Dairy Farmer July 2022

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Bred with purpose A Taranaki farmer’s small herd are record holders

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CONTENTS NEWS JULY 2022 | $8.95 GlobalHQ is a farming family owned business that donates 1% of all advertising revenue in Farmers Weekly and Dairy Farmer to farmer health and wellbeing initiatives. Thank you for your prompt payment.

17 Milk Monitor He Waka Eke Noa framework solid but questions remain 18 Go Dairy DairyNZ encouraging Kiwis to go dairying

ON FARM 8

Size doesn’t matter A Taranaki farmer has a small herd that does big production

20 All pasture, no supplement Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year winner

FARMING CHAMPIONS 7

Guest column – Emma Higgins

28 Dairy Champion – Bruce Cryer 34 Women in agribusiness – Anna Benny

FEATURES 48 Spring calving 58 Road to dairying

REGULAR FEATURES

20 Editor SONITA CHANDAR 06 374 5544 sonita.chandar@globalhq.co.nz 027 446 6221

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July 2022

8 COVER STORY A Taranaki farmer’s small herd are record holders

7

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GUEST COLUMN

Peak powder prices passed

By Emma Higgins

New Zealand farmers could be in for a bumpy ride this coming season but likely to be profitable.

D

airy commodity prices reached record heights earlier in 2022, leaving many wondering whether we have yet reached peak powder prices.

While milk production is in the midst of a significant slowdown, weakening demand expectations are creating the scenario for some moderate price declines in dairy commodities during the second half of 2022. Rabobank’s view is that we passed peak powder prices for this price cycle in the first half of 2022.

For the first time since 2016, milk production growth in the major exporting regions (New Zealand, Australia, South America, the US and EU) has been weaker than the prior year for three consecutive quarters. Global milk production has been hindered by recordhigh input costs and weather-related issues, impacting margins. Elevated milk prices have not translated into guaranteed milk production growth and with global herds having contracted or facing barriers to growth, alongside corn and soybean prices at close to record highs, the milk production recovery in Q3 2022 will be a modest rebound.

“Ultimate profitability for NZ farmers in the season ahead will come down to managing costs in an inflationary environment.”

Chinese dairy import dynamics are key to the global dairy demand outlook and central to NZ’s farmgate milk price direction. Strong domestic milk production, coupled with weaker consumer demand (due to covid-related measures) at a time of high inventories, is resulting in lower dairy imports at present. Total imports (measured in liquid milk equivalents, excluding whey)

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

are already 4% lower for the first four months of the 2022 calendar year.

Soaring domestic Chinese milk supply growth in Q1 2022 of 8% year-on-year (YOY) and high carry-over stocks from last year’s strong imports are colliding with weaker demand due to restricted movement. Lockdowns in China have exacerbated and slowed down the oversupply situation, considering still roaring domestic milk production growth and the continued growth of powder imports (+3% YOY) during Q1 2022. We expect this to continue to feed pressure back up the supply chain to farmgate milk prices within China, as well as put pressure on global dairy commodity prices. With the Chinese farmgate milk price dropping, we are seeing imported NZ milk products become less competitive with the locally produced WMP. Across most regions, consumers are feeling the significant impact of inflation in their purchasing power. In the US and the EU, inflation at a 40-year high is a shock to the consumer and impacts lower-income families disproportionately.

In emerging markets, inflation is not new, but the severity of the current rise in prices, especially for commodityimporting countries has been amplified by the effects of the war in Ukraine and a very strong US dollar. Still, high oil prices could support dairy import demand for some oil export countries as we’ve seen in previous commodity cycles. Rabobank anticipates the supply shortfall will be met by demand weakness, helping to keep a lid on bubbling commodity prices, for now.

Fonterra’s 2022-23 opening forecast farmgate milk price range has come in strong at $8.25- $9.75/kg MS. The wide range reflects current market dynamics, with global supply constraints paired with strong market demand supporting the upper end of the range in particular.

Rabobank shares this viewpoint, with our forecast of $9.00/kg/MS set at the midpoint of Fonterra’s range.

Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins says profitability for New Zealand farmers in the season ahead will come down to managing costs.

Covid and geopolitical-related events are creating unique demand situations, but the constrained supply will continue to buffer the full effect of these demand conditions providing a healthy farmgate milk price for NZ dairy farmers.

Ultimate profitability for NZ farmers in the season ahead will come down to managing costs in an inflationary environment. Like other farmers across the globe, NZ farmers are juggling more expensive input cost pressures than in prior seasons. We anticipate key input costs for dairy farming – fuel, fertiliser, feed, and labour – to remain elevated throughout 2022, and likely 2023 too.

The good news is farm profitability looks likely for most dairy farmers, albeit with smaller margins compared to the season prior. It won’t all be plain sailing though, so buckle in for some bumps along the way, but the destination ahead is still looking good for NZ farmers. n

7

ON FARM

Size doesn’t matter A Taranaki farmer’s herd might be small but it’s definitely left its mark.

Farmer Cliff Shearer milks just 26 Jersey cows in a split-calving system on his 14-hectare farm at Normanby Taranaki.

Photos: Ross Nolly 8

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

By Ross Nolly

A small farm with a small herd is doing big things in Taranaki proving that size is no barrier when it comes to farming.

A

Taranaki farmer who may have one of the smallest herds in New Zealand, milking through a 40-yearold walk-through cowshed, doesn’t let it hinder his herd’s production.

Cliff Shearer milks 26 cows on his 14-hectare dairy farm with an 8ha milking platform at Normanby. His farm is one of the very few farms that still utilises a walk-through cowshed.

In 2003-04 his Glenbrook Jersey Stud was the first NZ Jersey herd to produce over 600kg milksolids in a season, and in the 2015-16 season it was the first NZ Jersey herd to produce over 700kg MS.

“I’ve always felt that Jerseys are the most efficient dairy breed and they’re much better now.”

The herd’s achievements don’t stop there though. It has been NZ’s topproducing MS herd 14 times and has had the country’s highest-producing cow five times.

The herd also holds the all-time record litres for a Jersey cow, with Glenbrook Final Cosma producing 12,747 litres of milk and the all-time record litres for a Jersey heifer, with Glenbrook Hans Charlotte producing 9017 litres.

Dairy farming is in his DNA. Both of his parents who bought their 54.5ha farm in 1965, are from dairy farming families who came to Taranaki in the 1880s.

“Dairy farming is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Shearer says.

“I began milking at around 11 or 12 years old and could run the farm by the time I was 14.”

Leaving school he attended Victoria University to study accounting.

“I only lasted 12 months, I hated big city life. There were no cows in Wellington and I missed the farm,” he says.

“My parents wanted me to have a second string to my bow, but I was a born and bred farmer and returned to farming. I worked on another farm for a few months before catching leptospirosis and returned home to recover.”

His parents farmed grade Jerseys with top genetics. They’d used AI since 1959, began herd testing in 1966 and sold many bulls to the NZ Dairy Board.

In May 1979 he established Glenbrook Jersey Stud by purchasing six pedigree heifers and adding them to the herd prior to beginning a 33% sharemilking job for his parents in June.

“I bought a third of their herd over the three years and made up the rest with pedigrees I’d bought and my

Continued page 10

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FARM FACTS • Farm owner: Cliff Shearer • Location: Normanby, South Taranaki • Farm size: 14ha with an 8ha milking platform • Cows: 26 Jersey cows, split calving • Production: 2021-22: 20,100kg MS • Production target: 2022-23: 20,000kg MS

The 26-cow herd has some of the country’s top-producing Jersey cows and average over 680 kilograms of milksolids and produce 20,000kg MS each year.

replacements. I milked 65 cows in my first season,” he says.

He bought a tractor and a share in a haymaking gang before buying the back third of the farm in 1982 when he was 21 years old. This season will be his 44th season farming and the 41st on his own property.

“When I bought the farm I borrowed $20,000 to build an eight-bail walkthrough cowshed. I also leased 8ha from my parents for a number of years,” he says.

“I lived at home for several years before building a car shed to live in for a few years before shifting an ex-factory house onto the farm in 1993.”

His herd numbers rose and fell over the years. Sometimes they went as low as 29 cows, a number he enjoys milking. He initially milked two herds of 30-35 cows as the yard couldn’t accommodate them all at once, so each milking took four hours.

He had to manually give each cow its 2kg of pellets.

“I had to let an entire row in, wait until they were milked and out before filling up the meal tins for the next eight; it took about 16 minutes to milk a row of eight cows,” he says.

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“I had to let an entire row in, wait until they were milked and out before filling up the meal tins for the next eight; it took about 16 minutes to milk a row of eight cows.”

A new in-shed automatic feed system was installed in 2000 and it reduced the milking time and he can now milk 30 cows in 40 minutes.

Shearer has always loved Jersey cows and when he began farming approximately 90% of Taranaki’s dairy herds were Jerseys.

“I’ve always felt that Jerseys are the most efficient dairy breed and they’re much better now,” he says.

“I used to look at big Friesians that were twice the size of the Jerseys and think they’d be nice to milk, but they’d use half of their food to maintain their size.”

The herd averages approximately 150% of milksolids to liveweight. His average cow size is about 440-450kg and they produce around 680kg MS. Twelve herd tests are done throughout the season. The latest showing the cows are producing 680kg MS, but the factory figures have them producing well over 700kg MS. “Basically, I exist for a high herd average. It’s what gets me out of bed each morning and what I was born to do.

I don’t aim for an exceptionally highproducing cow, or a champion show cow.

My ultimate goal is a high herd average,” he says.

“I used to look at the American Jersey Journal and see their cows producing 750kg MS. Two years ago my top cow produced 985kg MS. She was New Zealand’s top cow and I’ve been fortunate to have had five of them.”

His herd produces over 700kg MS per cow and has averaged over 650kg MS for the last 12 seasons. They’ve never produced under 600kg MS during that period. His top season average was 701kg MS. The small herd must produce 20,000kg MS per annum for the farm to remain viable. This season he’s achieving that production from 26 cows on a splitcalving system.

“What I do is scalable. It just comes down to feeding the cows properly.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

Cliff Shearer has one of the smallest herds and sheds in the country, milking his small herd through a 40-year-old eight-bail walk-through. Cliff milking his herd.

It’s not rocket science or difficult. I tell people that I’m a System 10 farm. I have to be a high input system farm because I don’t have the acreage.”

The herd is fed 16kg of blend per day, which works out to be about 4.5 tonne per cow per year, plus grass and hay. The blend consists of 35% soya hull, 33% corn DDG, 15% PKE, 5% molasses, 5% kibbled maize, 5% starch pellet. The mineral additives are magnesium oxide, lime flour, salt, DCP, Monensin and rumen buffer.

He makes 400-600 (conventional) hay bales but likes to have 1700-1800 per year.

He buys some standing hay and buys in more than 1000 bales each year.

“Hay provides the fibre in their diet and makes everything work. An American friend visited many years ago. He was a

grass-based dairy farmer and told me that generally, if your herd has any health concerns you should simply give them more hay. That’s proved true from my experience,” he says.

“Hay makes the grass and feed blend work together. I need to feed 16kg each of the blend for the cows to achieve 150% production. They get 4kg at milking and 8kg in their paddock trough. They’re fed hay for 365 days of the year.”

If he was solely feeding silage and hay, he feels that he’d still have wellconditioned cows but they’d only produce their bodyweight in MS. “I’ve never met a New Zealand animal nutritionist who’s farmed and achieved the same production as I have. I’ve learnt

Continued page 12

11

The Jersey herd which is quiet, well behaved and friendly, comes in for morning milking.

enough to know how my herd works in my system,” he says.

“Jerseys are the most efficient cow and are the easiest to implement this style of system, but a crossbred herd may be similar. I think it’s totally scalable. I’m not so sure about a 600kg Holstein because she’d need to be doing 900kg MS to obtain the same result.”

In 2008 he built the first herd home in Taranaki for his winter milking herd. Half of the roof was blown off in a storm and he hasn’t had the funds to repair it.

He now uses it to house his springers at night, and it’s where 80% of his calves are born. The springers go to the herd home at 3pm and are let out onto the pasture at 8am, unless the weather is poor.

This season, there are nine autumn calving cows, which began calving on June 15, and 28 spring calving cows. He aims for calving to be finished by August 20 so he can achieve a 305-day lactation from each cow.

“My six-week calving period is usually shorter because my cows seem to have a built in shorter gestation. If I have three calves born in a day, it’s a big day,” he says.

All heifer calves from both herds are kept along with two bull calves to run with his heifers.

He ensures every calf gets a feed of gold colostrum for their first feed and is fed as much as possible. He leaves his cows in the colostrum mob for at least 10 milkings to make it easier to collect.

12

Calves are fed 10 litres of milk a day until weaning. He’s been told that Jersey calves can’t drink that amount, but says his do and they thrive on it. They’re fed stored colostrum or vat milk from a calfeteria.

Once they reach four or five weeks old they’re given Moozlee and hay, go into the paddock at six to eight weeks old and are weaned at eight weeks.

Autumn mating begins on June 1 and spring mating begins on September 25.

Both are for six-week periods.

AI is used for the entire herd,

predominantly from his own bulls.

Their semen is collected at Tararua Breeding Centre. His bulls are marketed as Glenbrook Golden Genetics and they provide a welcome secondary income.

He’s sold many straws to Australia and the US. “That’s the most exciting aspect of my farming. I’m in contact with all of the buyers. One Australian farm’s entire herd is mated to my bulls, and they’re now on their second generation. They’re probably doing better than me with the same bulls,” he says.

Cliff loads up the tractor with hay and his feed blend to take out to his herd and young stock.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

Cliff has a gorgeous view as he heads out on the tractor his parents bought in 1985; it has done 6700 hours and is still going strong.

The eight-bail walk-through shed milks 30 cows in 40 minutes. The herd at morning milking happily munches away on the meal while being milked.

“About 95% of the farmers I sell to find me from Facebook. I post photos of my animals and other people’s animals that are bred from my bulls. I now just use Facebook to sell my genetics.”

He only keeps bulls whose daughters should produce over 800kg MS. Instead of concentrating on their BW figures he studies their pedigree over many generations.

“Glenbrook Carpediem is my best bull at the moment. Before him a bull called Glenbrook Camboge was the best bull I’d ever bred,” he says.

When he finds a good bull it’s used over the entire herd. Ten of his 15 heifers calving this year are by Carpediem. He’s now marketing his son, Glenbrook C Never Say Die, who is his next big hope.

He is a staunch believer in line breeding and every cow on the farm goes back to a heifer he bought in 1980.

He’s found that the closer he line breeds, the better his cows become.

He was told that line breeding would be detrimental to his herd’s fertility and production. It took some time for him to become brave enough to try the method because he was going against perceived modern farming wisdom.

“Line breeding is a vastly misunderstood subject. For my herd and situation, it’s proved to be the correct method,” he says.

“I’ve spent my entire life studying every aspect of breeding. I’ve probably got just about every book written about the subject going back 250 years.”

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

He spends hours poring over old farming books and has realised that the best “old-time breeders” developed their herds through inbreeding and line breeding.

“Robert Bakewell is my favourite person from history. He was using line breeding and inbreeding techniques in 1770 and developed the modern farm animal and doubled the size of those animals to feed more people,” he says.

“We’re forever reinventing the wheel.

I’ve learnt that there’s nothing new under the sun. Many of the supposedly new ideas that come out can be found in those old books.”

He doesn’t focus on BW but ensures the dam of the bull he uses has

exceptionally high production figures.

Regardless of the indexes, he feels that there must be some actual high production figures. He never uses a bull from a cow that hasn’t done at least 750kg MS because that’s what he expects from his herd.

“You must breed cows to produce, which has no reference to BW, which was developed as a per-hectare production system for the Waikato. It has very little correlation to an individual cow’s production,” he says.

“Most country’s genetic indexes are more accurate than ours because they’re totally correlated to cow production.

Continued page 14

IF YOU’RE FOCUSED ON FUTURE PERFORMANCE, YOU’RE IN GOOD COMPANY.

13

“I’ve never met a New Zealand animal nutritionist who’s farmed and achieved the same production as I have. I’ve learnt enough to know how my herd works in my system.”

The herd is fed 16kg of blend per day, plus grass and hay. Cliff throws hay out to his herd.

When ours was developed it represented what our farmers were doing at the time. It’s only been in recent times that we’ve had so many System 5 high-input farmers and BW doesn’t work well for them.”

