Getting The Basics Right 2017

2017

Innovation for Future Profit

PUBLISHED BY RURAL NEWS GROUP

ISSN: 1176-2012

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1a. Basic

Grass intake

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Improved fertility1

Increased grass intake1

More milk1

1b. Elementary

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1). Data on file.

Merial is a Sanofi company. MERIAL NZ LTD. LEVEL 3, MERIAL BUILDING, OSTERLEY WAY, MANUKAU, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND | WWW.MERIAL.CO.NZ | EPRINEX® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF MERIAL. REGISTERED PURSUANT TO THE ACVM ACT 1997 | NOs. A7191 | ©COPYRIGHT 2015 MERIAL NZ LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NZ-15-EPR-156.

2a. Basic

Grass intake

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Maximised production

Grass intake

2b. Elementary

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PROUDLY AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL VETERINARY CLINIC. Merial is a Sanofi company. MERIAL NZ LTD. LEVEL 3, MERIAL BUILDING, OSTERLEY WAY, MANUKAU, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND | WWW.MERIAL.CO.NZ | ECLIPSE® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF MERIAL. REGISTERED PURSUANT TO THE ACVM ACT 1997 | NOs. A9270 | ©COPYRIGHT 2015 MERIAL NZ LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NZ-15-ECL-157.

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BETTER COWS | BETTER LIFE

FOREWORD

Science, dairy partners envision growth, profit TOM RICHARDSON AGRESEARCH CHIEF EXECUTIVE

AN EXCITING NEW partnership in

Southland and Otago is a further joint effort by science and the dairy industry, in this instance in a research farm called Southern Dairy Hub (SDH). We expect this to make a real difference to the growth and profitability of dairy farming, and the continued success of New Zealand’s exports.

The key is that the SDH will be led by local farming know-how, and the science done at the site, just north of Invercargill, will be focused on finding solutions to the challenges unique to dairy farming in Southland and Otago. As the industry as a whole grows and adapts to the challenges it faces, this partnership approach and science focused on the key issues is crucial.

Dairy plays an important role in the Otago and Southland economies, employing full time at least 5300 people and 2000 jobs in the processing sector.

About one fifth of the region’s GDP is sourced from agriculture. There is still room for growth, and that is where science can help.

The SDH fills a void

in the Deep South by advancing science facilities and raising investment. It will also help provide a pathway for the region’s students to jobs in the dairy industry, and the opportunity to follow firsthand the tremendous technological change happening in the industry.

The SDH has been made possible by the partnership between AgResearch and DairyNZ – both are paying in $5m – and Southern Dairy Development Trust, which paid $1.25m through local farmers and businesses.

At AgResearch we are focusing on new ways of working with our partners -- such as those in the dairy industry -- to maximise the gains in farm profitability and NZ’s prosperity, while also meeting aspirations in sustainability.

For example, where DairyNZ has a strategy for growth, we want to provide the kind of scientific support that helps DairyNZ achieves its goals.

We worked successfully with DairyNZ and others when AgResearch intro-

duced the Irish wasp as a bio-control for the destructive clover root weevil. This has saved NZ an estimated $489 million in the decade since the wasp was first released.

Such is the success of the wasp on the weevil populations, the savings through reduced production losses and reduced fertiliser use are expected to continue at $158m each year. It’s a great story for farming when you consider that a 2005 study predicted that without control the weevil could have cut farm margins by 10-15%. A comparable venture is the new Lincoln Hub near Christchurch, due to open fully in 2019, a centre for important partnerships involving AgResearch, DairyNZ and others.

The Lincoln Hub will be both a base for key national science programmes, and a place – like the SDH – where the science can be tested

and validated in farm settings. This science developed onfarm can quickly translate into big gains for the industry. The 349ha SDH is being converted into a working dairy farm with facilities for science and accommodation for workers.

It is designed to run up to four 200-cow herds, one used as the control to demonstrate top commercial performance.◗

Tom Richardson

What’s stealing your production?

The future is looking brighter – now is the time to invest in newly sown pasture and maximise production.

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12

CONTENTS 08 Pasture 46

Grasses of the future

26 Soil

Protecting peat

32

Maize

Resilient farm systems

36 Feed

EDITOR Sudesh Kissun sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

42 Effluent and Water Management 54

Storage requirements Breeding white faces

56 Calving/Calf Rearing

ADVERTISING MANAGER Ted Darley

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Dave Ferguson Becky Williams

PUBLISHED BY Rural News Group

50 Mating Management

PUBLISHER Brian Hight

PRINTED BY PMP

Making great silage

Handling bobby calves

63 Milk Quality

58

Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622

Tough legislation looms

70 Mastitis

Keeping disease at bay

72

Animal Health

Digital dermatitis

78 Agribusiness

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Phone 09.307.0399 Fax 09.307.0122

Farming in tough times

85 Employment

86

Keeping up with paperwork

86 Machinery

Threesome we should all remember

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

8 // PASTURE

Managing pasture surplus to increase quality SURPLUS MANAGEMENT IS among the greatest skills

of pasture management and is critical for maximising pasture eaten and feed quality.

If pasture quality decreases, peak milk quickly declines.

Surplus management is the technique of anticipating pasture growth and planning ahead.

A feed wedge is a key tool to help identify surpluses early (see www.dairynz.co.nz/ feedwedge).

Other indicators of a pasture surplus include a rise in grazing residuals for two-three days and cows leaving 10-20% of clumps

either untouched or marginally eaten into.

There are several options for dealing with a pasture surplus.

Looking at the positives and negatives for each option will help determine which action is most suitable for your farm.

Options for managing a pasture surplus Pit silage

+ Easy to feed out.

- Enough surplus grass needs to be ready at the same time to make pit silage. It can result in too much area out for too long (e.g. if you can’t get contractors on time).

Baleage

+ Easier to make small amounts, reducing the risk of creating a feed deficit. Potential for high quality.

- Feeding out is labour intensive in large herds. Usually more expensive than pit silage.

