDRs (Controlled Intrauterine Drug Release). The six week in-calf rate has been improving each year. This season it was 75%, with a 13% empty rate over a 10-week mating period, which they aim to lower. Last season, they achieved 207,500kg of milk solids and are on target to produce a farm record this season of 215,000-220,000kg. Wilfred hails from the Netherlands where he says he always wanted to be a farmer. He studied

Wairarapa sharemilker Wilfred van Beek with children Gus and Fritz. farming in his home country before coming to New Zealand on a holiday where he met Rachel. Rachel grew up on various dairy farms in Nelson, the Kapiti Coast, Upper Hutt and Masterton. The couple started their farming careers on Rachel’s parents’ 145ha effective lease farm north of Masterton milking 420 cows.

The van Beeks place great emphasis on their herd, ensuring young stock is fully grown out. They don’t believe in using CIDRs (Controlled Intra-uterine Drug Release). The six week in-calf rate has been improving each year.

When the farm was later sold, they took a year off to visit the Netherlands then returned to New Zealand as first lower order share milkers on part of the same Masterton farm milking 270 cows for three years. They then spent two years on an 115ha unit near Martinborough milking 360 cows before

arriving at their present position. With the farm owners based in Australia, the van Beeks have a great deal of responsibility. The van Beeks are also kept busy in their personal lives bringing up their six children: Leon, 11, Pieter, 9, Amarita, 7, Frits, 4, Gus, 2 and the most recent addition to the family, Eleonora, six months.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Peter Ball and Steve & Donna Griggs

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Supportive owners a plus in tight times Kim Newth First time 50:50 sharemilkers Steve and Donna Griggs say working for supportive farm owners, Peter and Sara Ball, has been a big plus in their first season on the Balls’ Kaiapara Flats dairy farm, near Dargaville. Their goals for the farm are the same. The 117ha dairy platform has been understocked this year enabling a lot of supplement to be made, but the plan is now to increase stock numbers to make better use of available feed. In such a tight milk price environment, Peter says Steve and Donna are working very hard to make the farm operate as efficiently as possible. “Steve and Donna have been excellent. They have to make it work and so they are watching every dollar. They are right on top of their finances,” says Peter, who also regularly pitches in with jobs on the farm. Peter has been a dairy farmer on the Kaipara Flats for almost 30 years and grew up on a nearby farm. “In fact, one of our support blocks is the original home farm.” Sara is a keen horsewoman, who has been involved in equestrian judging and equine education in the community for many years. Currently the farm is stocked with 320 mostly jersey cows but the plan is to lift that to 370 in the coming year. Production is also expected to increase from 101,000kg MS to 120,000kg MS. Milking takes place out of a fast, straight rail 22-a-side shed, operating under a split herd system. Steve and Donna were named Farm Managers of the Year at the 2012 Dairy Industry Awards and were then working as contract milkers for Carl and Stephanie Gordon at Waipu, Northland. They started as 50:50 sharemilkers at Kaipara Flats last June. “We are both full time on farm with assistance from a part time labour unit through the busy time,” says Donna. “Peter enjoys working on the farm and his help and input is invaluable. Looking ahead to the new season with an increase in herd size, we will employ a farm assistant so our interview process is starting now.” The couple’s three children – Hayden, 14, Katie, 11 and Tyla, 8 – enjoy helping out on the farm, particularly Hayden who loves assisting with jobs like feeding out silage.

Dargaville sharemilkers Steve and Donna Grigg, and children Hayden, Tyla (8) and Katie (11), with farm owners Peter and Sara Ball. “We are really enjoying being here on a family farm. We have a good business relationship with Peter and Sara but also feel included by them. “Our goal is to get everything running efficiently so we have the whole farm business running on a low cost system.”

The couple first started working together on farms 16 years ago and passed through a number of different roles before winning the Farm Manager of the Year title. (At the same event that year, Donna’s brother, Miles Harrison, won the Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year award, a

rare achievement for two siblings). Meanwhile, Peter and Sara’s son Calvin Ball won the FMG Young Farmer of the Year regional final in February representing Waikato/Bay of Plenty and is now set to compete in July’s final in Timaru.

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Dargaville Farm owners Peter and Sara Bell and sharemilkers Steve and Donna Grigg check on the mainly jersey herd at Kaipara Flats (left).

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Graeme: 0274 763 499 Michael: 0278 630 034 admin@lawrenceag.co.nz www.lawrenceag.co.nz

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6x4 Roydon’s Mamaranui Transport Livestock Cartage Specialists Scott Vallance (Scotty) Ph: 09 439 8610 • 0274 972 935 email: scott@rmtl.co.nz

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Ryan Smith/PJ van Dongen

NZ Dairy

Conversion block ‘slow burner” Karen Phelps Ryan Smith reckons he drove past a Marton beef finishing farm about 60 times before he and his family committed to buying it. The property is now owned as a family partnership between Ryan and his wife Lisa and her parents Mark and Dianne McCarthy, who converted it to a dairy farm for the present season. “I drove past it about 60 times before I started thinking it was an opportunity to look at; the continuing drop in the payout sort of drew me to it even more,” Ryan Smith says. “You don’t see a lot of farms of this size and this calibre on the market too often any more.” At the time, the Smith’s were farming about 15 kilometres away at Mount Stewart, near Sanson, milking 200 cows on 66 hectares; they have retained ownership of the property which is now run as a 50:50 share-milking business. “Two hundred cows became quite boring. After five years there was no further expansion we could’ve done on the Mount Stewart farm. We took the farm from 30,000 milk solids to 100,000.” The Marton farm comprises 168ha on flat contour, peak milking 400 cows, averaging about 370 cows this season, and is on target to produce 180,000kg/MS. “Location was probably the first thing, the second one was the quality of land. I saw the potential of what it’s capable of, what it can grow and how fertile these soils actually are. Everything else, we will improve ourselves.” A clay pan runs across the farm and provides good moisture retention during dry weather. The partnership is a supplier to Open Country; Ryan praises the personal attention he has experienced in his dealings with a smaller co-operative. As a former beef unit, the farm’s existing infrastructure, such as its lane ways was also a big draw-card and reduced the scale and cost of the conversion. The closeness of Mark and Diane McCarthy’s sheep and beef farm, a “stone’s throw away” means it can be used as a winter support block; the two properties combined comprise about 400 hectares. Ryan did not want to dwell too much on the total purchase and conversion cost because “that makes my heart race too fast”. The conversion features a high-tech 50 bale rotary shed which includes automatic testing at every milking for milk quality and somatic cell count, cow weights, automatic drafting where necessary, and alerts if production or weights drop. “That was absolutely priceless given the season we’ve had, and being able to monitor cows somatic

cell count and general well-being. We had that data twenty-four seven.” While the farm’s pre-existing wintering barns were not purpose-built for a dairy operation and their positioning is not ideal, they proved a huge asset during a significant rain event last spring. “Three times I had to get the cows in with a jet ski.” “We had 1200 millimetres of rain in 10 weeks. That was where the burden was with that clay pan; once that water table’s full, everything that sits on top of that clay pan just moves. It was a season I’ve never, ever seen in my life.” As a result, the herd went to once-a-day milking in the middle of August and will remain the status quo until the end of this season. Without the wintering sheds the herd he would have been forced to dry the herd off in September, Ryan says. “We just compensated for the lack of grass for an in-shed feed system in the cow shed.”

“You don’t see a lot of farms of this size and this calibre on the market too often any more.”

SAM WORBOYS AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING

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Waikato farmer PJ van Dongen milks 800 cows off a milking platform of 260ha.

Back to grass roots farming Russell Fredric Peter John van Dongen (better known as PJ) is focusing on returning the family farm to a more simple grass-based system buying in no feed: “Palm kernel is a bit of a swear word around here,” he says with a smile. “We just don’t believe in it. It’s only 50% usable and not priced correctly when half of it ends up in the effluent pond.” PJ entered into an equity partnership with his parents, Pieter and Joy, on the family farm at Ngahinapouri near Hamilton in 2013. His parents have spent a lifetime as dairy farmers apart from a brief stint in dry stock. PJ completed his building apprenticeship when he left school and worked for five years in the industry. He completed two years as a farm assistance before heading to the UK to work for an agricultural contractor for seven years. He worked for a contractor for a couple of years when he returned to New Zealand and then as a manager on the family farm for a year before buying shares. The farm, which includes 280ha of land owned by the family and 133ha of lease land, has a milking platform of 260ha. The herd of 800 Friesian cows is milked through a 44-bail rotary shed, which PJ readily admits is “old school” with no mod cons, not even automatic cup removers. This season PJ is focusing on breeding and increasing the PW and BW figures of the herd. The current PW is 102 and the BW 108. He is also focusing on redeveloping the farm including re-racing, fencing, more water troughs and new water lines to increase the efficiency of the system

“we offer an extensive range of quality services to maximise efficiency and profitability for your farm”

in summer. Grass is another focus: “We are focusing on species that are hardier in the dry season and bounce back quickly when it’s dry. We have been putting in Trojan and Rohan – both NEA2 treated – with two clovers, Mainstay and Tribute. The farm is a 60/40 mix of clay to peat. Trojan is good on the clay country and Rohan on the peat. Around 10 to 20ha of the farm is re-grassed each year and up to 40ha of maize is planted.” The same keep-it-simple-stupid philosophy is applied to mating. Young cows are put on once a day 10-15 days prior to mating and for the rest of the season, which has seen empty rates, reduce from 15% to 6%. The farm has stopped treating non-cycling cows with no metro checking or CIDRs used. “We don’t believe in breeding from non-cycling cows. We think this just means breeding back infertility into the herd.” The farm has a two pond effluent system with a travelling irrigator. They spread over 20% of the farm. The farm employs four labour units: a manager, second in charge and two farm assistants as well as a part time calf rearer. PJ takes care of the young stock and the farm’s run-off block. He also takes charge of any redevelopment work and steers the business financially, moving it forward to the next level. Pieter and Joy live next door and are involved with key decisions and the financial side of the business. Last season the farm produced 260,500 kilograms of milk solids and is on target to produce a similar amount this season. With cost structures already low, PJ admits they are still looking to

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Sam & Debbie Crowther

| 31

Community rallies after shed fire Kim Newth Sharemilkers Sam and Debbie Crowther and their son William faced pretty bleak prospects last February after an electrical fault sparked a fire that wrote off the farm milking shed. Without a shed, it looked like their 240 cows would have to be dried off. “It would have been a disastrous production year for us had that happened,” says Sam. Fortunately, though, the local community at Rata, near Marton, stepped up immediately to lend a hand, with neighbour Adrian Bull letting the Crowthers milk their cows at his shed. Even though it was a two kilometre walk to get there, it meant the cows were able to be milked once a day through to drying off in June. Family friends Mary and Bernie Hughes also offered their shed so cows with mastitis could be treated and milked there. “We were doing a fair bit of racing around as Mary and Bernie’s property is around ten kilometres away.” Even with the support, it was a tough season for Sam and Debbie, who are 50:50 sharemilkers on Graeme and Madaline Rhodes’ 101ha dairy unit at Rata. The couple also lease a 169ha block off the Rhodes, near the home farm, used for dairy grazing and growing supplements. Their 21-year-old son William helps out on the farm, as well as working for a local silage contractor. Sam says they were down to 150 cows on once a day milking by last June. “Even though we were all fully insured, there was still a loss,” says Sam, who estimates that total production fell by 10,000 to 15,000kg MS as a result of the dairy shed fire. The generosity of friends, neighbours and family helped get them through. On one occasion, Brian Marshall,of Farmlands in Marton arrived with a wheelbarrow full of donated products from various local suppliers. “It is a big morale boost knowing that people really do care,” says Sam. A new 28-bail herringbone shed, built to replace the previous shed that went up in flames, has been up and running since last August. The Crowthers are relieved to be back using their old yard, but are facing new pressures this season as a result of dry weather conditions and the low milk pay-out. Around this time last year they had a lot of feed, but drought conditions are now prevailing.

Rata sharemilkers Sam and Debbie Crowther received a big morale boost when the local community rallied around after a disastrous fire destroyed their milking shed. “We were going really well up until this dry spell hit in the past few weeks. Production per cow has really dropped down. Our total production per day is now at a similar level to what it was last year after the fire – and we

We were going really well up until this dry spell hit in the past few weeks. Production per cow has really dropped down. Our total production per day is now at a similar level to what it was last year after the fire – and we were once a day milking then.

were on once a day milking then. “Right now we are still milking twice a day. Everything is so dry; the cows are living on turnips, silage and also some palm kernel at the moment.” They are used to the farm’s stony bottom flats,

It’s our pleasure to be able to assist Sam and Debbie in their farming life

covering some 25ha, drying out over summer but this year’s dry has been particularly intense. Even though the challenges are ongoing, the couple remain thankful to be a part of such a supportive and caring rural community.

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32 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Landcorp Pastoral

NZ Dairy

From pine trees to prime dairy land Karen Phelps Converting land from forestry to prime dairy country takes time, hard work and dedication. Achilles, a 900ha total/860ha effective dairy unit milking 2150 cows in Wairakei, has been focusing on building up the good topsoil sitting on the pumice base of the farm. The farm effluent area has been extended over the past two years to 190ha so nutrients can be better utilised and to ensure the farm operates sustainably, says farm manger Axel Nielsen-Vold. Effluent is spread with travelling irrigators from a 100 day holding pond and stone trap. To enhance the process of encouraging good quality top soil the farm has stopped cultivating and turning the top soil over preferring to spray out and direct drill where possible. “This means we are keeping the good nutrients on the surface and not bringing up a lot of pumice. It should help us to build up a good worm population as well,” he explains. The stocking rate has been lowered from 2300 to 2150 to further improve the farm’s environmental footprint which is a major focus because Achilles is owned by Wairakei Estate and is leased by Landcorp Pastoral making it part of New Zealand’s largest group of pastoral farms in the Southern Hemisphere committed to best environmental practice. Wairakei Estate is owned by three New Zealand families who in 2004 purchased 25,685ha in the central North Island with the aim of creating environmentally sustainable pastoral farms. The Estate currently has 14 working dairy farms - Achilles, Broadlands, Endeavour, Pinta, Renown, Resolution, Mayflower, Victory, Earnslaw, Otago, Burgess, Quest and Endurance along with St Kilda, a new sheep milking farm. All farms are managed by Landcorp Farming Limited. Axel is in his fourth season as manager of Achilles bringing 15 years of dairy industry experience to the position. He says another focus for the farm at present is moving towards a New Zealand crossbred herd from a Jersey and Friesian base to result in a smaller more efficient cow. The herd is milked through a 60 bail rotary shed

Achilles Farm, leased by Landcorp Pastoral, is an 860ha effective dairy unit milking 2150 cows in Wairakei. The farm has been converted from forestry to prime dairy country.

with automatic cup removers and in-shed feeding system. This season is the first time that the farm has grown winter crops since Axel has taken over as manager. Around 12ha of swedes have been grown as a trial but will have to produce more than seven tonnes per hectare to exceed the grass the farm can grow on the same area. He says the biggest challenge of the farm is that every season has been quite different making planning difficult. For example this is the first year the tables have turned and the farm has been dry in October to December when usually this occurs in January/ February, which have been good growth months this year. The pumice-based soils also dry out

quickly, which he hopes building the topsoil will help to remedy. The farm has no water irrigation as it is too high and too far from a river to make this a viable option. Being part of a large group of farms brings distinct advantages, he says. For example when Achilles dried out in December 200 cows were sent to a nearby irrigated farm in the group for five weeks. Equipment is often shared between farms and all in all it helps to take the stress off when the weather doesn’t play kind. Achilles employs eight full time staff in addition to Axel plus casual milkers and calf rearers. Last season the farm produced 790,000 kilograms of milk solids and this season is targeting 740,000 kilograms with the reduced cow numbers. The next bit of development planned for the unit will be to build two herd homes to help mitigate the dry weather and avoid damaging pastures. Axel says that although managing large units brings its own set of challenges he wouldn’t have it any other way: “I’d be bored on a smaller farm. I like to be challenged.”

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NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » Moa Milking & Pumping

| 33

The team at Moa Milking and Pumping can offer the right advice when it comes to vital effluent infrastructure.

Right effluent system, equipment vital Kelly Deeks Moa Milking and Pumping has been busy helping farmers meet tightening regulations regarding effluent management on their farms. According to company director Nathan Hitchcock when it comes to dairy effluent management, specifying the correct systems and equipment is critical. “The operational and financial performance of a farm can be improved significantly with the right

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dairy effluent infrastructure in place, helping to improve the long-term value of the property,” he says. This is where the team at Moa Milking and Pumping really come to the fore, he says, offering farmers the right advice. The company offers system design along with a wide range of quality equipment, products and services including pontoons, pumps, stirrers, ponds and tanks and stone traps. “We understand the importance of providing

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34 |

FARM SERVICES » Moa Milking & Pumping

NZ Dairy

Comprehensive range of dairy effluent products available • From page 33 equipment that is suitable for use with dairy effluent, which has lead us over the years to having one of the most comprehensive range of dairy effluent products available for farmers including the DODA and Hi-tech Enviro Solutions ranges,” explains Nathan. Moa Milking and Pumping was started in 2005 by Nathan who has worked within the dairy industry in various roles since 1998 when he started work for a local Waikato Milking Services dealership. He learned his trade and studied Agricultural Engineering at Massey University before heading overseas working for Waikato Milking Systems installing milking plants throughout Wales, Scotland and England. Based in Inglewood, with a branch called Moa Rotary Platforms in Matamata, Moa Milking and Pumping fit, service and repair rotary platforms for the entire North Island for Waikato Milking Systems. The company also sells and installs water and meal feeding systems. Nathan says that the key principle of the milking systems and plant that the company supplies is that they are cost effective, profitable, adaptable, versatile and expandable. The company offers a free site visit to help best determine what the customer requires whether it be equipment, upgrading or a new installation. “The plant and products we sell are all high quality and incredibly reliable. I believe that Waikato Milking Systems plant is one of the best and it’s all New Zealand manufactured which makes a big difference. Moa Milking and Pumping have been delivering proven results to farmers and lifestylers in the dairy industry for over 10 years focusing on solutions that make a real impact on the efficiency, productivity and profitability of the farm.” In order to offer customers a complete service, Moa Milking and Pumping also offers regular maintenance checks for rotary platforms – something Nathan has identified can bring real value to a farmer’s operation. “We jack up the whole platform and check the running gear, welds, operation etc. This helps to prevent emergency breakdowns, which can cost farmers big money. We offer our clients service contracts and can do an annual check-up for them as part of our service.” The company’s maintenance service is backed up by a 24/7 emergency call out service. “If a shed stops, the farmer needs it up and running again as soon as possible. That’s the bottom line.” With the current market downturn making times tough for farmers, Moa Milking and Pumping is

Moa Milking and Pumping fit, service and repair rotary platforms throughout the North Island for Waikato Milking Systems. Photo: Matt Churchill doing what it can to help. The company is offering a free site visit whether to ascertain how to optimise the performance of current equipment, talk about an upgrading or a new installation. The company provides a no obligation assessment and proposal. “We’re focusing on supporting our customers as much as we can at the moment when they need to ensure their business is performing at its best, focusing on offering solutions that make a real impact on the efficiency, productivity and profitability of our customers’ farms.”

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NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » P J Warren Earthmoving

| 35

Water storage big business for firm Kelly Deeks Featherston’s PJ Warren Earthmoving was involved last year in constructing one of the largest irrigation ponds to be built in the Wairarapa for several years. The 1.5ha, 6m deep pond was an Irrigation Services project, and PJ Warren Earthmoving director Peter Warren says he can see more local farmers looking into the benefits of large irrigation ponds as faming systems become more intensified and the amount of centre pivots in the area increases, and water restrictions become more common. “The idea is when his water gets shut off, he can start sucking water out of his irrigation pond,” Peter says. “Often when you need it the most is when your water gets shut down. A lot of people will start looking at irrigation ponds to supplement their bores. We haven’t seen water restrictions like we’re getting these days, there is a lot more draw on the resources.” PJ Warren Earthmoving has four excavators weighing 20 tonne or more, a twin engine motor scraper, three 30 tonne six-wheel drive dump trucks, three bulldozers plus a range of small diggers down to five tonne, so is well equipped to handle the job. PJ Warren Earthmoving has a well and long established relationship with Irrigation Services, completing a lot of the company’s pond work for irrigation and effluent schemes. Peter has been running his contracting business for the past 25 years, which has grown steadily. “I tried to run both the contracting business and my farm for a while, but when the business took off, I leased my farm out for a dairy run off, and sold my stock to buy more machinery,” Peter says. “A few years later I sold that farm, but kept my yard. I then bought a dairy farm and put a farm manager on that, then 10 years ago I sold that and bought into a syndicated dairy farm Kaiwaiwai Dairies. And I’ve not put a set of cups on since.” The guy putting the cups on at Kaiwaiwai Dairies, Rowan McGilvray, is doing a stellar job and was last year named Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa Farm Manager of the Year at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards. PJ Warren Earthmoving has since grown to 10 staff. The company has recently being granted the sole rights to extract gravel from a site on the Tauherenikau River. New rules and regulations around river extraction saw Peter and one of his staff gain their quarry manager’s ticket, and also remove gravel from the river to a site before processing it. With a brand new Portafill 3000 portable screening plant, a crusher, and three 30 tonne dump trucks, PJ Warren Earthmoving is making the most of this opportunity and supplies gravel to large companies and local contractors. For farm drainage projects, and trenching for irrigation systems, the company uses a purpose built trenching machine, originally imported from Bath, England by Massey University, then bought by PJ Warren Earthmoving and rebuilt by Manawatu Hydraulics. A recent addition to the fleet is an excavator with a purpose built mulcher, which the company uses for vegetation clearing on river beds, banks, and paddocks.

Featherston based PJ Warren Earthmoving was involved in excavating a 1.5ha, 6m deep irrigation pond, one of the largest seen in the Wairarapa. The company has recently been granted sole rights to extract gravel from a site on the Tauherenikau River.