He aims to milk every heifer calf born on the farm, so must move on 50% of his herd each year. Many of them are very high-producing cows. You would think that farmers would be lining up at his door to buy his animals, but their lower BW is a major stumbling block.

“I still think my cows would do well in a lower-input farm, but it’s a numbers game. If I try to sell heifer calves or cows, most buyers want a trailer full. Whereas I might only have two and they’re a few weeks apart. It’s very frustrating,” he says.

There is an old saying that production is “80% feeding and 20% breeding.”

Shearer has a different saying: “You’ve got to breed, for the feed you’re going to use, and you’ve got to feed for the breeding you’ve done.”

He feels that you must breed cows that can produce 800kg MS, but they must be adequately fed to achieve that production “My heifers are bred to be high producers, so therefore I want to milk them to discover the best ones. Cow longevity isn’t as long as I’d like, but it’s enforced by my desire to milk those heifers,” he says.

The herd is not teat sprayed as it is too difficult to implement in a walk-through shed. He doesn’t have any major mastitis issues, but can have a somatic cell count

14

problem due to the system and herd size. The SCC problems occur because he split calves and some cows are milked for extended lactations.

“Cell count is always an issue with 30 cows. You only need one cow with a crook quarter for the count to go from 200,000 to 600,000 before you know there’s a problem,” he says.

“It’s a dilution factor. In a larger herd that may mean a jump from 200,000 to 201,000; not 600,000. Here, it’s often down to 400,000 by the next day and 200,000 the following day and I still haven’t discovered the problem cow.”

The farm effluent system is a quirky

story in itself. The Taranaki Regional Council had been happy with the sump and a pottle irrigator system for the past 40 years. But four years ago Fonterra asked him to install a $50,000 system or he would be shut down.

The TRC tried to find a solution to the problem. The farm is 1.6km from the nearest running water and some days only two cows leave manure at the shed.

“The herd home has a large effluent reservoir beneath the grates. Just two weeks before being shut down a friend suggested I use the reservoir for effluent storage.” Cliff says.

“I rang the TRC and they said it would be fine, but I needed to get it officially measured. They gave me a 41-year consent, twice as long as the usual consent.”

Shearer has often been called a hobby farmer and asked what he does as a ‘real job’. Yet he’s a full-time farmer who has milked twice daily for 365 days a year since March 1, 2010, which amounts to nearly 9000 milkings without a break.

“I’d considered selling the farm before covid struck. I still really enjoy farming,

The farm is divided into 20 0.4ha paddocks that are utilised for 24-hour grazing and a 20-day round. Cliff rolls out a new break fence for the herd.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

but I’m just one accident away from having to give up. My body doesn’t recover like it once did. I’d love to carry on for another 10 years, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t physically do the work.”

Looking at a line of heifers and wondering about their potential is the reason he carries on.

“I contemplated selling this year’s spring heifers. I looked at their ear tags when I drenched them and thought ‘this one’s mother does 900kg MS and is classified Excellent’. I went through the entire line and realised that I couldn’t sell them, I just want to milk them,” he says.

Over the last 12 years he has been using Facebook and feels that it’s given dairy farmers a voice. If a situation arises that he feels needs discussion, he can instantly inform many dairy farmers about it. It’s also a space where virtual life has turned into real friendships.

Facebook has become his conduit to disseminate helpful and useful information.

“By posting in a group such as the NZ Dairy Genetics Network I can reach many of the country’s most informed farmers.

All heifers born are kept and reared as replacements. The calves tuck into their breakfast.

Facebook is my life outside of farming,” he says.

“It’s helped me make many farming friends throughout the country. I’ve met

many of them and we’ve visited each other’s farms. I love visiting farms, taking photos of their cows and posting them on Facebook.” n

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MILK MONITOR

Follow science, not politics

By Gerald Piddock

Each month the milk monitor delves into the dairy industry and gives us the low-down on the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between.

A

nother month has gone by and another new piece of policy has been put in front of farmers to digest.

In this case, it’s the farming industry’s answer to finding an alternative to putting biological emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme, He Waka Eke Noa. Much has been written about the 11 cents per kilogram levy as the starting point for methane – that it’s too low and that it won’t make an actual difference in curbing emissions. It is however, what farmers would be paying if they entered the ETS at a 95% discount.

That price can be adjusted, but any adjustment needs to be based on science not politics.

There’s also been the accusation of self-regulation. But that’s not strictly true.

HWEN will be governed by an oversight board with people appointed to it.

This board will advise ministers and will be appointed on recommendations made by the primary sector and by the Government. That might get tightened to tip the balance in favour of more central government oversight.

There will also be an independent Māori board to ringfence the levies collected by Māori agribusiness.

The framework they have come up with makes sense. Measuring emissions at the farm gate is the fairest way to do it and rewards those who have worked hard over the years at reducing their environmental footprint.

Taxing farmers at the processor level is no better or different than the ETS. Measuring emissions at the farm level also means it can dovetail into farm environment plans (FEPs) along with nitrogen and everything else and avoid duplication.

The good news is that dairy companies already have FEPs that record emissions.

For example, Fonterra has its own programme, Synlait has Lead with Pride and Miraka has been doing this since 2019.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

These companies also get the data independently audited because they use it in the marketplace when meeting with customers to show their environmental credentials.

So, the process is further along than what people think.

The big challenge with all that will be to come up with an IT system that protects farmer privacy and company IP and commercial interests, can integrate between the different systems and provides a level of transparency so the public can track the emissions process.

Fortunately, a lot of that work is underway with a Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund project headed by Trust Alliance NZ that’s looking at solving some of these issues.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not, but judging by the howls of outrage from both the environmental and some in the farming community, maybe they have the balance about right.

The big unknown will be the Government response, keeping in mind that next year is an election year and whether, faced with challenging polls, it may turn the issue into a political football.

It was just a few weeks ago that Associate Minister of Agriculture Meka Whaitiri thanked the sector for keeping the economy afloat over a tough couple of years when the Government released the latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report.

In it, the primary sector was on track to reach a record $52.2 billion for the financial year ending June 30, 2022, with dairy export revenue on track to reach a record high of $21.6b, a 13% increase on the previous year.

This will no doubt play on Cabinet’s minds when it deliberates on HWEN’s fate later this year.

Fortunately, the supply-demand fundamentals in the dairy market look okay despite the recent bumps in the GDT and can help weather these and

He Waka Eke Noa’s emission plan for agriculture is finally out with a suggested starting price for biological emissions at 11 cents a kilogram for methane.

other growing input costs.

Those costs continue to prevent Northern Hemisphere competitors from cranking up production and flooding the market with product, which in turn keeps supply very tight – and keeps dairy prices elevated.

It’s seen Westpac retain its forecast at $9.25/kg milksolids and a bullish ASB lift theirs from $9.20-$10/kg MS for the new season.

Its reasoning, in its latest Rural Economic Note, is pretty simple: “It’s our view on the fundamentals (and more significantly the change in our expectations for the season’s effective exchange rate) that really matter.

“Our forecast is only lightly pencilled in and we are very early on in the season, but the end-of-season farm gate milk price looks set to wind up towards the tippy top of Fonterra’s guidance at the very least.”

That guidance saw the cooperative offer farmers $10.34/kg MS for its fixed price for June, something many would have grabbed knowing it gave them price certainty at a time of global uncertainty. n

17

NEWS

K

Grab your gumboots and go dairy

iwis are being encouraged to join the dairy sector, as onethird of dairy farms seek to fill vacancies ahead of a busy calving season which begins in July.

Through a new GoDairy campaign, DairyNZ is looking to help recruit young Kiwis into dairy farm roles. Most young people enter the dairy sector in a farm assistant role and the campaign connects job seekers to the latest farm assistant vacancies across New Zealand.

DairyNZ strategy and investment leader Nick Robinson says the dairy sector offers job security and good career progression opportunities.

“Many existing skills are transferable to dairy farming and we welcome new people to consider a dairy career. The dairy sector currently has around 4000 vacancies,” Robinson says.

“It has taught me so many practical skills and developed my leadership. I work with fantastic people and every day brings something new – it’s not just milking cows.

I am excited to see where my career takes me next.”

Bay of Plenty farm manager Dayna Rowe started as a farm assistant in 2020 and quickly progressed to now lead a team of four.

“I love the flexibility of life on the farm and working with animals, but mainly I’m motivated by the ability to problem-solve and feel I’ve accomplished lots at the end of every day,” Rowe says.

“It has taught me so many practical skills and developed my leadership. I work with fantastic people and every day brings something new – it’s not just milking cows. I am excited to see where my career takes me next.”

Robinson says farm employers have taken a range of steps to continue lifting the salary package and working conditions for their staff.

“That’s because they want to recruit good people but they also want to retain those who are committed to succeeding in our largest sector,” he says.

The current staff shortage offers plenty of opportunity for young Kiwis to start on a good salary and be promoted into management roles. Farm managers can earn over $100,000. Becoming selfemployed as a farm owner or sharemilker is another option on the career ladder.

Many farms offer reasonably priced on-farm accommodation, which means no commute to work or daily travel costs, helping them save for future goals.

Farms in Otago, Canterbury and the top of the South Island/West Coast face

Bay of Plenty farm manager Dayna Rowe started as a farm assistant in 2020 and quickly progressed to a management role and now leads a team of four.

the highest staff vacancy rates, according to recent DairyNZ data.

Dairy farm teams work closely with animals, help protect the environment, contribute to their local community and are making a difference to the future of New Zealand. n

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ON FARM

Will Green is the sharemilker on a 270ha farm milking 1060 cows for Dairy Holdings at Hinds, Mid Canterbury. Earlier this year he was named the Dairy Industry Share farmer of the Year.

Photos; Tony Benny

All pasture, no supplement A Canterbury farmer is focused on maximising pasture and not supplementing for production.

20

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

By Tony Benny

A young farmer from the UK came to New Zealand to get farming experience and loved it so much he returned here permanently.

W

hen Will Green first arrived in NZ as a student looking for farm experience, he got just that and was so impressed by the opportunities here that he came back permanently a few years later.

Green is the sharemilker on a 270ha farm milking 1060 cows for Dairy Holdings at Hinds, Mid Canterbury. Since he took up farming in NZ, he has quickly climbed the career ladder and this year was named Share Farmer of the Year at the Dairy Industry Awards.

“I think I got a real good taste for farming here and really just enjoyed myself,” Green says.

“I went back to university, finished my degree and was quite unsettled from what I’d seen, with guys getting into farm ownership through sharemilking and shearing.”

His win, which he credits to the support of partner Sally Eames and the wider farm team, was part of creating DIA history with all three major categories being won by Canterbury/ Otago entrants for the first time.

He met Eames, the daughter of Manawatū sheep and beef farmers soon after emigrating.

“I met Sally two years ago at a touch rugby tournament just after I moved here and we got on pretty well, pretty quick. We’re quite different people but we quickly identified we both wanted to be on a farm and build a family home.

It’s easy because our end goals are so similar,” he says.

“We share the common goal of herd and farm ownership so it’s easy for us to work together towards that,” adding that she has a real soft spot for Jerseys.

“There’ll be lots of changes coming in our farming futures but we’re optimistic and as long as we are educated and informed, we can make the best decisions for the future of farming. At the end of the day we all need to eat, and what better way to live than by producing top-quality food.”

A trained veterinary technologist, she works off-farm at MedSource in

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

Ashburton but worked closely with Green on their dairy awards presentation.

“Sally put in as much work, if not more than me, keeping me in line and doing all sorts of aesthetically pleasing things for the hour and 45-minute presentation when the judges were here,” he says.

“We were quite aware that we were the very last ones being judged so they’d be pretty tired. So we needed to have a bit of glitter around the edges to make it stand out.

“We had eight stations around the farm and back at the house and my mum and sister made some cow bunting and they sent that here from the UK and then we just got a heap of light carpet, balloons and bits and bobs and just had those little things at the presentations.”

For Green, the Dairy Industry Awards was a chance to build networks and benchmark himself against the other competitors.

“I think I’m always trying to add value

FARM FACTS • Farm owners: Dairy Holdings Ltd • Sharemilker: Will Green • Location: Hinds, Mid Canterbury • Farm size: 270ha • Herd size: 1060 crossbred cows • Production: 2021-22: 334,000kg MS • Production target: 202223: 360,000kg MS

Continued page 22

History was created at the Dairy Industry Awards this year, with all three major categories being won by Canterbury/Otago entrants for the first time. Will Green and his partner Sally Eames at the awards dinner.

21

“We were quite aware that we were the very last ones being judged so they’d be pretty tired. So we needed to have a bit of glitter around the edges to make it stand out.”

Last season, the 1060 cow herd produced 334,000 kilograms of milksolids and the target for this season is 360,000kg MS.

to ourselves and you never know what the next opportunity or step might be so it’s just putting ourselves out there,” he says.

“One thing I found from doing the manager’s award in 2018 is it opened a lot of doors for me and certainly got the conversation started with DHL for this opportunity.

“In terms of being an employer it probably makes us look a bit more attractive and builds a profile that way, as well as us maybe looking at that next opportunity whether it be an equity partnership or farm ownership.”

Not being born in NZ, he doesn’t have the family contacts here that he has at home and the dairy awards were a way to get noticed.

“Back home there might be a family connection, someone your dad might have gone to college with or something to open a door, but here I’ve got to do all that myself and this has certainly fasttracked it,” he says.

“It’s also a good way to get Sally more involved with the business and good for our guys on the farm too – they all spoke during the presentations. And it’s good for us to benchmark.

Share Farmer head judge Guy Michaels, from DairyNZ, says Green impressed the judges with his contagious energy, accuracy and his constant business reviewing looking for opportunities to learn.

“He’s a great example of somebody who has come to New Zealand and recognises the opportunities the New

22

Zealand dairy industry offers and has embraced the system, which is completely opposite to what he was used to back home,” Michaels said.

He was brought up on a dairy farm near the England-Wales border. His family has farmed the same land for three generations but always as tenants and although his parents have 40ha of their own, the opportunities for farm ownership there are extremely limited.

He studied agriculture at Harper Adams University and part of the fouryear course requirement was to do 12-month industry placement. He took a job on a Taranaki sheep and beef farm

where he was exposed to low-input, pasture-based farming, which is quite different to what he was used to at home.

“I did really enjoy it, just the mindset about working and organising the week and bumps in the road, shearing, dog work and everything. And it definitely advanced my stockmanship skills.”

But dairy farming in the UK is different there too, focused on liquid milk for the enormous local market, and cows are housed for six months of the year to facilitate year-round production rather than following the seasons as happens on most NZ dairy farms.

“The main difference with the seasons is you can have your mind on calving, or have your mind on mating or on winter, so it’s nice and easy, focused on that one thing. That suits the way my mind works and I got hooked on that,” he says.

After he finished his degree, Green tried farming at home but it wasn’t long before the opportunities on the other side of the world tempted him and he cold-called well-known South Canterbury farmers Leonie and Kieran Guiney and asked for a job.

He knew they’d achieved farm

Dairy Holdings Ltd owns 60 farms across the South Island including one dry stock farm in Otago.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

ownership via sharemilking and that they had a pasture-based system and that was what he wanted to do too, so when they offered him a dairy assistant’s job he was soon back on a plane to NZ. He had that job for six months and then progressed to management with the Guineys, a job he stayed in for three more years.

“Then I did two years of lower order sharemilking for them and that was really good, a good opportunity for me to get a start,” he says.

“It happened a lot quicker than I thought it would. I wrote down my goals when I first came here and one of them was to own my own cows by the time I was 30.”

He got his opportunity to achieve that goal when he was offered a sharemilking job with Dairy Holdings (DHL), largescale South Island corporate farmers who have 60 farms. He bought 400 cows and added them to 660 DHL cows to create a 1060-strong herd on the 270ha Hinds, Mid Canterbury, farm called Propad.

“The first cow calved on July 20 and I turned 31 on August 19, so I ticked that goal off by 30 – just,” he says.

Part of the attraction of the DHL job was the opportunity the company gives to its contract milkers and sharemilkers to rear and own excess calves for a charge of $100 each, basically the cost of milk to get them to 100kg. When the calves leave the dairy farm for a grazing block, they take ownership of them and pay the cost of grazing them on Dairy Holdings pasture.

Green took on about 50 calves a year for three years, as well as buying mixed aged cows from exiting sharemilkers and now has a 47% sharemilking contract with DHL. “It’s a really good opportunity and you can grow at your own pace. I’ve taken the

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Will Green and Sally Eames, the daughter of Manawatū sheep and beef farmers, met at a rugby tournament and found they share common goals.

opportunities quite aggressively, so that’s been good. Obviously milk price has been favourable to keep doing that and the bank has been very good and been very flexible to changes,” he says.