Hay

+ Useful for small amounts and supplementing crops when needed (e.g. for dry cow feed).

- Greater risk of quality loss due to rain. Feed quality is low at 8-9 MJME (useable energy).

Summer crops

+ Poor-performing paddocks

can be taken out of rotation and a bulk feed crop can increase the paddock’s annual yield.

- Risk of crop failure (especially high in a dry spring/ summer). Crop might not be required in a wet summer.

Feeding off crop can increase workload. Farm may not be able to get the paddock back into new grass early enough to get good winter growth.

Deferred grazing (Restricting surplus to a defined area and grazing later)

+Provides re-seeding of ryegrass and white clover, leading to paddock

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

10 // PASTURE

improvement. Count on only 50-70% being eaten, but selective grazing means the highest quality feed will be eaten. It can be a better fit of feed supply to demand, as more flexibility is available when grazed than some crops.

- Watch out for ryegrass staggers if presenting a high endophyte ryegrass.

rates and surpluses. However, the reduction in growth rates is often not sufficient and generally results in residuals increasing. It is very risky to speed up rotation when pasture growth rates are variable, as if growth rates drop, you will be facing a feed deficit. It’s often difficult to extend the round out again.

Mowing

Slow round

+ Useful to manage a small surplus or to restore quality.

- Expect some feed to be wasted when mowing.

Additional time and cost.

(Pushing feed ahead into a period of deficit/summer)

Speed up rotation

A common myth is that a fast rotation (when grazing occurs before growth of the third leaf) can reduce growth

+ Reduces the size of future feed deficit.

- Lower quality pasture.

Pre-grazing levels become too high. If mowing in front of cows is then needed, feed is lost and additional costs incurred.◗ Article supplied by DairyNZ

CALCULATING THE AREA TO BE HARVESTED OR DEFERRED The area to be harvested or deferred can be estimated from feed demand and the average estimate of growth rate until the harvested paddocks are back in the round.

Area required to feed the cows = Target feed demand/ha x farm area (ha) Pasture growth rate EXAMPLE Area required to feed the cows = (3.0 cows/ha x 18kg DM/cow) x 100ha farm 60kg DM/ha/day = 54/60 x 100ha = 90ha Area to be shut = 100ha – 90ha = 10ha The longer the paddock is closed for silage, the higher the risk of pasture growth rates slowing on the remainder of the farm. In this situation, the late harvesting of silage could create a feed deficit.

Monitoring what’s happening on the rest of the farm will allow more or fewer paddocks to be made into silage when the contractor arrives.

For more information www.dairynz.co.nz/feedwedge www.dairynz.co.nz/pasture

Have your cooling system assessed – and save Tru-Test’s milk cooling assessment is already proving to be an ideal way for understanding what (if anything) you may need to do to upgrade your dairy refrigeration system ahead of the new milk cooling regulations.

“It’s possible to spend a lot more money than is necessary – the key is careful ‘forensics’ and considering all options when you do identify a need,” TruTest’s Milk Cooling Waikato Area Sales Manager Dave Gray says.

The milk cooling assessment is a standard service offered by Tru-Test to dairy farmers at no cost. It involves having data loggers placed on a farm’s dairy refrigeration system for a minimum of four continuous milkings to assess vat temperatures, milk entry line temperature and plate cooler water entry temperature.

“The milk cooling assessment is a standard service offered free by Tru-Test to dairy farmers at no cost”.

Tru-Test then provides a no obligation summary report including analysis of your plant performance against the new NZCP1 new milk cooling standards and recommendations for any improvements required.

Tru-Test Milk Cooling rep, Dave Gray discussing Milk Cooling Assessment results with customer Neal Conning.

Independent estimates suggest around a third of dairy farms need significant upgrades such as increased refrigeration capacity or pre-chilling. Another third needs only relatively modest tweaks and the remainder already comply.

Dave recently had a farmer who was about to accept a quote from a supplier for an ice bank for pre cooling. “We did a milk cooling assessment and discovered that rather than precooling all that was needed was an upgraded refrigeration unit. Not only was it considerably cheaper, it provided the farmer with a better result.”

system but once the assessment was completed it was realised they actually needed no change at all.

Dave says there are multiple options for improving cooling capacity, and to be wary of anyone who tries to sell you one particular option.

Dave also had another farmer he recently did a milk cooling assessment for who thought he needed to upgrade his cooling

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

12 // PASTURE

AgResearch technician Anne Allan trimming back some of the enhanced ryegrass.

Big benefits from grasses of the future GRASSES BEING DEVELOPED by AgResearch

scientists are expected to result in healthier animals, better onfarm production and less harm to the environment, says Dr Tony Conner, the forage science group leader at AgResearch.

He says a grant from the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour Fund, and funding

by AgResearch and others, makes $25 million available over five years for research into genetically modified

forages.

The research is into enhanced versions of ryegrass, the most widely sown pasture species in New Zealand.

“We are enhancing the ryegrass to gain more energy and nutrition stored in the grass,” Conner says.

“This means the animals feeding on it are healthier, and therefore they become better producers for the farm. This means huge benefits for the agricultural economy.”

The development of lines of high metabolisable energy

ryegrass to date has resulted in 10% more metabolised energy in the grass and a 50% greater growth rate. If used in pastoral agriculture they would be expected to boost milk solids production 12-17% in a dairy system.

“We are also finding that a by-product of these changes to the grass will be important gains in respect of impacts on the environment,” Conner says.

“This includes less methane gas produced by animals, and the change in nitrogen requirements with these

grasses could reduce nitrate run-off.”

Conner says there is much benefit for NZ in building on the DairyNZ forage value index and the vision of the emerging pastoral industry forage strategy.

“We are mindful of the need to continue strong working relationships in this sector, including the scientists and its many stakeholders, so that our advances are relevant to industry. We need our forage science to be relevant and timely.” ◗

DOES YOUR DAIRY COMPANY HAVE STAFF DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS?