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36 |

FARM SERVICES » Seymours Transport

NZ Dairy

Transport firm stands the test of time Kelly Deeks A long established family business, Seymours Transport, has its fourth generation of operators waiting in the wings in his Seymours Transport t-shirt, albeit a driver in training at just 18 months of age. Seymours Transport was established in 1957 by Opiki dairy farmer and livestock buyer Maunsell Seymour. He was a buyer for the old outfit PMA (Pig Marketing Association) and bought for the local but now long derelict Longburn freezing works in Palmerston North. He purchased his own small, two axle truck with capacity for about 10 cattle and started carting them himself. Seymours Transport’s current owner, and Maunsell’s son John, says prior to 1957 cattle weren’t really trucked to the works, rather walked by way of a cattle drove. “Dad was one of the first to have a truck,” he says. He continued to run his farm, which he had purchased when he settled in Opiki in 1937, eventually converting from dairy to beef, while growing Seymours Transport to three trucks. Out of Maunsell’s five children, his two boys, Roger and John, both joined Seymours Transport as soon as they left school. When he passed away suddenly in 1981, the brothers took over the businesses. “Dad died unexpectedly and we were kind of thrown in the deep end,” John says. “Roger stayed to help out for the next five years, and we slowly expanded.” He says under his direction, Seymours Transport’s efficiencies have been improved. “If I’m going to do something, I do it properly,” he says. “We made a few mistakes along the way but it’s the best way to learn, as you only make them once. We had the opposition breathing down our necks and trying to undercut us, but we have a very loyal following, still to this day. “Our clients stayed with us and we’ve now grown to 15 staff and eight trucks, covering virtually anywhere in the North Island, and a wee bit in the South Island although we don’t go looking for it.” The farm is still in the family, although three times its original size now and supported by a run off block. John converted it back to dairy five years ago, and it is run by a sharemilker and achieving very good production. These days, Seymours Transport is a very different operation to that run by Maunsell.

Our clients stayed with us and we’ve now grown to 15 staff and eight trucks, covering virtually anywhere in the North Island.

Seymours Transport has grown from a one-man, one-truck operation established by Opiki dairy farmer Maunsell Seymour, to an eight-truck operation. There are less meat companies to deal with, but a lot more paperwork, especially around health and safety, and recording log books and driver hours. John says the quality of the livestock is much the same today, however the gear has markedly improved. “Our trucks today are bigger and longer, so while Dad was carting about 10 cattle, we’re looking at 40 or 50. The distances are a lot further as well. We think nothing of carting cattle 300kms, but in Dad’s day he carted them 35kms. It’s just totally different.” Facilities on farms have also improved. In Maunsell’s day, most dairy farmers didn’t have their own loading race. The carrier carted his own transportable loading race, which was very heavy and awkward to handle, and he often had to set it up by himself. The situation was brought to a head when a new law banned vehicles on the road over 8ft wide. “So we were able to get rid of those, after using them for about 20 years!” Fonterra regulations have also caused a range of improvements to on-farm facilities, such as wide gateways and large roundabouts, which Seymours Transport also benefits from.

John is now buying livestock for Alliance Group, Land Meat, and Greenlea Premier Meats. Some of the company’s loyal client base is now into its third generation, with Seymours Transport following not far behind. John’s son Robbie, the third generation, runs the company’s transport division, and Robbie’s son Troy, the fourth generation, is only a year and a half old but has the company in his sights and its t-shirt on his back.

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NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » Dairy Build

| 37

Committed to getting the job done Karen Phelps Building a dairy shed in the countryside of Brazil is all in a day’s work for Northland-based company Dairy Build. The company was commissioned by a New Zealand client, who was setting up a dairy farm five hours north of the capital of Brasilia, to construct two 40 a side herringbone sheds. Dairy Build owner Matthew Sidford, who headed over to South America to complete the project with the assistance of one staff member, says the build was challenging. Dairy Build needed to utilise local resources and contractors for the project, many of who were unfamiliar with building dairy sheds. Plant was shipped to the site from New Zealand while steel was sourced locally and fabricated onsite with rudimentary equipment. Matthew says that the project demonstrated the company’s resourcefulness and ability to get the job done for the client no matter what. Dairy Build was started by Matthew and wife Jewel in 2010. Matthew, who originally hails from the UK, had previously run a similar successful dairy shed building company for 15 years in England. He came to New Zealand in 2005 seeking a change, met Jewel in 2009, and the couple is now

based in Whangarei, servicing clients throughout New Zealand and occasionally abroad. Jewel takes care of the office/administration side of the business while Matthew is out on site project managing each build. Matthew says Dairy Build is very focused on farmers and their needs. The fact that he grew up on a dairy farm and worked as a dairy assistant for two years has stood him in good stead. Dairy Build designs and construct rotary and herringbone cowsheds, feed pads, effluent systems including weeping walls, flood wash systems, round and rectangular yards and storage bins/ bunkers. The company offers everything from design to steel fabrication and engineering in-house. Typically farmers prefer to source their own milking equipment and plant. Dairy Build has its own 12 tonne excavator. Matthew says that being able to do everything in-house enables the company to keep a tight control on quality, timing and costs for clients. Although the focus is new builds, the company also undertakes repairs and maintenance work. Although the dairy industry is suffering under the low payout, Dairy Build still has some significant projects on the go. The company is building a 600-cow, covered feed pad and a 40-a-side herringbone shed just

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Matthew travelled to Brazil to build two 40-a-side herringbone sheds for a New Zealand client. out of Whangarei. The company also recently completed a project in the South Island, which saw the team build a 40- a-side herringbone shed in one month. “We’re aiming to keep our prices as tight as we can for clients,” says Matthew, who recognises the pressures farmers are presently operating under. “Quite often farmers come to me wanting a new shed that is similar to their old one. I can inform

them of the latest technology, developments and design so they know all the options on how to maximise efficiency on their farm. “The aim is to cut down their time in the shed and make the job easier freeing up their time for other things. For example, one customer halved his milking time with the new shed we built for him. Now he has more time to spend fishing. That’s what it’s all about.”

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38 |

FARM SERVICES » Taunt Contracting

NZ Dairy

Quality first for family-owned firm Kim Newth With its commitment to certification and best practice standards, Stratford-based family firm Taunt Contracting has achieved a strong local reputation for reliable and professional service in the rural sector. Lyn and Les Taunt, who established the business 50 years ago, continue to play a major role with Lyn managing accounts and Les handling much of the digger work. Their 100ha farm includes a quarry producing various crushed metal products and screened pit metal. Bulk cartage and metal cartage are offered as part of Taunt Contracting’s suite of services. “We specialise in metal for farm races, laneways and tracks, and hard fill for buildings sites,” says Barry Taunt, who, along with his brother Glen, work with their parents in the family business. Their sister, Kelly, also lends a hand, assisting with accounts. Taunt Contracting is a premium contractor when it comes to good quality silage. The process involves making solid, well-wrapped bales and using inoculants. Six layers of wrap are used to keep out oxygen and moisture and to prevent rot. A large tractor – a John Deere 8130, with front end loader – is used for pit silage compaction. “One of the most important things that farmers overlook is the quality of the silage they are making. A lot of them don’t understand that making good quality silage is just as important as getting the feed right for cows. “If farmers have poor quality silage, they also end up having to feed out more.” Using inoculants minimises the risk of mould invading bales should the outer wrap become Stratford based Taunt Contracting is a premium contractor when it comes to good quality silage.

“Our focus is on delivering quality and doing the best we can every time. We are one of the safest contractors around and we also keep our seasonal staff fully informed about what is required in terms of safety.”

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NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » Taunt Contracting

PHOTOS: Taunt Contracting is registered and qualified as a rural contractor and is also a registered chemical applicator. ripped or punctured. “Inoculants won’t make bad silage good but will stop deterioration; and if you have good silage, it’s going to hold its value.” Taunt Contracting is registered and qualified as a rural contractor and is also a registered chemical applicator. External audits ensure the firm’s health and safety procedures are robust. Barry and Glen have also completed risk assessment unit standards in conjunction with the quarry operation. “There is a lot of competition out there and farmers sometimes go for what they think is the best deal because it is the cheapest. “They do need to be aware that some of the cheaper operators may not be up to scratch with health and safety. There are hidden costs in cutting corners. “Our focus is on delivering quality and doing the best we can every time. We are one of the safest contractors around and we also keep our seasonal staff fully informed about what is required in terms of safety.” At this time of year, Taunt Contracting is in

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demand for its agricultural spray services, along with cartage and fertiliser spreading. With fertiliser spreading, Taunt Contracting offers GPS tracking to provide proof of placement. Cultivation and direct drilling is another key service, with the latest Vaderstad disc drill used for sowing and direct drilling. Taunt Contracting takes pride in using modern, efficient equipment. For example, the team has a Welger round baler to augment its existing round balers to produce high density bales. Square baling is also available, with a large square baler used for hay and silage. “We are always working on keeping up to date and replacing equipment as needed.” Barry and Glen are both married with families of their own. Barry and his wife Jackie and their two daughters have recently moved to a home near Stratford on 25 acres, used primarily for dairy grazing. “We have a few heifers and a couple of sheep so it gives us something to do in the weekends!”

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40 |

FARM SERVICES » Goodin Ag

NZ Dairy

Innovation, diversification key to growth Kelly Deeks Long-standing agricultural contractor Goodin Ag uses proactivity and innovation to offer unique solutions to support Taranaki farmers. Goodin Contracting was established 35 years ago by Tom and Lyn Goodin, and was renamed Goodin Ag when purchased by their son Mark, and his wife Samantha in September 2014. Mark has been involved in the business since he was small, learning the trade throughout his childhood and driving tractors by age 13. He now spends more time coordinating with clients and organising the team, but with the industry in his blood he won’t refrain from going out to drive when it’s busy, or if there is a special job on. Since he’s become managing director, Mark’s focus is on the overall operation of the company, and the knowledge he has from everything he has experienced over his years in the industry empowers Goodin Ag for a positive future. “One of the major improvements we’re making is in our health and safety policy and procedures,” he says. “We’re managing our guys’ hours, and we’re making the workplace safer by working with farmers to improve their own health and safety systems.”

The majority of Goodin Ag’s work is in maize silage, from cultivating, planting, side dressing, and harvesting. The company has come up with a couple of special methods to achieve the best results for the farmer. Goodin Ag uses a side dresser to apply urea, driving down the rows and placing urea into the ground where it can be fully utilised, rather than top dressing and losing urea through evaporation. The other unique thing is Goodin Ag’s 20 inch rows, opposed to the standard 30 inch rows. “Your rows are closer together, but your individual plants are further apart,” Mark says. “That’s the thing about growing maize, it has to have room to grow. If you’ve got two plants close together, they will fight for nutrients and light, and neither one will get enough.” About 10 years ago, Goodin Ag converted one of their 30 inch planters to a 20 inch planter, and after trials confirmed yield increases of up to half a ton per hectare, converted the second planter as well. The more comprehensive cover of maize achieved with 20 inch rows also results in less weeds, as they have less light to grow. Goodin Ag purchased a quarry a few years ago which it runs over the winter, when the staff drops from about 26 in the peak of the maize planting season, to about six. “After we finish the maize harvest, we go down to the quarry and process race fines,” he says. “It’s great to know we’ve got a ready supply, and it all gets dug out, screened, and carted pretty much on the same day. The metal flows much better being dug out straight away, rather than stuck in a pile.” The winter staff also work on maintaining and servicing Goodin Ag’s 22 tractors, two forage harvesters, and two trucks. 12 months ago, Goodin Ag purchased a solid muck spreader, to help keep up with new regulations around effluent and increasing numbers of herd homes in the area. The drain digger bought for the quarry has been picking up work cleaning out oxidation ponds, with the residue going straight into the muck spreader and out on to the paddock. “While we’re doing that, we’re pumping out the pond at the same time,” Mark says. Goodin Ag offers most other services to farmers from grass silage and hay making through to all types of cropping and ground work.

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PHOTOS: Mark and Samantha Goodin (above). Cleaning out oxidation ponds (below) is proving a valuable niche business for the company.

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NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » Pumpn

| 41

New products keep company Pumpn Karen Phelps New products developed by Kiwi company Pumpn are transforming the way dairy farmers do the job, says company director Shane Phillips. The company offers five innovative products nationwide, two of which are patented or patent pending. Shane, who comes from a farming background, says that the products have been developed to meet the needs of farmers. The latest example of the company’s innovation is the Vibe Panel, a vibrating weeping wall developed to combat the tendency of traditional weeping wall systems to clog. “To prevent overflow and any potential environmental hazards farmers need to manually empty the product and spread to pasture which is extremely time consuming and costly especially during wetter months. The Vibe Panel is a vertical passive separation screen, which vibrates. The vibrations travel down the horizontal panels to clear blocked slots in the screen, which then causes the containment to de-water. The vibration allows effluent to move easily through the slots and into containment ready to be irrigated to pasture,” explains Shane. Since the product was released to the market 18 months ago, feedback has been extremely positive, he says, with farmers reporting drastically decreased labour required with the added benefit of capturing higher quality effluent to be utilized on pastures. Due to the reliability and efficiency of the system a single panel is often sufficient. Two other popular products the company offers are the G-Valve, a mechanical effluent gravity valve for overflow protection, and the Torpedo travelling effluent cannon. Shane says that G-Valve enables farmers to automatically manage effluent control using gravity eliminating the need for taps. Pumpn is the first company in the world to design and manufacture a self propelled travelling effluent cannon driven by a pelton wheel and have the patent for this concept, says Shane. He says the Torpedo won’t block with raw dairy effluent making the system extremely reliable. “The Torpedo is fast pumping with low application rates, is quick and simple to operate as well as rugged and durable to stand the test of time. It’s a robust, low maintenance system the company has specifically developed to meet the needs of dairy farmers,” he says. But designing and supplying innovative irrigation equipment has been rather a means to an end because Pumpn’s main business is the design, supply and installation of pump,

irrigation and effluent management as well as farm water reticulation systems. Shane says that manufacturing good quality innovative products helps the company to secure projects and ensures a better service for clients, which is where Shane’s farming background proves invaluable. He grew up on a local dairy farm and straight from school began working in the water, effluent and engineering industry before starting Pumpn. The popularity of the company’s products, which also include the SP Stirrer effluent pond stirrer and Easyskid, a unique low application skid, has them supplied nationwide. Shane says that he and his 18 staff are dedicated to making Pumpn a business customers can trust and that the company will continue to develop new products as the market demands. “It’s Kiwi innovation, I guess. We understand the dairy sector and what it needs. If we see a problem with a product being used in the market then we end up building our own better version to continue to offer farmers superior systems designed with the future in mind of this ever evolving industry.”

PHOTOS: Pumpn’s company director Shane Phillips oversees trenching work.

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42 |

FARM SERVICES » Hauraki Plains Motors

NZ Dairy

Hauraki Plains Motors specialises in new and used farm machinery, carrying a large range of Honda motorcycles and mowers and Masport garden equipment.

Farm machinery and a whole lot more Karen Phelps Hauraki Plains Motors is proud to be an integral part of the local community in Ngatea. The business was started in 1926 and still operates from the original building, which has been expanded considerably over the years to accommodate the growth of the business. Present owners, Frank Fullerton and Miles Shelley, are both locals who bring extensive experience to the business. After growing up on a

dairy farm in the Waikato, Frank was an agricultural contractor in the region for many years. It was nearly 40 years ago he came to Hauraki Plains Motors, initially in sales.Miles comes from a dairy farming background and completed his mechanics apprenticeship with Hauraki Plains Motors. Frank and Miles took over sole ownership of the business together over in 1996. When asked what the company does Frank chuckles: “It might be easier to tell you what we don’t do,” he says. Hauraki Plains Motors employs a staff of 16 and

operates three main divisions – sales, spare parts and the workshop. The company specialises in used and new farm machinery, carrying a large range of brands including Honda motorcycles, Honda mowers, Masport garden equipment, Powerbuilt tools, Adventure Brands bicycles, Giltrap and Vogal farm machinery, Silvan and C-Dax spray equipment, C-Dax spreaders, Kea trailers, Duncan Ag equipment, Fieldmaster toppers, Hustler farm, ride on and spray equipment, Fairbrother Industries post drivers and Reese Engineering hay mowers.

NGATEA 48A Orchard West Rd, Ngatea 3503 Phone (07) 867 7618 AUCKLAND 16 Drumquin Rise, Dannemora, Auckland 2016 PO BOX 64116, Botany, Auckland 2163 Phone (09) 271 5280 Fax (09) 271 5282 Email ramesh@rkca.co.nz

Proud to support Hauraki Plains Motors Hauraki Plains Motors employs 16 staff and operates three divisions, sales, spare parts and workshop.

Everything is displayed in the company’s large yard and showroom. Sales are backed with the company’s parts and accessories service carrying parts for ATVs, cars, tractor tyres, boats and pushbikes to name a few. Hauraki Plains Motors even offers a general hardware store with tools and paint, as well as hydraulic hosing and chainsaw chains and bars. The workshop employs eight mechanics and

• To page 43

NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » Hauraki Plains Motors

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• From page 42 an engineer and completes light engineering and general repairs and maintenance. The company is also an authorised Warrant of Fitness centre for cars, motorbikes, trailers and tractors. Two service mechanics are on the road in utes to complete on-farm repairs for customers. “We will attempt to fix anything,” says Frank. “For example, the other day we had an electric fence unit in here which we managed to repair. We have the expertise to handle most things.” Frank says it is the knowledge the team brings to the business that makes the difference. The average length of time staff has served in the company sits at 22 years. One salesperson has clocked up 38 years with the company. “It means our customers can have confidence that we’ve been in the region a long time and that people know and trust us. “Most of our business is conducted on a handshake. We know most of the farmers around here and if we don’t we make it our mission to get to know them.” The company covers the Hauraki Plains and Coromandel Peninsula and Frank and Miles take great pride in being heavily involved in the local community. Frank is a Justice of the Peace and member of the local Lions Clubs. Miles is the fire chief of the Ngatea Fire Brigade and has also been made a member of the Order of St John for his services to the organisation for the past 37 years. He is also a first responder for St John Ambulance. Hauraki Plains Motors has also been recognised for providing long-standing services to the Order of St John for the past 40 years. Frank says it is just one of the many ways the company likes to quietly give back to the local community, supporting its rural customers who have supported them for so many years.

PHOTOS: Hauraki Plains Motors completes light engineering and general repairs and maintenance (above). The well stocked showroom (bottom).

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44 |

CONTRACTING » Battensby Bros

NZ Dairy

Spreader makes most out of muck Karen Phelps A new muck spreading service being offered by Battensby Brothers Contracting Limited is helping farmers to save on their fertiliser bills by making the most out of the effluent on their farms, says Glenn Battensby who owns the company with brother Ross (better known as Scooter). The brothers have invested in a West muck spreader, which can spread slurry, compost, cow manure from yards and feed pads, solid dung, stock bedding and poultry manure and old silage among other things. Glenn says the services has been particularly helpful to dairy farmers who are obviously tightening their belts at the moment with the lower pay out. “We always aim to keep up with the latest technology continually investing in new equipment to offer our clients an even better service,” he says. Other recent additions to the plant include a new Krone Comprima V 150 XC XTreme round baler to replace existing plant, a new ground breaker six tine ripper and a sheepsfoot roller. Glenn says that the specially designed curved tines of the ground breaker gently vibrate the hard pan from the bottom up and work to stop soil from coming to the

Services offered by Battenby Bros Contracting include silage, ground cultivation, spreading, mulching and rotary slashing, fencing and hay bales.

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surface. “This provides a smoother surface and helps reduce water loss. Compact soils prevent root growth and reduce water absorption. By loosening the soil, roots are able to access groundwater especially during long dry periods,” he explains. Sheepsfoot compactors derived their name from the fact that early Roman road builders would herd sheep back and forth over base material until the road was compacted. “The roller compacts the layer below and lifts the top material keeping it loose. This process continues as layers are added basically compacting from the bottom up. The roller works great on both clay and silt soils and could be used on dairy farm races to crush limestone,” he explains. Based in Ararua, Northland, the brothers both grew up on a dairy farm in the local area. Together they now offer over 44 years of experience and have an in-depth knowledge of the challenges faced by local farmers. Services offered by Battensby Brothers

Contracting include ground cultivation, spreading, mulching and rotary slashing, fencing, hay and silage, hay bales, silage bales/stack and firewood delivery. Glenn says that stack silage has been more popular this season as farmers seek to save costs. “The price of plastic has gone up this season so that is making stack silage a good option for many farmers,” he says. With dairy farmers forming a large part of the company’s clientele, the flow on effect of the dairy industry is obviously having an impact. Battensby Brothers Contracting is used to the ebb and flow of business and has simply put its machinery to good use in other areas such as construction, security fencing and car parks. The company workshop has also been sand blasting and painting a bulldozer, putting the skills

of the team to good use as well as repairing and maintaining the company’s own fleet of equipment. Both Glenn and Scooter are hands on in their business. Glenn describes himself and an organiser, in charge of the day to day running of the operation, while Scooter is in charge of the workshop. Both get out on the equipment as needed. Glenn says they both realise the importance of running their business professionally to meet the needs of the modern farmer. The company has an updated logo to better represent what type of contracting is undertaken – a red tractor to match its fleet of Massey Fergusons. The new logo will slowly be rolled onto the sides of the Battensby Brothers Contracting fleet as fleet is replaced. The company has both a website and Facebook page up and running so customers can keep up to date with its goings on.

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NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » Aitken Transport/AA Contracting

Shifting stock name of the game Karen Phelps Aitken Transport has quietly gone about the business of shifting stock for farmers in Taranaki for 75 years and for 40 years of that journey Ron Wheeler and Peter Bonner have been at the helm. Long enough, Ron says, to have seen a lot of changes in the industry he thrives on. “In the old days, we used to do a lot of wool but these days it is just all live-stock, sheep, cattle and dairy.” The company services the hill country farmers off the old forgotten world road, east of Stratford through to Taumarunui, as well as out along the main coast road connecting New Plymouth to Wanganui.

