INTEREST
“It was something we relied upon a lot in the early days. But we had noticed up to the early 90s when we were ploughing there would usually be seagulls following behind, getting the worms. But they disappeared after a while, simply because the worms had too.” He figured the urea was doing a good job of growing the grass and killing off the worm populations. “So, we have made a move to slow release fertilisers, with slow release urea minimising volatilisation, making sure that 90% or more of what we put on actually gets used, not lost through the system or to the air.” “Basically, with urea we are tipping an oilbased product into the ground, and I was not comfortable with that.” He has become a lot more targeted in the farm’s fertiliser use. This year one dairy farm is going to be soil tested across all paddocks for the first time, with an aim that application will be tailored based on what each paddock’s specific nutrient needs are.
ABOVE: Brendan is proud of the family’s long
heritage and history on the land, and he appreciates the huge changes witnessed in his father Phillip’s lifetime when he started farming at age 18 BELOW RIGHT: Ready for lunch
He also appreciates the ‘small company’ feel about Synlait, where staff recognise suppliers by name and have the time to sit down and enjoy a drink with them. “And that really is the case right through the entire company from the tanker driver up.”
In 2007 the Dolans decided to supply Synlait, a decision they are very happy with today. As a main supplier of A2 milk to that company, Brendan has worked to get one herd completely A2 milk supply, and the second comprising about three quarters A2. “And this year only about 50 of our 300 heifers would be A1 milk.” The family signed up with Synlait’s “Lead with Pride” best practice scheme, aiming to instil another level of excellence into milk supply that recognises and financially rewards suppliers who achieve dairying best practice through their entire farming operation. “It is a lot of work, but the whole programme is aimed to ensure we can get the best value possible for our milk, while also being able to honestly show that we are doing all we can to run a sustainable, successful farming operation.” Synlait also encourages and supports farms to be compliant with all the changes in farming practice. Brendan and his sharemilkers have achieved high pass levels in the Lead with Pride programme. 20
R E AL FARM E R
Sustainability underscores the family’s entire farming operation. Brendan has not used straight urea on pasture for five years.
It is a move that makes not only environmental but also economic sense, as farmers grapple with fertiliser costs this season that in some instances are double what they were a year ago. Next year this will be done on the other dairy farm. “With the slow release nitrogen we are getting about 120 days of release. It shows in crops, we have yielded up to 32t a hectare dry matter with our fodder beet.” The challenge with the beets is to get the ground preparation right and ensure the spray programme for the first three sprays is spot on.