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

14 // PASTURE

Make good use of the cheapest form of feed IT IS NO secret that the

cheapest form of feed on New Zealand dairy farms is home grown pasture. Optimising pasture grown on farm and ensuring as much of that available pasture is utilised is the main driver of profitable dairying. That said, there are challenges in the persistence and performance of pastures if critical steps are missed when establishing and managing pasture.

Droughts and associated pest and weed issues have placed considerable pressure on ryegrass performance and persistence in many regions.

While challenging seasons are nothing new to farming, it is often a combination of factors, coupled with production expectations, that are placing demands on our pastures like never before.

While the challenging seasons are beyond our control, it is worth considering the four major factors that contribute to pasture production and persistence: soil fertility, pests and disease, grazing management and moisture.

Effective pasture management encompasses these four key factors, and although moisture is often not in our control, we can influence these other factors.

Soil fertility is the foundation to a good pasture, and it is important to understand the soil fertility status when considering your choice of cultivar.

The highest yielding cultivar is often not the best choice for a challenging situation.

Poor fertility soils will not result in a productive long lasting pasture. But not all grasses are made equal, so for more challenging environments hardier cultivars such as Rely AR37, which can tolerate lower

Tetraploid pastures like Base AR37 are higher in sugars and more palatable.

fertility, and set-stocking type grazing management, will be a better option. In comparison, our high performance cultivars such as Excess AR37 and Base AR37 require medium-high fertility to best support pasture production.

There can be huge variations in pest populations over different seasons, within different regions and even with different paddocks on an individual farm. Use several pest management tools when

establishing a new pasture, such as insecticides, cultivation techniques, slug bait, and in particular the use of seed treatment and appropriate endophyte.

Endophyte will set the pasture up for protection against key insects. Choose AR37 endophyte for the most comprehensive control of major pasture pests including black beetle, pasture mealy bug, Argentine stem weevil, root aphid and porina caterpillar.

After selecting the correct endophyte for your region and establishing that soil fertility level is optimum, grazing management will have a critical effect on pasture production, pasture utilisation and ultimately a profitable dairy system.

It begins with setting up new grasses well to encourage a strong and dense sward. This will go a long way in setting pastures up to both perform and persist. â——

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

PASTURE // 15

How to set up your grass for long life moisture and soil temperature are favourable to germination (sow no deeper than 10mm to allow clover to establish) kk Ensure the first grazing is only a light graze at 6-8 weeks (once pasture passes the ‘pull test’) kk This encourages the plant to tiller and also assists clover establishment by allowing more light into the base of the sward kk Short sharp grazings through the winter. Leaving the pasture long will cause the new daughter tillers to be shaded out and die, reducing the density of the pasture.

Graze to keep sward below 300mm in height kk Applying small doses of nitrogen fertiliser after the first couple of grazings will also encourage tillering kk Don’t cut for hay or silage in the first year. kk Many of the recommendations on new pasture management continue to apply after establishment, as persistence requires maintaining tillers and root mass. A well-established pasture will be more resilient to typical seasonal stresses and grazing requirements.

During challenging seasons, timely and appropriate adjustments of stocking rates, grazing residuals and

round lengths are essential for recovery and persistence.

Pasture management techniques may also vary depending on the ploidy of the pasture. Tetraploid pastures such as Base AR37 are typically more palatable given their higher cell contents to cell wall ratio, which simply means in comparison to a diploid pasture they are naturally higher in sugars.

This can result in increased animal intake and therefore improved pasture utilisation compared to a diploid pasture, although this does increase its susceptibility to being overgrazed, so ensure residuals are managed.

Moisture is the final factor that influences the performance of a pasture, and is often one we cannot control unless we have irrigation.

Taking control of those variables that we can influence will increase the performance and longevity of our pastures.

This ultimately will drive the optimisation of pasture grown and utilised onfarm and lay the foundation to increase profitability.

Article supplied by PGG Wrightson Seeds.

Mark Harris Waikato Dairy Farmer

Debbie Young Waikato - Gene Team

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kk Sow seed into a fine and firm seed bed when soil

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

16 // PASTURE

Farmers appreciate benefits but lack confidence TIM WOOD PROJECT MANAGER, PASTURE RENEWAL CHARITABLE TRUST

NOW IS THE time to plan to

renew pastures in autumn and to consider renewing more than in the past.

Pasture renewal rates in New Zealand are very low, i.e. about 2.5% for sheep and beef farms and 8% for dairy farms, yet reasons and evidence abound that suggest much benefit from renewing older pastures.

Research shows there is awareness of the benefits of planting new pastures, but there are perceived barriers: kk It is expensive kk New grasses don’t persist kk They need greater maintenance kk It is too hard (to take paddocks out of production/ difficult to fit into current

farm management, etc) Planting new pastures is an ‘intensive’ farming practice, therefore unattractive to farmers who see themselves as running low input farming systems.

Thus, some farmers may appreciate the benefits but lack the knowledge or confidence to give it a go. Yet done properly

the risks are minimal.

A big difference exists between your poorestproducing pastures and your best paddock; that difference in dry matter production will be affecting your bottom line.

Modern forage cultivars have been bred to improve productivity: kk They establish quickly

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

PASTURE // 17

Out with the old...

AND IN WITH THE NEW

The new way to grow is naturally, regenerating soils biologically. Join the biological movement with these new products from the original biological fertiliser

There is awareness of benefits of pasture renewal but there are perceived barriers.

kk They produce more dry

matter per hectare kk They resist pests and disease better kk They are more palatable, making them easier to manage kk They have a higher feed value (ME) so stock do better kk They grow more feed than weed grasses in winter and summer. kk There are a variety of cultivars that have been bred for specific conditions to suit every farm type and operation.

Replacing poor-producing paddocks with new pasture is profitable. It is among the simplest ways to invest onfarm for a significant and relatively predictable return.

The higher a farm’s performance, the more it can gain from intensifying its pasture renewal programme. But the benefits of pasture renewal are easily achieved in any sort of farming operation. Pasture renewal is not just a ‘high input’ farming practice; it can be incorporated into any farm management programme. And the benefits are obtainable by all grazing-based enterprises.