Now he is nearing another of his goals and expects to fully own the herd in 12 months.

“I’ve bought 90% of the herd as of June 1 and in another 12 months’ time I’ll get

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that last 10% and then in three years I‘d like to have that herd debt-free or be in an equity equivalent to do something on the side. Then five-10 years it’s farm ownership,” he says.

All but about 2ha of the farm is irrigated by two centre pivots with K-line in the corners. The farm has a 54-bail

Continued page 24

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Will Green credits his win to the support of his partner Sally Eames and the wider farm team who all put in a lot of work to help him. Will catches up with some of the team.

rotary shed, with no high-tech aids, and a 500-cow capacity yard. Target production is 360,000kg MS. “We’ve been a bit below that this year, but I think that’s achievable without putting any purchased supplement in,” he says.

About 10 % of the farm was regrassed this year.

“We’ll keep pushing on that and really maximise our ability to grow grass and that will be our direct driver of improving production and profitability.”

He shares DHL’s farming philosophy of grass-based production with minimal supplements, using them only if needed to top up any feed shortages and not as a way to increase production.

“That was a big driver for me working for the Guineys and Dairy Holdings, they have the same philosophy and I have no desire to start buying supplements and chasing production. It’s all about maximising that pasture, growing and harvesting the nutrients,” he says.

“I’ve come to New Zealand wanting to do that, I was very clear I wanted to do it from all pasture, no supplement – a bit of silage maybe here and there. That’s my

Will is originally from the UK and came to New Zealand to get experience as part of his agricultural studies. Will checks on the herd.

aim as I’ve learned more, I’ve seen how incredibly prolific grass is and how a lot of people have grown from doing it.

“It always made sense in my head that it would be more profitable. The Guineys were really good mentors and role models and I learnt more about financial discipline at Dairy Holdings and any free cash we have we put into buying cows and servicing debt and we’re not

having to buy and maintain expensive machinery. Everything’s going into appreciating assets.”

That means a very close focus on pasture growth in summer and spring, at the same time as keeping N use in check to comply with tighter environmental regulations coming in.

“We’re focusing on maximising our pasture growth and having a higher

The herd is wintered off-farm on a Dairy Holdings block, where they’re fed kale and fodder beet.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

stocking rate in the spring and the summer, when nitrogen uptake is greatest from the plants,” he says.

“Once we get into autumn we use less or no nitrogen and no supplementary feed and get rid of all the empties because that’s when your plants start to take up less N. We’re drying-off cows earlier just to help reduce that risk there.

“That model works well for us because we have to reduce N losses by 35% by 2025 and we’re well on the way over the last two years to achieving that.

“We’ll do less production but we’re still growing a lot of grass and that’s my key KPI, maximising pasture harvest and utilisation. That’s one of our key drivers of profit.”

Like for other farmers, growing grass this past season in Canterbury has been easy, thanks to plentiful rain but the pasture has been of lower quality than usual because of lack of sunshine, but he says there has been an upside to that.

“Sunshine hours in October-November knocked down milk production a little bit so it’s been a little bit of a slow season, but it’s been a kind season because we haven’t had to irrigate and haven’t done much after Christmas at all,” he says.

The herd is wintered off-farm on a DHL

Continued page 26

25

Will and Sally share a common goal of farm ownership and are enjoying being a part of Dairy Holdings Group as there are options and opportunities for everyone.

“I think I’m always trying to add value to ourselves and you never know what the next opportunity or step might be so it’s just putting ourselves out there.” block, where they’re fed kale and fodder beet. Young stock are wintered on-farm.

Calving starts on July 28 and they keep 25% replacements. Once replacements have been selected, Green keeps surplus heifers to rear for himself and grow his equity. The remainder are bobbied.

“We don’t do anything special. We stick to our rotation planner and our spring feed budget and that’s it,” he says.

A staff member will be designated to feed the calves and Sally helps out in the evenings and weekends.

Mating starts on October 22, with LIC high fertility, high BW crossbred and Jersey semen, using 1.2 straws per cow.

Once all the straws are used over about five and a half weeks, sweeper bulls, reared on other DHL farms, take over to complete the 10-week mating period.

No special pre-mating interventions are used, with the focus being on body condition scores and a rising plane of nutrition, targeting light and poor BCS animals to get them up to target weights.

“It’s about breeding better genetics,” he says.

“If you get in there and arse about

26

with CIDRs and whatnot, you’re going to be breeding from animals that aren’t naturally wanting to get in-calf, so we just breed from the fertile ones.”

The six-week in-calf rate is 78%, matching the dairy industry target, but about 7% above the Canterbury average.

“That’s something we’re still trying to improve on, to get those extra days of milking in the spring,” he says.

And the extra days of milking means more income. The dairy award judges noted that finance was one of Green’s strengths and that of his business.

“He has an excellent knowledge of the financial drivers in his business and things that have a direct impact on his financial performance,” judge and senior manager ANZ Michele Cranefield says.

That’s always been part of his makeup, he says.

“I love playing with numbers and I’m always doing Excel spreadsheets and doing the math on opportunities. At the moment I’m always doing quick maths on how far away I am from buying a farm. Sally has more words and colours, but I think I communicate better with numbers.”

Another thing the judges would have noticed is the colourful sign Green’s had made for the side of the cowshed, which lists he and Sally’s business philosophy.

“We’ve got all our visions and our values there. They’ve always been written down and I’ve done that since I did Biz Start with DairyNZ five years ago and we’ve developed them as we do our goals every year,” he says.

“They say if you write something down it helps keep yourself accountable and then sticking it one a big poster on the side of the shed means everyone else can see what your goals are and they can hold us accountable as well.

“If they turn up and we’ve got brand new utes and all the toys, they’ll be able to say, ‘That’s probably a bit of a crock of shit, really’, and we’re not putting out money towards our goal of farm ownership. It helps us keep our eyes on the prize.”

But though he appreciates the importance of getting the money side of the business right, Green says for him there’s more to dairy farming than that.

“I love working outside, working with the seasons, that’s the beauty of being in New Zealand. If there was no money involved at all, I’d still be working on the pasture thing and working with livestock and working with a great group of people,” he says.

“Money’s not a driver for any of those decisions. I understand the importance

The side of the shed has a sign which lists Will and Sally’s values and visions.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

of it because we’ve got some very clear goals we want to achieve but I always have to make sure I enjoy the day job and the guys on the farm enjoy the day job, otherwise what’s the point?

“But we’re still extremely hungry and focused on making as much profit as possible but if you’re not enjoying it, you’ll have to change something.

To help make sure the farm team enjoy life Green has formed a five-aside football team to compete in nearby Ashburton on Monday nights.

“We do get a few South American ringins who are friends of the guys working with us so they add some quality to the squad,” he says.

Like most Canterbury dairy farms, the staff are multinational with Sally the only Kiwi, and Will (English), joined by a Uruguayan, an Argentinian and an Irishman. That mix will likely change next season and Green has potential applicants from France, Ireland and Wales.

“The last two seasons have been tough with the borders being closed and that’s been a challenge for pretty well everyone being at least half a staff unit short the

Sally was already hands-on with the herd and farm, but getting involved in the Dairy Industry Awards and helping Will with his entry gave her a good insight into the business.

last two years. So I think a lot of people are looking forward to just getting some keen young people on the ground to just take the pressure off,” he says.

Though he aspires to having a farm of his own, he likes being part of Dairy Holdings’ business.

“We certainly enjoy ourselves and see the opportunities. There are a lot of good people with clear goals,” he says.

“I didn’t really think I’d be able to make all our dreams come true but whatever you want to achieve, I think dairy farming has options for everybody.” n

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DAIRY CHAMPION

Life on the milk run

By Sonita Chandar

A Fonterra Waitoa tanker driver has been on the job for 55 years, but has no plans to retire anytime soon as he enjoys his work too much.

T

here is a plaque on one of the walls of the Fonterra Waitoa transport smoko room depicting the two types of tankers that have been used by the cooperative over the years. But there is just one man that has boasting rights and has driven both types.

Bruce Cryer has been a tanker driver at the Waitoa Anchor site, as it was called back then, since September 20, 1967 and despite being on the job for 10-11 hours each day, loves it. He is one of the longest-serving drivers at the co-op but reckons there are a few guys older than him at other sites.“I was lucky, I found something I liked doing and could do every day,” Cryer says.

“I sometimes get asked when I am planning to retire but at this stage, I have no plans to hang up my keys. And management is more than happy for me to keep going.

“It can be long hours but it doesn’t really feel like it. It’s really neat being in the tanker and watching the scenery go past and you see things you wouldn’t see from a car – it makes it interesting.”

He has seen a lot of changes over the years, including the tanker types. When he first started at Waitoa, he found himself behind the wheel of an S Model Bedford capable of carrying 7000 litres.

“It was a six-cylinder, 129hp 5-speed diesel that struggled to get into top gear,” he says.

“Depending on the size of the farm sheds, we could only pick up a couple of farms and often had to be aware of and work out if we had enough weight in the tanker to get up a hill but we don’t have that worry now.”

28

Fonterra tanker driver Bruce Cryer joined Waitoa Anchor, now Fonterra, on September 20, 1967 and is still trucking along.

Now, the tankers are 540hp, automatic and can carry 28,000 litres. All Fonterra tankers across New Zealand are monitored and controlled from a central location in Hamilton.

The size of the tankers now means he may get to 3-4 farms before having to return to base.

“It depends on the size of the farm and time of year as to the volumes.

Sometimes we would have to leave some milk in the vat and go back and pick up the rest or talk to other drivers and organise pick-up,” he explains.

“Now with everything computerised the control centre can see the state of

play at a glance and organise pick-up.”

The tankers are fitted with GPS, reducing the chance of getting lost in the countryside while on a new or unfamiliar run.

“The whole truck is computerised and we can’t get lost now. We just follow the blue line on the screen on the dash,” he says.

“If we get delayed, say because of roadworks or traffic, we can put in a reason why and there are no issues.

“One year, I left Hautapu headed towards Tirau and was trucking along until I struck a long line of cars. I had never seen anything like it in the country

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

before. It was the Christmas holidays and people were just moving around but it was incredibly slow going. Nowadays we strike that kind of traffic a lot more often.”

He describes the technology on board as “amazing”.

“It works really well and the control centre has refined the system so that no one is doing excessive hours. I think it is really neat that every supplier gets their milk collected. No one gets left behind or forgotten,” he says.

He does not mind the fact that Big Brother in the control centre is watching his tanker’s every move.

“It doesn’t bother me and in fact it actually benefits everyone, but sometimes I do feel guilty if I talk with the farmer a bit too long.

“In fact, in the control centre, they can see at a glance where we are and if there are issues at one factory, they can divert us straight away to another.”

It is quite different from the good old days when he would turn up to a farm and have a good yarn and catch up with the farmer.

Continued page 30

Bruce has seen a lot of changes over the years, including the tanker types. When he first started at Waitoa, he found himself behind the wheel of an S Model Bedford but now drives a fully computerised 540hp automatic tanker.

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taken lieved to have been This old photo is be Anchor. the team at Waitoa around 1968 showing m the left. front row fourth fro Bruce Cryer in the

“I would arrive on-farm at 7.30-8am and sometimes the farmer would still be milking, so I would wait until they finished,” he recalls.

“I would have a really good chat with them while they finished up so I got to know a lot of them quite well.”

It is something he actually misses now as farms have got bigger and farmers are busier and are often not at the shed when he pulls up.

“Farmers are nice people and some of them are real hard cases. It is neat to chat with them while I am pumping the milk as you learn stuff but mostly, they are not at the shed now,” he says.

Cryer would often spend two weeks on the same run before switching but that has also changed. Now, his run can change with every shift.

“I work four days on doing two days of day shifts and two days of night shifts, then have four days off. But some of the other drivers here do three day shifts, three days of night shift then three days off. I guess it just works well and suits them or perhaps I am just a special case,” he says.

“I can go all night and see nobody but when I pull up in the mornings, if the farmer is around I always pop my head into the shed and say hello.

“We do not do the same run each shift either and can end up going anywhere really. I can pick up milk from farms and drop the load off at Tirau or pick up from farms at Te Puke and take it down to Edgecumbe and bring a load of

30

something back to Waitoa.”

In the shoulders of the season he has been sent to Northland, Bay of Plenty and King Country and occasionally, met up with other tanker drivers from Pahiatua and Longburn and swapped trucks.

He estimates in any one shift, he would easily travel 400 kilometres locally and sometimes for example, if he gets diverted to another site or does a special pick-up from another area such as the one he did recently to Whangarei, the mileage can be a lot higher.

“I ended up going into the back hills of Whangarei and only picked up from two farms, one was 2000 litres and the rest of the tanker load came from the other farm,” he says.

“They were winter milk suppliers and I brought the load back to Waitoa.”

During the winter months he would often change hats and did a couple of seasons in the workshop where they would strip the truck down, check and clean everything such as the valves, vents, milk pumps and comms gear then fit it onto the new trucks.

“It was interesting learning that and then other odd jobs would pop up in the off-season so we kept busy,” he says.

Driving has been his passion since he was a youngster. He grew up on a dairy farm on the edge of Hauraki Plains and attended Kaihere Primary School and Hauraki Plains College in Ngatea.

He was a typical country lad that enjoyed doing odd jobs on the farm and

catching eels in the creek.

He learnt, as most young country kids did, to drive the tractor at around the age of 10.

“Dad used to have to put blocks on the pedals so I could reach. I really enjoyed it and helped out with haymaking and that sort of thing.”

He says he wasn’t that great at school work so left and milked cows for a year.

He then went to work for a contractor and drove bulldozers and diggers.

When he left school his reading and writing skills were not great, but he did get up to speed with his literacy skills through Fonterra when management decided that everyone needed to be at School Certificate standard. ”We had a teacher come in and made sure we were at that standard. I took that opportunity to get me going and I am really grateful for that opportunity,” he says.

Joining Waitoa Anchor in 1967, he spent the first week riding shotgun with other tanker drivers and learning what to do at the farm when picking up milk and what to do at the site when he came back with a load.

“Then they chucked us in a cab and sent us out,” he says.

“In those days, all the farms were within a 50km radius so it was a relatively small area. I never got lost as I had a pretty good sense of direction nor did I ever have any doubts about the job.”

Pulling up at a farm he had to collect a sample bottle that had its own unique number on it and sometimes things would get a bit hectic in the mornings looking for bottles but he soon learnt and put a good system into place.

Returning to the site to offload, he would pull into the tanker bay, take the samples to the blue room where the tester would check them then he would go and pump the milk into the tanks.

“At Waitoa, we used to make milk powder, baby food and had the canning plant there. In the early days we had the butter factory too but now, we make UHT,” he says.

He is married to Marlene and between them they have four children and seven grandchildren. His son Steven works at the Waitoa plant as a lead driver and is his boss at times.

“My wife used to sometimes ask me when am I going to retire but she has given up asking now,” he says.

“I am 73 years old so never say never.

I might just wake up one morning and decide that’s it but I do enjoy working and besides, what would I do?”

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

“It can be long hours but it doesn’t really feel like it. It’s really neat being in the tanker and watching the scenery go past and you see things you wouldn’t see from a car – it makes it interesting.”

Fonterra Waitoa site makes history – again More than 100 years ago, Fonterra’s Waitoa site had New Zealand’s largest fleet of electric milk trucks so it is only fitting that the site is the first in the country to add an electric tanker to its fleet.

The tanker was due to arrive in May but has been delayed. The cab and chassis were made by XCMG – a Chinese construction machinery group. It operates at 46T GVM (gross vehicle mass) with the trailer and has a range of about 140km on a full charge, which takes about three hours, but a spare battery enables the tanker to be fully operational at all times.

The electric tanker is the same size as on the regular tankers with the capacity to carry 28,000 litres.

However, because the ‘truck’ part of

In his younger years, he did a lot of scuba diving with the Piako Dive Club, rode motorbikes with a group in Morrinsville, played rugby and basketball but retired from all of that.

He is the only one left from his original crew back from the early days as everyone else has either retired or passed away.

“We had a reunion at Waitoa recently and it was great to catch up with a lot of people I had worked with.