“We struggled for a few years. For the first few years I worked seven days a week and up to 18 hours a day. It is hard building business and even though the work was there you have to work at it. It comes down to good PR and great staff. We have been really lucky with our staff,”

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While Peter concentrates on the core task of driving, Ron takes care of business, organising the drivers’ rosters, communicating with farmer clients and overseeing the whole operation. Aitken Transport is based in Toko, 10km east of Stratford. It has a fleet of seven trucks and trailers, including a brand new $750,000 700 hp Volvo, five-axle trailer feeder truck, one owner driver with a truck and trailer along with a workshop and extensive storage shed. Ron says it has taken years of hard work to grow the business to the point where it is today, one of the largest trucking services in the area. “We struggled for a few years. For the first few years I worked seven days a week and up to 18 hours a day. It is hard building business and even though the work was there you have to work at it. It comes down to good PR and great staff. We have been really lucky with our staff,” he says. Last year was a really good one for the company, though Ron observed some distinctions in the choices farmers made regarding their livestock compared to earlier years. There is much less demand for store lambs and instead farmers are choosing to fatten their own stock on their land. Supporting the company to keep the wheels turning on the fleet is local mechanic Alvin Hunt, who Ron describes as a Volvo specialist, while at headquarters Jodie Cartwright comes in five days a week to take care of background administration. “Most of my work is done at night, taking and making phone calls to sort the next days work schedule for the team,” Ron says. Aitken Transport delivers stock to a number of freezing works and two of the company’s drivers live in Hawera and service that part of the district. Ron is proud of the way the trucks are maintained to the highest possible standard. “They look really smart. When you’re travelling up and down some of the roads we travel, the bright red really stands out. Every night, without fail, our trucks are thoroughly washed out ready for the next day on the road.” In years long past freezing works also acted as large holding pens for stock. Stock trucks these days also as holding pens. “It’s all about fresh kill and animal welfare. It puts pressure on the drivers to get up early, load the stock on the farm and drive to the freezing works in time for a scheduled kill.” To be a great stock-driver, Ron says, requires a special set of skills; different from carrying general freight. “It is a job on its own, demanding stock handling skills as well as great driving capability. We are very lucky to have an excellent team of drivers, many of whom have been with the company for years.” He describes the group of stock agents he deals with as ‘brilliant’, along with the freezing companies who have been customers for decades. “They are all very good to us, very loyal.” While running a successful, in-demand stock carrying business takes up the bulk of Ron’s time, he has decided it is time to start ticking off that bucket-list. One big tick happened recently when he decided to cross tandem skydiving off the list. “We jumped out at 10,000 feet and free-fell for a minute. It was absolutely amazing to fall at the speed we did for that long and I was happy to see the shoot open.”

Earthmoving in Andrew’s blood Karen Phelps Andrew Adlam admits he took a backwards route to starting his business AA Contracting. “I employed somebody who showed me how to do the job rather than working for someone else first,” he says. Andrew, a qualified mechanic, started AA Contracting in 1990 when he decided to purchase a digger and work part time contracting alongside his job driving and fixing road sweeping trucks. When a business owner of a small concrete paving business next door who was looking to step back from his own business offered to come and work for AA Contracting Andrew leapt at the opportunity to learn more about the job from an old hand. A year later AA Contracting had grown to the point that Andrew left his job. Coming from a farming background has helped. Andrew’s parents worked on a dairy farm and family worked on rural properties so he spent a sizeable amount of time growing up helping out on farms. He says this has given him a good understanding of his clients and their needs. AA Contracting is based at Bell Block just north of New Plymouth and focuses on earthmoving and a large percentage of clients are rural. The business also works for local councils and has established a specialisation in dressage arenas for equestrians. Andrew is grateful for the diversity of the business at present with the lower milk prices meaning dairy clients are largely undertaking necessary maintenance only. For rural clients, AA Contracting undertakes farm race work (tidying up tracks and races) and taking out hedges so farmers can build new fence lines. The company also clears land for calf and cow sheds, silage pits and effluent ponds. The business is also supported by a small quarrying operation owned by Andrew at Lepperton. He says this allows him ready access to supplies of high-quality metal for projects. The company also owns a portable crusher so metal can also be crushed on clients’ properties. “We have a sand-based metal that has come from Mt Egmont with no stones that binds well and causes no damage to the feet of animals. It’s extremely good for cow races and dressage arenas. We also supply AP40 and AP65 crushed metal for tanker tracks.” Other plant owned by the company includes a range of earthmoving equipment, trucks, transporter and six diggers ranging in capacity from

1.7 tonnes to 40 tonnes. Most of AA Contracting’s clients are by word of mouth and the company has clients it has completed work for over 25 years. “No matter what a client says to you the true proof of whether they are happy is if they invite you back again. I try to deliver the total package – a good price, efficiency and good communication. There are many different ways to approach a job so for me it’s about finding out what the client wants and what is important to them. “For some it might be price, others want a perfect job done no matter what the cost and others prioritise their pastures and want no damage during the job to their grass. So it’s about finding out about their business and their goals and doing the job in a way that best satisfies the particular client.” Interestingly, Andrew says that rather then compete with other local contracting firms AA Contracting prefers to work in with them for the benefit of everyone involved. “Someone once said to me that you need friends in business. We have local contractors that we swap machinery with and work in together with on larger jobs. It also means jobs can be completed quicker for clients so rather than having to put them off when we are busy we can complete things in a timely fashion. I believe it’s a win-win for everybody involved – us, client and other contractors.” Andrew has also grown his business by utilising the knowledge of his experienced workers. “We’ve employed older people over the years that have taught me a lot. It’s been an extremely good thing to do as you get many years of knowledge handed to you. Our workforce at the moment is around 60 years old and one staff members has worked for us for more than 12 years.” Andrew’s wife Jill is involved in the business on the office/administration side of the operation. The company employs three staff. Andrew believes earth moving is in his blood. “It’s something that’s been in the Adlam family a long time. It’s almost a calling to do it.”

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Ph: 06 7657628 | M: 027 4432896 E: ross@hms-taranaki.co.nz

46 |

FARM SERVICES » Grainco

NZ Dairy

Bumper maize crop keeps firm busy Kim Newth Summer rain came at just the right time for Northland maize growers, who are looking forward to a good harvest this season. Maize crops are due to be harvested from early April and finishing in early June. “This year’s crops are looking really good,” says David Wordsworth, of local grain drying business Grainco Northland. “We are fortunate to have had a good growing season this year with plants getting a good start and rain at the right time to finish the crops off.” David’s father and uncle first started growing grain for the family pig farm in the 1970s and were part of a farmer cooperative with Allied Farmers that built a grain drying and storage complex on the outskirts of Dargaville. Maize growing in the region declined in the late 1970s to early 1980s due to some bad seasons and a shift to growing export squash for the Japanese market. The silo complex was sold to the Wordsworth family, who used it for storing grain for their pig farm at Te Kopuru. In the mid-1990s, the interest in growing maize grain was rekindled in Northland by Whangarei seed merchant David Lobb, who invested in a new grain dryer and leased the silo complex from the Wordsworth family and operated as Grainco Northland Ltd. In 2005, David and his wife Adrienne bought the grain business from Mr Lobb and the property from David’s parents. They now trade under Grainco Northland 2005 Ltd. The couple grow around 20ha of maize and 20ha of barley on a 94ha block at Te Kopuru and on another 40ha block some 30km away, (planted entirely with maize). In 2005 around five growers were supplying Grainco, growing 250ha of maize. There has been substantial growth in the intervening period: including the Wordsworth’s input, there are now around 11 growers supplying the business in the Dargaville region, growing just over 500ha. Growers are averaging yields of around 11.5 tonnes per hectare, but there is considerable variability with some managing to get as high as 15 or 16 tonnes per hectare. Grainco Northland works closely with Pioneer brands, with favoured higher maturity hybrids being PO891, PO547 and POO21, along with shorter maturity hybrids P9911 and P9721. “We do strip trials and hybrid trials for Pioneer. Interestingly, we are finding the new shorter hybrids

Grainco Northland works closely with Pioneer brands, with favoured higher maturity hybrids being PO891, PO547 and POO21 along with shorter maturity hybrids P9911 and P9721. are not showing any significant yield difference.” Recent additions to the business include a grain bagger enabling more grain to be stored beyond harvest time and a mixer wagon for producing blended, customised stock feed for farmers, along with calf meal. Last year, the couple custom built an eight row maize planter for no-till planting. “We are doing a lot of no-till maize now. We drill straight into the ground – there is no cultivation involved. It saves time and we’re also looking after the soil better. We can also strap a dual fertiliser hopper onto it so you can get two different fertilisers on it at once. It’s working really well.” The couple’s agricultural contracting business fits perfectly around their maize growing and drying operations. The backbone of the contracting business is baled silage and hay, maize planting and harvesting. They also run some of their own beef cattle and do some dairy heifer grazing in the winter. David and Adrienne have two adult daughters and a two-year-old granddaughter. Two more grandchildren are due by mid-year. “Our daughter and son-in-law and our

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granddaughter are living on the farm so there are currently four generations here on the farm.” There is not a lot of time for recreation, but the couple are involved in their local church and David

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NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » Specialty Seeds

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Quality seed with proven performance Karen Phelps

Specialty Seeds supplies quality seed throughout New Zealand. The company also offers a seed mixing and treatment facility at its Rolleston plant. a range of mixes developed for different needs. Stephen says these largely form a starting point for discussion as every farm is different and the company custom blends to suit the customer’s individual requirements. Specialty Seeds supplies product throughout New Zealand and people can order online, by phone, email, text and even on the company Facebook page. The company also issues a monthly email newsletter, which clients can sign up for on the Specialty Seeds website, to inform customers of the latest releases that could benefit their business. “We’re a small company and offer our customers a very hands on service,” says Stephen. “As we are independent we can talk about the pros and cons of different brands so farmers can get the right fit for their farm. We pride ourselves on our ability to provide good old personal advice because we feel that’s the way it should be.”

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Need more feed? Contact your local seed retailer, go to www.pggwrightsonseeds.com or Freephone 0800 805 505

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It’s technically a difficult crop to grow but the benefits of fodder beet have made it popular with dairy farmers over recent years. This has led Christchurch based company Specialty Seed to offer farmers a management package for their fodder beet crop including advice, supply of products and a growing programme. “Farmers are looking to maximize the amount of dry matter in the smallest area and for this fodder beet can’t be beaten. It’s also a very high quality feed but can be difficult to grow. “Our management package helps ensure farmers get the best results for the investment they are making in their fodder beet crop,” explains Specialty Seed co-owner Stephen Finch. A key aspect of ensuring success is the quality of the seed. Specialty Seed imports its own variety of fodder beet seed that has proven performance. Supply of seed is also an important factor, as fodder beet needs to be planted at specific times. Stephen says the latest trial work indicates that the earlier fodder beet is planted the bigger the yield. Specialty Seed has ensured a supplier with consistent supply. But it is pastoral seed that is the company’s core business and Stephen says a great deal of time is invested in bringing the latest and best products to its customers. One recent release is Viscount tetraploid perennial ryegrass from NZ Agriseeds which Stephen expects will replace the tried and trusted Bealey over time. “Many of our clients that like the palatability and ease of pasture management that tetraploid perennial ryegrasses offer. Viscount has been a standout tetraploid perennial ryegrass performer in Agriseeds plant breeding program and will be available in limited amounts this coming autumn. “From what I have seen, Viscount has both higher all round yield and better rust resistance when compared to Bealey. Viscount is slightly earlier than Bealey (six days) with an upright growth habit, making it easier to graze and more clover friendly. Viscount is only available with NEA endophyte at this stage which gives it excellent insect protection and improved black beetle resistance,” says Stephen. Specialty Seeds has been in business for 22 years and is jointly owned by Stephen and business partner David Percival who have both worked in the grain and seed industry their whole lives. Seeing the marketplace was moving from common varieties to proprietary cultivars provided the impetus for them to start their business and provide the market with, as the name says, specialty seed. The company has the exclusive rights to some varieties including Icon and SuperSonic lucerne, Devour annual ryegrass and Zano Italian ryegrass. Stephen says a key point of difference has been the decision to remain independent and thus give clients unbiased advice. The company also offers a seed mixing and treatment facility at its Rolleston premises and has

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FARM SERVICES» Stockfeed

NZ Dairy

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At OSP Stockfeeds we believe in the concept of supplementation.Our range of quality Non GMO performance feeds provide the ideal top up to the all-important New Zealand pasture based system Well managed ,harvested and fully utilised pasture is more than ever the central pillar to our dairy system.Keeping cows fully fed,healthy and performing to their optimum is not always able to be achieved on pasture alone. We have been able to demonstrate that when pasture and crops are topped up with quality inputs that perform as part of a total feed management system that includes some minerals and trace elements ,where needed, meaningful gains can be made in production,animal health and growth. The OSP Demo Farm in Otautau,Southland is a simple system designed with an aim toward fully feeding cows ,developed this season in arguably one of the most challenging economic environments for dairying. Details of the concept along with

performance and financial results are available by entering the OSP Demo Farm link through our website at www.ospstockfeeds.co.nz. The levels of production and growth within the herd have well exceeded our combined expectations.It has confirmed our views about the quality of the products that we offer.

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Our range is cereal and oilseed based and is produced by the Manildra Group and their subsidiary MSM Milling in NSW ,Australia from totally non GMO materials derived from their food standard processing facilities. Continuity and dedicated supply are one of the hallmarks of our range. All products along with our ability to custom blend and add minerals and micronutrients along with our range of calf feeds are available from one of our dedicated stockfeed facilties in Auckland, Waharoa, New Plymouth, Ashburton, Timaru and Invercargill.

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NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » Scotts Ag Contracting

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Cow kickstarts contracting dynasty Karen Phelps

When one of Bernard Scott’s cows kicked his wrist and broke it, the accident proved the start of the business Scotts Ag Contracting. While unable to milk cows Bernard grabbed his tractor and gave his mate, who owned a contracting business, a hand. Bernard soon realised he liked contracting more than he liked milking cows. That was 30 years ago and the family business based in the Wairarapa is still going strong, with Bernard and wife Fiona’s two sons, Jason and Rhys, now set to take over the family business. Scotts Ag Contracting offers a full range of services with each family member overseeing a key aspect of the business. Bernard and Fiona today take an overall management role. Jason, who has been driving tractors since he was old enough to get behind the wheel, went straight into the family business after leaving school and now takes on the management of the baling and cultivation divisions. Rhys, who also started working in the business straight after leaving school, takes on the management of the forage harvesting and transport divisions. Rhys’ wife Annelise works in the administration side of the business. Rhys says the company aims to offer a complete service and the company owns all its own plant. Scotts Ag Contracting’s forage harvesting service includes chopping grass, cereal and maize silage as well as planting of maize and fodder beet. The company transport division completes all forms of bulk transport with three truck and trailer units. This division also covers fertiliser spreading. The baling division offers round and conventional square bales as well as big square bales by working in with another local contractor to offer clients a complete service. The cultivation division offers a full service covering maize and fodder beet precision planting, direct drilling, ploughing, discing etc. Another service the company has added to its repertoire more recently is fodder beet harvesting as this crop has become increasingly important to local farmers. Rhys says it is a growing part of the business. Scotts Ag Contracting works in the entire Wairarapa region and Rhys says that this year farmers are focusing on tightening their belts due to the lower dairy pay out. Another trend he is also noticing is the next generation of farmers coming on board who are focused on precision farming and the latest methods and technology. “We are seeing farmers getting increasingly professional in how they operate their businesses.

The cultivation division of Scotts Ag Contracting offers a full service covering maize and fodder beet precision planting, direct drilling, ploughing and discing.

That has had a flow on effect to our business. “We are having to also increase our levels of professionalism and continue to invest in the latest technology, methods and equipment to keep up with our customers needs,” he says. As an example Scotts Ag Contracting uses GPS technology for more accurate results, track maps (which can be sent to tractors and trucks giving a detailed run down of the job for better efficiency) and Spreadmark certification. “As a family business it’s our name on the company so we have a real vested interest to get it right for our customers every time,” says Rhys. “Our goal is to keep ensuring we are supplying a high level of service to our customers and continuing to enhance our business. That’s our goal each and every day.”

Our goal is to keep ensuring we are supplying a high level of service to our customers and continuing to enhance our business. That’s our goal each and every day.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Sean & Lyn Delahanty

NZ Dairy

Payout a poser for number cruncher Russell Fredric The self-employed lifestyle and a penchant for running a business remain attractions for Taranaki dairy farmer Sean Delahanty despite the challenges of El Nino and the present dairying economy. “I enjoy the numbers side of things, I enjoy the financials, trying to run a business at a profit. I probably don’t enjoy the mother nature challenges so much, but I enjoy the freedom it gives me being an owner-operator,” Sean Delahanty says. With five children aged from four to 13, family priorities are important for Sean and his wife Lyn. “In some cases the farm comes second, in some cases the farm comes first depending on the time of year.” The couple farm a 73 hectare effective block near the one-pub town of Okaiawa about ten kilometres from Hawera; they were previously sharemilkers on the same farm for five years before buying it from Lyn’s family. A herd of about 210 cows have produced an average of 77,000kg of milk solids annually for the past four years, operating on a Dairy NZ System 2 low-input system; supplementary feed comprises 80 tonne annually of palm kernel and Prolick, a whey-based by-product. Last season’s production of 80,000kg of milk solids is expected to be down about 10% this season. Normal annual rainfall in the area is about 1100 to 1200mm with a “pretty winter friendly” climate. “I guess if you’re coming off a dry summer we have good winters in the fact that we get quite good grass growth. Generally speaking, the second week of September is when the grass will be moving, growing faster than the cows can eat it.” Usually about two-thirds of production is achieved by Christmas each season, but the summer months can be extremely variable. This year, Sean has been facing a feed pinch due to a particularly dry summer, resulting in a move in February to once-a-day milking for the first time. The farm has a relatively high debt-to-equity ratio, but with a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics behind him, Sean is accustomed to keeping on top of its budget and cash flow. The herd is wintered on-farm and Sean has been paying close attention to the cost of supplementary feed as a result of the diminishing milk-solids payout. “We’ve just financed through now for the next season. We’ve been part of the (DairyNZ) Tight Times monitor farm programme and I’ve been running cash flows off that, so we are within our expenses of our cash flow, which is good for the bank to see, but obviously with the payout

PHOTOS: Sean and Lyn Delahanty milk 210 cows on a 73 hectare property near Hawera. fluctuations we are forever having to go back and look at our income.” Sean is considering the scenario of what production could be achieved operating on a zero budget and whether anything would be available for supplementary feed after interest and other costs are deducted. “We might drop our stocking rate back to compensate for that. We might go to 190 cows. At 200 we are running about 2.8 cows per hectare so we might drop that to 2.2.” “A lot of our cost is in making and purchasing supplements. Our fertiliser cost isn’t big; we have quite good fertility.” In the medium-term, Sean aims to create a sustainable business which will enable a worker to be employed to free up more time. We Specialise in…

“I guess if you’re coming off a dry summer we have good winters in the fact that we get quite good grass growth. Generally speaking, the second week of September is when the grass will be moving, growing faster than the cows can eat it.”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Trevor & Angela Corbin/Tim & Cynthia Wilson

| 51

Land purchase allows family to grow business Kelly Deeks

Trevor and Angela Corbin milk a herd of 570 cows on their 430ha total/190ha farm at Tutira.

Self sufficiency key to success Karen Phelps The success of the farm operated by Angela and Trevor Corbin in Tutira is being self-sufficient. “It provides us with flexibility as well as control over our costs irrespective of the pay out,” says Trevor. “We can drive our business at a sustainable level knowing what our costs will be from year to year.” The Corbins started milking in their late twenties giving them the impetus to move their business ahead quickly, says Trevor. Angela grew up on a dairy farm in Kereone, near Morrinsville, and later a sheep and beef unit in Te Kuiti. Trevor grew up in Hamilton and qualified as a roading engineer. The couple met through Young Farmers and started milking cows together on wages in 1983 near Tirau. Two years later they got a 25% sharemilking position on a nearby farm, which was a new concept in those days. A year later they started 50:50 sharemilking a 160-cow unit at Ngarua where they stayed for six years. They then moved to a 50:50 sharemilking position at Wellsford milking 300 cows where they also stayed for six years. During this time they entered the Sharemilker of the Year competition twice, achieving second place in the Northland region on their second attempt. As a result of the profile they gained from the competition they were head hunted by Tasman Agriculture to work in the South Island on a 120ha farm milking 400 cows at Pukerau achieving farm production records in both their first and second years. “It was a real career path at the time for North Island sharemilkers to move to the South Island and

CODD CONTRACTING

work for Tasman, increasing cow numbers then buying a farm at the other end,” says Trevor. When Tasman Agriculture was sold they moved to a new 240ha conversion milking 600 cows, increasing herd numbers to 850 during the five years they were there. But although they had moved to Southland with the intention of buying a farm property prices had now put this out of their reach. Instead, they decided to enter into an equity partnership on a sheep and beef unit with Angela’s parents, Ian and Eileen Watts in Tutira, Hawke’s Bay, in 2006. They farmed for three years before discovering a significant groundwater well on the property. At the same time Fonterra was looking for suppliers in the area so it made sense to convert half the farm to dairy using the remaining land as a support block for the unit. The conversion took place at the beginning of 2009 and the Corbins have been further developing the unit ever since. The 430ha total/190ha farm milks a herd of 570 predominantly Jersey cows through a 50-bail rotary shed with automatic cup removers. There is 100ha of additional land used as a support block for growing silage, wintering and running young stock. The remainder of the farm is hill country where they run 500 Perendale sheep and 30-40 beef cattle. The Corbins say it’s an easy care operation selling store lambs and wool and using the beef cattle to keep the place tidy for the sheep. Their success is demonstrable in their production figures. In their first season (2009/2010), they achieved 127,000 kilograms of milk solids. This season they are on target to produce 185,000 kilograms, which would better last season’s record production of 182,500.

“Codd Contractors would like to congratulate Trevor on his success”

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The Wilson family farm at Otaki is now being run by the third generation of the Wilson family, Tim and Cynthia Wilson, who are now in their second season of ownership and have been able to grow this season thanks to a new block bought and added to the milking platform by Tim’s parents, Peter and Heather, and the family trust. The neighbouring property brought the milking platform up from 140ha to 200ha and allowed the Wilsons to increase cow numbers from 300 to 450. The family also runs an 85ha grazing block at the end of the road, and 10ha of ex market garden land used for supplements. While Tim was busy calving, his brother Johnathan and Peter worked on refencing and reorienting the new block to fit with the farm’s 30-a-side herringbone dairy shed, built by Peter in 1998. This season Tim says he is starting to optimise the Lely calf rearing system he purchased three years ago, in a bid to save chief calf rearer Cynthia from the back breaking work of carrying 850l of milk to the calves every day. “It has taken us three years to figure out how to use it to its best potential,” he says. “We’ve bought a second hand vat with a freezer unit from Fonterra and we can pump all the milk from the colostrum mob straight to the calf shed. We’re not wasting any colostrum, and we can feed whole milk as well which is cheaper than calf milk powder.” The Wilsons used 330 bags of calf milk powder this spring, a huge expense Tim will cut next season by switching to whole milk instead.