So why should I renew pasture?

Because pastures deteriorate over time

Most productive pastures deteriorate over time from a combination of natural and induced causes: weed invasion – particularly low quality grasses such as browntop, sweet vernal, crested dogstail, fine fescue, Yorkshire fog, or summer grasses such as paspalum and Mercer grass, dry/drought conditions, wet/flooding, poor fertility, poor drainage, diseases, insects, pugging, soil compaction, overgrazing and poor management.

Over time, the population of desirable, productive plants in a pasture declines, while populations of undesirable or unproductive plants increase and pastures become ‘runout’.

Typically old pasture produces less dry matter, is lower in ME and stock preference, and this decline compounds as the pasture ages.

New pasture is significantly more productive Typically successful pasture renewal will increase dry matter per hectare per year by about 3-6 tonnes (each year).

This is true of all farms, whether they are dairy or sheep, intensive or extensive, irrigated or not. Differences between these groups arise, of course, in the extent to which that extra

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

18 // PASTURE

Research over many years shows significant production benefits from new pasture compared to old pasture.

production can be converted into additional income.

Control over seasonality of production Modern pasture cultivars allow the farmer to choose the periods of the year when a new pasture will be most productive and when it goes to seed. Cultivars can be chosen to produce more grass in winter, summer and autumn than traditional pastures. Ryegrasses can be chosen with a more than six-week difference between the earliest and latest seeding dates. Farmers can pick cultivars to achieve the seasonal production peaks that create the best opportunities for them.

Consistently higher ME New pastures consistently produce an average of 0.5 more megajoules of ME/kg DM. (Note this benefit is over and above the extra dry matter produced by a new pasture.)

Reasons include: kk Higher proportion of desirable species kk Later and more uniform

flowering

Higher ME produces compounding benefit These attributes make a new pasture sward more attractive to the grazing animal, and thus easier to manage for the control of quality during late spring and early summer, so helping maximise animal intakes and pasture utilisation. As these pastures are grazed more uniformly, farmers can more easily control the quantity of residual dry matter when the animals are removed. Optimum post-grazing residual means optimum ME regrowth and therefore increased animal performance at the next productive grazing.

in NZ ryegrass pastures (variously called standard or wild endophyte) confers resistance of its host ryegrass plants to some insect pests, but it was found in the 1980s to cause ryegrass staggers and heat stress in animals.

Novel endophytes are continuing to be developed to maintain good animal health while enhancing the grass’s pest resistance characteristics. As well as Argentine stem weevil, novel endophytes confer resistance to pasture mealy bug, black beetle and root aphid, with more pests likely to be added to this list.

DairyNZ ran a three-year study comparing pastures with the novel AR1 and standard endophyte; the former produced 9% more milksolids than the latter.

Access to new endophytes Most new perennial ryegrass cultivars are available with the ‘novel’ endophytes developed to solve particular problems in different regions. The endophyte occurring naturally

Animals are better fed As noted above, animals on new pasture graze more grass, and that grass is leafier, higher in ME and more palatable. This will be reflected in:

kk Leafier sward, with fewer

seed heads produced kk Less dead leaf material.

kk More milk production kk Faster liveweight gains kk Higher stocking rates kk More contented animals kk It is estimated that plant

breeders may be achieving up to 1% genetic improvement annually. Renewing only every 20 years will result in missing out on up to 20%.

DairyNZ’s forage value index gives us an economic rating which suggests potential for high-value returns from pasture renewal: One Star cultivars profit from $16/ha to $218/ ha, Five Star Cultivars $325 to $750/ha (Source: forage value index. Mean differences in range of economic values between One Star and Five Star Cultivars across all regions). Performance values are expressed relative to the genetic base cultivars (average of a group of cultivars first tested before 1996) and expressed as star ratings.

DairyNZ’s economic survey shows pasture renewal costs are not much more than 1% of FWEs so cost saving is not great if regressing is delayed.

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Exceptional yielding tetraploid perennial ryegrass.

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Base tetraploid perennial ryegrass was selected from surviving ryegrasses under drought conditions.

With AR37 or AR1 endophyte it has excellent persistence and a low aftermath heading for better utilisation.

Base is the perfect cultivar because it delivers excellent pasture quality and has a high tiller density.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

20 // PASTURE

Coupled with 10-35% return on investment (ANZ), pasture renewal makes a lot of sense.

Much research over many years shows significant production benefits from new pasture compared to old pasture. For example, research

by Ray Brougham and Gerald Cosgrove in 1988 showed weight gains of 3-18mth old bulls were about 200kg/ha more on renewed pasture than the resident, an increase of about 10%. Also in 1981 Ray Brougham achieved 120kg/ ha more meat production from new pastures than from resident pastures (11-16% higher).

In 1994 Stevens and Turner from Agresearch showed liveweight gain in lambs over an 18 week period of 83g/day for run-out pasture and 135g/day on recently renewed perennial rye grass and white clover pasture and 185g/day on pasture containing chicory and red and

Animals on new pasture graze more grass.

white clover.

Other work by Stevens and others in 1994 indicated postweaning growth rates of 110 and 200g/day for unimproved resident and renewed pastures, respectively.

Katherine Tozer, of Agresearch, recently monitored 14 renewed and 10 non-renewed pastures over five years and observed significant advantages in renewed pasture in most cases and particularly in the first three years.

Lincoln University Dairy Farm has quantitatively monitored paddocks before and after renewal and renewed 10-15% of the farm annually based on this data. This has been highly profitable.

In these volatile times, consider the following: get costs under control, be as efficient as possible, particularly in pasture utilisation, and invest to dilute cost per unit of output.

Pasture renewal fits into

this very well. Pasture is the cheapest source of feed on all farms no matter what enterprise or system is being run. It is essential then that we grow as much grass as possible and utilise it well.

An increase in utilisation leads to an increase in quality and therefore an increase in production.