“There are still a few of the older guys around but none are still working with me – it’s just me still trucking along and loving it,” he says. n

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the tanker is a bit heavier with the battery it will carry around 2300 litres of milk less.

At the time of arrival, Fonterra chief operating officer Fraser Whineray said improving emissions across the entire supply chain is part of Fonterra’s overall commitment to sustainability.

“The global technology investment in sustainable land, air and sea transport is phenomenal. Our teams are constantly screening the possibilities to see what could work across our supply chain,” Whineray says.

The e-tanker is part of Fonterra’s Electric Vehicle strategy that will see a third of the Co-op’s light vehicle fleet converted to EV’s by the end of 2023, while also focusing on transitioning medium and heavy vehicles.

INDUSTRY GOOD

Preventing sprains and strains Callum Eastwood DairyNZ senior scientist

W

ith calving approaching, many farmers will be focused on getting ready for the busiest time of year. It’s a time when you need all hands on deck and everyone in good health.

However, calving is also the season when your team is most prone to sprain and strain injuries, as one-quarter of dairy farm injuries are associated with working with calves.

At DairyNZ, we’ve partnered with ACC through their Workplace Injury Prevention programme to understand causes of sprain and strains on dairy farms and how to reduce them.

We surveyed 370 farmers and employees on farms where injuries occurred, and those where they hadn’t.

Farmers told us one-third of injuries occurred in the paddock. Back injuries from lifting calves or buckets of milk, ankle damage from uneven ground and two-wheel motorbike injuries were commonly reported. The milking shed was another high injury area from slippery surfaces or tripping on hoses.

Sprain and strain injuries can have a major impact on farms. Where people were injured, they took 12 days off work on average and around 27 days to fully recover.

Many farmers surveyed saw sprains and strains as preventable and were already taking action to help reduce injuries.

Taking time to identify risks can reduce the chances of a strained back, twisted ankle or stiff shoulder affecting staff this spring, when you need them most.

Our DairyNZ team are now using the survey results to work with farmers,

with DairyNZ 32

workplace design experts and engineers to develop easy solutions farmers can use to reduce workplace injuries. n

MORE:

For more information on keeping your team safe over calving, visit www.dairynz. co.nz/calving-success

“Many farmers surveyed saw sprains and strains as preventable and were already taking action to help reduce injuries.”

Tips from farmers on how to avoid injury Some of the ideas shared by farmers who had avoided injuries on their farm over calving included: • having two staff pick up calves together • using a specialised trailer to transport calves • piping milk to calves instead of using buckets • tucking hoses away after use in the milking shed • investing in the right footwear.

Farmers also suggested holding quick weekly team meetings to identify risk areas on-farm. For example, any holes or dips on-farm that could be a hazard for staff working at night during calving. Or how to make calf pick-up easier and avoid heavy lifting.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

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WOMEN IN AGRIBUSINESS

Finding her golden ticket

By Cheyenne Nicholson

The ‘Wondercrump’ world of a classic children’s book by author Roald Dahl has inspired generations of children and led one British-born woman into food science.

L

ike many young kids, scientist Anna Benny had her favourite books and movies, but none left their mark quite like Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of the inspirations behind her career in food science. Fast-forward to now, and she’s putting those skills to use in Kiwi food systems and learning the ropes of dairy farming in New Zealand.

“I loved that factory and everything he invented; the machines making the products and all that innovation and out of the box thinking,” Benny says.

“I’ve always been fascinated by how things are made and the logistics behind things. In later years things like plane food and space food and the logistics of putting that together and cooking it in the air or space became equally as fascinating.”

Originally from the UK, upon completing a food science degree, she wasted no time getting involved in the food industry. From spending time working in factories developing pork pies, to graduate schemes with the popular supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, she laid a solid foundation for her career that would eventually see her settle in a small rural town in NZ and become involved in food behind and after the farm gate.

Her graduate scheme placement saw her travelling around the world working for different suppliers of the supermarket chain, ensuring food quality and safety, and spending time in head offices in London.

“Over that time, I developed my technical knowledge and the customer side of the house. I got to see how all the different parts of the business worked together, which was great for me as someone who likes to understand how things work,” she said.

One stint during this placement was spent in NZ, working at Alliance Group.

She also met her now-husband Pete during this time. The two enjoyed some time together during her placement but

34

Anna Benny, with her 10-month-old son Henry, wears various hats, including those of a dairy farmer, food scientist, and a surf lifeguard at Kaka Point.

parted ways when she returned to the UK. Four years later, she made a decision on a whim that shocked her friends and family.

“I decided to move to New Zealand. I fell in love with the place when I worked here during my graduate scheme, and with Brexit happening in the UK, I figured NZ was the best place to be.

I knew the career opportunities here would be great, so I just did it,” she said.

She called up her old boss at Alliance and asked about jobs, and as fate or luck would have it, he had the perfect opportunity on offer, a golden ticket all of her own.

“I loved my life and my job in London, and if not for Brexit, I probably would have stayed. I think part of me was ready to give up that life of the hustle and bustle in a big city and settle into something quieter. My family knew I loved New Zealand, but the sudden decision wasn’t like me at all,” she said.

While you’d be forgiven for thinking that Pete was another drawcard for her to come back to NZ, you’d be wrong. She jokes that she didn’t even know if he was single when she decided to move back.

She just knew it was the right decision for her.

Upon returning, she joined Alliance

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

once again as a food technologist. Her role primarily focused on supporting the development of Te Mana Lamb (now called Lumina), a Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) project to bring exceptional quality lamb direct to highend consumers.

“It was really focused on developing that high-value, direct to consumer products and away from a commodity focus. I worked across the whole lamb supply chain from farmer engagement, tracking of animals and testing of genetic traits, through to quality control and inventory management in the processing plant,” she says.

During her first months back in NZ, she got in touch with Pete, and within nine months of being back on Kiwi soil, she had moved onto Pete’s family farm. While her farming knowledge and exposure were limited, she says she confidently knew a cow’s front end from the back end and has taken to farming life exceptionally well.

“What I like about farming is that there’s a rhythm to it. The farming calendar is such that the same things happen at the same times of the year,

Pete holding Henry and Anna Benny milk 930 cows on the 187ha Benny family farm at Clydevale, Otago.

which speaks to my brain’s logistical side.

It took me a while to get my head around it all,” she says.

“Farming here is so different to the UK. There they calve all year round, and

a lot of it is done indoors and on a much smaller scale. Here the farming system is so unique.”

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“I worked across the whole lamb supply chain from farmer engagement, tracking of animals and testing of genetic traits, through to quality control and inventory management in the processing plant.”

Anna Benny was inspired by the classic children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl to become a food scientist. She now works as a technical account manager for chemical manufacturer IXOM.

Pete’s family farm in the beautiful Clydevale area in Otago has been in the family for more than a century, milking 930 cows off 187ha. The farm was converted from sheep and beef to dairy in 2007 and is operated by four full-time staff, milking twice a day.

Not long after making the move to the farm, she landed a new job for chemical manufacturer IXOM as a technical account manager specialising in working with food and dairy processors in the lower South Island. The job allows her to work from home, which has been invaluable since the arrival of their son Henry, who is 10-months old.

“My job is a mixture of helping with any technical issues the sites are having, doing chemical training and developing training programmes. It can be really varied, which I love and is flexible,” she says.

Working in the food science space isn’t without its challenges. Back in the UK, opportunities were endless with a number of opportunities in product development. In NZ, much of our product development is done in Australia, making roles not as plentiful and most requiring being on-site. Living on a secluded farm in Clydevale makes her opportunities even more limited.

“As time has gone on, I’ve become more interested in the wider policy and primary industry, which opens up some more doors, but it’s all about balance,” she says.

36

“The lifestyle I live here on the farm isn’t something I’d swap for anything, and I’ve been fortunate to find a job that I enjoy and find other ways to be involved in the industry.”

Currently, she works three days a week in and around Henry’s schedule while they wait for a spot to open up at their nearest daycare, which at the moment is July 2023. While it can often be a juggle tending to the needs of Henry, her work and Pete’s work, she is a ‘take it one day a time’ person.

“I won’t lie. Some days it’s hard. I’m lucky to have a very supportive employer, but it feels chaotic when Pete’s out on

the farm and I have something urgent to do, and Henry needs something. I try to remind myself that these years will go by fast and one day I’ll miss them,” she says.

One of the main difficulties she’s encountered has been finding her place in the rural Otago community. Because she predominantly works off-farm, she says it was a struggle to connect with fellow rural women purely due to different working schedules.

“It’s not like in the city where it’s fairly easy to meet people and make friends. It takes a bit of time in rural communities, and you really have to take advantage of the various groups and events around,” she says.

When Anna first moved onto the farm, she took part in the Agri Women’s Development Trust programme in an effort to learn more about NZ farming businesses and start making those vital connections and networks needed when you live and work rurally. Her next step after that was the Kellogg’s Rural Leadership course, which served two purposes, getting more embedded in the rural community and the ability to

As part of the Sainsbury graduate scheme, Anna spent time travelling around the world working with their suppliers. Anna in Senegal where she worked on a farm growing chillies, kumara, and sweetcorn and teaching local kids to grow food.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

SETTING THE BENCHMARK

Originally from the UK, Anna Benny met her Kiwi husband Pete while in New Zealand for her graduate scheme placement but returned to the UK for four years before moving here.

explore a topic that she’s particularly interested in: the risk of alternative proteins upsetting the dairy industry.

“Kellogg’s was great on so many levels.

I ended up starting in one cohort and finishing in another as I had to take a pause when I had Henry, so I got to meet and get to know two different groups of people. You gained critical thinking and analysis skills and got to be around a bunch of people who are all driven and interesting people,” she says.

Her interest in the topic came from her learning curve of the NZ dairy industry and realising just how exposed NZ is both because of the importance of dairy exports to our economy and the types of products we make.

“New Zealand dairy is a quarter of all exports exports, and the powders and things that we make, those are the ingredients and products that are the easiest for an alternative to come in and replace, and it’s starting to happen already,” she says.

It’s a big topic of conversation and a controversial one, but she says it’s one that the industry needs to start talking more about and start getting ahead of the curve.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

“The technology for these alternative proteins is developing much quicker than people thought. When we look at where our milk goes, most of it isn’t milk that goes in your cup of tea or cereal. We make milk powder that goes into processed foods like biscuits and chocolate,” she says.

“The difficulty here is that nutrition doesn’t really play into people’s purchasing decisions of these products, consumers don’t value that the milk powder in their processed food, like their chocolate bars, is made with New Zealand milk powder, so any competitive story associated with New Zealand production methods is lost.”

“I want to make some noise about this and help educate people, especially farmers, that this is something we need to know. We can’t bury our heads in the sand.

“I believe that the industry has the strength to endure the disruption that’s coming from alternative proteins but to do so successfully requires a shift in mindset and strategy from multiple angles, which will be challenging on many fronts.” n

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RESEARCH

Reductions come at a cost

By Hugh Stringleman

The results are in from the first year of a four-year study on the Northland Agricultural Research Farm.

T

he cost of reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions on the Northland Agricultural Research Farm (NARF) in the 2022 season was 40% of operating profit compared with typical dairy farming in the Kaipara district.

The results of the first season of the four-year Future Farming Systems trial at Dargaville were released at the annual Northland Dairy Development Trust (NDDT) field day.

NARF’s farm and cows have been split into three equalised farmlets, with separate vats, to compare a typical Northland system with one that has 74% of land in tall fescue/cocksfoot-based pastures, and with a third designed to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets (see panel).

Financial analysis of the first season, using a $9.30/kg milk price, showed the “Current” farm was the most profitable with $5040/ha operating profit, followed closely by the Alternative Pastures farm with $4876/ha.

The Low Emissions farm was significantly behind the other two with $3021/ha.

Milk production was the biggest determinant: 1284kg/ha MS on the Current farm, 1213kg on the Alternative Pastures farm and only 794kg on the Low Emissions farm.

The Low Emissions farm had a 33% reduction in methane emissions and 47% reduction in nitrous oxide emissions compared with the Current farm.

“Milk price would have to be as low as $5 before the Low Emissions farm would show a similar profit (or loss) to the Current farm,” NDDT science manager and project supervisor Chris Boom says.

“The pricing mechanism to encourage farmers to reduce emissions has yet to be confirmed, however, it is unlikely the emissions pricing will be near enough to compensate for the significant loss in profit shown in this study.”

Three further years of this study will allow testing of these regimes over

38

Science leader Chris Boom, left with DairyNZ extension partner Hamish Matthews and NARF farm manager Kelvin Horton.

“The pricing mechanism to encourage farmers to reduce emissions has yet to be confirmed, however, it is unlikely the emissions pricing will be near enough to compensate for the significant loss in profit shown in this study.”

Chris Boom different climatic conditions and display any compounding of treatment effects over time.

Pasture growth last season across the

three farms was considerably below the historical average due to dry conditions in summer and autumn (13t/ha/year dry matter on the Current farm compared with 15.5t historically).

The fescue/cocksfoot pastures did have higher growth rates during late winter/early spring and there was a lower requirement for supplementary feeding on that farm at that time.

The Current farm grew 1.37t/ha more than the Low Emissions farm, which was the effect of nitrogen.

With 172kg/ha N applied to the Current farm between June and December, the N response was 8kg DM/kg N, lower than expected possibly due to longer rotations and good white clover presence on the Low Emissions farm.

Clover content in pre-graze samples was between 20% and 40% through spring and summer on the Low

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

Emissions farm, compared with under 20% on the other two farms.

The Alternative Pastures farm had significantly lower pasture covers during summer and autumn.

By way of compensation, pasture samples and analysis indicated the Alternative Pastures had higher feed quality through most of the year, apart from the spring.

The crude protein level of pastures that did not receive nitrogen was lower in late winter/early spring and the Low Emissions cows had lower milk production, which may be due to longer rotation or no applied N, or both.

Both the Current and Alternative Pastures farms purchased around 800kg/ cow DM of supplement, compared with 67kg for the Low Emissions farm.

The lower stocking rate allowed more silage to be conserved, which was

then fed out in late summer/autumn and eliminated the need for imported supplements.

Calculated pasture eaten was three tonnes less on the Low Emissions farm, although that doesn’t mean it grew less, but just had higher grazing residuals, requiring more mulching.

Milk production was always going to be lower, because of the reduced stocking rate, but milk production per cow was also lower (370kg/cow MS compared with 409 and 397).

Greenhouse gas emissions were calculated using Overseer and the Current and Alternative Pastures farms had similar levels. These were up at 9000-plus kg CO2 equivalent per hectare for methane and 2700kg for nitrous oxide.

By comparison the Low Emissions farm generated 6400kg/ha CO2eq of

methane and 1484kg of nitrous oxide.

On a per kilogram of milksolids basis, the comparison was 10kg versus 9kg for the Low Emissions farm, which was surprising considering milk production from this farm was 38% lower.

CO2 inputs, not included in He Waka Eke Noa or the Emissions Trading Scheme, were only 335kg/ha for the Low Emissions farm, compared with 2000kg for the other two.

Total income per hectare on the Low Emissions farm was two-thirds that of the other two farms, $8000 versus $12,000.

Total operating expenses were $7739/ ha on the Current farm, $7471 on the Alternative Pastures farm and $5055 on the Low emissions farm.

Farm working expenses per kilogram of MS were almost the same across all three, around $5.70. n

NARF trial design The Northland Agricultural Research Farm four-year Future Farming Systems trial is to investigate dairying in a warming climate and when conforming to the Government’s greenhouse gas emissions targets.

NARF is a high-producing dairy farm by Northland standards and has historical average pasture growth of 15.4 tonnes dry matter per hectare a year.

Ryegrass persistence is poor, rust and pest damage are increasing and regression to kikuyu often occurs within three years of sowing new pastures.

The project compares three farm systems: Current farm: Existing ryegrass/ kikuyu pastures with imported feed (likely PKE) to fill deficits, at 3.0 cows/ ha stocking rate and up to 190kg/ha applied nitrogen.

Alternative Pastures farm: At least 75% of pasture in alternative species to

ryegrass, including fescue, cocksfoot, legumes and herbs, with imported feed to fill deficits, at 3.0 cows/ha and up to 2190kg/ha applied N. Low Emissions farm: Existing ryegrass/kikuyu pastures, targeting 25% reduction in methane emissions and 50% reduction in nitrous oxide, at 2.1 cows/ha stocking rate, no applied N and little or no imported feed.

The trial measures are pasture and milk production, milk composition, profit and people (labour input and management difficulty).