He says the system also eliminates the need to feed Queen of Calves to slow the passage of milk through calves’ digestive systems as feeding from the machine is the same as feeding from the calf’s mother. “The calves can come back in for more feeds multiple times a day so they don’t get hungry. We’re going to cut out Queen of Calves altogether this season and see what happens.” In this low pay out season, Tim is now focused on cost cutting and has banned overtime for the farm’s three staff, saving about $1000 a fortnight. “They’ve taken a pay cut for the meantime but they’ve got more time for themselves, and I try to make it up to them with meat and firewood. “I don’t want to be a hard boss, I want them to enjoy their work then go home and enjoy their leisure.” Cost cutting has also seen Tim trying to use the resources he already has, such as recycling the good quality fence wire and posts which were pulled out of the new block, where in the past, he may have thrown it out and bought new. He is now focused on improving his pastures and thinking of pulling some of his expenditure from maize and putting it into fertiliser on the grazing areas. “We’ve been growing maize for about five years, and this year we’ve had a lot,” he says. “We spent $28,000 on maize seed and fertiliser this season, but if that was converted into urea and put on the farm, we’ll get more feed in the right growing conditions than what we get with supplements. And the cows always respond better to grass than supplements.”

“It has taken us three years to figure out how to use it to its best potential. We’ve bought a second hand vat with a freezer unit from Fonterra and we can pump all the milk from the colostrum mob straight to the calf shed. We’re not wasting any colostrum, and we can feed whole milk as well which is cheaper than calf milk powder.”

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Farming Hill Country

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Hill Country Cultivation Services Mobile: Andrew 0272 458 906 - Graham: 0274 432 437 After hours: (06) 879 9996 - Fax: (06) 879 9986

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52 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Cave Farms

NZ Dairy

Farmer Gerrard O’Donnell says Fonterra sounds confident that the dairy industry will pick up but he says a lot of farmers are in a predicament and need help and encouragement.

Ready for the tough times ahead Neil Grant The slight rise in the dairy auction at the beginning of March will have given many a farmer a morale boost. They will not be getting out the cheque book just yet. Gerrard O’Donnell, who manages a 520 hectare farm near Whanganui, and who, with his wife, is part of an equity partnership in another nearby, has been farming long enough to have seen upswings and downswings, and has developed a philosophy to see him through the tough times. “It’s going to be tough for everybody,” he says.

“It’s scary. Fonterra sounds confident that things will pick up. Others, like at Massey, are predicting it will not get better for a very long time. “I don’t worry about what I’ve got no control over. All I can do is control what is on my farm. It’s a state of mind. You have to coach yourself or it can get you down. A lot of farmers are in a serious predicament and need help and encouragement.” Experience has given the O’Donnells the ability to make large and small adjustments in their budgeting and farming practice. They have decided to immediately cut back on capital fertiliser. He reckons if the fertiliser levels are OK, they need not apply any for a couple of years;

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“I don’t worry about what I’ve got no control over. All I can do is control what is on my farm. It’s a state of mind. You have to coach yourself or it can get you down.”

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NZ Dairy although he notes the fertiliser companies advise doing some maintenance fertilising. Lots of little savings can help a farm get through, because they all add up. He thinks it is time to shop around to get quotes for things like pregnancy testing, dehorning or other services provided to the farm on an annual basis “In tough times, everyone providing products or services are going to need to sharpen their pencil.” Having a run-off, as their equity farm has, provides for further adjustment. The dairy farm is 130ha and the run-off is 185ha. Only 40ha of that is mowable, the rest rather steep. Because beef is doing well at the moment, the steeper country can be used to rear extra bull calves and steers. They can buy in steers and graze the empties to take advantage of of the spring growth. “We try to put more value on the beef by selling around Christmas and carrying tail-enders through to June when there are good margins. If we grow fodder beet on the flat we can carry them through a second winter so we don’t have to buy high and sell low.” He acknowledges that farmers who do not own their own run-off, and graze their stock off farm in the dry season do not have this luxury. Widely practised blanket dry cow therapy, where the whole herd is often treated with antibiotics and teat seal to protect them from infection may need looking at. “It’s pretty brave to do away with it altogether, because you can lose cows to black mastitis. Most farmers give one or the other treatment, or both. Just giving teat seal is a big saving.” Reducing the number of replacements and not culling as many older or inferior animals sacrifices genetic gain, but reduces wintering costs. The market for exporting heifers is worth pursuing to bring in extra cash. Using other skills off farm can help. O’Donnell spent a lot of time on sheep and beef farms when younger. He intends doing some fencing and shearing this off season as a fund-raiser for a family event. “Dairying has given us huge opportunities. I love this farm and the job. But I miss dog work and mustering on the hills.”

DAIRY PEOPLE » Cave Farms

| 53

Gerrard O’Donnell says everyone providing products or services to farmers are “going to have to sharpen their pencil”.

1/4 Wanganui Welldrillers Gerrard O’Donnell, who manages a 520 hectare farm near Whanganui, and who, with his wife, is part of an equity partnership in another nearby, has been farming long enough to have seen upswings and downswings, and has developed a philosophy to see him through the tough times.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Leighton & Rachelle Amey/Adrian & Marianne Drummond

NZ Dairy

Wet weather plays havoc with clay-based soils on farm Kim Newth Managing a clay-based farming operation can be particularly trying when spring gets off to a wet start, as Manawatu farming couple Leighton and Rachelle Amey have found. However, they are now exploring mitigation measures to try and reduce clay’s adverse impacts. The couple lease and manage a 60ha effective dairy platform at Ashurst, milking 170 cows and are also equity partners in an adjacent family-owned farm, (70ha effective, milking 180 cows). Operating as Amburleigh Farms, the other equity partners in the dairy venture are Leighton’s parents Chris and Jill Amey and Rachelle’s parents Graeme and Linda Burling. Each of the farms has a herringbone shed, 19-a-side on the home farm and 14-a-side on the leased property. “Rachelle and I moved to Ashurst to take on the leased property four years ago, then the property came up along the road and so we got together with our parents and decided to go in together two years ago,” says Leighton. “They have their own farming operations (in the Manawatu region) so are pretty much silent partners, though we do meet up every few months so we can present our budgets to them and discuss what we are doing.” A manager is employed on the home farm, while Leighton and Rochelle manage the lease farm. “We calve a lot of cows on one farm first before we move to the other one. It means the two of us can get into it and get the bulk out of the way.”

Last year, the two properties produced around 133,000kg MS but this season the target of 130,000kg MS is unlikely to be met. Leighton says a wet spring is mostly to blame. “We lost production right at the start and now it’s dry too.” Pasture can quickly turn to muddy quagmire when it rains on this clay-based farm. The couple hosted a field day discussion group last November to look at cost effective ways to manage wet conditions and develop the farm into the future. Drainage improvements and feed pads came up as two useful options. “We are actively looking at improving drainage and a feed pad is something we think has got real potential when we can afford to do that. The way things are at the moment, we have had to put some of our plans on hold, which is frustrating. “We have half a feed pad here at the moment that could potentially be extended. It would be good to be able to get the cows off the pasture when it’s wet.” However, too little rain is now the more pressing issue. Palm kernel and balage is being used to supplement parched pastures. (The couple has moved away from doing their own maize silage, until they have the infrastructure in place to utilise it; in the meantime, palm kernel is the better option). “We have also gone to sixteen hour milking on the lease farm and will be going to once a day on the home farm from the end of March.” Meanwhile, Leighton and Rachelle are also occupied raising their three children Fletcher, 7, Aidan, 4, and Ollie, 2. As well as caring for their young family, Rachelle is busy managing farm accounts.

Midhirst farmers Adrian and Marianne Drummond set new production records last season.

Eczema outbreak follows bumper season: It’s a rollercoaster ride Kelly Deeks

and enjoy helping on the farm. They run a grass based system and also for the past eight years have fed about 36 ton of meal through the shed to help get the cows through the spring. “We put meal in the system to improve animal health, and the extra production was a bonus.” The dairy farm is all milking platform and is supported by a 32ha run off block about 9kms away, where the Drummonds make silage and hay, graze young stock, and winter the herd for approximately eight weeks, with the first calvers coming home about July 25 and the later calvers, usually about 15 to 20 cows, stay longer until they’re closer to calving. After last year’s record season, the Drummonds are chasing their tail this season and got hit by eczema at the end of summer. “It was so dry and very muggy, so the spore count was up and everyone around here started getting eczema,” Adrian says. “We dried 32 cows off in the space of about a week. The herd is normally very quiet so when they kicked the cups off we knew they were affected by eczema. Then you can see the eczema coming out on their teats and udder.” The worst affected cows were drenched with Agrifert OptiGro (seaweed-based liquid) while the rest were treated with zinc and Optigrow in the troughs, together with zinc cream on affected areas, and are healing well after being dried off and spending a bit of time out in the paddock where they could go under the trees. Although they don’t normally treat for eczema, Adrian says they will use preventative measures next year.

Caption for Leighton Amey goes here caption for Leighton Amey goes here caption goes here heree.

Adrian and Marianne Drummond set a new production record on their 47ha effective Midhirst dairy farm last season, achieving 54,399kgs milksolids from their 120 cows and beating their previous best of 49,799kgs milksolids. Adrian says last year was a real one out of the bag. “We had a very good season, we grew plenty of grass and everything fell into place and worked really well,” he says. He and Marianne are both working on the farm, which they bought 10 years ago from Marianne’s parents, who had it since 1967. Adrian grew up on a dairy farm and was a dry stock farmer when he met and later married Marianne. She was a bank manager and when the sharemilker on her parents’ farm was due to leave, and her husband on the lookout for something different, she didn’t hesitate to get out her gumboots. “She loves being out on the farm,” Adrian says. “We work well together, and we’re both on the same wavelength. We both like to save our money, we don’t over extend ourselves, and if we haven’t got it, we don’t go and borrow it.” Adrian and Marianne sharemilked on the farm for a season, then leased it for two seasons before purchasing it with Marianne’s parents’ help, and also their blessing that someone in the family was going to continue on with it. Adrian and Marianne have two kids aged 10 and 12 who Adrian says are now in the ‘useful stage’,

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Bill & Montie Hare

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Still giving things a good crack Kelly Deeks Manawatu dairy farmers Bill and Montie Hare decided to get stuck in on their family farm when their contract milker left three and a half years after they converted from sheep and beef. Eighteen months later, the pair are still giving it a good crack. “Dad had been quite involved and spent a lot of time working alongside our contract milker, whereas I had recently returned from the UK where I was working in commercial finance,” says Montie. “Mum and dad have been really good, and they’ve allowed me and helped me to take on as much of the running of the farm as I like.” Montie is now farm manager and the fourth generation of the Hare family to work on the farm at Cheltenham, with Bill’s grandfather having cleared the bush on the original block. Since converting the 400ha farm five years ago, the milking platform has grown from 240ha to 290ha, and this year peak milked 670 cows. “We want to peak milk 700 cows but we haven’t been able to yet,” Montie says. “We originally bought a lot of carry over cows and we’ve been building the numbers since then, extending the amount of dairy platform on the farm and reducing the run off to get better fertility on the farm. We’ve been able to slowly increase our stocking rate and increase the area we’re milking on.” The Hare family are now making the most of the advantages of still having enough room at home to rear their own heifers. Last season, Bill and Montie worked on correcting problems they were having with reproduction. “We dried the cows off early enough to get into good condition ahead of calving, and we did a thorough metricheck of all the cows to make sure they were all clean and couldn’t hurt our conception rate,” Montie says. “We managed to pull the empty rate back from 20 percent to less than 10%.” The weather this season has made for a tough and dry summer in the region and the Hares started drying cows off early. Bill and Montie carry out an intensive regrassing programme which sees more than 10% of the farm regrassed every year. “We’ve just about regrassed the whole farm in the past five years since the conversion,” Montie says. “This year we trialled chicory as well as the usual turnips and maize, on just over 40ha.” This season, the Hares will trial a few different grasses as Montie says they’re not sure whether the current grasses are suitable for some of the

This season, Bill and Montie Hare are looking to install cup removers into their 60 bale rotary shed and become more reliant on technology

Montie Hare drier paddocks. “Most of the farm is in tetraploid and this year we’re looking to plant some hybrids,” Montie says. This season, Bill and Montie are also looking to install cup removers into their 60 bale rotary shed and become more reliant on technology.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Ryan Goble

NZ Dairy

Small savings add up for ‘newbie’ Russell Fredric Coming into dairying only 15 months ago, 24 year old sharemilker, Ryan Goble, is faced with an economic situation causing many much more experienced farmers a fair bit of concern. He seems to be facing the difficulties with calm consideration and common sense. He and an older brother, Hayden, who has run the farm for five years, have formed a company and sharemilk for their grandfather. Another brother owns some of the cows in the herd, so this is very much a family business. The farm is at Maxwell, 20km west of Whanganui. It is 185 hectares of flat to easy rolling country with a 20ha run-off. The 560 cow herd is all friesian, milked through a 40-a-side herringbone shed, built by Goble’s grandfather when he bought the block 15 years ago. The farm is a system four with a feed pad, ie about 20 - 30% of total feed is imported onto the farm and they feed out year round. The system is about to change. “We are now trying to grow most of the feed ourselves,” Goble says. “We had been buying in palm kernel to up production. We have upped the area being cropped on the milking platform, and that has knocked a third off our feed costs. We put in more turnips, and I have been feeding 5kg of turnips per cow per day since the start of January. We would normally buy in feed but this year we have been able to carry on without doing that, but still have the same production. “Last year, we were buying in at 21-22 cents per kilogram of dry matter. We have had good crops of turnips and our costs are now 6 cents per kilogram. We’ll be pushing more of that next year and grow summer feed to make it even cheaper.” The herd, based on his brother’s original herd, is now well established. They have been able to improve overall health in two important ways through farm development. Incidents of lameness have been reduced since they built the feed pad, and by putting stock rock on the races. Mastitis has been reduced by using dry cow therapy and teat sealing. If further savings are needed, they may look at using just teat seal on individual cows with low somatic cell counts. Maize is grown on the run-off, and they are now grazing the yearling calves there – another saving compared to grazing them off-farm. The heifers still graze off-farm, though.

Young sharemilker Ryan Goble farms with his brother and grandfather at Maxwell, 20km west of Whanganui. Every little saving contributes to a larger cost reduction overall. Added to these actions, the brothers also get a percentage of the Fonterra dividend.

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Being a member of the Wanganui Young Farmers group has been helpful. It gives the opportunity to meet others in the business. Belonging to the Waverley discussion group

enhances those opportunities, hearing what other farmers are doing to get through the low payout situation. Goble has been to a couple of on-farm occasions, and has held one himself.

“Last year, we were buying in at 21-22 cents per kilogram of dry matter. We have had good crops of turnips and our costs are now 6 cents per kilogram. We’ll be pushing more of that next year and grow summer feed to make it even cheaper”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Simon Washer

Online feed business mushrooms Kim Newth When Taranaki dairy farmer Simon Washer first set up online stock feed business, Farmfeed.co.nz, he thought he might need his farm income to prop it up. As it turns out, Farmfeed has been more successful than he ever imagined. Now in its third year of operation, Farmfeed is going from strength to strength. Last year, 500 straw bales were sold through the site. This year, that figure has already jumped to 3500 bales. That is largely down to stepping up customer service with options for farmers and growers as times get tighter. “At the same time, we are still keeping a close eye on quality control,” says Simon. Feed quality is controlled through a certified testing system operated by the site via Hill Laboratories. As well as running Farmfeed, Simon has had his hands full developing his own 87ha dairy farm with an adjoining lease block in Hawera. Prior to buying the farm in 2014, Simon had been working as a lower order sharemilker on his father, Mark Washer’s, Manaia farm. Stepping up to farm ownership has involved plenty of challenge, hard work and long hours. “Last year I pretty much allocated every day, every hour to building up the farm. The whole farm has been re-fenced and new water lines have been put in.” Now the farm is up to scratch, Simon is putting more time into Farmfeed and is enjoying being able to manage his overall workload without so much pressure. He has scaled back the herd from 420 cows to 380, mostly to cut back on high end brought-in feed. This year’s milk solids target of 170,000 is only slightly down on last year. “We’re trying to be smarter about what we feed and what animals it goes to. I’m very lucky to have good figured cows capable of doing five hundred milk solids a cow.” The shed has also been downsized from 40-a-side to 30-a-side for ease of use and it has

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Online stock feed site Farmfeed, set up by Taranaki farmer Simon Washer three years ago, is going from strength to strength. been upgraded with a new reliable pump. Simon looks back on 2013 as a pivotal year. Being named as the 2013 Field Days Rural Bachelor of the Year Competition was a turning point. “Winning that competition was the first step, then signing up for farm ownership. The whole package has been amazing. Every day you’re stretched to the limit. It is not until you’re twelve months into it that you can look back and realise what you have learned. Issues that come up on the farm are now so much easier to handle. You go through so much trial and error.” Simon laughs when he relates how much he hated being 27 last year. He found himself wishing he was 37 so he’d have that decade of knowledge under his belt. “As it is, I feel I have squeezed ten years into the past twelve months!” He is grateful to have had “amazing staff” and supportive people around him who have been with him from the start, as well as a supportive father who has encouraged him to keep going. “I think a big part of what I have learned over the past twelve months is to get the work/life balance right again. The reward of that hard work last year is the farm is now running much more smoothly so I can now enjoy spending time with friends again.” Simon also set up a successful Young Farmers Club in his area four years ago. Meanwhile, Simon’s goal for Farmfeed is for sales to double again next year. “More growth is definitely achievable.”

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COMPLIANCE » Ministry for Primary Industries

NZ Dairy

New milk cooling standards coming New Zealand has a long history of producing high quality raw milk, which is amongst the best in the world. The rapid cooling of raw milk is one of the most important steps in ensuring that quality of milk from the animal is preserved and is of the highest possible quality when it’s delivered to the factory. The New Zealand standard for milk cooling was designed to satisfy traditional herd sizes and milking practices and has been proven to be sufficient for the traditional range of dairy products manufactured. However, as herd sizes have grown and farming systems have become more varied the standard milking times have become longer. The New Milk Cooling Standards will modify the current cooling requirements to better meet the demands of current dairy farming practices and ensure that New Zealand maintains its position as a producer of premium quality milk. The new standards will require raw milk to be: •cooled to 10ºC or below within four hours from the commencement of milking; and • cooled to 6ºC or below within six hours from the commencement of milking or two hours from the completion of milking (whichever occurs first). Raw milk must also be held at or below 6ºC without freezing until collection or the next milking and must not exceed 10ºC during subsequent milkings. In situations where there is continuous or extended milking, such as robotic milking systems, the milk must enter the bulk milk tank at 6°C or below.

Continuous or extended milking is defined as milking for six hours or longer from the time that milk first enters any bulk milk tank. By comparison, the current milk cooling standard requires milk to be cooled to 7ºC or below within 3 hours of the completion of milking. MPI is taking a staged approach to help farmers transition to the new standards. The new rules will take effect on August 1, 2016 for new farm dairies or dairies that are making significant changes to their refrigeration system. For existing farm dairies the new rules will apply from June 1, 2018. The likelihood that there would be a new milk cooling regime imposed was first flagged by MPI in 2013. MPI has provided farmers with a long transition period so that farmers contemplating an upgrade to their milk cooling system could opt for a system that would meet future requirements. Dairy companies have also assisted in helping farmers to understand what impact the new milk cooling requirements might have in their individual situation. To ensure farmers find a cost effect solution, MPI recommends that farmers consult their dairy company, refrigeration service provider, farm dairy assessor and the EECA website before committing to capital expenditure. Over coming months, MPI will be working with Federated Farmers, dairy companies and other organisations to provide further information to assist farmers who may be affected by these changes.

New milk cooling standards will require raw milk to be cooled to 10ºC or below within four hours from the commencement of milking

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Biggest evolution in rotary platforms in 50 years A unique composite rotary dairy platform up to 85 percent lighter and eight times stronger than concrete is being lauded as one of the most significant evolutions in platform design in 50 years. Designed, manufactured and exclusive to Waikato Milking Systems, the deck sections of the Centrus Composite 84 bail rotary platform are formed in a multi-layer laminated process that includes Kevlar a material used in the construction of racing yachts, aircraft and bullet-proof vests. The extreme lightness and strength of a Centrus 84 bail platform is illustrated in a comparison with a similar sized concrete platform. The weight of an 84 bail Centrus composite platform is 12.6 tonnes; add 84 x 1000 kg cows and the total weight is 92.6 tonnes. A concrete equivalent weighs around 46.2 tonnes – add 84 x 1000 kg cows and the total weight is 130.2 tonnes, a difference of 37.6 tonnes. The Centrus 84 was developed in response to demand from farmers around the world for a platform with the size, strength and durability required by a global market where very large herds and 24/7 milking are common place. The 84 bail is the largest platform in the Centrus range but global demand for the lightweight and extremely strong Centrus Composite rotary platforms will soon see the range extend to include 40, 50, 60 and 84 bail platforms. Currently (2016) Centrus

platforms are available in either 60 or 84 bail configurations. The modular deck sections of the Centrus 84 are bonded by a unique high strength adhesive which is also used in the manufacture of aircraft and by NASA in the construction of its space ships. The rotation of the platform is driven by another innovation, exclusive to Waikato Milking System, self-aligning Pivot Rollers. The Pivot Rollers maintain perfect alignment with the platform’s support structure (the ‘I’ beam) even under 24 hour milking conditions and/or in the event of ground subsidence. The resulting 100% contact enhances the performance and decreases wear and tear of the platform. The self-lubricating cast rollers are positioned between two high load pivot bushes. They are long-life but when replacement is necessary they are easily swapped out without significant downtime. The lightness of the Centrus 84 platform means they are remarkably cost-effective to run and, combined with their strength, Waikato Milking Systems is confident they will out-perform and outlast anything else in the market. Waikato Milking Systems is experiencing record international demand for its Centrus composite platforms by a global industry which requires systems and technology which perform efficiency and continuously 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

NZ Dairy

COMPLIANCE » Ministry for Primary Industries

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1/2, 1/2 Promax Engineered Plastics Quickly Chill Milk – AND - Save Money, while meeting the regulations. Ag Journalist Ken Strugnell visits a special cool Dairy Farm near Rotorua with Keith Turner from Temprite.