Renewing pastures is likely to reduce animal health problems.

Work done by ANZ bank suggests there is up to a 35% return on investment from subdivision, fertiliser and pasture renewal.

This is a great return on investment at a time when pastoral farmers are under pressure. The weaker payout to dairy farmers last season has seen new attention to the importance of pasture.

To support conversations on pasture renewal the Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust has a pasture condition score guide,

folded to pocket size, which is waterproof, to be used by farmers in the paddock to assess their current pasture quality.

The brochure also contains advice on the preferred action to take. On the flipside is a list of 10 top tips for pasture renewal success.

The trust’s website contains an e-book –Turn all your paddocks into high performing pasture – which can easily be downloaded onto home computers. Hard copies are also available.

Trust project manager Tim Wood urges advisors to get their farmer clients engaged early with decisions on their annual pasture renewal plan to ensure the best results.

Tools to assist advisors in their work are available on the trust’s website www.pasturerenewal.org.nz.

The trust’s pasture renewal calculators are also available online. ◗

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

PASTURE // 21

Grass is always greener NEW ZEALAND’S PASTURES could

become more tolerant to disease, pests and drought if an application to release 18 new grass species wins approval.

This could improve productivity, increase returns to farmers and enhance the environment.

AgResearch’s Margot Forde Germplasm Centre has applied to the EPA to evaluate the grasses’ potential in real farm conditions, rather than in the laboratory or containment facilities.

The EPA is calling for submissions on this proposal.

The grasses are all

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF THE 18 GRASS SPECIES The applicant identified the following benefits from the application to release 18 grass species, allowing researchers to effectively evaluate novel genetic material by: kk developing improved pasture grasses by

incorporating beneficial traits into hybrids and allowing full evaluation in the field to determine viability for the New Zealand market, and ensure it maintains a competitive edge in a global market kk potentially increasing the value of New Zealand’s

pastoral production kk potentially improving the resilience of pastures

to drought, by increasing the diversity of ryegrass incorporating drought tolerant traits, such as deeper root systems, into new breeding lines kk increasing resilience to pests and diseases by

POTENTIAL RISKS OF THE 18 GRASS SPECIES The applicant noted that there is a possibility that some cultivars developed from cross-breeding the 18 grass species with perennial ryegrass may show weedy traits. Once released, these cultivars may have adverse impacts on productive land and natural habitats if they are left to grow unchecked in our environment.

The applicant performed a weed risk assessment of the species in the application comparing weed risk scores with Lolium and Festuca species that are presently grown in New Zealand.

The applicants argue that, although the potential adverse economic or environmental impacts of new cultivars are difficult to quantify, the species in the application are unlikely to significantly add to the weed burden in New Zealand over and above existing grasses due to less weedy traits in the new species compared to perennial ryegrass and tall fescue.

diversifying New Zealand’s ryegrass stock and incorporating valuable genetic material from wild relatives. New Zealand’s ryegrass pastures pose an economic risk due to their narrow genetic base and low diversity. This makes New Zealand ryegrass susceptible to pests and diseases.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

22 // PASTURE

closely related to perennial ryegrass, New Zealand’s most common pasture grass. The aim is to transfer desirable traits from the 18 species to ryegrass by integration and crossbreeding. The new species would not themselves be grown as pasture.

While new to New Zealand, the 18 grass species are distant relatives of New Zealand native grass species. It is therefore highly unlikely that they would hybridise naturally with native grasses. They are wild relatives of pasture grass species already in cultivation in New Zealand.

The new grasses have adapted to harsher growing environments overseas and possess desirable traits such

EPA’S ROLE The EPA sets the rules for use of new organisms under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 by assessing the environmental and economic risks and benefits to New Zealanders and the environment.

as drought tolerance, pest and disease resistance, and being nutrient efficient. Incorporating these traits could improve the resilience of local pasture and reduce the need for fertiliser, irrigation, pesticides and herbicides, lowering farmers’ input costs and enabling more sustainable, environmentally friendly farming practices.

Another potential benefit is being able to reduce grazing

animals’ methane emissions, which would help New Zealand to meet its target under the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The current lack of diversity in New Zealand ryegrass makes it vulnerable to disease. Pasture could be devastated by a lack of resilience to pests and disease, as kiwifruit crops were by the Psa-V bacterium.

AgResearch says it will pay

Moves are underway to use new grass species to make our pastures more efficient.

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particular attention to the potential for any new cultivars to become weeds affecting maize, wheat, barley and other crops, and will work with Plant and Food Research on this issue. After a weed risk assessment it ruled out one species for entry into New Zealand.

AgResearch says it acknowledges the role of tangata whenua as kaitiaki and will engage with them over any concerns or challenges its proposal may raise. It is keen to develop a collaborative process, and will work with the EPA on an engagement strategy.

Public submissions on the proposal close at 5pm on Wednesday 22 February 2017.◗

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

24 // PASTURE

Each mother tiller can produce two or three daughter tillers.

Tiller survival in spring DURING SPRING AND early summer most farms will grow and harvest 45-65% of total annual feed.

How these pastures are managed in the following months will have the biggest impact on pasture grown, milk production up to Christmas, pasture quality in summer, pasture density and total pasture harvested this year.

The critical aspects of maximising pasture during this part of the season are surplus management, tiller survival, supplement use and summer preparation.

Surplus management Usually pasture growth rates increase after balance date, creating surpluses. Monitoring average pasture covers frequently and plotting these on a feed wedge allows surpluses to be ‘seen’ 10-14 days ahead, making it easier to decide how

to manage this surplus (e.g. organising a silage contractor or speeding up the rotation).

For information on how to use a feed wedge visit www.dairynz. co.nz/feedwedge.

Tiller survival This is the one time of year when ryegrass tillers that have gone through a winter, or ‘mother’ tillers, produce ‘daughter tillers’. The daughter tillers will become separated from the mother tiller and result in a new plant.

Each mother tiller can produce two or three daughter tillers.