Alternative species introduction over two years averaged $1138/ha with NARF tractor and man hours and contracted drilling.

Current and Low Emissions farms, plus 25% of Alternative Pastures farm, have approximately 70% kikuyu presence, which requires mulching in autumn and drilling with Italian ryegrass.

AgFirst Northland farm consultant Chris Boom is science leader for the four-year split farms trial on NARF, backed by MPI, DairyNZ, NDDT and the Hine Rangi Trust.

Northland dairy farmers gathered in good numbers to hear the results and observations of the first year of the Future Farming Systems trial near Dargaville.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

39

RESEARCH

Cow personalities affect productivity

By Tony Benny & Samantha Tennent

Research has found that a cow’s personality has a bearing on her production capabilities.

R

esearchers have not been surprised by identifying a link between the personalities of animals and productivity. A recent study by AgResearch and DairyNZ has been published that investigated whether personality traits of pasturebased dairy cattle are associated with daily behavioural patterns and milk production.

The research was an exciting venture for animal welfare experts.

“With the law now recognising animals are sentient with feelings, we need to have more of an understanding of individuals,” Jim Webster, animal ethics office lead at AgResearch, says.

“Herds and flocks don’t have feelings, individuals do, so at a minimum, farmers need to understand how individuals are impacted by their farm practices.”

And what they found in the research was that dairy cows do have unique personalities. Their behavioural patterns are consistent within individuals, but vary between individuals, which is referred to as “personality,” and specific aspects of the suite of behaviours expressed by animals are termed “personality traits”.

“Much like identifying the personality types of a human team, if farmers have the ability to uncover underlying characteristics of their cows then they could use those to their advantage and increase the productivity of their herd.”

Jim Webster 40

“When farms had only 60-odd cows, farmers had the opportunity to know individual cows and their unique traits better,” Webster says.

“But now herds are bigger, there’s more automation and the ratio of people to cows has changed drastically, so they don’t have the same amount of time to get to know animals.

“And the codes of welfare are moving towards knowing and treating animals according to their feelings so it’s important we find ways to identify what animals need.”

The research proves the concept and the results were not a surprise. But the next stage is determining how these results could be used on a commercial scale.

“Much like identifying the personality types of a human team, if farmers have the ability to uncover underlying characteristics of their cows then they could use those to their advantage and increase the productivity of their herd,” he says.

“With another step, we may have the ability to do a few tests and manage the herd accordingly, but at a minimum at least now farmers can understand why certain animals behave certain ways and it reduces some frustrations.”

The study looked at the daily behaviour of 87 crossbred cows over a 16-day period. And they were looking at patterns of grazing, lying and ruminating time, as well as milk production and whether various personality traits influenced their behaviours.

Along with other scientific literature, they found variations in the amount of lying time for dairy cattle. And there appears to be a connection where cows with a lower tolerance for unknown objects and unfamiliar people have fewer lying bouts.

Individual variation in feeding behaviour was also related to personality

AgResearch animal ethics office lead Jim Webster says if farmers can understand their cow’s personalities, they could use those to their advantage and increase the productivity of their herd.

traits in calves like individuals that showed greater exploratory behaviour in unfamiliar areas and had greater solid feed intakes.

“All of these indicators could help farmers determine which animals could have the best potential in their current system, or they may be able to change management for certain animals to meet their needs and ensure they get the best out of them,” he says.

The hypothesis was that cows who are more reactive toward novel or potentially stressful situations may have reduced milk yield, possibly with reduced lying time or grazing time as a contributing

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

factor. And in contrast, cows who are less reactive in those situations may have higher milk yield, which might be related to more time spent grazing or ruminating.

They measured the personality traits of each cow in a series of short, standardised tests adapted from previous literature. The tests were aimed to characterise responses to novel situations or recognised stressful situations, or both.

“We looked at their reactions towards novel objects or people placed around a corner in the race after they exited the milking shed,” he says.

“They would encounter either a novel object attached to the railing of the alleyway or an unfamiliar woman standing immobile, wearing a highvisibility jacket and pants with her hands in the jacket pockets.”

The cows were scored on their response, ranging from stopping in the race or attempting to turn around.

There was also a restraint test where cows were held in a head bail for 15 seconds and then released. They were scored for their response, ranging from

Research has proven that cows have unique personalities and their behaviour and farming practices could affect their productivity. being calm to struggling violently.

There were five different tests in total and there was high variability among the responses of the individual cows.

“We saw cows that were calmer during restraint and investigative towards the novel object had greater grazing time, which likely contributed to their greater milk production compared with cows that scored low on this trait,” he says.

“And cows that were more reactive to milking produced less milk than cows that scored low on this trait.”

The results add to the evidence that

personality is associated with measures of growth and productivity in farmed animals and may explain some of the variations in production seen in groups of animals under the same conditions.

“We’ve been talking about animals having feelings and emotions since the early 2000s, although the industry wasn’t ready at the time,” he says.

“Now with the law update and now the welfare codes being reviewed we are making good progress and will help animals and people achieve better outcomes.” n

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RESEARCH

A solution for milk fever

By Cheyenne Nicholson

Findings from a large-scale research project will help farmers minimise the risk of milk fever this spring.

S

upplementing springer cows with synthetic zeolite has been confirmed to be an effective method for reducing the risk of milk fever in pasture-based systems, a recent DairyNZ study has confirmed.

Synthetic zeolite is a sodium aluminosilicate supplement commonly fed pre-calving in European indoor systems. When fed to cows in the weeks leading up to calving, it prevents cows from absorbing dietary calcium and other minerals and instead, they are bound in the rumen and pass through into the faeces.

“It mimics a low calcium diet, which stimulates the cow’s natural mechanisms to prepare her for the increased calcium demand after she calves. As a result, blood calcium concentrations are maintained,” programme leader and DairyNZ senior scientist Dr Claire Phyn says.

Having a low calcium diet increases the cow’s ability to absorb dietary calcium from her intestines. It also means once she has calved, she is more readily able to mobilise calcium from her bones.

“It’s proven to be highly effective and the work we’ve done suggests it’s effective across a range of systems. The results we have in grazing systems in New Zealand are similar to those from housed systems in Europe and America,” she says.

Small-scale studies preceded a largerscale study to first confirm that synthetic zeolite reduces the risk of subclinical and clinical milk fever in grazing cows supplemented with maize silage precalving. In trials conducted at DairyNZ’s Lye Farm, it was determined that feeding cows 500g/day of synthetic zeolite for two to three weeks before their expected calving date increased blood calcium concentrations at calving.

It also resulted in a large precalving reduction in blood phosphate concentrations lasting about three days post-calving. This was an expected effect

42

Research shows that feeding synthetic zeolite pre-calving consistently reduced the incidence of clinical milk fever cases.

based on overseas trial results and is part of zeolite’s mechanism of action to prevent milk fever.

“It should be noted that the effects and safety of synthetic zeolite in diets already deficient in phosphorus are presently unknown; therefore, synthetic zeolite is not currently recommended when diets include high amounts of fodder beet,” she says.

Lower blood magnesium concentrations were also found, but these cows were not at risk of becoming hypomagnesaemic. Both control and zeolite treated cows were supplemented with magnesium as per best farm practice. The careful management of magnesium supplementation pre- and post-calving is still required when using synthetic zeolite, especially in herds with a borderline magnesium status.

Both DairyNZ and overseas experiments with synthetic zeolite were conducted with a small number of animals under highly controlled conditions. A larger-scale study was needed to confirm the findings for a range of commercial herd environments to validate the findings further.

During the 2019-20 season, a largerscale trial with 1000 cows spread across three herds in the Waikato and a further 1500 cows across three herds the following season was done. During each season, half the cows in each herd received 500g/day of synthetic zeolite for three weeks pre-calving.

“The results confirmed that feeding synthetic zeolite pre-calving consistently reduced the incidence of clinical milk fever cases. From an average of 4.4% in the untreated control cows to 1.2% in the treated cows, meaning treated cows were nearly four times less likely to succumb to clinical milk fever,” she says.

Phyn says that the research indicated that herds with a history of milk fever issues are likely to benefit the most from it and stressed that zeolite should be considered an add on to existing basic milk fever prevention strategies rather than a replacement.

“We have a checklist to mitigate milk fever, synthetic zeolite is an additional strategy to do on top of this checklist. In our trials, we had already addressed the items on the checklist. We still got a large effect of zeolite on top of best practice

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July 2022

management, indicating it is a tool for everyone to consider, particularly those with ongoing milk fever issues.” she says.

The trials in NZ and overseas indicated that a target dose of 500g/cow/day is optimal from a palatability point of view.

Higher dose rates can reduce palatability and may limit feed intake. Mixing it with supplementary feeds like maize silage and incorporating it into meal feeds can boost palatability.

When it came to the best method of feeding it to the herd, the consensus from the large-scale study suggested that mixing it with in-shed feed or feeding in bins and troughs mixed with either concentrates, meal or maize silage was the best fit.

“During the larger trial, we had one farm that dusted synthetic zeolite on top of pasture silage in the paddock. Based on this, we would not recommend that as a strategy to feed synthetic zeolite.

It’s in large granules, so they tend to fall through the pasture silage rather than stick to it, meaning that large amounts are wasted and not ingested by cows,” she says.

Because milk fever is a gateway

disease, having another tool to reduce the incidence of subclinical and clinical milk fever is hugely important for the overall health status of the cow and the herd. That said, no significant improvements were seen in submission, conception or in-calf rates in zeolitetreated cows, suggesting the strategy will not lead to better reproductive performance.

“The initial small-scale research indicated potential benefits in reproduction and uterine health, but we were not able to detect any improvements in the commercial herds studied,” she says.

Using zeolite is an alternative to a negative DCAD strategy, which aims to significantly reduce the amount of positively charged minerals (potassium and sodium) in the diet compared with negatively charged minerals (chloride and sulphate). A negative DCAD precalving drops blood pH, which increases the cow’s ability to absorb dietary calcium and subsequently reduces the risk of milk fever.

“A DCAD strategy requires adding large amounts of anionic salts of chloride

and sulphate to the diet and feeding low potassium feeds like maize silage. It can be difficult to achieve a negative DCAD in grazing cows due to the high potassium content of our pasture, so synthetic zeolite is a simpler solution,” she says. n

Feeding synthetic zeolite mixed with in-shed feed or feeding in bins and troughs mixed with either concentrates, meal or maize silage works best.

Specialists in customisable feed solutions.

Driving production & profitability

Working alongside our clients to drive production & improve profitability

0800 300 313 www.graincorpfeeds.co.nz

How can you reduce your reliance on imported feed?

MAYBE THE ANSWER IS SIMPLY TO GROW A BIT With the air of uncertainty around imported feeds in both the short and long term, now is a good time to explore alternatives. And you don’t have to look far. Planting an extra paddock in maize at home, or ordering more maize silage in, may be all that’s needed.

Maize silage is the ideal supplement to pasture. The cows love the stuff, it helps you maintain high production and milk quality when your feed levels dip (and will keep for years if they don’t). To find out about adding more maize to your farm system, contact your local Pioneer representative, call 0800 PIONEER or visit pioneer.co.nz/maize-silage

NEWS

Second farm found with M bovis

By Annette Scott

A

MID-Canterbury dairy property has become the first to be confirmed with Mycoplasma bovis this year.

The infection was found in a springcalving herd during routine bulk tank milk (BTM) screening.

Movement restrictions have also been placed on a small number of associated properties that have had known cattle movements from the confirmed property in the past year.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme director Simon Andrew says while the M bovis programme is on the brink of eradication it is expected that more infected properties will pop up.

But Andrew says it is not a concern.

“We expect to find small pockets of infection and the latest find in

Canterbury shows our BTM screening system is working.

“The BTM programme provides confidence that M bovis is not widespread and we remain on track for eradication, as shown by our very low rate of case finds from testing, Andrew said.

He says based on previous years, it is known that autumn and spring are the peak periods for detects picked up from the BTM screening and it is not unexpected to find infected farms at this time.

“With our network and background surveillance operating as they should, along with the commitment of farmers, industry and rural communities, we are still on track to be the first country in the world to eradicate M bovis.

“It’s important to note, we are still in the delimiting phase for Mycoplasma

EXTRA

bovis eradication and there is still work ahead of us, so good biosecurity practices and use of Nait remain important.”

The M bovis programme is committed to working closely with the farmer on the latest confirmed property, Andrew said.

“We expect to find small pockets of infection and the latest find shows our BTM screening system is working. “ Simon Andrew This property is the first to become an active confirmed property in 2022.

Movement restrictions have been placed on a small number of associated properties that have had known cattle movements from the confirmed property in the past year.

“We are also investigating backward traces to determine where the infection may have come from, but it is likely to be linked to animal movements,” Andrew said.

BTM screening takes samples each month at the point of collection as part of the normal milk collection process.

Samples are then screened for M bovis antibodies and results indicate whether an on-farm investigation is needed.

Recent MPI analysis of screening data found detection of the infection is higher in the first 30 days of milking.

As a result, from July to September, fortnightly BTM screening will be implemented.

The confirmed result is the first for 2022, and brings the current number of properties with active infections in New Zealand to two, second being the Five Start beef Feedlot in Mid Canterbury confirmed infected back in 2018. n

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme director Simon Andrew says while the M bovis programme is on the brink of eradication it is expected that more infected properties will pop up.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

45

FARMSTRONG

The Flett farm milks 680 cows and is a winter milk farm, which means life is busy for the family.

Making farming easier Southland dairy farmer Brooke Flett shares how a new programme designed to boost the resilience of rural communities helps her navigate the challenges of farming.

W

hereabouts are you farming?

I work on our family dairy farm in Southland.

I’m the fourth generation to farm here and I’ve been back on-farm for seven years. We’re winter milking 680 cows with the help of five staff, including myself.

What do you enjoy about farming?

I’m very fortunate I’m farming with family. My parents are still involved and I’m farming alongside my brother. I really enjoy being able to work with them and carry on my parents’ farming business.

I also like the freedom and flexibility – some days you’re doing an afternoon of admin, other days you’re outside working in the sunshine. You’re your own boss. I like the way farming works too – you get out what you put in – and can see the benefits of your hard work.

46

Farming brings its fair share of pressure too. Tell us about that.

Yes, Dad and I were recently chatting about that, because we have all been working some long days and it feels never-ending. We were trying to work out what changes we can make and being quite honest with ourselves that as much as we need time off to refresh, that’s not always going to be possible unless we make changes with things we can control.

There’s always a long to-do list on-farm.

Getting breaks can be hard, can’t it?

Yes, but I think we’re often our own worst enemies because we love the work. But the reality is you’ve got to take some time every now and then to have a break.

As I told Dad, it’s about being in a position to decide for yourself when you need a sleep in, even if you decide not

to do it. I don’t mind doing the hours, but if the option isn’t there, and you’re completely head down, bum up all the time without a break, that’s when farming gets hard.

Busy as you are, you enrolled in the Know Your Mindset course on managing pressure and change. What made you sign up?

I’d done other AgriWomens’ courses and liked them. A course that was going to stop me feeling too stressed or overwhelmed sounded like a great idea.

There’s a lot of content out there about this, but this course had a proper rural lens to it.

It’s easy to just say ‘do this and remove stress from your life’ but it’s hard to make it work in a farming context because there’s so much about farming you can’t control, like the weather. It can feel impossible at times.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

“I don’t mind doing the hours, but if the option isn’t there, and you’re completely head down, bum up all the time without a break, that’s when farming gets hard.”

So, what did you learn?

I learnt to recognise the early signs of stress, what my particular triggers were and the main challenges to my wellbeing on-farm. Once you can name these things you can start to navigate through them, rather than waiting till you’re so stressed out you can’t think.

How do you navigate them?

It’s about prioritising what needs to happen next to reduce your stress. Those priorities are based on your own values – why you’re farming and what you’re looking to get out of it.

How have you applied this back onfarm?

These days I’m much more aware of what I add to my to-do list and say ‘yes’ to. For example, I love being part of our wider community, but I can’t say yes to everything because that just adds pressure. So now I choose things that align best with my values. That determines where I’ll put time and energy.

Southland farmer Brooke Flett has joined the Farmstrong Know Your Mindset course to help her manage pressure and change in farming.

about the importance of keeping active for your mental health, but I thought, the last thing I need to do is play sport after a day’s farming. But this year, I changed my mind and joined a netball team and I’m really enjoying being part of it.

How does this benefit the farm?

When you’re in the right headspace, you make better decisions on-farm.