I’d been told it was possible to meet Fonterra’s new milk chilling regulations and save money on power. So I was keen to find out how this special farm achieved it. To find out more, I decided to talk to the installer of the heating and chilling equipment used on well known farmer Lachlan McKenzie’s Kaharoa dairy farm. The farm on rolling country uses a once a day milking program and as I was to find out the PROMAX insulated 30,000 litre tank works well here. Arriving at Ngongotaha I met Temprite’s Managing Director Keith Turner. Temprite, well known in the Waikato Bay of Plenty, was the company that had installed the cooling system that I was there to look at. I asked about Keith’s company, its relationship with PROMAX and just how the farm owner justified the claimed $350 a month on its cowshed electric bill, that was all down to the Promax Tank:

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Regulations are set to change for the 2016 season for the cooling of milk from the cow to the collection tanker. In the vat at collection time it now has to be chilled to 6 degrees within 2 hours of completion of milking. On this farm it was to be a retro fit to meet the new rules, one which will occur on most existing dairy farms, to abide by the regulations, as they are phased in. I asked Keith how it worked: The ‘double bank plate cooler’, Keith explained was really the heart of the simple system. This ‘double bank cooler has milk flow through each side of the cooler unit. On the left it is chilled from the cow at around 37 degrees, by ordinary spring or tank water at around 14 – 16 degrees, as in most farm dairy sheds. That brings the milk down to around 16 – 18 degrees. The milk continues its journey round the plates this time on the right hand side, that run to and from the Promax insulated tank which has the water at 6 degrees. This brings the milk into the collection vat at around 8 degrees, sometimes less. So all the collection vat has to do is lower it by at most 2 degrees. This not only saves money but it also is incredibly quick. Andrew Grant the farm

manager joined us to show the latest power bill which had a $350 saving compared to the same month and 900 Friesian/Jersey cross cow as numbers last year. “Quick he said the system is because the PROMAX tank water is chilled overnight on low rate power. It means that we are not spending time and energy on chilling liquid after milking, other than the cow’s milk”. Keith’s suggestion of partially burying the PROMAX tank by just over a metre, as in the photo was used to good advantage. When I undid the tank lid and felt the temperature of the water at around midday, in full sun it was ‘shockingly cold’. The temperature gauge on the PROMAX tank read 7 degrees after milking and yet there was no condensation on the outside of the tank. “How then did they chill this water down again following milking”? I asked “Simple really, we use the same 25kw chiller hooked up to the milk vat through which we pump the insulated tank water, using off peak overnight power. Then the 30,000 litre tank easily copes with the daily production from the 900 cows and will easily do more as you felt from how

cold the water was after milking” Keith said the tank is so efficient at keeping the milk cool that even absorbing 10 degrees off the cow’s milk does not really alter the water temperature much. Keith explained that the retro fit to meet the new regulations is an easy one to do both in terms of down time in the shed and space required. This very ‘cool’ Dairy farm now meets the new regulations, saves money on its power bills and the fully automatic operation of the new system means little or no retraining to make it work optimally.

“

Andrew Grant, the farm manager joined us with the latest power bill which showed a $350 saving on the sheds power account compared to the same month and 900 Friesian/Jersey cross cow numbers as last year. “What I really like” says Andrew “is its simplicity and automatic operation!

”

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COMPLIANCE » Ministry for Primary Industries

NZ Dairy

DiaryChill helps reduce farm running costs With the lower dairy payout, farmers are looking to make savings on their farm running costs wherever they can. Power savings in the shed are a major farm expense and DairyChill sales manager James Thomas says that DairyChill systems have been typically saving farmers up to 50 per cent on their milk cooling bills and up to 80% on their hot water bills. “DairyChill systems are the most efficient on the market in New Zealand at the moment. Payback on the investment with a DairyChill system can be as quick as three to six years. We are offering 24 months interest free and different payment terms to help farmers invest in something that will save them a lot of money in the long run. “In fact, the savings they make could cover their repayments for the system in some cases,” he says. DairyChill, which is owned by ACR Agri Limited, has been developed by refrigeration engineer Terry Carter, ex owner of Enersol, who was looking to develop an efficient and cost-effective way to chill milk. Importantly, the systems comply with the new pending regulations regarding milk chilling times and keeping the stored milk from the first milking below the regulation temperature, when adding fresh milk to it. By chilling the milk quickly, farmers get better milk quality and less run time for their chiller unit, says James. Central Hawke’s Bay farmer Eliot Cooper is already starting to see the benefits after installing a DairyChill system in his new shed. “It’s certainly a big saving because the DairyChill unit heats all our hot water. It’s a bit of a no brainer. We still have an older shed on the farm we use as well and the power bills in the new shed are certainly reduced,” he says. Russell Whyte, farm management consultant/ director of Agritech Management, has a number of clients that have installed DairyChill systems. “On a number of farms the hot water now goes

By chilling the milk quickly, farmers get better milk quality and less run time for their chiller unit. into the cylinders at 80-plus°C and the power used has dropped enough to give a payback for the equipment in around three years. “For example, financial accounts for one farm show a drop of around $4500 per year on a 600cow OAD farm. All farms report reduced run time of vat chillers due to the liquid sub-cooling provided,” he says. Each DairyChill system is precisely sized to the farm to maximise efficiency and minimise costs, says James. All systems offer turnkey pricing meaning

1/2, 1/2 Dairy Chill

no hidden extras. Systems can be supplied New Zealand wide through the DairyChill network of installers, refrigeration technicians and agents. DairyChill products can be fitted to new or existing sheds and certain options available will increase the lifespan of an existing chiller unit. The company backs up DairyChill systems by offering a 24-hour call out service on all its units and the same service in selected areas for other brands. DairyChill also offers a standard refrigeration and repair service on all brands of equipment.

A family owned business, ACR Agri Limited services clients in both Taranaki and the Manawatu. James says that no other company is offering a similar service and no other system can offer the savings on power, which DairyChill can achieve. James says invariably farmers are not operating their milk chiller as effectively as they could be which is costing them big money and means they are not meeting current standards. ACR Agri Limited offers farmers a free assessment of their current milk cooling system so they can see how energy efficient it is.

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NZ Dairy

COMPLIANCE » Ministry of Primary Industries

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1/4, 1/4 Chill Technology Ltd

Chill Technology Ltd Chill Technology Ltd in Whangarei are leading specialists in Farm Vat cooling in Northland. They have started supplying and installing, with the help of Daikin, Daikin Inverter Scroll Water Chillers that do an impressive job at chilling water that then cools down the milk to the soon to be required MPI Milk Cooling Standards. "Daikin Water Chillers are not new technology", Richard Crum, Director of Chilltech explains, "they have been successfully implemented in the wine, stone and pip fruit industries and of course the air conditioning arena, for many years and have been extensively tested and developed by Daikin”. The highly efficient Daikin Chilled Water System with its Leader-OfClass energy efficiency, minimal starting current and short payback times makes this system unique. Northland Farmer and Chilltech customer Greig Alexander is impressed with his new Daikin system, saying “the milk is going into the vat cold which is the biggest thing – and its drawing very little power which is fantastic” With the inclusion of the Invertor Scroll Compressor which not only provides a soft start but also the ability to ‘over speed’ for peaks in production means that the system matches its performance with the required demand that is placed on it.

Importantly this chiller operates on R410a refrigerant which has no phase-out schedule (unlike other commonly used refrigerants in the farming sector) and it has zero ozone depletion potential. It also comes complete with a factory built 'all on board' hydronic system including pump and expansion tank providing simplified installation. Richard Crum explains that an “Inverter compressor continuously adjusts compressor speed to actual demand. Fewer power-consuming starts and stops result in decreased energy consumption - potentially up to 30%, and more stable temperatures. Scroll compressors consist of two scrolls, one is fixed while the other orbits eccentrically without rotating. They are designed for small and medium capacity systems and provide constant reliability and high efficiency throughout its service life”. If you’re considering an upgrade to your farm vat pre cooling system, give Richard and the team at Chilltech a call, they are geared up with information about the impending changes, how to implement a new system with your current chilling system and will happily recommend the right system for the requirements of your farm. Don’t get overwhelmed by all of the information out there on the new regulations, they’re happy to point you in the right direction.

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COMPLIANCE » Ministry for Primary Industries

Farmers urged to do research

1/4, 1/4 Tru Test Ltd Want precooling that works? Get the best result for your site, farm and budget. “I’m in farming for the challenge. Milk cooling has been one of those challenges. Our ground water is warm, we’ve been grading and getting thermodurics. It was costing us real dollars. Thanks to Tru-Test the problem’s solved completely. It's not a challenge any more. Because of the new regulations to get milk down to 6°C there’ll be a lot more guys investing in these systems.” Wade Hamlin, Farm Manager, Taumata Island

Precooling Advice and Solutions We work with you to: Assess the options: water chilling, ice bank, glycol Address all the factors: site, herd size, flow rate, water source, power reliability Invest only where needed Provide ongoing service and support.

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NZ Dairy

0800 500 387

1/4, 1/4 Steel Blue ROP

“Free milk cooling and water heating is up for grabs!” That’s the message Dairy NZ and ECCA are giving farmers around the country. Farmers can take advantage of free cooling power currently going to waste in many dairy sheds to save on operational costs and prepare ahead of MPI raw milk compliance changes in 2018. Logan Bowler, from the Dairy NZ’s Sustainability team, sent the message to farmers at the Waikato Milk Smart days, saying “You can grab cooling for nothing by making plate coolers work properly with the correct water to milk flow ratio. Primary cooling is efficient and the cheapest form of chilling and if on the cusp of compliance, vat insulation could help the milk cool faster”. While only 20 percent of farm vats are insulated, Logan says it’s something farmers really should consider. “Vat insulation is not expensive, payback is in three to seven years and for some it may mean meeting the requirements without having to buy any secondary cooling. In addition, low capital outlay with really big gains could be made by capturing warm water, heated through the milk cooling system with a hot water recovery unit.” He urged farmers not to be complacent and to “go home, do the sums and do your research”. New Zealand is considered ahead of the pack in farming in many areas, but internationally it is behind the eight ball for milk cooling temperatures with tougher requirements in South America, Russia and Asia so rather than rely on the new MPI standards being pushed out with the low payout, the recommendation is to turn focus to individual farm cooling systems and specific regional issues such as power supply and ground water. “The key thing to look at now is to check out where you are, how far are you off the mark, ideally at different times of year.” Craig Gibbons, Tru-Test Sales Manager for Milk Cooling and Tanks, says the June 1, 2018 cut off

for compliance will come very quickly. “It is only two seasons away. Leaving action to address milk cooling issues till the last minute will mean the dairy refrigeration industry in New Zealand may be unable to meet the demand.” He likens the scenario to accessing a quality tradesperson during a building boom. “If one builder is trying to build eight houses at the same time, it won’t just be their ability to service new customers but also the ability to supply capital and fittings, which are very much in demand. Again, when everyone wants the same product, the same size, at the same time, where will the farmer be on the waiting list?” “Plan now to get your equipment assessed by a reputable company, audit your system with dataloggers, and get some options on what solutions are available to you. Avoid the mad rush at the end.” Craig says there will be a large variance of milk cooling issues within the 30-40% of farms expected to fall short of the regulations. “Get the data first and see how far you are missing. This will help you know what category you are in – in terms of what you might need to spend. Even if money is very limited, there are many companies offering finance – 24-months interest-free or tailor-made deferred terms. Assessment, capital items and work can be scheduled now and payments made later. “If we experience good production at flush this season followed by a hot summer, farmers who have upgraded, even if they haven’t paid for it, will have peace of mind that work has been completed to meet the incoming regulations and will save on temperature related grades or dumping milk.” Craig recommends doing research on refrigeration companies. “The new regulations are bringing in new companies which have not traditionally serviced the dairy sector because they see an opportunity to make money where there is high demand. So farmers need to do their research.”

NZ Dairy

COMPLIANCE » Ministry for Primary Industries

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DCS offers new milk cooling options Karen Phelps Dairy Cooling Solutions is bringing a brand-new offering to dairy farmers to help them to meet new farm milk cooling requirements. A division of long established company Eurotec, Dairy Cooling Solutions is the New Zealand distributor for Belgian company Packo and aims to help farmers deal with milk cooling technology challenges, improving efficiency and milk quality on the farm. “Packo were the developers of the world’s first milk cooling tanks over 50 years ago and their milk cooling technology is world leading,” says Chris Farmer, co-owner of Eurotec. The Packo range supplied by Dairy Cooling Solutions includes ice banks, milk tanks and tubular coolers, as well as control panels for the on farm tank refrigeration systems from Eurotec’s CPS Division. The ice bank is the cornerstone of the Packo milk cooling system. The product builds up ice inside the tank around the refrigerated pipework. Typically this is done overnight so that when it comes time for the morning milking there is a reserve of thermal energy in the form of ice. The ice water is then pumped through a heat exchanger, which the milk passes through, removing the heat from the milk so that it enters the vat at between 3 to 4°C. The system is so efficient that the milk tank refrigeration plant often does not run during the milking and is only required to maintain the milk temperature until collection, says Chris. Obvious benefits include considerable power savings, as well as freeing up power on the farm for other uses. Some farmers can also take advantage of night rate tariffs from their energy supplier if available, says Chris. Other advantages include reducing water usage as the system can operate with or without a pre-cooler essentially enabling the

cooling of milk direct from the cow to the vat. The ice bank is also suitable for use with robotic milking systems. Dairy Cooling Solutions assesses the number of cows on the farm, milk flow rate, number of milkings per day and the temperature the milk is currently going into the existing vat at in order to select the correct size of the ice bank to suit the farm. Packo products can be easily integrated into an existing cooling system or can be offered as part of a completely new system. Another cornerstone of the system are the Packo range of milk cooling tanks, which differ from those commonly available on the market in New Zealand as they are insulated. Other points of difference include horizontal layout giving a greater milk cooling surface resulting in up to 30 per cent more efficiency than vertical milk tanks and that the tanks can be used with either ice water or direct expansion refrigeration technology. Eurotec has been supplying the refrigeration industry for over 30 years and is therefore a well-established supplier of technology in the New Zealand market. Dairy Cooling Solutions supplies product direct to the farmer’s refrigeration contractor of choice who completes the installation. Since Dairy Cooling Solutions was established last year, farmers who have enthusiastically embraced the offering and are already benefiting from improved milk quality, says Chris. “Producing clean hygienic milk is vital for successful milk production. The technology supplied by Dairy Cooling Solutions allows farmers to monitor the whole process and provide the traceability required by many of today’s milk buyers. Through snap chilling, cooling milk from 36°C to 3°C in minutes, this results in the lowest bacteria counts and therefore the highest quality milk enabling farmers to maximise their returns – vital in this current environment.”

A division of long established company Eurotec, Dairy Cooling Solutions is the New Zealand distributor for Belgian company Packo.

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For 30yrs Eurotec has been supplying the NZ Refrigeration Industry with leading Global Brands. The only NZ supplier of this technology providing nationwide coverage and After Sales Support with branches in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with over 30 Approved Refrigeration Installers throughout the country from Invercargill to Whangarei. Check out the DCS website www.dairycoolingsolutions.nz, talk to your refrigeration contractor, and come and see DCS/Packo milk cooling technologies operating at the National Field Days at stand# J22.

Energy Saving with Packo Ice Builders (PIB’s) – thanks

to the ice energy store build-up during night time hours, a smaller refrigeration unit can be installed plus the potential savings of off-peak power rates.

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Dairy Cooling Solutions Tradition meets Technology

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64 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Ross Soffee

NZ Dairy

Finding pleasure on the farm Russell Fredric “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life,” said Confucius. Ross Soffe has extended that quote a bit to be something like, “Have something in your job that gives you pleasure, and you’ll be happy to turn up to work.” He and his wife, Joanne, have a 160 hectare dairy farm about halfway between Waitara and Hawera. Most of his herd of 350 or so are friesians, but about 25 per cent of them are shorthorn, and these are what gives him the pleasure. It’s not that he doesn’t like friesians, but, “I like looking at my red cows. They are a point of difference and another reason to go to the shed every morning. Life would be boring if everything was the same.” Shorthorns are reckoned to be the oldest cattle in New Zealand, having been brought here by Samuel Marsden in 1814 as a dual purpose breed supplying good milk and meat, and useful as draught animals, too. They were the most popular breed until the 1920s when jerseys took over. For the Soffes, it all started about 20 years ago. “We wanted to find a rare breed with still enough

numbers to make things easy and to fit in with the friesians. I saw an ad that said shorthorns had a high protein to fat ratio. That swung the decision and we have been involved ever since.” Soffe says they are an easy management cow, and especially, easy calving. They have good feet, are robust, and have low health costs. “He hasn’t counted exactly, but believes there are fewer lame cows, fewer have mastitis, and there are fewer empties. They are good-size cows and produce much the same as the friesians. We started showing them that first year at the Stratford show, and are still showing them now.” The Milking Shorthorn Association was formed in 1913. The association breed development scheme has been going for 30 years, and is run by Semex. Semen is available from bulls in New Zealand, and also Australia, Canada, the UK, the USA and Scandinavian countries. This leads to greater genetic gain. “In the last 30 years since the Association has been in place we have made huge gains in production and conformation, especially in the last 10 years.” The Soffes had been farming a smaller property further north. Their son, Caleb, and daughter, Ashleigh, both farm and that property would have

Ross Soffe, who farms 160ha between Waitara and Hawera, with his friesian and shorthorn herd. been too expensive for either son to buy them out, so they moved to near Tariki, a larger property and more suitable, they thought, as a nearing-retirement option. They quickly discovered that running it themselves with one other staff member was pretty challenging, so now have two full timers on board. “We’re positive. We’re in a pretty good position, but you still wake up at 3am and think, ‘What’s

going on here?’ What’s happening just now is quite sad, and I can’t see things coming right very soon. We’re still optimistic it will improve to a manageable level. “Having the shorthorns is beyond a hobby – it’s a commercial enterprise. The cows are all run in one herd and all treated the same. But … culling decisions? I may be a bit more lenient with the shorthorns. I have lots of favourites among them.”

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NZ Dairy

FARM SERVICES » Barfoote Construction

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Since its establishment, Barfoote Construction has worked all over the world for a wide range of individual clients and a number of blue chip companies. Below, Trevor Barfoote.

Nosy neighbours drive success Kelly Deeks Nosy neighbours have played a key role in the success of Barfoote Construction, a company building structures in the commercial, industrial, civil, agricultural, and specialist residential markets. The company was established by fitter/welder Trevor Barfoote in Whangarei in 1989. “We didn’t know what we’d achieve when we first started,” he says. “We started out building a dairy shed for my uncle. The neighbours saw it and they wanted one, and away we went.” Barfoote Construction now operates from the large, 3ha site in Morningside, Whangarei, with a full engineering workshop and a 450sqm precast manufacturing facility. The team has grown to about 50 staff, and three years ago Barfoote Construction opened a second branch in Oamaru. Much like in Whangarei, the Oamaru branch’s first job was a dairy shed. “Then the neighbours came and wanted one, then their neighbours came. We’ve now built about 14 sheds around Otago and Canterbury.” Since its establishment, Barfoote Construction has worked all over the world for a wide range of individual clients and a number of blue chip companies. “We focus on employing staff with a ‘can do’ attitude, and this has served us well when taking on some of our more innovative and challenging projects,” Trevor says. Barfoote Construction offers a wide range of solutions, from complete design and build packages, to supply of specialised components. “We specialise in giving our clients what they want,” Trevor says. “And if what they want isn’t

going to work, it’s our job to make it work.” Trevor has a passion for dairy farming and his family owns a farm in Dargaville, and he owns another in the United States in partnership with his father. With 27 years of experience in designing and building specialised dairy sheds, and a lifetime of living and working on and around farms, he knows first-hand what farmers want. Barfoote Construction works around the dairy farming calendar to minimise the impact of upgrade works on operational farms. The company works with farmers to maximise the value of their investment. “If you are thinking about upgrading or building, get us on board early in your plans as often, during a site visit, we can provide helpful advice on how to get the best results by looking a the lay of the farm to select the best flow with the minimum amount of earthworks.” By designing sheds around sites, Barfoote Construction has been known to save farmers as much as $30,000 on the cost of earthworks. And with its own precast concrete solutions, Barfoote Construction offers the lowest possible precast maintenance and running costs on the market. Barfoote Construction’s rotary dairy sheds are designed for the requirements of the high producing dairy farmer, who wants to reduce labour costs and time spent in the shed. A range of standard portal designs are available, while the modern, curved concrete arch option offers increased space. “These buildings are extremely robust, functional, and low maintenance, and remain extremely appealing to the eye,” Trevor says. “The curves seem to hug the landscape and blend in as if they have always been there. Not to mention, they are also surprisingly affordable.”

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Barfoote Construction works around the dairy farming calendar to minimise the impact of upgrade works on operational farms.

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66 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Tableflat Holdings

NZ Dairy

Being proactive, not reactive, the key Kelly Deeks North Manawatu dairy farmer Lance Gillespie has taken it upon himself to upskill on the nutritional needs of his soil, with the decisions he has made since improving soil structure and pasture density. Lance owns a 300ha farm at Apiti which he bought in 2004, and runs a milking platform of 145ha. This season he calved 380 cows, and is currently milking 360 cows. In his first two seasons on the farm, he increased production from 135,000kg of milksolids to 185,000kg of milksolids, and he attributes the production gain to good feeding and good management. “We put palletised meal in the shed, we started feeding balage, and we started wintering some cows off farm,” he says. “By 2008 we started looking at soil biology and applying the right nutrients at the right time,” he says. Lance’s farm has a volcanic type soil which comes with some challenges. A high phosphorus retention and aluminium levels at the top of the chart means Lance has to understand what different fertiliser products can do to get the best results. As well as upskilling himself and completing training courses and seminars where he learned from industry experts like soil nutrition specialist Graeme Sait and biological farmer and Dr Arden Anderson, Lance also consulted with his fertiliser provider Abron, whose advice has helped him to adopt a more proactive approach to his soil, and to use better products which are more suited to the environment he is farming. With 20 years of farming experience behind him, the past 11 years milking cows, Lance says he had to open his mind to new options and different ways of doing things. “We’re not using any granulated urea, we liquefy urea adding other bio stimulants plus micronutrients and spray it on,” he says. “We analyse pasture samples then use different blends of fertiliser at the right time. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive.” He says pasture density and quality is much improved. He is doing a lot of worm counting, and says those numbers are continuing to climb from where he started in 2008. “There is now a huge amount of soil activity going on, and plant root depth down to 500mm600mm. We’ve made the soil structure more friable, the worms are travelling further and deeper and opening up the soil, and with a better soil structure for the roots to travel, they are travelling further to get moisture.” He is milking 30 less cows than he was four years ago, and still getting the same amount of production, with the cows producing 480kgs milksolids per cow. Farming at 680m above sea level poses another unique set of challenges. “It gets wet and cold, and we normally don’t grow any grass from the middle to late May until September,” he says. “So we’re wintering some of the cows off farm, and we’re making sure we have plenty of supplementary feed on hand for calving on August 5.” Lance keeps 150 early calving cows and heifers at home over winter, and with plenty of silage made on farm, Lance and the team feed out plenty of supplements when the cows start returning from winter grazing early in August until mid to late September when the grass finally takes off.

Lance Gillespie with his daughter, Lauren, aged 9, has upskilled himself on the nutritional requirements of the soil on his Apiti farm. It has paid handsome dividends.