Keeping pre-grazing yields at 2600-3200kg DM/ha prevents shading, allowing sunlight to reach the base of the plant. This encourages daughter tillers to grow from the plant base, rather than forming above the ground where most won’t be able to take root and won’t survive.

Supplement use Good quality ryegrass-based pastures are a well-balanced feed for dairy cows, supplying energy, protein, lipids, vitamins and minerals. Pasture-only is sufficient for production and good reproductive performance. This means there is little to no benefit in feeding supplements when the farm has a pasture surplus. Save the supplements for later in the season if the farm gets dry and pasture growth is too slow, or for extending the round when it rains.

Setting up for summer The third aspect of pasture management during spring is ensuring high quality feed is taken into the summer. On summer-dry farms, nitrogen (N) can be applied in late November/early December at 20-25kg N/ha per application (up to 40-50kg N in total) to promote new tiller growth,

increase pasture cover and extend the round. Nitrogen needs to be applied before moisture is limiting growth and will only be beneficial if residual targets of 1500-1600kg DM/ha continue to be met. Achieving this target consistently is the key to controlling the development of reproductive tillers (and emergence of seed heads) which impacts on pasture quality offered at the next grazings.

Extending the round is also important because as moisture becomes limiting, the rate at which new leaves emerge slows down.

A longer round allows the 2.5-3.0 leaf target to still be met, ensuring maximum growth is achieved before grazing, consequently achieving greater annual pasture yields.

Article supplied by DairyNZ For more information www.dairynz.co.nz/pasture ◗

Milking Robots they work for us.

Brian, Cathy and David Yates, Karaka, 170 cows

When our children decided on careers in the city, Cathy and I thought we’d be the last of the Yates family to live and work on the family farm. That all changed when our son Brian saw what robots made possible, and decided to bring his family home to manage the farm. It’s an approach that works for us, it works for my family, and there’s no reason it wouldn’t work for you. Visit DeLaval.co.nz/robot to find out how robots kept our farm in the family. Much more than milking robots.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

26 // SOILS

Protect peat or lose it BALA TIKKISETTY WAIKATO REGIONAL COUNCIL

PROPER MANAGEMENT OF

peat soils in Waikato is crucial for the profitability of farming and environmental protection, particularly as we head into summer.

A highly productive resource, peat soils are however literally a shrinking resource as they lose moisture. But the good news is there are strategies farmers can use to protect them and mitigate the impacts of their use on the environment.

Waikato region has about half New Zealand’s peatlands, some 94,000ha containing 2.7 billion cubic metres of peat.

Peat soils need drainage and cultivation to establish productive pastures and crops.

This leads to irreversible shrinkage, estimated to occur at about 20mm per year.

As peat is drained, its carbon content becomes exposed to air, helping form carbon dioxide (CO2), an important greenhouse gas.

Besides causing excessive shrinkage generally, too much drainage can also cause shrinkage or loss of wetlands and affect peat lakes, both

Bala Tikkisetty is a sustainable agriculture co ordinator at Waikato Regional Council, available at bala.tikkisetty@ waikatoregion.govt.nz or call 0800 800 401.

at-risk natural ecosystems.

From a farm production perspective, the depth of fertile topsoil decreases as peat shrinks, meaning further drainage, cultivation and pasture renewal are needed to maintain productivity, increasing the cost to farmers.

In some areas, the underlying soils landowners will be left with may have poor fertility, requiring high inputs to maintain productivity. Flood risk and pumping costs in low lying areas may increase substantially.

Ultimately, if we don’t manage our peat carefully, it will continue to shrink until eventually there will be no peat left; this unique and valuable resource will be lost forever.

To help manage the risks and farm successfully on peat soils long-term, farmers must find a balance between keeping the water table low enough for production but high enough to minimise peat loss.

The following are key ways of maintaining a good water table in peat areas to maximise

pasture growth and soil condition: kk Keeping farm drains shallow generally to avoid over drainage kk Using weirs and stop gates in drains to help keep the water table high in drier periods kk Working with neighbours on combined summer water table management.

It’s also worth noting that controlling weeds and fencing drains to exclude stock reduces the maintenance costs of machine cleaning drains, and reduces the related risks of water quality impacts and drains being deepened.

As cultivation causes peat to shrink twice as fast as it does under pasture, the less cultivation you do, the longer your peat soil will last.

If you do cultivate, use equipment that creates minimal disturbance. Try to avoid chopping the peat too finely; this destroys the fibrous structure of the soil. Further, avoid using rotary hoes on peat soils and try using disc ploughs.

Use no-till methods to renew pasture where possible, such as

TESTS PROVIDED Soil testing All paddock testing Feed testing Plant and crop testing Compost testing Water testing Effluent testing

Bala Tikkisetty

direct drilling.

I recommend all peat farmers get the most up-to-date information on the best pasture species for their areas.

Maintaining a dense pasture sward is among the best ways to protect the peat soil.

Overgrazing should be avoided: any bare patches of peat will shrink faster, resulting in an uneven surface. Also minimise pugging during the wet winter months.

A recently formed Waikato Peat Farmers’ Group, with AgResearch and others, has begun research on sustainable nutrient management for Waikato peat soils. One of its aims is to set out the technical aspects that should be considered when using peat soils for dairy farming.

The group has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/groups/598258437008558/ or you can find it by searching for Waikato Focus on Peat Group on Facebook.◗

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

28 // SOIL

Soil teems with life SOIL IS ALIVE and ever-changing. It extends from a few centimetres to several metres below the ground’s surface - varying from place to place.

Soil is made up of: kk broken and weathered rock – containing minerals kk organic matter – decomposed plant and animal remains kk living organisms – for example, insect larvae, worms, and micro-organisms (such as bacteria and fungi) kk spaces filled with water and air.

Different soils have different proportions of these basic

components, and can be divided into two main groups: Organic soils are made up of mostly organic matter - for example, peat.

Mineral soils have mostly mineral-based material, for example, from volcanic ash or rocks such as pumice.