You also have the energy to keep going despite day-to-day challenges like the weather or staff issues.

What about time off?

Yes, that’s been a good outcome. I now consciously schedule time to get off-farm to do things that connect with my values, whether it’s doing things with friends off-farm or taking trips away to a farming conference. I’ve allowed those things to be a priority because I realise they’re important to me and my wellbeing.

This all sounds obvious, but many farmers don’t do it, do they?

You can become isolated in farming.

One of the benefits to signing up for the course is that it instantly connects you to a network of other people and to all these resources that can help you.

There’s no point waiting for that help when you’re already at a low point.

What was the biggest change in your mindset? Give me an example.

It’s funny, I’d always heard messages

These are exceptional times with lots of issues to grapple with in farming – covid-related labour shortages,

weather events, changes in the economy. How has the course helped you handle those?

Managing change is about prioritising what needs your most urgent attention and problem-solving that. It’s also about your mindset. There are always going to be challenges and changes in farming, but you still have a choice about how you’re going to react to them. That’s why this programme is so helpful, it gives you the energy and thinking capacity to move forward.

What’s your message to someone onfarm reading this? Why should they enroll in a course like this?

As a farmer, you take time to talk to fertiliser reps to learn about options for growing your grass. This course is the same thing. You’ve got to take time to look after yourself and to grow your own skills. That way, you’ll have the mindset required to make better decisions in your business and make more time for the things that are important to you. It’s an investment in you. n

Under the pump For tips and ideas,

visit farmstrong.co.nz

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

Sam Whitelock Farmstrong Ambassador

47

SPRING CALVING

A strong start

By Ross Nolly

Calves are the future of the national herd so giving them the best possible start is vital to ensure they achieve their potential.

W

ith calving just around the corner, there has been a good turnout of farmers looking to brush up on their calf rearing skills at the Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) Calf Rearing Expos “Today’s calf is tomorrow’s cow”.

DWN chief executive Jules Benton says the aim of the expos was for farmers to walk away from the day feeling prepared and ready for the calf rearing season.

“It’s a time that can be overwhelming so they need to be able to walk away not only with knowledge around best practice, but tools and resources they can action,” Benton says.

Around 100 dairy farmers and calf rearers attended the expo in Stratford to see what was on offer and hear guest speakers, including AgriVantage technical advisor and nutritionist Natalie Chrystal, present on how to maximise the genetic potential of calves in their early weeks for a lifetime of high performance.

Chrystal shared best practice and recent science to help calf rearers and farm owners get their calves off to the right start.

“We know that care of the newborn has the potential to dramatically impact

48

AgriVantage technical advisor and nutritionist Natalie Chrystal was one of the presenters at the Dairy Women’s Network Calf Rearing Expos talking about how to maximise the genetic potential of calves in their early weeks for a lifetime of high performance.

lifetime productivity,” Chrystal says.

“We want to provide calf rearers with information to allow them to develop

the best possible rearing system for their situation. The aim is to break down the science into practical application

Natalie Chrystal says the care of the newborn has the potential to dramatically impact lifetime productivity. Breakout groups do a calf rearing activity during the expo.

DAIRY FARMER July 2022

so rearers achieve the most profitable results.”

Chrystal initially asked the attendees, “What if I said to you that your heifers could produce $125 more milk in their first lactation?”

She demonstrated that farmers could achieve that goal by spending a little more time looking after their heifers. Not only from birth to weaning, but right through to their first calving.

“Farmers have an opportunity to improve their heifer raising practices and get a better return from them.

What you do in the first few weeks and months of life has a long-term impact on productivity,” she says.

“We have to maximise profit. Unless we make our businesses profitable and sustainable, it’s very hard to support good animal welfare practices and environmental sustainability.”

She emphasised that there are two key short-term areas to consider when maximising profits raising heifers: minimising illness and mortality; and optimising early growth.

The long-term goal is to optimise lifetime production. In the long-term those heifers are going back into the herd and farmers must invest in those heifers in such a way that they form the foundation of their herd going forward.

Research has shown that increased bodyweight at first calving has a positive effect on first lactation milk production.

The heavier the animal at first calving increases the amount of milk she produces.

She showed two studies that demonstrated that not only was there an increase in production of 4.4 -8.7 litres of milk per additional kg of live weight

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

Around 100 farmers attended the event in Stratford to see what was on offer and prepare for the calving season ahead.

for the first lactation, there was a rise of 21-23 litres of milk per additional kg of live weight at the second lactation.

Heifers that achieve a greater proportion of their mature live mass at 12 months of age produce more in their first lactation and have higher cumulative three year milk yields.

“It’s not a first time productivity effect, but a lifetime productivity effect. We like to think that there’s an opportunity for compensatory growth and that they’ll make it up later on. In reality the gains made later on don’t make up for the losses in the earlier periods,” she says.

“You must think about heifer rearing continually through their lifetime rather than just at a specific point in time.”

She then fleshed out her initial statement of how gaining that extra $125 worth of production could be achieved.

“If you lose about .3kg MS for every kilogram of body weight gain; and if the upper quartile of heifers are around 18kg lighter than they should be, it works out to be around 5.5kg MS lost,” she says.

“However, the average heifer is around 52kg lighter than she should be, which works out to be around 15.5kg MS. At an $8 payout, that’s $125.”

She then illustrated an opportunity to make a significant improvement in investment in your heifers by feeding them adequately in the first two years.

“Studies have shown that if you grow your heifers faster pre-puberty, the impact on subsequent production is far greater than if you catch them up post puberty. It’s really important to get them

“We know that care of the newborn has the potential to dramatically impact lifetime productivity.”

Natalie Chrystal

growing as fast as possible within the first 12-15 months of their life.”

Chrystal showed that the one key to achieve that growth is to get colostrum into calves as quickly as possible after birth.

“The ability of the calf to absorb the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) in colostrum changes over time. We know that over 12 hours there is a rapid decrease in the calf’s ability to absorb it.

“Secondly we want the gold colostrum from the first milking. The longer you leave the colostrum, the quality and amount of IgG per litre decreases.”

For those that measure the Brix of their colostrum, 22% Bx is what farmers should aim for. This equates to about 50 grams of IgG per litre, so two litres of colostrum will provide the amount required.

“One aspect we don’t talk about very much is colostrum cleanliness. The ability of a young calf to absorb those immunoglobulins is affected by the bacterial population in the colostrum.

The more microbes you have, the less efficient the absorption and the more colostrum you need to put into the calf.” n

49

SPRING CALVING A calving kit ensures newborn calves can be tagged in the paddock so they do not become mismatched.

Pre-calving cow care

P

lanning and preparation contribute to a successful calving season. Help your farm get set up early for a smoother calving season.

Knowing your plan and ensuring that you have everything you need prior to calving will help to reduce stress, keep you on track from the get-go, and create better outcomes for your team and your animals.

Pre-calving checklist • All team members up-to-date on farm policies and what to expect during calving • Spring rotation planner completed and visible to the team • Supplies of metabolics, electrolytes, navel spray etc on hand or ordered • Calf trailer and feeding equipment

Farmers should plan to have a wellstocked calving kit ready to go so they are not spending valuable time looking for items when the time comes.

50

clean and disinfected • Calf shed clean and disinfected and all repairs and maintenance done • Designated sick pen set-up • Fresh bedding laid in calf shed Calving kit prepared • Well-stocked calving kits will save you making trips between the paddock and the shed. Keep your calving kit at the gate of the springer paddock or in your farm vehicle. Make sure that everyone knows where they are and can access one easily.

• Tape a checklist of contents inside the bucket and have a team member in charge of making sure it is restocked regularly.

Calving kit contents • Bucket with a lid to contain kit • Metabolics (Clearly labelled milk fever treatments and starter drench) • 3 calving ropes or chains (Remember to clean after each use) • 2-litre container of lube (A plunger pump is an easy way to dispense lube) • Towel and soap for cleaning hands • Notebook and pencil (A pencil will still work in wet conditions, unlike a pen) • Ear tags or other calf identification system (Pre-numbered tags save time and reduce recording mistakes) • Spray paint – red plus another colour (Red can indicate a warning, for example, withhold milk. Communicate this with staff) • Gloves • Head torch and spare batteries • Iodine spray for navels, pre-mixed with water (Do not use teat dip as an

alternative) Key contact numbers (Vet, manager on laminated sheet) • Calving intervention guide • Food/energy bars

“Well-stocked calving kits will save you making trips between the paddock and the shed.”

Springer Mobs The transition period is a significant time for the cow, and how you manage your cows as they prepare to calve can impact on how quickly they recover postcalving. Here’s a few tips to help you set your plan for calving: • Draft dry cows into springer mob regularly • Check springers often to help identify cows having trouble • For cows at or above body condition score (BCS) targets, restrict feeding to 90% maintenance. For cows below BCS targets, continue to feed at 100% maintenance. See feedright for more info on nutrition • Avoid high potassium (K) feeds to help minimise down cows – test your springer paddocks over winter to identify suitable paddocks • Supplement with magnesium 2-3 weeks prior to calving • Ensure appropriate minerals are being provided – develop a plan with your nutritionist or vet according to your farm needs. n

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

PREPARE FOR CALVING WITH CERTAINTY With all of the complexities and busyness that come with calving, you want to be as prepared as you can, as soon as you can.

Your local Technical Sales Rep and store team are there for you to bounce ideas off and to provide seasonal tips, calf rearing insights and to make sure you’ve got the best mix of products in time for the months ahead.

We’ve also locked in pricing between now and the end of October on a wide range of metabolics, animal tags, calf milk replacer and feeding supplies.

Visit nzfarmsource.co.nz/calving for more info or to shop online

SPRING CALVING

The Powell’s run Holstein Friesian stud Radly Holsteins at Rongotea and milk 480 cows. The cows were recently fitted with collars to help them fine-tune their farming practices.

File photo

Keeping it simple

By Ross Nolly

Keeping their calf rearing system as simple as possible and feeding their stock probiotics is working well for a Manawatū farming family.

Y

ou only get one chance to rear an animal and every farmer’s aim for their calving season is to see a healthy bright-eyed bunch of weaned calves at season’s end.

Rongotea dairy farmers Brad and Kelly Powell have the same aim and try to make their calf rearing system as simple and uncomplicated as possible. Recently they’ve begun to give their calves probiotics to give them the best possible start.

The Powells own a 185-hectare (132ha effective) dairy farm, milking 480 cows and a 120ha runoff where they graze their replacements. They have two staff including their daughter Jessica. They have owned the family farm for 23 years and it is home to their pedigree Holstein Friesian stud Radly Holsteins.

The System 5 farm is a split-calving

52

(spring/autumn) property and they have been autumn calving for 22 years.

“When we came home, the farm didn’t have any irrigation. Our coastal farm is on sandy soil and dries out during summer.

To alleviate that dry period we started autumn calving. We dry half the herd off and milk through the winter because that’s when the grass grows well,” Powell says.

Six weeks of AI starts on May 16 for the autumn herd and calving starts on February 25.

“We begin autumn calving earlier because Open Country’s premiums suit an earlier calving period. In autumn the fine, warm weather allows the calves to be given access to the pasture from about one-week-old, which also reduces the chances of them catching any diseases,” he says.

“We rear 100 spring and autumn heifer

calves and used to export 50 of each to China. This year due to the banning of live exports, we’re putting Charolais bulls over the tail. In the past we’ve kept our good Friesian bulls to put over the tail and exported those calves.”

Spring mating begins on October 20 and calving starts on August 1. The autumn herd has a 68-70% six-week in-calf rate and the spring herd a 60-65% rate due to the colder weather. They have an eight-week calving period and an autumn in-calf rate of 82% and a spring rate of 84%.

Four months ago the herd was fitted with collars. Cow collars are the Powell’s next logical step to fine-tune their farming practices.

So far the data they have received from the collars is paying off.

“The collars picked up an autumn cow as being under stress. Sure enough her

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

“Three years ago we began using probiotics to eliminate any issues in the young calves’ growth and to give them the healthiest start.”

Brad Powell calf had one of its legs back and we were able to save her and the calf. Another cow went down with milk fever. Due to the phone alert we were able to attend to her three or four hours earlier than usual,” he says.

Any calves that have been born overnight are collected the following morning and tubed with two litres of colostrum.

They’re supplied with Agribio BlackGold, a kelp seaweed and molasses based nutritional supplement, enriched with minerals, trace elements and vitamins. Calves are also given Agribio’s Fi:dup, a freeze-dried milk soluble probiotic formula that aids brain and organ development and overall condition.

“Three years ago we began using probiotics to eliminate any issues in the young calves’ growth and to give them the healthiest start. Jessica raises the calves and she’s very particular about how they’re reared,” he says.

“Probiotics smooth the colostrum to milk powder transition period and eliminate the nutritional scours that can occur. We’ve noticed that the calves’ coats are a lot shinier since we began using BlackGold. I think it’s because they’re utilising their food better.”

The calves are weaned at 95kg, which used to take 10-11 weeks. Since using the

supplements it now takes eight weeks, and with fewer animal health issues.

In autumn they rear all of their (100) Friesian bulls to weaning (100kg).

They feed colostrum for 10 days before transitioning to milk powder to ensure that there’s enough colostrum for the other young calves.

During spring the calves stay on colostrum a little longer because they aren’t rearing bull calves. The calves are weaned at eight weeks and any not up to weight drop down a mob.

“We considered rearing the bulls through to processing now that we aren’t finishing any export heifers. But when you consider what they’re worth as weaners you’d be silly not to sell them,” he says.

The calves are fed twice a day on a 50

teat calfateria. There are 40 calves per mob, so they don’t need to struggle to access their milk. They begin trickling meal to the calves when they’re about two weeks old and they’re given hay from the first day.

The springer herd is fed AgriBio Fixine as a natural supplement for gut health.

“I worked at Massey University’s Dairy 1 farm as a farm assistant and as a farm manager. Our research showed that an autumn born heifer was on average 50kg heavier than a spring calved heifer at two years old. Those autumn calves hit the ground running when the spring grass arrives,” he says.

“We have a pretty simple calf rearing system and don’t try to overcomplicate things. If you do, it usually ends up biting you.” n

The Powell’s run a split-calving system and have been autumn calving for 22 years.

They rear 100 spring and autumn heifer calves.

File photo

Enter to win

Visit our website and enter our July competition to go in the weekly draw to

win a 20kg bag of Fixine.

plus at the end of the month one lucky winner will receive enough Fi:d Up and Fixine for your whole calving season.

BOVINE Fixine FOR

ACTIVATING PEAK ANIMAL HEALTH

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It means that your calves fully utilise all the nutrition from every feed and you get the best results too.

Help your calves achieve their full genetic potential, today.

Start with Ancalf. Finish with Ancalf Finisher.

NZAGBIZ LIMITED | 0800 809 011 | NZAGBIZ.CO.NZ

SPRING CALVING

Calving for the future With calving fast approaching, dairy farmers and calf rearers are planning for the busy months ahead. But NZAgbiz suggests that planning for long-term productivity and profitable returns is about much more than preparing to cope with the demands of the season.

G

ood planning leads to long-term success, and it’s especially important when it comes to the busy peaks when there’s less time to make improvements on the fly. Leading into this year’s calving season, good decisions made early will ensure you are wellplaced to not only make the most of the payout from a record farm gate milk price, but to make sure 2024 heifers reach their full potential.

“It’s not easy to think about colostrum quality and its effect on immunity and health in the middle of long days and nights when calving gets into full swing,” NZAgbiz’s Carla Rawson says.

“Often, there just isn’t the time to spend to consider feed options, setting target weights and their effect on heifers’ future productivity and reproduction when the pens are filling up. Which is why now is the right time to think about these things and to put a plan in place.”

For most farmers, the planning starts with the big numbers – this season’s payout. So for many of those keeping an eye on the figures, the decision has already been made to maximise their return this season by choosing not to feed out of the vat.

Matamata farmers Robert and Sharon Klaus have calculated that feeding their calves a quality milk replacer will mean an estimated $12,500 increase in payout this year.

“It’s a simple formula,” Klaus says.

“Based on our volumes and kg/MS per litre, when you subtract the cost of the Ancalf, we see that we’d otherwise be feeding thousands of dollars of profit to the calves.”

“There’s a calculator on our website that crunches the numbers in a few seconds and it’s proving pretty popular – we’re seeing hundreds of farmers using it as they make decisions and get their plans and orders sorted,” Rawson says.