“We analyse pasture samples then use different blends of fertiliser at the right time. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive.”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Dave Dean

| 67

Hopes split calving brings benefits Russell Fredric

Mercer sharemilkers Dave and Rachel Dean are split calving for the first time this year in order to capitalise on Fonterra’s premium for winter milk supply. Calving on the Dean’s 220ha effective farm started late March. Many dairy companies pay a winter milk premium due to continuing demand from manufacturers of milk-based products during the period of decreased milk supply when herds are dried off. “We didn’t feel we were getting remunerated as well as we could because we couldn’t get any winter milk contracts, but probably still going through all the trouble that you would coming through winter because we were still milking through June and July,” Dave Dean says. The Dean farm has an advantage of being close to Fonterra’s Takanini processing plant and a favourable climate. “We can grow grass during winter and probably our worst weather is in summer; we get quite dry in summer.” Previously the only reason for not being able to secure a winter milk supply contract was that cows were dried off in May. “Eventually we will be a 50:50 split: Half the cows calving in March/April and half calving in July/ August.” “We’ve got a good feed pad and effluent system. When you are milking through winter you are on a fast [pasture] round, say a 40 day round. Your cows aren’t in a really confined area so they don’t do too much damage.” Dave is expecting a premium of about $1.80 per kg of milksolids, after a transport cost is deducted, from May to July, over the forecast Farmgate milk price of $3.90 per kg, for a total of $5.70 per kg. Despite extra costs for feed, the premium could create an extra $30,000 to $40,000 profit from about half of the farm’s present herd of 570 cows. A labour-saving 50 bail rotary milking shed with a Protrack system also contributes to the viability of split-calving. The farm presently employs a second-in-charge and a herd manager. “If we stay at current staff levels, we’ll probably have three or four months of the year where we are only milking one herd. Milking 300 cows through a 50 bale rotary shed is a one-man job.” Dave has been a 50:50 share-milker for his parents Matthew and Sheila Dean on the family’s generational farm since the 2010-2011 season. Last season, the farm produced 240,000 kilograms of milk solids from a peak of 600 cows, however this is expected to drop back to 230,000 kg this season from its reduced herd of 570, with the aim of saving costs on feed, veterinary bills and increasing available feed for the remaining herd, due to the low milk-solids payout. Matthew and Sheila Dean own a nearby 60 hectare property, used as a run-off block for young stock. Winter feed for the home farm is supplemented by 60 to 100 tonnes of palm kernel, depending on the season, and maize is grown on a 10 hectare lease block. Calving usually starts in the first week of June. Although the diary industry is facing a difficult period, Dave says there is still every opportunity for anyone wanting to carve out a career. “It’s definitely still possible, but you’ve got to have your stars aligned and have farm owners that maybe can help out with a bit of land they can lease.” While the Dean’s are in a relatively good position, Dave continues to closely monitor every aspect of the farm’s operation, with the expectation that a contract to supply winter milk will improve the bottom line. “We are not going backwards, cash-flow wise; we are pretty much standing still.”

“We didn’t feel we were getting remunerated as well as we could because we couldn’t get any winter milk contracts, but probably still going through all the trouble that you would coming through winter because we were still milking through June and July.”

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68 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Preston Wills

NZ Dairy

Increased equity, productivity planned Kelly Deeks Shifting to split calving will enable the farm being run by lower order sharemilkers Chad and Jan Winke to not only be more productive but also enable the couple to increase their sharemilking equity in their contract. Based at Walton, between Matamata and Morrinsville, the 215ha effective/225ha total unit peak milks a herd of 685 cows. Around 160 of the herd will now be calved in March/April with the remainder of the herd calved in spring. Chad says this will mean the farm can get a winter milk premium from Fonterra, which makes senses as the destination the milk is heading to is located near their farm further increasing their profitability. The move will also mean herd size can be increased to 750 cows. The Winkes presently own 150 of the cows in the herd, 50:50 sharemilking them, and plan to increase this number. A 55ha lease support block located nearby currently used for grazing young stock will now be used to grow maize whereas it is presently grown on the farm, increasing the size of the dairy platform. They will graze off some heifers as part of the changes to the system. The Winkes, who originally hail from America, both come from dairy and cropping farms in Iowa and Illinois. When Jan, who works for GEA in high tech support, was offered a position in the growing New Zealand market the Winkes decided to do something different. They sold up their farm in the United States and moved to New Zealand in 2008. Chad initially worked as an assistant manager on a high input farm near Matamata. A year later, he moved to a lower input 1000 cow unit near Tirau where he was herd manager for a year then manager for a year. He then took on a manager position on a 640-cow farm at Tirau for two years before heading to the farm they are now lower order sharemilkers on for Grant Wills and Karen Preston. The predominantly kiwicross herd is milked through a 44 a side herringbone shed with Protrack and walk-over teat sprayer. Three herd homes on the farm are used as a feeding platform and stand off area, which Chad says assists greatly in preserving pasture and the environment. It also helps keep feed conversion efficiency high on the System three farm.

6x4 Agworx

Caption goes here caption goes here caption goes here caption goes here caption goes here caption goes here caption goes here caption goes here. Around 26ha of maize is grown and the farm buys in 600kg of meal per cow. Supplement is used throughout the year. The majority of the farm is planted in tetraploid grasses and Chad says the herd homes help prevent over grazing, which can be a typical problem with this type of grass. Because they can protect their paddocks they only need to re-grass every five to six season and their regime is around 8ha per year.

Gate timers release the cows from the paddocks at 10 in the morning and the herd wanders to the herd homes where there is adequate shelter, feed and water. Effluent is collected in a pit under the herd homes for efficient utilisation on the farm. The Winkes say their main aim is to keep costs in check while maintaining production. “It’s about being vigilant in forward contracting supplements to find the cheapest option,” says Chad. “Last year, farm working expenses were

$3.22 and we can still make a small positive profit on the farm at $3.90 pay out.” The farm employs two full time staff and relievers during busy periods. Chad runs the daily operation while Jan works full time for GEA, as well as doing the farm administration work. The couple have three children: Will, 13, Wyatt, 10 and Elena, 4. Last season the farm produced 290,000kg of milk solids and they are targeting a similar figure this season.

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Chad and Jan Winke are lower order sharemilkers and both have farming backgrounds.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Chris & Maryann Noakes

| 69

Ties to the land continue after sale Russell Fredric Taranaki couple Chris and Maryann Noakes will shut the gate on three decades of milking cows on June 1, but their ties to the land, livestock and farming lifestyle will continue, albeit on a smaller scale. The couple own an 80 hectare block, which is supported by a 70 hectare lease block, about 18 kilometers from Hawera, but will move to a 17 hectare lifestyle block at Oakura on the opposite side of Mt Taranaki near New Plymouth, on Gypsy Day. Chris plans to keep a hand in running livestock, probably grazing young beef cattle and heifers, as well as taking on casual farm work. He is also looking forward to having more time for pursuits such as skiing, along with sea and river fishing. The Noakes’ three children were aged eight 10 and 12 when they bought the present farm in 2002, and although achieving farm goals has been important, it has always been in the context of an over-riding ethos. “Our main goals were to make a reasonable living, but one of our things was to enjoy our family as we brought them up. We wanted to make sure we made time for breaks away and showing them around the country; that was a big thing for us. That was almost as important as the financial side of things,” Chris Noakes says. One of the most important aspects of the Noakes’ farm operation has been once-a-day milking of its herd of 385 KiwiCross cows which simplifies the day-to-day running of the farm and frees up time for work that is not related to milking.

“You can structure your day a lot easier and not get as stressed out about it.” There are also been benefits for the herd, Chris says. “There’s a lot less health issues for the cows. They find it a lot less stressful coming to the shed once a day. I tend to think they graze differently, they are a lot more relaxed. The health issues are a lot less (such as) metabolic problems, a lot easier to get in calf, less lameness.” Cows also seem to recover sooner after calving and gain condition more quickly when milked oncea-day. Chris believes dairy farming is going through a shake-up which could change the way some farms operate. “I think, in general, dairy farming is going a little bit back to what it was before, where we are going to be more self-sufficient or self-contained; less feed coming in, grazing our own stock, (therefore) a lower cost system.” “At one stage it was sustainable, but with the volatility now and the speed of the volatility I think we’re just going to have systems where we can cope with that.” Maryann Noakes says they faced their own financial challenges after transitioning from sharemilking to farm ownership 21 years ago. “We went in very (financially) tight. Everything was just do-able; we didn’t have a guarantor.” Like Chris, she is looking forward to having more time for hobbies. “I am excited about moving on now. I would like to do some furniture restoration or art, voluntary work or gardening. It’s hard be able to comprehend having the time to do any of those.”

Taranaki couple Chris and Maryann Noakes (above) have sold their Hawera farm after 30 years of milking. They are moving to a lifestyle block at Oakura, on the opposite side of Mt Taranaki.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Vaughan Dearlove

NZ Dairy

March rainfall came at the right time Kim Newth Vaughan and Sonya Dearlove say their experience of farming at 540m above sea level in the Manawatu is probably not too dissimilar to farming much farther south. “It’s almost like we’re farming in Southland without having crossed the ditch,” suggests Vaughan, who began his dairy career in the Waikato working on farms in the Te Aroha area. He and Sonya were sharemilkers together before taking the plunge into farm ownership. Their 67 hectare (effective) farm near Apiti in the Manawatu carries some 190 kiwicross cows. They are on target for production of 80,000kg of milksolids this season, up slightly on what was achieved for 2014/15, (76,000kg MS). Good rainfall towards the end of March came at just the right time this year after a dry stretch. “We have carried on milking and plan to go through to mid-May.” They have decided not to put on any fertilizer this autumn to cut costs, as soil tests have found existing levels are adequate. “So we will apply urea in April to boost grass growth.” Vaughan and Sonya say the main challenge they face on their higher altitude farm is wintering stock, because grass growth tapers off to zero over the cold months. Most of the cows are wintered on a 35 hectare run-off block, situated some 15km from the home farm. This block is also used for grazing calves. “The calves go out there on the first day of December and stay there until the start of May. We’ve also got twenty beef cattle out there to help keep the hills in trim.” During the milking season, palm kernel is used as a feed supplement via a trailer trough in the paddock. As there is no in-shed feeding system, this is a practical choice for the farm.

Vaughan Dearlove, who farms with his wife Sonya, says the main challenge they face on their higher altitude farm is wintering stock,. In the 2014/15 season, 13 effective hectares were added by bringing a former forest block back into pasture. The stocking rate here is lower than for the rest of the farm. “It was very rough after coming out of trees and is only just now starting to get more permanent pasture.” Like so many other dairy farmers, Vaughan and Sonya are looking closely at every dollar they spend. Their usual baleage order has been cut from

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150 bales to 50 this year. “We have cut back on our personal spending too [and] Sonya is doing more milking to give me a break and save us having to pay someone else to do it though we do still have a relief milker.” Milking is conducted out of a 16-a-side herringbone shed. “At least with our low cost structure, our farm working expenses are not too high so we will get through this low period,” says Vaughan. The couple’s 16-year-old son Jacob is currently

weighing up a possible career in farming or as a tractor driver or diesel mechanic. Their eldest daughter Jessica, 20, is training to be a teacher at the University of Waikato, while their other daughter Rebecca, 19, is working at a truck and vehicle maintenance business in Palmerston North. When not spending time with family, Vaughan enjoys hunting and fishing in his life off-farm.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Moutoa Dairy

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New dairy manager has big plans Karen Phelps New dairy business manager for Moutoa Dairy, Tony Dowman, has big plans for the Landcorp owned group of farms. He cites four key areas, defined by Landcorp’s overall strategy, that have been identified to drive performance forward: animals, safety, environment and people. Moutoa Dairy comprises nine dairy units totalling 1400ha effective and milking 4700 cows. Each unit operates as a separate entity with an independent manager, staff and budget. Tony oversees the group, guiding the policies and objectives for the Moutoa Dairy farms. He has spent the past eight years as general manager farm business and training at Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre overseeing Taratahi’s dairy farm operations and regional education from Taranaki to Waikato. Tony says he was drawn to the position at Moutoa Dairy seeking increasing scale in terms of the operational size of the business, as well as more accountability. “Because Moutoa Dairy is Landcorp owned, I have more scope in terms of the decisions I can make to guide the units, whereas some of the Taratahi farms were owned in partnership,” he explains. With regards to safety, Tony says the aim is to develop an awareness and understanding of safety indicators that will lead to increased recording of hazards and near misses resulting in increased zero harm cases. “We will focus on mixed farm critical hazard identification and initiatives, including getting staff to travel to another Moutoa Dairy farm, apart from the one they work on, to check for hazards in a different work place. “It’s easy for staff that work in the same environment each day on a farm to get tunnel vision of what are actual risks to themselves and the business, so in this way we hope to open their eyes. “We must also ensure training and induction of staff is correct so they understand the objectives of the job and have the right training and machinery to equip them to do the job safely.” A second focus area this season will be enhancing animal welfare standards and driving herd performance. “You only get a good crack at this each year during mating and calving,” he says. “So that is where I will be primarily focusing, ensuring we are doing the basics right.” He cites key areas as ensuring individual heifers are reaching target kilos of live weight based on their breeding value, making sure reproductive key performance indicators are hit over the mating period by having cows in the right condition at the start of calving and good feed management post calving into mating. Herd records and ancestry are another key area of focus. “We want to improve the accuracy and the value of our animal identification, especially getting individual animal performance right and then analysing the information to make good decisions around genetic gain and using this to drive performance,” he says.

“Driving herd performance is coupled with animal welfare and reducing animal wastage, losses and health issues.” In real terms, he is targeting somatic cell counts of less than 150,000 from June to December and less than 180,000 from January to May. Other key targets include less than 5 percent post-calving mastitis, less than 2% deaths annually and less than $50 per cow animal health expenditure. He says that the aim is to record every animal in terms of its welfare status, particularly around tail damage and ensure no new damage is identified. Good record keeping will give the farms the ability to ensure lifetime traceability of each animal, particularly around antibiotic free status, potentially adding value to the business. The third area of focus will be to enhance the environment through good management practice, sound decision-making and constantly evaluating current practices. Tony says that this will be achieved by full ownership of nutrient management plans, making them a daily and integral part of the business. The target for nitrate leaching to waterways is to be within the top quartile for the region for the lowest levels of leaching to water. Moutoa Dairy will also look beyond the farm gate at the effect of its operations on the region and taking proactive steps to ensure it is a positive impact, he says. “For example, we held a community forum recently where locals could come and hear more about Moutoa Dairy and Landcorp so they could understand what we are doing. “It helps to put a face to the company. It was also an opportunity for us to hear and answer their questions and concerns,” he says. The final target area, people, will focus in particular on creating a culture of achievement by offering opportunities, guidance and the right tools to make decisions. Tony stresses Landcorp encourages a culture of personal responsibility and accountability. “Managing and maintaining a high performing team is a vital aspect of Landcorp operations. This covers recruitment, development and retention of staff, providing clear career pathways and expecting a culture of honesty and integrity at all times. “This also extends to ensuring staff are safe at work. People before production is a key driver of the business.” This season, Moutoa Dairy is targeting around 1.9 million kilograms of milk solids. Next year’s target will be two million kilograms, milking 4600 cows.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » David van Bysterveldt

NZ Dairy

School project becomes chiller alarm Kim Newth A chiller alarm invented by a Waikato dairy farmer is providing a simple and reliable way to avert potentially costly operational errors around milk vat chillers. Morrinsville dairy farmer David van Bysterveldt first came up with the concept of an easy-to-use chiller alarm in 2013 after losing a whole vat of milk because someone had made a mistake by forgetting to turn on the chiller. At the time, David’s son Ben had also needed a project for a school science fair so together they started fine tuning the concept of a chiller guard. With the help of Morrinsville-based electronic product development company Novel Ways, they soon produced a working prototype. It wasn’t long before the invention started being sold into milking sheds. Called the Just Cool Chiller Guard, it is a great example of Kiwi ingenuity filling a rural market niche. It remains a New Zealand-made product and is sold through Novel Ways. “We really haven’t needed to do a lot of refinement because the original concept worked so very well,” says David. “The whole intention was to keep it really simple and to make people aware of an issue before they left the cow shed.” Once the milking machine is going, if the chiller is not on in 10 minutes, then the guard alarm will activate. At the end of milking, if the chiller has not been on, the guard unit will sound a loud alarm. It is particularly useful on farms with older dairy platforms but David suggests it is also helpful in new cow sheds using pre-chilled water. “The unit takes that into account but it is still a good safety measure to have in place.” Sophisticated electronics that monitor and assess current draw and timing parameters hold the key to the chiller guard’s effectiveness. “The idea is simple but the electronics are quite smart in terms of what it can recognise. What makes it so good is you don’t get false alarms. People who have it are really happy with it.” David says some farmers make the mistake of assuming their routines are bulletproof, so they don’t need these sorts of backups. “A couple of months later you hear that they’ve had to chuck away a vat load of milk because the chiller wasn’t working. “The reality is that eventually someone’s routine will be disturbed and that’s when they end up in trouble. They forget to turn on the chiller, or turn

Just Cool Chiller Guard, invented by Morrinsville farmer David van Bysterveldt and sold through Novel Ways, is simple in its execution: Once the milking machine is going, if the chiller is not on in 10 minutes, then the guard alarm will activate. it on too late. If you only make one mistake then the chiller guard will have paid for itself.” As David observes, it is not just human error that can lead

to a chiller not working. Sometimes there may be a problem with the chiller itself, even though the unit may have been switched on and the fan is going.

“If the chiller is not doing its work, the chiller guard will still sound the alarm … it is very simple, very reliable and I haven’t seen anything else like it.”

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“The idea is simple but the electronics are quite smart in terms of what it can recognise. What makes it so good is you don’t get false alarms. People who have it are really happy with it.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Miranda Heights

NZ Dairy

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Winning mentality brings results Kim Newth Five seasons ago, 31-year-old James Foote and his wife Louise set themselves the goal of going 50:50 sharemilking in the 2016/17 season. In June, they will achieve their dream when they take up a 500 cow 50:50 sharemilking role at Karaka. “Everything we have done since we started has been directed towards this move,” says James, who last year won the New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year title. “We’re really looking forward to it and getting stuck in.” The couple and their two young children, Cooper, 4, and Emerson, 2, are heading towards the end of their second season contract milking at Russell and Ces Evans’ farm at Miranda on the Hauraki Plains. In their time on the Evans’ farm, the stocking rate has risen from 2.6 to 2.9 per hectare, while production has increased from 120,000kg of milksolids to 134,000kg of milk solids by the end of last season. It is on target to reach 155,000kg this season. Supplement usage has also steadily fallen from 900kg per cow to 690kg last year. This year, it will be less than 500kg. “Jim is a very good goal setter,” says Russell. “My business and my farm has benefitted from his determination to achieve his own goals. He knew the only way he could be a 50:50 operator was to be very successful as a manager. “He has managed to produce more from the farm with less cost, which is buffering the pay-

out quite a bit. Jim’s good knowledge of grass management and pasture management has been very beneficial.” The 165ha effective platform includes 40ha of hill country, with the rest made up of hump and hollow flat country on marine clay. “People say marine clay is hard to farm; my approach has been to work with it, not against it,” says James. “You have to look after the pasture. Timing is everything. If it’s wet, the cows come off the pasture and we have the facilities to do that. If it’s raining in the middle of the night, I’ll get up and shift the cows off.” James has also improved the farm through large scale re-grassing of depleted areas. “Russell and Ces have been really accommodating. Last season was tough, the payout wasn’t great but they were still willing to do the re-grassing programme I set up. “It’s not cheap but they could see the forward benefits of doing that. We have set up a pasture plan for the next three to five years.” James learned a lot of his pasture management skills while working as 2IC with Craig Strawbridge for the 2011/12 season on his 380-cow farm near Ngatea. Before taking up a farming career, James was a semi-professional rugby player. From those rugby playing days comes his philosophy of always thinking about how to turn weaknesses into strengths. It is a mentality that is certainly bringing results for him and his family.

“Russell and Ces have been really accommodating. Last season was tough, the pay-out wasn’t great but they were still willing to do the re-grassing programme I set up.”