A living layer Healthy soil is teeming with life. For example, just one teaspoon of soil contains about 100 billion bacteria and about 15 kilometres of fungal threads.

These tiny life forms play a vital role in decomposing plant and animal remains. They release

valuable nutrients, making them available to plants.

Many different types of soil There are over 600 different soil types in the Waikato region.

Different soils have different properties or characteristics.

These characteristics mean that some soils will be more suitable for certain land uses than others.

For example, some areas have soils and a climate particularly suited to growing pasture grasses, and others are more suited to growing fruit trees.

Soil characteristics If you’ve ever dug a deep hole or trench, you may have noticed the soil changing the deeper you go. The upper part of soil contains most of the organic matter and is called the topsoil. Organic matter plays an important role in the health of topsoil because it: kk contains nutrients that are released when it’s being decomposed kk absorbs and stores moisture kk binds soil particles together.

The soil underneath the topsoil is called the subsoil. The subsoil consists of different layers that extend downwards

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

30 // SOIL

to the rock or ‘parent material’ below the soil. Subsoil can vary in depth from only a few centimetres to several metres.

We can tell different soils apart by looking at the differences in six key characteristics: kk Chemical characteristics – for example, the amount of nutrients in the soil or how acidic the soil is. kk Colour – often a good indication of drainage. For example, poorly drained soils are usually pale. kk Consistency – how well the soil is held together, for example, sticky, loose, or firm. kk Soil depth. kk Soil structure – the size and shape of soil aggregates, and the space inbetween. kk Texture – how the soil feels between your fingers.

Texture differs depending on the proportions of sand, silt

and clay in the soil.

Land capability, soil versatility, soil quality There are different methods for working out what different soils can be best used for.

Different soils have different characteristics and are located in different micro-climates (with varying amounts of rainfall and sunshine). This results in different limitations on what they can be used for.

Soil versatility Soil versatility provides a more precise way of finding out what land uses best suit your soil type. Soil versatility tests tell you how productive your soil is, based on: kk the potential rooting depth for plants – the deeper their roots can go, the more nutrients plants can potentially take up kk how well the soil can

withstand traffic (from vehicles and animals) related to soil structure and drainage kk the potential loss of nutrients from the soil - for example, soils that lose a lot of nutrients via leaching may not be suitable for intensive cropping kk the water deficit – whether there’s enough water in the soil for plants kk soil drainage – a balance is needed between too much and too little drainage.

Highly versatile soils are suited to a wide range of uses – including cultivation and cropping, which are very demanding on soil. They often: kk have a deep rooting depth for plants kk can withstand a certain amount of traffic kk lose minimal amounts of nutrients kk have good drainage.

The most versatile soils in the Waikato region are found between Hamilton and Cambridge, and around Matamata and Reporoa.

However, some of our most versatile soils are being used for urban development, particularly around Hamilton and Cambridge.

• Story sourced from Waikato Regional Council website

SOIL QUALITY Measuring soil quality is a way of finding out how healthy a soil is. Measures of quality relate to four main aspects of a soil: fertility – what nutrients are available the amount of organic material physical condition – for example, whether it has become compacted the presence of beneficial soil life, such as earthworms and bacteria.

REVERSE THE EFFECTS OF SOIL DAMAGE MADE

BY COWS WITH 100% NATURAL GYPSUM A soil’s ability to produce pasture can be seriously inhibited by the damage made by cattle traffic.

Ag Research* found that treading damage resulted in up to a 14% reduction in pasture yield and further research quantified a reduction in pasture production between 22% and 40% in the subsequent 3 months. This reduction outstrips the positive effects of annual application of base fertilisers (P, K and S).

Additional applications of gypsum across the entire farm aerates, conditions and improves soil structure promoting an optimum environment for pasture growth, reducing pugging. Gypsum also helps mitigate the flow of nitrates and phosphorus in New Zealand waterways.

Visit your local agricultural fertiliser supplier for 100% natural gypsum.

* NZ Journal of AG Research 1994, Vol. 37: 559-567. NZ Journal of AG Research 2001, Vol. 44: 181-190

From the Flintstones to the Jetsons in just 7 short weeks Brian and Margaret Schnell purchased their Bunnythorpe property 32 years ago, and Brian who is an acclaimed restoration guru of all kinds of antique engines has embraced the move to robotics.

Brian and Margaret’s daughter Amy and husband Greg Gemmell’s journey into becoming herd-owning sharemilkers started in 2003 when Greg started managing the family operation. Now they are 3 months into their new venture, in which they are already huge advocates for, saying the conversion to robots has been much easier than they anticipated.

Currently milking their herd through 3 Lely Astronaut robots, Greg and Amy’s herd is made up of 240 Friesian cows, of which approximately 75% are Spring calvers and the remaining 25% are Autumn calvers. Greg states “the reason behind going with the robot idea is that I’ve been on concrete now for 25 years and I decided another 20 years on concrete just isn’t healthy. But the robots are so much more than reducing the physical, repetitive work on the body.

We can see that this is a complete farm and cow management tool, where we have the flexibility to structure our day to a point, rather than working around milking times”.

Currently producing around 390 kg MS/cow on an all grass based system, Greg is hoping that within 3 years of having the robots he will be able to get this up to 450 – 500 kg MS/cow with the help of the A4 Astronaut robotic milking system.

Amy states “I’ve been really impressed with how quick the cows have adjusted to the system. In the first week, when we had 7 cows come in overnight it was just celebration time all around. We could actually see that this system was going to work, and now most of the herd come through the night between 10 pm – 3 am”.

Lely T4C herd management system collects and records all data provided by the Lely Astronaut robots through its many sensors including; cow weight, rumination minutes, cow activity, fat/protein indications, milk production, feed intake, milking speed and number of visits to the robot to name a few. It analyses and presents only clear and useful information, making for more control and more freedom when it comes to managing your herd. “We’ve found that the information from the T4C system is invaluable, it just shows how much the four times a year herd testing really hasn’t given us the information we need about each cows” says Amy. Greg and Amy’s long-term goals are now achievable, thanks to the Lely Astronaut robotic milking system. This family affair now has the flexibility to focus on other business operations, whilst optimising production within their herd.