There is, however, a limit to how much planning in any one season can affect returns and overall herd productivity.

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

NZAgbiz’s Carla Rawson says making good decisions such as feeding a milk replacer will ensure heifers reach their full potential and farmers can make the most of their milk payout.

Farmers are, of course, making decisions today that will affect their operation for years to come. A lot of those decisions are about future production and future reproduction, which requires careful consideration of the connection between animal growth rates, weight, and condition and effects on the animal’s potential.

Research indicates that weight gain pre-weaning is connected to an animal’s lifetime productivity. Industry experts suggest that setting a calf up for success is more important than was previously realised. The data supports feeding calves well will have an impact on mammary gland development and therefore future production of those animals once they enter the herd.

“There is a lot to consider when rearing calves to their full potential,” Rawson says.

“So we make sure we’re guided by the science when we’re talking with our customers. What we know is that young calves need high-quality colostrum as early as possible to ensure a successful transfer of antibody molecules, which leads to better long-term immunity and health.

“And we also know that whole milk

and whole milk-based milk replacers are like nature intended, which is connected to healthy gastro-intestinal tract development and better growth rates.”

The secret to whole milk’s positive effects on young animal development is in its casein-rich protein which allows the milk to curd, as well as the fatty acid profile of milk fat. A high-quality curd allows more complete digestion and better nutrient uptake.

“When we spend time with our customers, we end up getting into interesting conversations about the research and calves’ digestive systems,” she says.

“But it always comes down to one thing – making good decisions about the future. Future payout, long-term animal health, future productivity, future herd performance”. That’s why we’re here – we want to help our farmers to plan for continual improvement and their herd’s success.” n

MORE:

Ancalf™ is New Zealand’s leading full curding whole milk powder-based CMR, available from NZAgbiz. Calculate your payback for using Ancalf vs whole milk this season at nzagbiz.co.nz

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SPRING CALVING

Penny and Mark Brown autumn calve 500 cows on their farm at Pirongia and through fine-tuning their system, find the busy calving period smooth sailing.

Photos Supplied by CRV

Always evolving

By Samantha Tennent

Making small changes after every calving season has paid off for one Waikato farming family.

B

y tweaking bits each season and spending time making sure everyone is on the same page, a Waikato farming couple is finding calving smooth sailing.

Mark and Penny Brown milk 500 Friesian and Friesian-cross cows on their farm at Pirongia.

“A big thing on our farm is keeping everyone fresh, we keep our usual roster through calving and everyone seems to cope well,” Brown says.

“We developed standard operating procedures that we go through with the team every year and they’ve evolved over time; we like to keep it simple and clear so everyone knows what they need to do.”

He and his wife Penny bought into the farm through an equity partnership four years ago and Penny took over the calf rearing for the first time. They also

56

began supplying Synlait, which means they have various requirements to meet the Lead with Pride programme that recognises on-farm best practices.

“There was some thorough paperwork that went into that first year of buying the farm and going to Synlait and it’s always evolving,” he says.

Their systems have become second nature and he is a big believer in nailing the transition period.

“Those three weeks before they’re due to calve are critical, by focusing on the transition period and setting the cow up you are essentially setting calving up,” he says.

“How they’re fed is really important, we operate a high-input system, there’s a lot of feed going in but we want to ensure our cows are fed a good, balanced diet.”

They are solely autumn calving 500

Friesian and Friesian cross cows with a lot less mud to contend with.

“It’s a lot different calving in autumn, it’s a lot drier, and we even tend to be in a drought at that time of the year,” he says.

“But it’s a lot nicer, not having to battle the mud and weather.”

They try to keep the cows off the pasture to manage their transition and they do not tend to have a lot of grass anyway. They feed the bulk of their feed on a feedpad, giving them hay, maize and grass silage, as well as putting them through the shed to give them DDG and soybean. As they get closer to calving their diet gets closer to their post-calving diet when they bring in maize and barley.

“We teat seal the heifers a month before calving too, so they’re very used to the shed and us,” he says.

“By the time calving starts the herd is well-fed, quiet and happy, which makes

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July 2022

things easy, especially for collecting cows and calves, which is a one-person job.”

Before the transition period, they set the calf sheds up by spraying them with disinfectant and loading them up with fresh wood chips. They have a couple of flexi tunnels, which allow the calves to flow indoors and out.

Before calving, the herd is vaccinated against Salmonella because of the bird populations at that time of year. And the herd health supplies are restocked and ready to go, but they rarely encounter any metabolic problems.

“Those three weeks before they’re due to calve are critical, by focusing on the transition period and setting the cow up you are essentially setting calving up.”

Mark Brown Newborn calves are matched to their mother with a collar in the paddock and collected at least twice a day. Their navels are sprayed with iodine in the paddock and again when they have been brought to the calf pens where Penny is in charge.

“Each cow that calves is put on the test bucket to start with to get that gold colostrum and we find it’s better for the calf and cow bringing them in as soon as we can,” he says.

To ensure accuracy, calves are DNA tested in the pens to ensure they are correctly matched to their mother.

They have started using colostrum powder for their replacement calves too.

“When we first bring the calves in we assume they’ve had a feed from their mum and we tube feed them with colostrum powder straight away and then feed them the gold colostrum for the next couple of feeds.”

They periodically test their colostrum with the Brix refractometer to check the quality of the colostrum to make sure the calves are getting everything they need to get a good start.

Freshly born calves are collected at least twice a day and given a feed of colostrum straight away.

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July 2022

The cows are milked once a day for the first five to seven days after they calve.

“We utilise OAD so we aren’t taking extra energy from the cow, which we think works well and we haven’t noticed any impacts on production,” he says.

In the calf pens, there is always water and meal available and the calves get DNA tested to ensure they are matched correctly to their parents.

“The DNA testing gives us reassurance, it’s just too easy to get them mixed up,” he says.

“Last season I watched two cows calve at the same time, I tagged the calves straight away and when I came back fifteen minutes later the two calves had swapped over.”

Including Mark, there are three team members full-time on the farm and Penny gets a helper in the calf pens. They keep milk fever drugs on hand, but they barely have half a dozen cases each year.

“It all comes back to that transition period, the three weeks leading into calving,” he says.

“Our cows are on the feedpad and they come through the cow shed, so they’re getting all the minerals they require so we have very little health issues with our cows at calving.”

He cannot stress enough how important the transition period is. And attention to detail but once everything is in place and it becomes second nature, it is simple and easy for everyone to stay on track. n

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ROAD TO DAIRYING

Moving on up

By Tony Benny

This month we begin our Road to Dairying series, where we’ll chat with farmers who are relatively new to the industry and take a look at their journey so far.

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eter O’Connor always knew he wanted a career in dairy farming so when he finished his university studies, he jumped right in. His quick rise up the career ladder has been recognised with his naming as top dairy trainee in the 2022 Dairy Industry Awards.

Brought up on the West Coast, O’Connor is a third-generation dairy farmer and his father and uncle farm near Westport. Another uncle, Damien, a former dairy farmer too, is Minister of Agriculture.

O’Connor boarded at St Bede’s College in Christchurch, working on the family farm in the school holidays and went straight on to Lincoln University.

“I thought, ‘Well if I don’t go to university out of school I’ll never get there. If I have a gap year I’ll end up driving tractors or dairy farming somewhere else so I went straight to Lincoln University,” O’Connor says.

Although he was a top student, he always wanted an outdoor, hands-on job and was never attracted to corporatetype roles.

“In high school I liked maths and physics, so that kind steered me towards thinking about engineering. However, I went to an engineering open day for school-leavers at one of the firms in Christchurch and I realised if I did that I’d be sitting at a desk and that didn’t really spin my wheels, so I thought, ‘Oh well, off to Lincoln I go’,” he says.

When he finished university, graduating with First Class Honours, O’Connor spent a summer working for a silage contracting business co-owned by

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Canterbury famer Peter O’Connor is the 2022 Dairy Industry Trainee of the Year. And after only a year in the industry, he is moving into a management role on a 400-cow farm near Lauriston.

well-known large-scale Canterbury dairy farmers Leighton and Michelle Pye. “I was talking to Leighton one day and he goes, ‘What are you doing after the season finishes?’, and I said I was going to go dairy farming. ‘Oh really’, he said, ‘One of my contract milkers is actually looking for a 2IC’,” he explains.

“I’d sort of had a 2IC role in my head.

I didn’t want to be holding myself back for a season while I got the experience, I wanted to take a bit of a dive into the deep end I suppose.”

The opportunity soon came with an interview with contract milker Steven Ketter.

“I think Leighton must have given me a good reference and Steve offered me the 2IC job which worked out really well, so after the contracting season finished at

the end of April, I had a month of milking and drying the cows off and whatnot and got into it,” he says.

“I’m happy to admit I was light on practical experience in some aspects, like springtime with calving cows. I’d always been around it but hadn’t really done it myself. I had a lot to learn there, just what to do when things go wrong with down cows and calving difficulties and what the best way to fix them is.”

He learnt fast about dairy farming Canterbury-style and its differences to farming on the West Coast.

“I tell people I came to Canterbury to learn how to make milk because production here per hectare is probably at least three times more than what we do on my home farm,” he says.

“People have said farming in

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July 2022

Canterbury is more of a science and farming on the West Coast is more of an art. In Canterbury you can turn the water on and have a very good idea of how much grass you’ll grow, but there’s a lot of unknowns over there on the coast.”

The 242ha, 900-cow Mayfield property, owned by the Pyes, is a high-input, highly productive operation, producing 499kg MS/cow, and just under 1850kg MS/ha this season. To help achieve that the cows are each fed 600kg of imported feed – palm kernel and grain – in the shed, as well as bought in silage.

“Whatever system you run, you’ve still got to make use of your grass so we make use of ours as much as we can, make sure we’re hitting residuals and we’ll adjust what we’re feeding to make sure that’s the priority. As the season’s gone on, that’s become more and more my responsibility,” he says.

O’Connor says he’s always asking questions and must have learnt fast because after one season Ketter offered him a significant step up the career ladder.

“I learnt a lot and I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I guess he thinks I’ve learnt enough that I can manage a farm,” he says.

Next season he is stepping up to a manager’s role, working for Ketter who has taken on a 400-cow 50:50 sharemilkers job about half an hour up the road in addition to his contract milking position.

He had expected to stay in his 2IC role for another season but has embraced the opportunity to take on a manager’s job, which he reckons shows his belief

Peter obtained a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (First Class Honours) from Lincoln University and worked a variety of jobs during holidays, including silage contracting.

“I tell people I came to Canterbury to learn how to make milk because production here per hectare is probably at least three times more than what we do on my home farm.” that dairy farming offered enormous opportunities is well-founded.

“I still think there is a stigma, or a looking down on dairy farmers in

Peter is a third-generation dairy farmer and did entertain the idea of studying engineering but decided sitting at a desk all day wasn’t for him.

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July 2022

New Zealand, but there’s so much opportunity. I loved driving tractors (back home and in the university holidays) but I didn’t see the future in them.

“There’s lots of opportunity to buy stock or get into your own business, whether it be contract milking or something like that, you start working for yourself, whereas if you’re driving tractors, then you’ve got to go and find all the work for yourself and have a tractor and a tractor is a depreciating asset, whereas stock are appreciating,” he says.

O’Connor’s not sure what his next career move will be after managing but he’s confident opportunities will arise.

“I don’t want to say I’ll definitely go contract milking after that or whatever because there might be opportunities for something else, like an equity partnership, a small sharemilking opportunity or an opportunity to buy into something,” he says.

“I’ve got an open mind on what my next step might be but I want to get to farm ownership, and to do that you have to build your equity and to build your equity you have to take risks and keep moving up.”

And he’s unsure whether he’ll stay in Canterbury long-term or move back over the hill to the West Coast.

“I don’t have the answer to that yet. I do quite like farming in Canterbury, it’s very calculated, you know what you’re going to get, and a lot less rain. I like to think I will go home, but whether I actually get there or not might be another story,” he says. n

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ROAD TO DAIRYING

Taking her shot

By Samantha Tennent

A former consulting officer has taken the plunge and changed careers to be a full-time farmer.

A

lthough she loved spending weekends on her uncle’s farm, Kate Stewart never considered farming as a career option straight after secondary school. But after three years as a consulting officer at DairyNZ, she took the plunge last year and stepped into a full-time farm assistant role in Linton, Manawatū.

“I grew up in town but I would spend every weekend I could out on the farm,” Stewart says.

“It was the calves that got me and my ultimate goal is herd and farm ownership.”

She studied Agriscience at Massey University and received a DairyNZ scholarship and entered their graduate programme after she finished.

“I remember DairyNZ consulting officer Abby Scott coming to talk to our Teen Ag club at school and I thought it sounded like a really cool job,” she recalls.

She loved the role, especially daily interaction and learning from farmers.

But being on the other side has really opened her eyes.

“I have so much more appreciation for what is going through a farmer’s head every day, I feel like if I was a consulting officer now I would be asking so many more deeper questions,” she says.

When the Linton opportunity arose, she asked DairyNZ for a sabbatical, she was not sure if she wanted to go farming long-term. But since then she has made the decision to go into farming and has left DairyNZ. Next season she will take on the assistant herd manager’s role on her uncles, Craig and Duncan Rowe’s farm in Rongotea next season.

She knew she had to give farming a shot, particularly when she was involved in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, interacting with contestants always left her thinking she wanted to do what they were doing.

“I was 50:50 whether I wanted to farm long-term when I first started and

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Kate Stewart spent three years as a consulting officer helping farmers before taking the plunge and diving into a full-time dairy farming role.

“I didn’t know if I was cut out to be a farmer but I didn’t need to be so worried, I’ve really enjoyed it and my support network has been extremely valuable.”

Kate Stewart I thought after a year I would know for sure,” she says.

“But I’ve worked out I’m not stuck in one or the other, I could go back into a rural professional role anytime, there are plenty of options.”

If she could get a message back to herself 12 months ago, she would tell herself not to be so scared.

“I didn’t know if I was cut out to be a farmer but I didn’t need to be so worried, I’ve really enjoyed it and my support network has been extremely valuable,” she says.

She has leaned on her friends from NZ Young Farmers a lot. During calving, she found she was hanging out for the

meetings for social interaction. And her clubmates were who she called with all her silly questions.

“They’ve all been through it themselves and had all the same bad days, so they’ve been a great help,” she says.

The opportunities she has had and the networks she has built have really paid off. And she credits the farmers she interacted with while she was at DairyNZ. Two standouts were Wendy and Richard Ridd, she finds what they have created inspirational.

But her ultimate inspiration has to be her uncle Craig.

“He has always been a big driver for me, I always looked up to him and wanted to be a part of their business,” she says.

For other people looking at a career change to farming, she recommends reaching out to people to build connections. She hopes people get a good start with a good boss but knows a network can support and help guide people if they do end up in a tricky situation.

“I say just give it a go, but know what you’re getting yourself into and really have that support network around you,” she says. n

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

ROAD TO DAIRYING

Eager to learn

By Samantha Tennent

Growing up as a townie hasn’t held back one young farmer who is keen and eager to learn.

A

lthough Conrad Schreiber had not grown up on a dairy farm he was keen and eager to enter the industry and take on a dairying role. As soon as he left school, he put feelers out and did just that.

He landed an interview from an advert he posted on Facebook and must have made an impression as they offered him the job on the spot and he started the next day.

“It all happened quickly but they could see I was keen,” Schreiber says.

“I was completely honest and my ad said that I hadn’t experienced farming before but I knew the basics.”

He had started life in Taranaki where his uncle runs the family farm and Conrad and his family moved to the Kapiti Coast where he went to Paraparaumu College.

He had enough of a taste for farm life that he knew he wanted to get into it as soon as he could. He took agriculture through school and some additional courses through Taratahi to get some basic skills under his belt. But he knew the best way was to get stuck in and he would learn along the way.

“Looking back I realise it was a bit of a gamble jumping into that role so quickly, but I was fortunate with the team, they looked after me and taught me a lot,” he says.

“And they liked me so much they’re keen for me to come work for them again when they buy their own farm soon.”

He spent two and a half seasons on that farm, which split-calved 780 cows in Levin before venturing to find further responsibility and try a different type of farm. He wanted to continue learning and found a 2IC role on a smaller spring

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July 2022

Despite his lack of hands-on experience, young farmer Conrad Schreiber took the plunge into dairy farming and is now slowly climbing the industry ladder.

calving farm in Kairanga, Manawatū, where he has been for three seasons.