Former semi-professiounal rugby player turned famer James Foote is into his second year contract milking for Russell and Ces Evans.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Mike & Nicola Johnstone

NZ Dairy

The joys of life on the farm Sue Russell The Johnston’s, Mike, Nicola and three young children, enjoy their life on the family farm in Douglas, 18km east of Stratford. The farm has an effective milking platform of 110 hectares and is a mixed bag of rolling, flat and hilly with some challenging hills Mike says you wouldn’t get a bike up. This season for the first time since Mike began his farming journey the herd has been significantly reduced from 600 jersey cows worked as two herds through the one shed to half that number. Mike took the opportunity to keep the best of the best for future breeding and production levels. “It is my Dad’s herd and I’m in the process of slowly buying it from him, so at this stage our situation would best be described as being a 25 per cent equity shareholder,” says Mike. Longer term, the couple hope to purchase the farm outright but Mike acknowledges the next step is not clear. Jersey’s are the breed of choice and for lots of good reasons he says. “Research has shown that on all-grass systems they perform very well and they have good temperaments. “Another big bonus is that if you have a downer cow your physical strength is just about enough to handle helping it up.” Four years ago, Mike used to input palm kernel but he has gone away from this, acknowledging that every input has to produce a return. “I’m certainly not set in my ways but it is a case of constantly adjusting to the economic reality of farming to find the best potential return on investment. “Right now we’re seeing that with all-grass we’re obtaining good per cow production results,” Mike says. This season’s production figures have been skewed somewhat given the decision to build a new Herringbone shed, currently set up at 30 aside but with room to increase to 36. Again, Mike has good reasons he feels to milk through the Herringbone system. “I didn’t like the fact with rotary set ups you have basically a minute to decide whether to draft or not whereas with Herringbone, because of the way you work you have more time. That and the fact that it has less moving parts that can break down or need servicing.” Constructing the shed involved a combined effort, with Mike’s father Grant Johnston building the structure and Mike (a qualified mechanic) putting in the mechanical infrastructure. Away from the milk production side of the farming business, Mike says a goal he has set is to work the land up in places where drainage is an issue. He also plans to work on the farm’s water systems and has spent some time attending to upgrading and repairing fencing. A new farm-hand was taken on early September and Mike says is working out well. “Mason is my right hand man. I do the general feeding and the more technical aspects of the dayto-day work and things are going well.” As a busy mum of four-year-old twin girls Mikayla and Reese and one-year-old Liam, Nicola still finds time to rear all this season’s calves and

The farm, 18km east of Stratford, is a mixed bag of rolling, flat and hilly land, with some challenging hills, says Mike Johnston. Bottom left, Mike, Nicola and their three children love life on the farm. Below, Mike, right, with farm-hand Mason.

help with the farm’s administration. The Toko Dairy NZ discussion group, Mike says, has been a big help. “I think discussion groups are really valuable in helping you make decisions, to hear other’s perspectives and experiences is very beneficial before making a decision to change something.” He also sees how beneficial having a mechanical background has been. “I take a big pride and interest in the cows. I don’t skimp on bull semen, seeing that cost as a real investment in the future.” When not busy on the farm, Mike enjoys hunting deer and pig and is an active member of the Taranaki Deer Stalkers Association.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Taratahi

Hard work reaps great rewards Kelly Deeks Managing a dairy farm is a double-edged sword but with double the reward for Taratahi dairy farm manager Nigel King, who has to provide a wellperforming farm and also a good education to his students. At the end of the year he gets to look back on the successes, not only of the farm, but also of the 50 dairy students graduating on the stage of the Masterton Town Hall. Taratahi runs eight sheep and beef farms and three dairy farms in addition to the home farm Nigel runs on the school’s 300ha campus at Masterton. “They are all good performing farms, which as an educational institute we have to be for credibility,” he says. “We have to be up there and seen as being a good farming operation, but also a good education provider as well. Sometimes that can be a bit challenging.” Some of Nigel’s students have not come from any farming background, but Taratahi has good systems in place to minimise any impact on the students, livestock, and machinery. Regardless of their amount of previous experience, Nigel gets all the students on the same page as him and Taratahi’s farming system. “I teach them to be adaptable, and that what they learn here is not necessarily what they’ll be expected to do when they leave here and go out on a dairy farm,” he says. “What we do is best practice, industry standards, so our students can get a good idea of what looks good and when they leave here, they can make good informed decisions.” The students have a nice, tidy, cross bred herd of 630 cows to milk, and production sits between 265,000kg milksolids to 270,000kg milksolids. It is a relatively young herd, with no cows over 10 years old. “We found the cows more than 10 years old struggled with reproduction,” Nigel says. “When you break it down into age groups, the younger cows were the ones with the lowest empty rate while the older ones were up around 30 percent empty.” Nigel also saw the first lactation cows struggling to cope with being milked twice a day. That resulted in a high empty rate in that group, and losing them after one lactation if they were empty was a waste. “About three years ago we decided to put our

Students at Taratahi have a cross bred herd of 630 cows to milk, and production sits between 265,000kg to 270,000kg of milksolids. heifers on once a day milking, beginning on October 1, three weeks before the start of mating, and left them on once a day. About a third of the herd is on once a day, any skinny cows, any cows that had difficulty calving, and any ex lame cows for putting them back into the herd. If she goes back into the twice a day herd, she’s straight back to lame.” Nigel has found looking after the two-year-olds in their first lactation has caused them to hold their condition, and empty rates have fallen. “That’s the beauty of once a day for us, when they come in as three-year-olds, they look like four or five-year-olds, and they perform like it. We’ve allowed them the time to grow to their full potential, and as a result they’re performing.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » TW Moore Ltd/Glenn & Lisa Wingate

NZ Dairy

Changes makes difference Sue Russell

T W Moore Ltd also builds effluent ponds to meet the strict standards required by regional councils along with developing and maintaining farm races.

A family run business that’s part of the Rotorua community Sue Russell T W Moore is a Rotorua family business that has been operating from its current site for the last 32 years. One of the first major contracts the company took on after forming was the digout and fill of the then new aquatic centre facilities in the city. Company owner and founder Terry Moore has now taken a back seat and the management is now carried out by his son, Allan, who maintains the fleet of eight bulk trucks, diggers, a roller and a bulldozer. While this time last year business was relatively quiet for Rotorua, having a range of activities including cartage and earthmoving equipment and services led to the year ending on a solid note, says administrator Tina Marshall.

“Housing has knocked back quite a bit in and around Rotorua so we were not so busy working on site development. However, our cartage service was in good demand, particularly later in the year.” T W Moore also owns a quarry located next door at its Okareka Loop Rd site, approximately 12km east of Rotorua. It’s is in an ideal location for the wider Rotorua district it mostly supplies. The quarry provides aggregate for roading contracts, while the bulk trucks deliver fertilliser and palm kernel to farms in the district. With the lower dairy pay-out, Tina says there has been some reduction in demand from that sector but generally she has observed farmers thinking long-term and keeping up the absolute necessary applications to maintain pasture health. “The cartage business is a competitive one but we have a loyal base of customers who use our services. They know they can rely on us and we very much value their business as the mainstay of the company.” There’s a real family feel to the way the business operates, says Tina, and the fact that the majority of the staff have been working with the company for many years makes things feel very stable, even when the company experiences the up and down cycles of demand. T W Moore Ltd also builds effluent ponds to meet the strict standards required by regional councils along with developing and maintaining farm races. “The company has been in existence long enough to have become a well established part of the building and contracting landscape in Rotorua. We take pride in our involvement in the growth of this community,” Tina say. Sponsoring events like the Childrens’ Christmas Party, The Rotary Childrens’ event, the Radio Networks Childrens’ with Special Needs party, Heart Children and Autism NZ are examples of that commitment to the community T W Moore serves.

Now heading into their eighth season on a farm at Tikorangi, near New Plymouth, sharemilkers Glenn and Lisa Wingate are confident their proactive approach is making a difference. The couple are 50:50 sharemilkers on Kevin and Leonie Sarten’s 96 hectare dairy farm. They were contract milkers on the farm before moving into the sharemilking role. Mentors Kevin and Katrina Knowles, along with Dairy NZ and independent farm consultant Murray Mace, assisted the couple as they set about making changes to ensure the whole farm would be more profitable. A 26 hectare run-off block is leased nearby, growing 8.5 hectares of maize. Glenn and Lisa selected a maize hybrid that has enabled them to harvest earlier and it is also producing a higher yield. This year’s harvest weighed in at 217 tonnes, compared to 201 tonnes last year. “That has made a huge difference. By growing our own maize we can fill in the gaps over the summer dry, gaining cow condition and enabling us to milk longer based on cow condition and average pasture cover. We also have silage and hay so there is plenty to roll out through the dry months,” says Glenn. Previously, very little urea fertiliser was being used but this is now being applied regularly during spring and autumn to provide a good source of quick release nitrogen. A rotation system used with the run-off land, operating from May to May, involves calves being swapped for heifers at key times of year. Changes have also been made to the old 26-bail rotary shed, with an extension to the yard along with the addition of a snap chiller. “It really takes the

pressure off us during the hot months.” Having culled empty cows quite early, the farm is currently milking some 225 cows. “We culled quite a few to help with the bank situation. You have to look at every aspect of the farm to manage costs in the current environment.” Regular herd testing means any cows with a high somatic cell count and low producing animals are quickly identified. Heifers are milked once a day from early January to maintain condition. In the last couple of years, changes have been made to their calf rearing methods and calves are weaned systematically by weight at the right time. Glenn and Lisa share the work of the farm between them. “We both feed the cows. I do the milking and Lisa does the drafting during AB. We feed and rear the calves together.” The couple have two daughters, aged 11 and 14 years, whose big focus is on their schooling but they help as much as they can during calving and help with herd testing. By making these small changes, Glenn and Lisa are starting to see the results. In the 2014/15 season, record production of 107,662kg of milksolids was achieved for the farm, (the previous record being 94,500kg). For the first time, the farm also had a grade free season. Changes made with mating are also proving fruitful. A great result on reproduction has been achieved by running the bulls with the heifers 10 to 14 days earlier than the main herd. “Our previous three-week submission rate for the whole herd was seventy five per cent and for the current season is eighty four per cent. Our calving pattern of first calvers in the first three weeks was sixty six per cent and is now 80 per cent. “Bull power for the heifers has been a big contributor, with a ratio of twenty one cows to one bull.”

Glenn and Lisa Wingate are heading into their eighth season on a farm at Tikorangi.w

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Gary & Viki Smith/Rob Van den Brand

| 77

Farming couple stepping things up next season Kelly Deeks Waikato contract milkers Gary and Viki Smith are stepping up next season to a 30 percent sharemilking job, in the same area of Springdale, and the same number of cows, but jerseys instead of friesians. At their current position, the Smiths have been milking 300 cows, but the farm owners have decreased the herd this season to 240 cows, deciding not to buy in any palm kernel in a costcutting measure to combat the effects of the low milk pay out. “Palm kernel is all we’ve ever fed, as we’re primarily a grass based system,” Gary says. “We’ve noticed, without the palm kernel, the cows didn’t peak the same in the spring.” The Smiths had also started milking once a day on November 23. “Everyone around here was frightened of El Nino, but it hasn’t come,” Gary says. “Our farm advisor told us to put the cows on once a day milkings to keep their condition on and build up some grass cover, and we were able to put more silage in, making 120 ton this season compared with 70 ton last season. “We got a bit dry in early February, but we were fully prepared, then later in February we had one day with 92ml of rain, followed by another 52ml, so once it fined up we went back to 16 hour milkings and started feeding out silage to try to reach our target of 85,000kgs milksolids.”

The Smiths hold the production record for the farm of 97,000kgs milksolids. The couple has been married for 25 years and has farmed together all their married life. Gary grew up on his mum and dad’s farm in Taranaki, while city girl Viki was soon at home in the dairy shed. Their two grown children are now farming as well. The Smiths’ next job is on a 130ha farm with a r un off block directly across the road. Managing the jersey herd will be a challenge for the couple, who have run a mixed herd before but not only jerseys. Gary says he is expecting not to get as high a volume of milk out of them, and is prepared to deal with the jerseys’ sensitive nature. He is also prepared to watch out for his little calves when it gets wet during spring. The couple will bring their own electric fencing gear including reels and standards, as well as their own calf feeding equipment to the new farm. It runs a fully grass-based system, and the Smiths are looking forward to running a more simple system, which Gary says works a lot better for two people. “Before we came to this farm, we were on a high input farm at Te Awamutu, feeding up to 16kgs of supplement per cow per day, and we got up to 600kgs milksolids per cow. We had 160ha, 40ha of that in maize, and we were milking 600 cows on about 110ha. It was intensive. Viki was in the shed on her own, while I was on the tractor all the time.”

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Taking it all in their stride Kelly Deeks Award-winning Taranaki sharemilkers Rob and Mel Van den Brand are taking this season’s dry conditions and low pay out in their stride, choosing to worry instead about the things they can control, such as making the best use of the feed they have available on farm. Rob and Mel are 50/50 sharemilkers with 220 cows on a 64ha farm near Otakeho, where they have worked for the past six years. Last season, they achieved the farm’s record production of 92,000kg milksolids, beating their previous best of 89,000kg milksolids. However, last season’s weather was ‘phenomenal’, while this has been ‘another dry year’. “Normal for us is that it will be dry at some stage of the season,” Rob says. “We farm for a dry spell. We aim to do 2/3 of our production by the end of December, so the end of the season is the cream on the top.” Switching to once a day milking on January 20 helped to control costs this season, cutting the power bill by a third and using less fuel, less water, and less detergent. It also allowed for more family time and for Rob to spend time on tasks like fencing and spraying. They also shared the cost of breeding bulls with a neighbour, and chose to cull cows with mastitis rather than treat them. As last year’s Taranaki Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year winners at the New Zealand

Dairy Industry Awards, Rob and Mel congratulate this season’s winners Ben and Belinda Price. The Van den Brands are now convening the 2017 competition. They say the awards helped them to make tweaks to certain areas of their business, such as better recording of information, having an up to date and up to scratch health and safety policy, and more communication and team work, allowing the couple to tighten up their system. “In the end, we had nine people judge our business, including bankers, a Dairy NZ consulting officer, farmers, and farm consultants,” Rob says. “Each of those six people gave us feedback, and we listened to it. There was a wealth of knowledge.” Before the couple started working together on the Otakeho farm, they were in the Manawatu with Rob as manager on an 800 cow farm, and Mel in corporate banking with ANZ bank. She says she misses her office job - and she doesn’t. “The banks are really fantastic in terms of providing access to different businesses and understanding their strategies,” she says. “I used to look after small businesses all the way up to multi million dollar businesses, and having that exposure to the different ways they do things, you can pull their ideas and use them for yourself. I got a lot of information from working in the bank that you don’t have time to absorb when you’re on the farm.” Whereas doing a physical job in the outdoors can kind of make up for that - in between being an honorary taxi driver for the two Van den Brand children, Sophie, six, and Riley, three.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Kevin Ferris/Lance Fenton

NZ Dairy

Never a dull moment for Waikato farming family Kelly Deeks Waikato farming family the Ferris’s are running a national business with their own dairy farm at Te Awamutu, dry stock and support farms at Otarohanga and Southland, and a couple of equity partnerships and a sharemilking job also in Southland. Kevin Ferris has been on his 120ha, 500-cow Pokuru farm since 1980, while his sons Nick and John have been in the business since 2005. The brothers oversee operations in an island each, with each farm run by a manager. John has a degree in agricultural science while Nick has a degree in business studies. Kevin says his sons bring the drive of the youth to the family business, and some really up to date knowledge, considering their studies were completed a good 20 to 30 years after Kevin did his. Kevin has been heavily involved in the dairy industry outside of his own business. He has been on Fonterra’s shareholder council for the past nine years, monitoring the performance of the board of directors, representing the interests of the shareholders and working to keep the company co-operative. He was also on Dairy NZ’s board of directors about three years ago, and had input into individual farmers’ businesses as well as the industry’s global competitive edge. “We’ve got the ability to do research and practical work to access opportunities and keep

the farmers engaged with what we’re doing,” he says. “Some of these things are really important to have done, in order to keep up. We can go at them collectively where we have the resources to do things like research and extend our knowledge.” With farms in both islands, the Ferris family gets to see first-hand the difference climatic conditions can make to a season. “The two different regions we’re dairy farming in can seem to be a bit counterfactual,” Kevin says. “It can be cold in Southland and warm up here, it can be dry up here and wet down there.” It may be cold and wet, but he says Southland is a great place to farm, and they do it well down there. The Ferrises are running all grass systems in Southland, with no wintering barns or feed pads. In the present climate, the Family is not making any performance investment on any of their dairy farms, only on the dry stock farms. “Everything is just on maintenance, and even the maintenance is very minimal,” Kevin says. “We focus on doing everything to grow grass, then produce milk as a consequence.” There are bulls being raised on the Otarohanga farm, and the amount has been increased this year, with Kevin saying he might raise a few more next year as well. While each farm rears its own replacement stock, the Ferris family also rears a lot of calves in the North Island, enjoying the work of bringing them up and adding another business activity to their profile. Some are traded as calves while some are taken through to 3500kg to 4500kg two-year-olds.

Kevin Ferris has been on his 120ha, 500-cow Pokuru farm since 1980.

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Tarankai dairy farmers Lance and Sarah Fenton are focused on feed this season, trying to work out how much is not too much while cutting back slightly on grain due to the low milk payout. The couple are equity partners on Sarah’s parents’ 185ha effective Midhirst farm. They have been working there for the past four years, after a four year stint as lower order sharemilkers on a smaller family farm. The Midhirst farm had been extended when they returned. Originally running 300 cows, a neighbouring property was purchased and it was time to build a new dairy shed so the family could increase cow numbers. “We winter milked for the first two seasons with a view to buying the extra cows we needed,” Lance says. “The first season we winter milked 70 cows, then 400 cows during the season, all through a 24 bale rotary dairy shed. It was hard work going through the old shed as we didn’t have cup removers, so we would need two or three people to milk. In our second season we built the new 50 bale rotary dairy shed, got our herd up to 440 cows, and winter milked 50 cows.” The Fentons, with help from Sarah’s brother Mark Uhlenberg, who is an engineer, designed and built the new rotary shed themselves, with Lance’s training and a fitter welder coming to the fore. Now the Fentons feel like they’ve got their herd

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the right size for the farm, so are now focused on getting more milk out of them. Midhirst is one of Taranaki’s highest rainfall areas, so winter can be a tough time, and this season, so was spring. “We had a really wet spring and it’s put production back for everyone around this area,” Lance says. “So we’re on the back foot now, and production is down a bit on other years.” Up until now, production has been on the increase, with in-shed feeing in the new dairy shed contributing to gains. “Now we’re trying to find how much to feed, without feeding too much,” Lance says. “We’re trying to keep it as simple as we can and fully feed our cows.” He has cut back slightly on the amount of blended palm kernel and molasses going through the shed, and has also surprised himself with some of the results of his cost cutting decisions this season, like changing from round bale silage to pit silage. “We’ve done it for a quarter of the price and got twice the amount,” he says. “I knew it would be cheaper but I didn’t know it would be that cheap, and the sheer volume we’ve got compared to round bale silage is great. The quality maybe isn’t quite as good, but good enough to keep the cows producing well.” The Fentons will use no turnips this season, as Lance was busy extending his silage pits at the time so didn’t bother putting them in, thinking he would have the silage to feed anyway.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Dan & Liz Van der Kaap

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Milking fewer ‘but better cows’ focus Karen Phelps Northland farmers Dan and Liz Van der Kaap have cut stock numbers and focused heavily on breeding in order to increase efficiencies on their farm in response to the pay out. This season for the first time they have put the whole herd on once-a-day milking since Christmas. “It’s not worth making the milk solids. That’s why we have chopped stock numbers so we can feed the herd grass rather than have to buy in so much feed. We’d rather milk fewer cows but better cows,” says Dan. The couple is in their third season of low order sharemilking 500 cows on a 205ha unit just south of Whangarei. The farm is supported by a 35ha adjoining run off used for dry cows and growing 20ha of silage. Throughout the summer the block joins the dairy platform once the herd goes on once a day. Towards the end of March when the Van der Kaaps start calving the herd is split – the autumn calvers on twice a day and the spring calvers on once a day. The Friesian crossbred herd is milked through a 38 aside herringbone shed with Protrack and automatic teat sprayer. The Van der Kaaps are very focused on renovating pastures and growing summer crops, vital in Northland. “In the summer the grass stops growing and we can’t irrigate on this farm so growing a summer crop is essential. We’ve come close to tripling the cropping area to 20ha since we arrived on this farm.” This season the Van der Kaaps are growing turnips and chicory rather than maize because these crops are cheaper to grow and harvest. Palm kernel will only be purchased if needed. Labour costs will also be reduced as Dan points out that feeding out palm kernel is significantly quicker than feeding out maize. “Feeding out palm kernel is a couple of buckets whereas feeding out maize is a full wagonload and more labour intensive. That time saving each day

Dan and Liz Van der Kaap plan to keep moving forward in the dairy industry and would eventually like to buy their own herd. over three months makes a big difference. It will also help to defer costs because rather than having to pay for seed in November for maize we can pay for palm kernel next season.” As a result of making changes to their system the Van der Kaaps have managed to reduce a labour unit and now only employ one full time staff member with Liz relief milking as needed. They also plan to keep culling heavily to lose surplus stock. “We’re only breeding our replacements from the top two thirds of our herd. Anything in the bottom third or that we don’t like for some reason goes to beef,” explains Dan.

The Van der Kaaps, who achieved the farm’s best ever production per cow in their first two seasons on the farm, say at the moment its about making the most of what they’ve got through better management as this doesn’t essentially cost them anything. They are also focusing on putting their budget where it is most needed to ensure the farm copes on the lower payout. Neither of the Van der Kaaps grew up on a dairy farm. Dan grew up on an orchard and Liz is a city girl. Dan says he always wanted to be a dairy farmer and got his first job by putting a notice up at the local sale yards which saw him employed

as a full time farm assistant on a 400 cow farm in Whangarei. He moved in and out of the industry over the coming years and it was only when he and Liz married they decided to embark in earnest on a dairy farming career and worked on various farms around Whangarei. They have a six year old daughter called Eva and say they plan to keep moving forward in the dairy industry. “We’d like to buy our own herd and go 50:50,” says Dan. “Of course it’s hard to put those sorts of goals in place in this financial climate but it’s still our aim.”

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FARM SERVICES » Murray Bros Contracting

NZ Dairy

Proactive approach the best bet Kelly Deeks Bay of Plenty agricultural contracting company Murray Bros Contracting – whose core business focus is on grass and maize silage and big bales – has a proactive approach to the current market by planting 100ha less maize this season, and will probably plant another 100ha less next season as well. Bruce and Ian Murray have been running their contracting business for 25 years. They were the third generation to be working on the 800-cow family dairy farm at Otakiri on the Rangitaiki Plains, and had always done all their own ground work and harvesting, and really enjoyed it. Looking to get out of the dairy shed, the brothers employed a lower order sharemilker and took their machines to work out into the community. “We ended up growing a fair bit of maize as well for silage, we were one of the early ones to get into using larger amounts of maize silage in a dairy operation,” Bruce says. “It really started to take off at that time, and so we were able to build the business up from there.” Ten years later, the brothers bought a second dairy farm with 300 cows, installing another lower order sharemilker to run it. Murray Bros Contracting is still very much centred around grass and maize silage work, and big bales. “We do the cultivation work, maize planting and re-grassing, and all these sorts of jobs involved with ground work, and anything associated with the growing and harvesting of maize and grass silage,” Bruce says. Over the past 20 years, Murray Bros Contracting has cultivated good relationships with a couple of the local Maori trusts, completing all their ground work and also leasing some land to grow maize. In a traditional season, Murray Bros Contracting will plant 800ha of maize, using about 70ha or 80ha on Bruce and Ian’s farms, selling about 300ha, and the remainder is planted for other farmers on their own property. “With the low milk payout this season, farmers are looking at cutting back all of these feed purchases as much as they can,” Bruce says. “A lot of farmers have de-stocked to a certain degree, so they don’t need to buy in as much feed to fill feed deficits. And we’ve had a good grass growing season, so they’ve conserved more grass silage and been able to make a bit of grass silage out of the system. “We’re growing what we think the market needs.”

Murray Bros Contracting is still very much centred around grass and maize silage work, and big bales.

“A lot of farmers have de-stocked at a certain degree, so they don’t need to buy in as much feed to fill feed deficits. And we’ve had a good grass growing season, so they’ve conserve more grass silage and been able to make a bit of grass silage out of the system. We’re growing what we think the market needs.”

Bruce and Ian’s nephew, Michael, is now getting involved in the contracting business, buying his way into some of the machinery and employing his own drivers. “When machinery comes up to be replaced, we offer Michael that opportunity. He’s picking up extra transport-oriented work, moving big bales

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around and carting silage for us, and he’s got quite involved in the cartage of kiwifruit as well.” With three full time staff in the contracting business, having Michael on board has also helped to fill in some of the seasonal shortfalls outside of the main silage making season, so he is able to work all year round.

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FARM SERVICES » Blackley Construction/Capper Contracting

| 81

Rural contractor drops prices to help out struggling farmers Kim Newth

Blackley Construction offer a wide range of services for farm development and farm maintenance

Blackley has the skills, equipment and experience Sue Russell With more than 50 years of construction experience, Palmerston North’s Blackley Construction has the skills, equipment and experience to build a wide variety of farm infrastructure from complete land drainage systems to geometrically correct effluent ponds. Graeme Blackley started out contracting in Carterton in 1960, completing mowing and farm drainage. Five years later, he moved his business and his wife Janice to the Manawatu to take up an opportunity to further develop the land drainage side of his business. By 1969, he had established Blackley Construction’s depot on Stoney Creek Road, well located to service the company’s rural and urban based clients. The downturn in the rural market during the 1990s saw Blackley Construction lend its team and its equipment to civil projects, while still remaining loyal to its agricultural roots and completing the small farm work that was still going on. At that time, Blackley Construction employed a contract manager Grant Binns, who held a previous role with the Ministry of Works and was well versed in putting together and managing civil projects. He helped to establish the company in the civil market. As the company grew, Grant was appointed general manager, and while he has since retired from this position, he still works for Blackley Construction on a part-time basis as business development manager. Blackley Construction now services the greater Manawatu region, including Feilding, Marton and Rongotea, and also services the Wairarapa and Central Hawke’s Bay As a construction specialist, Blackley Construction operates a shingle plant, provides trenchless technologies and completes civil and rural projects. Blackley Construction rural contract manager James Christensen looks after the rural team and its machinery, and he surveys, designs and prices land drainage and dairy effluent pond projects. He is supported by “very capable” supervisor Phil Stevenson, who James snapped up when he finished a 10-year stint working for Infracon. “I thought I better have him on my side,” James says. Blackley Construction offers a wide range of services for farm development and farm maintenance, including land drainage, effluent pond

and system design and build, irrigation installation, race and track construction, underpass, bridge and culvert construction, plus other services such as general earthworks, forestry roading, dam construction and slope stabilisation. “Providing land drainage solutions to our clients has always been a key activity for the rural side of the business, and this is still the case today as our farming clients see greater productivity gains for properly designed and installed land drainage systems,” James says. James says the company’s land drainage experience makes it especially qualified to complete effluent pond design and construction. He says farmers needing effluent system rebuilds or upgrades need to talk to a company like Blackley Construction that has experience working with gravity, rather than with someone who just wants to sell them a pump or move dirt. “We want everything to flow downhill, and that gives us an edge over the competition,” he says. “We show up to each project with different options around how to minimise the amount of pumping in a system, decreasing running costs for the farmer and increasing system functionality and reliability.”

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Rural contractors know better than most just how tough it is for dairy farmers right now, which is why Te Aroha’s Trevor Capper decided he had to do something to help out local farmers. Last September, Capper Contracting dropped its bale prices by $3 per wrapped bale and also cut its machinery hire rate by $15 an hour. “It was the right decision,” says Trevor, who has built up his contracting business over the past three decades or more since starting as a sole charge operator in 1981. “You can’t expect to make money when the farmers are not making any.” He estimates they have effectively given over $100,000 back to the local farming community through taking the initiative and dropping their charges. “My wife (Maree) and I had a talk about it and thought we had to go ahead and do this.” This year, Capper Contracting has also moved from an hourly rate for maize harvesting to a per hectare rate. “It means the farmer knows what they will be paying before we do the job. The milk price is ridiculous, so we have to find ways to support them.” Over the years, Capper Contracting has invested heavily in machinery to cater for the needs of the local rural sector.

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Trevor estimates the business has $2.5m worth of machinery, including 19 Italian-made Landini and McCormick tractors. “We use them for all sorts of jobs from hedge cutting to cultivation, baling and reseeding. Eight years ago we also invested in a maize harvester to fill a gap for farmers in our area needing it. It has turned out to be a great investment for us.” Trevor grew up in Gordonton, near Hamilton, the son of an agricultural contractor. As a young man, he worked in the city for a time before going back to the country to milk cows and then later launched his contracting business. This is a real family business, one that is proudly freehold. Trevor’s wife Maree started out driving tractors for the business full-time, doing small conventional bales. Now she manages office work and accounts. Four of the couple’s five sons, aged from 22 to 35 years old, also work in the business: Steven, Shaun, Gregory and Kenneth. In total, around 10 people are employed by Capper Contracting. “Whatever the farmer wants, we do. The only thing we don’t do is excavator work. We cover Te Aroha and surrounding areas.” Hedge work is poised to keep the Capper Contracting team busy heading into autumn, though Trevor is unsure how demand will be affected by the current low milk prices. “You really don’t know which farmers will want their hedge work done until they call us, but we have done a few already.” Meanwhile, Trevor and Maree are hoping their sons take a greater role in the business so they are able to take a lot more time out in future from their busy life of rural contracting.

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82 |

FARM SERVICES » Broomfield Construction

NZ Dairy

Looking after clients a priority Russell Fredric After operating from the small Waikato town of Morrinsville for nearly 25 years, Broomfield Construction owner Rob Broomfield has seen the ups and downs of the rural economy. The value of looking after his clients and maintaining high standards of workmanship has paid off with a client base who have remained loyal to the company, even during economic downturns. “We’ve got a good client base that just phone us up and most of the time ask what a job will be worth then say “come and do it.” That’s the way you want to be,” Rob Broomfield says. “We’ve got really good repeat business. Most of the time our customers don’t even bother about a second price because we treat them right and I back myself to be honest. We like to make a job 110 percent before we leave; we don’t want any come-backs.” He agrees that there are no winners in the game of businesses trying to undercut each other in order to get work. “If you’ve got to fight and cut your margins over everything all the time, it makes it quite hard to earn an honest living.” Broomfield Construction presently employs six tradesmen, and an office administrator, but staff numbers can increase seasonally up to 15 during busy periods of the year. A large amount of the work being carried out is rural-based, and ranges from cowsheds to farm cottages, feed pads, silage bunkers, sand traps, renovations and general building work. “We do anything really, but we tend to try and focus more on farm construction work.” As well as building cowsheds, Broomfield Construction has built several dairy goat milking sheds, as Hamilton is home to a large-scale goat’s milk processor. Broomfield Construction are the lead contractor on a dairy farm conversion presently being undertaken near Morrinsville. Apart from building the shed itself, the company is responsible for overseeing the whole project, including concrete work and pipe work for the yards, which is sub-contracted. “We organise the backbone of it. We are setting up all the concrete work, the boxing, putting up the EPS wall panels and steel portals. We got the foundations down for the steel work just prior to Christmas.” The company built four rotary milking sheds last year and has built about 15 during the past five years, however Rob is not expecting to have the

Broomfield Construction does a lot of rural-based work, which r ranges from cowsheds to farm cottages, feed pads, silage bunkers, sand traps, renovations and general building work. same volume of milking sheds to build this year. “To be fair it’s a little worrying looking forward the way things are currently, particularly in small towns similar to where I live. We rely heavily on dairy farming.” While it is good to have big jobs on the go, being prepared to undertake smaller work and a wide variety of work is important, Rob says. Rob is committed to health and safety and prides himself on the company’s safety record. “We are serious about ensuring the health and safety of our staff and contractors on our building sites”.

The company uses the Hazardco health and safety system and the recently implemented Health and Safety at Work Act meant Rob, with the help of a consultant, was busy during the month or so leading up to the act coming into force, making sure everything was in place for the company to be compliant,. He agrees that, with the strong regulatory environment in many areas, from health and safety to building code and resource consent compliance, it would be much more challenging for anyone trying to establish a building business today compared to 25 years ago.

“To be fair it’s a little worrying looking forward the way things are currently, particularly in small towns similar to where I live.” MORRINSVILLE

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE» Fairleigh Dairy

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Fairleigh a family run business Kelly Deeks With the cost of having their heifers grazed off more than enough to pay the mortgage on a heifer and bull block, West Otago dairy farmers and stud breeders Ken and Nancy Eade, their son Bruce and his wife Tanya found a suitable property and made a decision in May last year, purchasing an 88ha block and finally putting that money back into the business. As the home farm, Fairleigh, at Kelso is stand alone, no surplus feed is taken from the new block back to the dairy farm. Instead, it is solely used to raise 200 calves this season, and for the first time the Eades are rearing and fattening 50 beef bulls, which will go to the works after winter. “The new block has given us some flexibility,” Ken says. “If we’ve got too much grass at the dairy farm we can bring young stock back. It works pretty well.” The Eades run a 500 cow, pedigree ayrshire and holstein friesian herd. Ken started the stud in 1966, just after he left school. He had grown up on a small farm but his first experience of the ayrshire breed was the job he got on a pedigree ayrshire farm after leaving school. Ken says longevity is one of the ayrshire’s most pronounced traits. “While they don’t produce as much as a twoyear-old as friesians, they will do at least eight lactations, compared to the national average of about three lactations,” he says. “When it costs about $2000 to raise a calf, the longer they last, the better.” Fairleigh selects for longevity, especially good legs, especially good udders, and the highest production possible for their replacements. “We don’t feed anything special, the cows just eat grass and silage,” Ken says. “We’re not going to break any records. We could lift production by putting in more supplements, but instead of paying for production, we’re trying to do it on grass and silage.” Last season, Fairleigh produced 220,000kg of milksolids, with 200 calves reared on whole milk, most drinking about six litres a day. Fairleigh’s new heifer and beef block complements the farm’s year round milking system, and with a wintering barn built in 2011, no stock are sent off farm for grazing anymore. The barn accommodates the whole herd and Ken says its benefits are priceless. “The cows are in better all-round condition, and they don’t take as much feed to keep them in that

Fairleigh’s new heifer and beef block complements the farm’s year round milking system, and with a wintering barn built in 2011, no stock are sent off farm for grazing anymore. condition,” he says. “They stay clean and dry, they don’t have to eat to keep warm, and they’re not standing in mud up to their knees all winter and harming the environment. They also calve indoors as well.” The Eades do all their own ploughing and ground work, they sow and spray their own wheat, spread their own fertiliser, make their own silage and even cart their own stock and fertiliser. Fairleigh is very much a family business with Bruce developing a real passion for the ayrshire breed, and committed to continuing with both studs when Ken retires.

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84 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Plantation Road Dairy

NZ Dairy

Drugs not the only option for a Neil Grant Starry, Starry Night, the song by Don McLean, finishes with, “They would not listen, they’re not listening still, Perhaps they never will.” Kevin Davidson and his wife Linda feel similarly pessimistic. A dairy farmer from Ongaonga near Waipukurau, whose farm has a staff of 18, and milks over 2000 cows, has for many years now tried to convince Dairy New Zealand and others in positions of influence, that there are better ways of dealing with animal health than just pumping in drugs. He can demonstrate that his methods work, that they save farmers money, and for the addition of a bit more labour at times, just might be a way to help farmers get through the current tough times. Put simply, he reckons that by learning to observe a cow’s coat and dung, a farmer can almost always see how a cow is doing, including monitoring selenium, copper, zinc and B12 levels, and how good or bad their diet is. This can save a lot of expensive testing. There are four herds on the farm. One, the red herd, has the high somatic cell count cows and any that have been treated for mastitis. These are milked separately after all the others, leading to a rapid decrease in disease transference to other cows, followed by a steady reduction in the size of the red herd. “If a drug company came up with a drug that improved these things by 10% of the result we have got, it would be in every paper in New Zealand. “It’s common sense. We have outstanding results but the industry won’t embrace it. “There must be hundreds of farmers who needed this information yesterday. They don’t need the added stress and this is a practical, cheap solution.” Like all other dairy farmers, the Davidsons are trying to hold their position until things come right. They spend hours working on budgets and

Kevin Davidson believes that by learning to observe a cow’s coat and dung, a farmer can almost always see how a cow is doing.

“We are now growing brassicas, and bringing them home fresh each day for six months, and growing cereal silage for the other six months. We have put in oats, and cut it at the green stage before it goes to head.”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Plantation Road Dairy

| 85

healthy dairy herd, says farmer

keeping in touch with their bank. Rather than reducing cow numbers they have, in fact, increased them. Because of the business’s scale, they have been able to change their cropping regime. Employing a returning son, and a nephew, both diesel mechanics, enabled the Davidsons to change from contract harvesting to doing their own, and also changing the crops they grow.

“We have purchased our own harvesting gear, and more than halved our costs, including having paid for the gear in a two and a half year period. Some crops are more expensive to harvest than others, but they can be the ones that save you money. “We are now growing brassicas, and bringing them home fresh each day for six months, and growing cereal silage for the other six months. We

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have put in oats, and cut it at the green stage before it goes to head. “We are lifting yields and lowering costs. Maize is a cheaper crop, so we will start growing that on the dairy farm for the first time. “And we have changed our calving regime and milk more in the winter.” Davidson believes the payout situation is worse than many realise. He says because a dairy farm’s financial year

is from June 1 to May 31, there is an advance payout at the end of May. The following October a deferred payout is made, and this last season it had dropped, so some payouts were zero. The effect of this was a total payout of only $3.30 to $3.40 for the financial year. With his tongue fixed firmly in his cheek, he reflects, “I suppose the downturn helps by making you start thinking hard.”

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86 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Faull Farms

NZ Dairy

Downturn brings challenges aplenty Karen Phelps

His Royal Highness Prince Charles visited the Penwarden’s farm in November last year. has been working for the farm for over a decade, something Loie admits is rare in the dairy industry. She says identifying staff strengths and giving them distinct roles based around this has been a key

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factor in retaining staff. “Every one of our team could run this farm. Their skill levels are very high. We establish good communication with our team – they are like our

family,” she says. The farm is supported by 100a of run offs used for growing around 65ha of maize, grass silage and dry stock grazing.

m ax im im ise pr la ov ct op ef at tim er io til n ise re i du t h y ea ce lth w ei gh tl os s

Sharemilkers Tony and Loie Penwarden are facing additional challenges during the dairy industry downturn. While cutting cow numbers makes sense on the lower payout, the couple’s banking requirements make this challenging: “As we’re sharemilkers our loan is guaranteed by the cows we are milking so reducing numbers could expose us to the bank unless we reduce the loan amount,” explains Tony. The couple are 50:50 sharemilkers on Trewithen Farm, a 282ha effective unit at Tikorangi near Waitara. A herd of 850 holstein friesian springcalving cows and 400 autumn-calving cows are milked through a 60 bail rotary shed with technology to record milk weights, automatic drafting, automatic cup removers and in-shed feeding system. The Penwardens have been working on the unit, owned by Faull Farms Limited, since 2004. Tony originally comes from a small dairy unit in Wanganui but says he couldn’t wait to leave, seeing dairy farming as a tie. He worked in various jobs and met Loie, who hails from a California beef farm and has qualifications in animal husbandry, on his OE. The pair eventually returned to New Zealand in 1991. Tony took on a farmhand position near Hawera on a 350 cow farm for two years then the couple moved to Opunaki managing a 350 cow farm for two seasons followed by another nine seasons as lower order sharemilkers before moving to Trewithen Farm. The couple cites the farm team, which consists of four full time workers, one casual and five permanent part-time milkers, as a vital part of the success of the operation. Some of the staff

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NZ Dairy The system five farm also utilises hay, palm kernel, molasses and soy bean hull, as well as grass silage made on the farm. The farm grows summer crops – 14ha of turnips and 6ha of fodder beet as a trial crop this season. “We just had the yield of the fodder beet measured and it came up as 33 tonnes drymatter per hectare and we feel we can improve on this as well. It’s still in the trial phase as we are still transitioning cows onto it,” explains Tony. Trewithen Farm also has a strong reputation for its environmental practices winning the 2014 Taranaki Balance Farm Environment Awards as well as the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award, the LIC Dairy Farm Award, the Massey University Innovation Award and the PGG Wrightson Land and Life Award. The Penwardens say a long term approach has been taken to minimising the farm’s environmental impact including riparian fencing and planting, and retiring a small portion of the farm which contains endemic puriri trees, as Queen Elizabeth II National Trust covenanted land. They also All Paddock soil test with Ballance to identify the differences in fertility from paddock to paddock and tailor their fertiliser programme appropriately, which has not only saved money but also improved the fertility levels of their pasture.

DAIRY PEOPLE » Faull Farms Other initiatives include the fact that around 136ha of the milking platform is piped, allowing carefully timed effluent applications to be delivered via two smart hydrants, each with six guns. Recyclable waste, such as silage wrap, is recycled where possible. Trewithen Farm is also very involved in the local community. Neighbours and members of the community have been invited to potluck meals on the farm, with sometimes up to 100 people showing up. A Thanksgiving dinner is held for the community along with an annual Easter egg hunt. A personal highlight for the Penwardens in their time on the farm was a visit by His Royal Highness Prince Charles in November last year. “He wanted to indulge his interest in farming and spent a couple of hours here before planting a Kauri tree,” says Tony. “It was definitely a highlight of my farming career.” Last season, the farm achieved 580,000 kilograms of milk solids and this season the target is 560,000 kilograms due to a cool, wet spring. Tony says that it is difficult to think to far ahead into the future at the moment in terms of their personal career progression: “We’re just trying to get through this low pay out challenge.”

Prince Charles chats with Tony and Loie Penwarden during his visit to their farm.

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| 87

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Okaihau Pastoral Ltd Partnership/Paul Jenkins

NZ Dairy

Couple’s skills prove invaluable Paul really knows his stuff Kelly Deeks Joe and Jenima Foster’s pasture management skills were a key factor in securing their farm management role, with farm owners keen to utilise more grass first then use supplements to fill the gaps afterwards. The Fosters are now into their third season on Okaihau Pastoral’s year round milking 367ha farm and 200ha run off block at Okaihau in the Bay of Islands. They arrived on the farm in time to implement a complete change of system on what had always been a system five farm. “We’d come from system two to three, a mainly grass based system and our strength was in pasture management,” Joe says. “When we arrived here the pastures were poorly managed and poor quality.” Intelact farm consultant Paul Martin was brought on board at the same time as the Fosters, and the three are using the Red Sky Farm Performance Analysis programme to help work out the best utilisation of each dollar they spend. Joe says they started by implementing the three-leaf principle they have always used: Grazing pastures when the plant has grown its third leaf, and before leaves die and feed value falls. Then they looked at using less expensive imported feeds, choosing maize and palm kernel, and less expensive crops, choosing chicory and maize. They have reduced the amount of maize grown on the run off block from 100ha to about 80ha, and replaced the maize grown on the milking platform with about 37ha of chicory, part of the farm’s regrassing programme. The Fosters peak milked 1100 cows this season, down from 1200 cows last season. “The BW on the herd has lifted immensely because we’ve culled on production and underperformance,” Joe says. “Our empty rate is sitting at 10 percent and coming down. What we’re doing with better feeding is resulting in better conditioned cows, and we’re closely monitoring our cycling cows.” The herd’s BW and PW were both under 100 and have now been lifted to 114 and 157 respectively. The Fosters have also introduced herd testing on the farm five times a year, with Joe saying ‘information is key’. Okaihau is in a high summer rainfall area, with an average rainfall of 2.5m to 2.8m a year, and very summer safe. Winter milking is facilitated by two 400-cow covered feed pads. This season, the farm’s winter milk herd has increased from 250

cows to 300 cows. Achieving a 30% lift in production in their first season, and in season two a further 18% lift in production, this season the Fosters are on target for a further 7% increase, and the achieve the current forecast of 560,000kg milksolids. The 22 shareholder owners are happy with the farm’s progress, pleased that a different management style and three new sets of eyes could turn the farm around. They continue to help and support the Fosters in many ways. “Most of the people on the board have a certain skill set that we are able to utilise from accountants to livestock consultants,” Jenima says. “They have a lot of different backgrounds and they come from a lot of different walks of life, so it’s great to have their input.”

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“I’m happy we’re done our record seasons but the scrimping and scraping is very frustrating. We need to keep production rising, but the way things are I can see this farm going backwards and I don’t want to see all our hard work getting undone.

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From the cowshed to the orchard, the kitchen table to the boardroom -FARMit is your your Rural Accounting Specialist Proudly supporting Okaihau Pastoral Limited Partnership REGULAR REPORTING

With 36 years of farming experience, it could be said that Paul Jenkins knows his stuff. He and his wife Andrea have been together for 26 years and in that time the couple have contract milked and lower order sharemilked on a few different farms, and setting new production records on most of them. He says he has always had a great passion for the job, and he gets the results he gets by focusing on achieving good production, keeping cows in good health, and growing good pasture. “On all the farms we’ve been, we see the same problems,” he says. “The farm owner wants you to maximise production, and when you do, the first thing one owner came out with was ‘you’ve just cost me more money, now I’ve got to buy more shares’!” But one thing is for sure, you can’t starve the farm of the basics and still maximise production. “If you don’t put the basics in, you’re not going to get production out,” he says. In a bid to keeping the cheapest feed available, Paul says fertiliser, weed spraying, and regrassing are the three key things that have to happen. He is now trying to convince his farm owner to do some regrassing to fill in the gaps on the pasture. “We’ve got to concentrate on building up the pasture because we don’t have enough for the number of cows we’re milking,” he says. “Agricom reckons eat the paddock right down then undersow straight over the top with a permanent pasture, then feed it off the same way you would with new grass while all the new grass gets established. Instead, the farm owner is trying to bulk up the paddocks by expecting the pasture plants to tiller out on their own and fill the gaps.” The re-grassing plan suggested by Agricom was used on 30ha of the farm last season. “When we went through this 30ha with the milkers, we ended up with nearly 600l of milk a day with the extra bulk feed, and when we came out of these paddocks it went back to normal,” Paul says.

“If we could do another 30ha this year, that’s 60ha that has already been bulked up in permanent grass. Instead of buying 500 ton of maize silage at $250,000, he would be better off putting $100,000 into re-grassing and pasture spraying.” The Jenkins’ run two farms for the owner, milking 470 cows on the home farm with a herd manager milking 210 cows on the smaller farm. The Jenkins’ have had another record season on the home farm with 115,000kg milksolids produced last season, and on target this season to reach 120,000kgs and possibly 130,000kgs milksolid, depending on how the autumn calvers perform. The home farm started winter milking 140 cows last season, taking them over from the smaller farm when a large 500 cow feed pad and 500 ton silage bunker were installed. “I’m happy we’re done our record seasons but the scrimping and scraping is very frustrating,” Paul says. “We need to keep production rising, but the way things are I can see this farm going backwards and I don’t want to see all our hard work getting undone. This farm should be able to do 150,000kg milksolids and we’re working our way up to that without a lot of help.”

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