And keeping with the theme of making quick decisions, he entered the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards in his first season at Rongotea.

“I was completely honest and my ad said that I hadn’t experienced farming before but I knew the basics.”

“I hadn’t considered it before, but when I came here, the farm manager was a big advocate for the awards and encouraged me to give it a go,” he says.

“But I had nearly hit the time limit for years in the industry so I had to jump in straight away.”

He took a lot away from the awards experience and found the most useful part was that he was able to identify where he needed to learn more or develop his skills.

“The feedback from the judging

process was really valuable, I found out what gaps I had in my knowledge and what I needed to work on,” he says.

He bought the feedback back to the farm to learn and develop further. He is planning to enter the next level of the awards next year to do the same thing, get that gauge of where he is at and identify what he needs to learn.

“I’m looking forward to the next step in my career, so I am soaking up as much as I can,” he says.

He has also found his experiences with NZ Young Farmers have contributed a lot to his career development. He has held a vice-chair role for his local club Fitzherbert a couple of times and he has entered the FMG Young Farmer of the Year, which has taught him a lot.

“Young Farmers has been another way to develop my skillset and knowledge,” he says.

“I also really enjoy the connections, especially meeting other dairy farmers to learn from.”

He is aiming to make it to a regional final one day but in the meantime he continues to learn and develop and enjoy the opportunities around him both inside and outside of the farm. n

61

TECHNOLOGY

Turning problems into opportunities

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Callaghan Innovation chief executive Vic Crone says New Zealand agritech companies will make better progress through partnerships with overseas companies.

DAIRY FARMER July 2022

By Tony Benny

New Zealand companies are at the forefront of agritech and are taking their solutions and products globally.

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ew Zealand agritech companies are well-placed to lead solutions to problems confronting global agriculture but will make more progress if they partner with overseas players, Callaghan Innovation chief executive Vic Crone told attendees at a recent webinar put on by B.linc, Lincoln University’s collaborative innovation hub.

“We know from the work that the Productivity Commission has done, when you’ve got that connectivity internationally, your innovation rates for your products and services, your marketing and your business model are a lot higher than if you were just a New Zealand company alone,” Crone told her online audience.

Callaghan Innovation works with Agritech NZ, putting the governmentled agritech industry transformation plan into action, alongside industry, government agencies NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Crown Research Institutes.

“The aim of that plan is to turbocharge commercialisation in this sector and to grow capable, internationally-ready New Zealand agritech businesses who are solving global problems in agriculture which of course will benefit us but ultimately benefit the world,” she says.

She says Callaghan Innovation knows of 300 agritech companies in NZ, including many small businesses as well as larger ones including LIC and Gallaghers.

“They are value-adding services, providing meaningful, high-value jobs for people in our country and it is solving New Zealand and the world’s productivity and sustainability problems. That really sums up for me the importance of this industry in New Zealand and how innovation can actually help this industry move forward,” she says.

With the world population projected to top 10 billion by 2050, far more food will need to be produced, but the planet cannot sustain that if resources continue to be used as they have up until now so new technology will be vital.

But there are additional challenges to overcome to achieve that, including

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July 2022

climate change and the loss of biodiversity and ageing populations in countries like NZ. “In the next 15 to 20 years, our 65-plus population will double and our working population will increase by only 10%, so I think you can probably see straight away some of the challenges we are going to have,” she says.

There are massive geopolitical changes too with the rise of economies like China and India, as well as South East Asia, Mexico and Russia, depending somewhat on the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine, all on target to make gains over the next 20 years.

“They are valueadding services, providing meaningful, high-value jobs for people in our country and it is solving NZ and the world’s productivity and sustainability problems.”

Vic Crone “So kind of out goes the UK, Germany, Japan, a lot of partners we used to trade with.”

Social values are changing too,” she says.

“That hits at the heart of the agriculture industry and that’s particularly been around should we be continuing to consume animals at the rate that we have been, so there’s a lot of change happening globally and that’s before we get to covid, a war that’s going on and then the flow-on effects like inflation.”

The problems are manifold and serious but they also present opportunities for NZ agritech entrepreneurs, she says, including real-time environmental monitoring, non-chemical crop protection, labour shortage solutions and water management.

“California and Australia have had some of the driest and wettest years on record and it’s really starting to spur calls for water conservation, how do we use

water differently, collect water differently and get water around our countries differently in order to do what we need to do to feed the world,” she says.

NZ companies already in this space include Wildeye, which harnesses live sensor information to manage water.

Now based in California, Wildeye has an Auckland-based R&D team.

Irrigation software design company Irricad, formed by Lincoln Agritech which is owned by Lincoln University, now has a strong North American partner, she says.

“They’ll use Irricad software to design new irrigation systems into orchards and they have a recent exclusive agreement with Autonomous Pivot of some ground penetrating radar technology, one of the technologies developed at Lincoln Agritech,” she says.

NZ isn’t alone in having a labour shortage, exacerbated by covid, immigration issues and an ageing population.

“Farmers and growers around the world are facing a real shortage and luckily there is technology that is coming our way and there are lots of examples in New Zealand in terms of bringing in robotics to help us on our land,” she says.

Crone lists Marlborough automated oyster growing and harvesting company Flipfarm Systems, hi-tech seeding, weeding and harvesting pioneer Greentech Robotics, and cow collar provider Halter as examples of NZ agritech solutions providers.

“They’re doing everything from managing herds and automating that so there’s not so much human intervention through to automatic picking of fruit in our orchards.

“That whole automation space is absolutely critical to how we address some of the labour shortages, not just in New Zealand but globally,” she says.

Crone says she’s “super proud” of the NZ companies taking their agricultural technology to the world.

“The change technology is bringing is accelerating so it’s our responsibility as leaders to work out how we integrate human and machine, how we upskill our people, how we think about our organisations and interactions between hardware, software and the human interface,” she says. n

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ANIMAL HEALTH

The 1080-cow herd on the Dampney farm is fed pelletised Vitalise year-round to keep their calcium and magnesium topped up at all times of the season.

Simple and effective Switching to pelletised animal nutrition seven years ago has saved a Canterbury farming couple time and stress ever since.

I

ssues with cows going down with milk fever was costing Jon and Hayley Dampney valuable time.

The couple are peak milking 1080 cows on a System 3-4 farm in the heart of Mid Canterbury, just inland from Ashburton. They’ve been using Vitalise on-farm for seven years as the main source of animal nutrition for their herd, and Dampney swears that it is the only way to go.

“Down cows waste so much time, and dusting is inefficient as well as a time waster. If you are the type of farmer who wants to save time during the busiest periods of the season, it’s a no-brainer,” he says.

Vitalise is a pelletised supplement created by CP Lime Solutions, a company specialising in calcium carbonatebased nutrition and fertiliser. From humble beginnings, born after advice and requests from farmers themselves, Vitalise can include any nutrients, starting with just calcium through to magnesium, trace elements, rumenox and much more. The pellets are created through a unique process which results

64

in a product that can be added to any inshed feed system, and is 100% utilisable by the dairy cow.

The Dampneys started using the company’s CalMag blend after having milk fever issues from the beginning of spring, despite dusting and supplementing minerals through the water.

“Down cows waste time, and dusting is inefficient. If you want to save time during the busiest periods of the season, then Vitalise is a nobrainer.”

Jon Dampney

“As soon as I heard that it was pelletised I knew we were onto a winner.

It just fits right in with our grain blends, the cows just eat it along with everything

else; it’s simple and effective,” he says.

An increasing number of down cows were costing them valuable time and they thought there simply must be a more efficient way. After hearing about Vitalise through their farm consultant, he said he has never looked back. Now, they don’t dust at all and have seen next to no issues with milk fever since they started using it. What’s more, they say that they have saved several hours of time for them and staff by not dusting, fixing gear or filling and cleaning the dosatron.

They feed it through a one-tonne mineral dispenser installed beside their silo, and say that it is an easy way to ensure that their cows are receiving minerals daily along with their feed.

Knowing that every cow is getting her allocated amount of minerals every day is invaluable, Dampney explains. He feeds it all year-round as he believes it is extremely important to keep their calcium and magnesium topped up at all times of the season, especially for those higher producing cows.

“When you’re milking cows you have to replace the nutrients that you are

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

Mid Canterbury farmers Jon and Hayley Dampney discuss their herd’s nutrition with their Vitalise rep. The couple have been using Vitalise for seven years to reduce cows going down from milk fever.

removing, every dairy farmer knows that,” he says.

“How you choose to do that is obviously up to you, but why wouldn’t you want to do it the most efficient and easiest way?”

Because Vitalise comes in a pelletised form there is zero waste, and it is 100% utilisable, unlike powdered nutrients or water supplements. The cow is receiving everything that she needs throughout

the season, and because of this there are no issues with deficiencies come springtime. As Dampney says, it reduces stress and takes away the element of the unknown. n

by CP Lime

Get wise with Vitalise

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The smarter way to healthier cows

DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

To discover the optimum way of getting calcium and magnesium into your cows visit cplimesolutions.net.nz or call us on 0508 678 464 65

ANIMAL HEALTH

Bring your wellbeing plan to life Samantha Tennent

I

t can be daunting trying to wade through modern requirements on dairy farms. But changes can bring opportunities and a shift in focus can help lessen feelings of frustration and confusion. Rather than “I have to do this because I have been told to” try “Okay, I have to do this, but how can I take advantage of it for my business?”

Now we have a season under our belt, vets and farmers are starting to get a handle on what it means to develop and implement a wellbeing plan for a herd.

So how do we bring it to life, take it beyond compliance and take advantage of that ‘must do’ to benefit the herd?

Drive efficiency A herd wellbeing plan is focused around various herd health and welfare aspects. It provides a framework to make sure the various topics are covered in conversations with the veterinarian.

Some areas may only need a light graze, while others may need more attention. It helps bring both the farmer and the vet onto the same page.

When your vet has more of an understanding of what is important to you, what your motives and values are, they can tailor their advice and support to your unique needs. The wellbeing plan encourages conversations that vets might not get a chance to dive into generally and if they are both on the same page, it gives them a chance to identify where they could add value with information and considerations.

And plans are a good basis for the seasonal relationship between your vet and the farm. They provide an overview, highlighting current performance and where there are opportunities to improve. The plan is the framework to determine which activities should happen and when for what is relevant for the individual herd.

For a time poor vet team, having information can also help them identify where their farmers are struggling the

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Having a herd wellbeing plan in place will help farmers minimise productivity losses or loss of animals.

“When your vet has more of an understanding of what is important to you, what your motives and values are, they can tailor their advice and support to your unique needs.” most and where focused efforts could get the best return for their farmers. They may start identifying patterns or notice commonalities, which then helps them determine how to allocate resources and ensure they support farms as best as possible.

Chance to improve If plans help prevent productivity losses or loss of animals, there is a significant return on investment, which is something every business strives for.

And comparing season on season shows what is going well and what may still need work.

Making a plan also creates accountability, by agreeing to do something with someone else, you can hold each other accountable and make sure it happens. And if you tried but didn’t get the results you were after, you

can determine another tactic and keep a record of what has and hasn’t been working.

If a conversation while developing a herd wellbeing plan highlights gaps in some of the farm’s plans, there is a chance to address those. Maybe the farm doesn’t have a formal adverse event plan, it might be thought out but not on paper, so the rest of the team or family don’t have clear instructions if they are left in charge and the weather turns for example.

The key is to work out what your farm can use to improve systems, processes and ultimately outcomes. And once things are in place, it is fairly easy to roll on season on season.

It can be challenging adapting to the changing landscape and understanding the various elements needed for farm administration but it is worth considering the opportunities that can arise too. Having clear information at your fingertips supports relationships, herd health and wellbeing and ultimately business outcomes. n

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Check out the tips and info section on our website to explore more ways you can use your data to help your business welfarm.co.nz

Who am I?

Samantha Tennent is the general manager of WelFarm Ltd

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July 2022

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Thanks to Khan and Sandra Ward for this months stunning photos of their cows on their new feed pad during the recent storms. The couple contract milk for Marire South Ltd at Black Gully, West Otago, milking 580 cows on a 300ha platform. They winter the herd on farm and the stand off pad, so in adverse weather events, cows can be taken off crops and put onto the pad to prevent damage to pastures and prevent welfare issues of the cows.

One last word …

F

irst of all, congratulations to our colleague Hugh Stringleman who was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to agricultural journalism as Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Hugh has been an agricultural journalist for more than 40 years, covering NZ’s agriculture in a range of farming publications, including Farmer’s Weekly and Dairy Farmer. He has written and has co-authored several books and is well-regarded for his thorough research, accuracy and balance in his reporting, presenting complex issues in informative and instructive ways.

He has been the agricultural editor of The Press in Christchurch, managing editor of NZ Rural Press for 14 years and a contributing journalist for GlobalHQ for 20 years. He was president of the NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators (NZGAJC) in 2008-2009 and led the Organising Committee from 2013 for the Guild’s successful

hosting of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) World Congress in NZ in 2015. He has been a member of the National Executive for 10 years and has represented NZ at IFAJ conferences around the world.

Over the years he has won numerous journalism awards.

Congratulations also go to Bryan Gibson and the team at Farmers Weekly for being named as finalists in the Weekly Newspaper category in the Voyager Media Awards and Ash Robinson in the Video Journalist of the Year. We will find out if they bring home the gongs in August. Good luck to you all.

Last month, farmers would normally have made their annual

pilgrimage to Mystery Creek for the NZ National Agricultural Fieldays but due to covid once again, these will be held in late November.

Winter is well and truly here.

The wild weather over the past few weeks has caused havoc on farms.

Massive storms, tornadoes, flooding and now snow is hitting parts of the country creating even more work for farmers when they should be enjoying some downtime ahead of the calving season.

This is usually a good time to wrap up in front of the fire with a good read but unfortunately, the farm work never stops with maintenance and cleaning, as well as feeding out and shifting stock.

And of course, calving is just around the corner so many are preparing for the season ahead. I have yet to hear of any early calves, so cows appear to be holding on. But as farmers know, cows love to drop their calves when the weather is at its absolute worst.

Good luck for the new season.

Sonita Like us: farmersweekly.co.nz Follow us: @DairyFarmer15 Read us anywhere: farmersweekly.co.nz DAIRY FARMER

July 2022

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DAIRY DIARY July 2022 July 5 – Dairy Women’s Network Today’s Calf, Tomorrow’s Cow, Ashburton.

Proper care and nutrition for today’s calves can set tomorrow’s cows up for a lifetime of high performance.

Feel prepared and ready for the calf rearing season as Natalie Hughes (SealesWinslow) and Natalie Chrystal (AgriVantage) take you through best practice to maximise calves’ potential right from day one.

Info at www.dwn.co.nz/events July 6 – DairyNZ Are you interested in joining a group focusing on enhancing your business skills, understanding financials and the challenges you’re facing?

The Hinds Management Development Group is a great chance for farm managers, contract farmers and VOSM to upskill, network and benchmark with peers at a similar stage in their farming career.

We have started this group, but have room for more to join.

Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz July 6 – Dairy women’s Network Movie Night, Taranaki.

It’s time for a get-together before calving.

Come along and join Dairy Women’s Network – Taranaki for a social night out. Bring a friend, neighbour or your team for a catch up and watch the movie How to Please a Woman.

Drinks and nibbles will be provided by Ballance AgriNutrients.

Cost: $16 per person payable upon registration (includes movie ticket).

Please RSVP by Wednesday, July 1.

Info at www.dwn.co.nz/events

Benchmark welfarm.co.nz

July 6 – Primary People FarmTune workshop 7, Southland.

Take waste out of your business, empower your people and grow your bottom line with FarmTune, the lean management programme for farmers.

Info at www.primarypeople.co.nz/ July 7 – Dairy Women’s Network Today’s Calf, Tomorrow’s Cow, Invercargill Proper care and nutrition for today’s calves can set tomorrow’s cows up for a lifetime of high performance.

With expo stands from industry organisations around the room, there will be plenty of experts in animal care and nutrition to call on for advice, all under one roof.

You’ll also receive tools and tips to support you and your teams’ nutrition.

Info at www.dwn.co.nz/events July 7 – DairyNZ Come and join us for the first Lower North Island High Input Discussion Group of the new season; there’s lots to look at and discuss on this farm.

Massey University have implemented a higher Input feeding system and use technology to achieve a much higher level of production than was the historical norm They have also just completed a state-of-the-art milking facility.

Info at www.dairyevents.co.nz

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