Combined with the knowledge and experience in automated milking from Lely CenterTM Manawatu this farm is now a far cry from the Flintstones and a lot more like the Jetsons.

Bright farming is yours by choice. See what a custom Lely Astronaut robotic milking system will look like on your farm, call Lely New Zealand - 0800 LELY NZ today.

It’s a lot more reliable as a manager to be able to keep an eye on the day to day running of the farm.

The Lely Astronaut robotic milking system can be configured to ensure you reach your on-farm goals.

Whether that is; reproduction precision, feed efficiency, labour savings, increased productivity, or cow knowledge like the Gemmell family, you can rest assured the Lely Astronaut is the best way to milk your cows.

Bright farming is yours by choice.

See how a Lely Astronaut robotic milking system can give you a complete overview over your farm's operations.

Call: 0800 LELY NZ today.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

32 // MAIZE

Building resilience IAN WILLIAMS PIONEER FORAGE SPECALIST

THE LAST FEW seasons seem to have delivered many challenges on farmers: the milk price is more variable, weather patterns are more unpredictable and environmental regulations are much tighter.

The challenge for dairy farmers is to build environmentally sustainable systems which can make plenty of profit in the high payout years but are resilient enough to remain financially viable when the milk price falls.

While pasture remains the cornerstone of New Zealand dairy systems it has some limitations. Yield is relatively low – an estimated average genetic gain of just 0.5% per year1. While variable costs (including fertiliser and weed control) are relatively low,

Supplements deliver greatest returns when fed during genuine feed shortages.

high dairy land prices and the associated interest cost mean the fixed cost of growing pasture is high.

Pasture yields vary between and within seasons. While pasture is generally a high quality feed, there are times of the year when supply is limited by poor grass growing conditions (e.g. too cold or too dry) and often these cannot be predicted ahead of time.

In recent years it has become clear that intensive pasturebased systems can leach high amounts of nitrogen. For much of the year pasture contains more crude protein (or nitrogen) than cows require.

Excess protein is excreted in the urine.

When a cow urinates, up to 1000kg N/ha falls onto an area

the size of an A4 piece of paper.

Plants cannot take up all the nitrogen the urine contains and the surplus quickly drops below the root-zone of pasture (about 600mm), eventually ending up in the groundwater.

Farmers looking for solutions to these and many other farming challenges have discovered maize silage – a cost-effective, high quality supplement which can be home-grown on the milking platform or run-off.

Maize silage can help build profitable dairy systems by stabilising milk production levels and therefore allowing farmers to dilute fixed costs.

The end result is a profitable farm system with plenty of milk produced at a moderate cost per kilogram of milksolids (kgMS).

How can maize silage help?

A growing number of farmers have built very profitable yet simple systems which incorporate maize silage into their feeding system. Maize silage can help by: Lowering feed costs.

Growing and harvesting more home grown feed (pasture and crops) dilutes fixed costs (including interest), reduces total feed costs and increases returns. Maize is a drought tolerant crop that produces reliably high yields. Most dairy farmers can grow maize silage crops yielding 18-26 tDM/ha for 11.2-16.2 c/kgDM in the stack2. Crops grown on repeat cropping ground or in low fertility paddocks will cost around 4c/kgDM more. Maize silage can be used to displace

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

34 // MAIZE

Maize not only produces high drymatter yields but can help establish higher performing pastures.

concentrates and other supplements which have a higher cost per kilogram of drymatter and unit of energy.

Improving pasture renewal Maize not only produces high drymatter yields but it can help you establish higher performing pastures. Fertiliser and lime can be applied and incorporated in the cultivation process and it’s a great time to address drainage issues. Cropping removes the normal feed source for pasture pests such as black beetle, Argentine stem weevil and pasture nematodes. This interrupts their breeding cycle and reduces insect pressure on seedling plants during the pasture renewal process.

Improving pasture control Because maize silage is a forage, you can vary the amount you feed to control pasture residuals, keeping ryegrass in its most productive growth stage. If pasture cover levels are low, increase the maize silage feeding rate and leave more pasture behind to prevent overgrazing. If you have plenty of grass on hand, reduce the

feeding rate and clean up paddocks better. The combination of maize silage and a stand-off pad or a wintering barn allows you to restrict access to pasture, minimising pasture pugging without compromising animal welfare.

Filling feed deficits Supplements will deliver the greatest return when they are fed during genuine feed shortages or used to increase days in milk. While many crops such as brassicas must be fed when they are mature, maize silage can be stacked and fed when you are short of feed.

Well compacted and sealed maize can hold its quality for several seasons, providing nutritious feed exactly when you need it.

Increasing cow condition score The ideal body condition score (BCS) at calving is 5.5 for first and second calvers and 5.0 for older cows. Cows which calve at the ideal condition score will produce more milk and cycle faster than cows too thin at calving. Maize is the best option to put weight on

cows for three key reasons. The energy in maize silage is used 50% more efficiently to put weight on cows than energy in autumn pasture. Maize silage can be fed at up to 50% of the drymatter intake allowing faster liveweight gains. And, feeding maize silage results in substitution so winter pasture cover targets can be achieved.

Delivering more return from your run-off Many dairy farm run-offs are not farmed to their full potential. Growing maize on your run-off allows you to grow and harvest more drymatter which can be easily transported to the milking platform. Plant a short to medium-maturity maize hybrid and sow annual ryegrass when it is harvested and this will ensure you have plenty of high quality pasture for the winter months.

Making the most of effluent Applying dairy shed effluent to pasture often results in a build-up of soil potassium and a higher risk of milk fever.

It can also increase the risk of nitrogen leaching. Maize

thrives on the nutrients contained in effluent, and the maize plant can mine excess soil nitrogen and potassium, reducing the risk of milk fever and nitrogen loss to water.

Reducing nitrogen leaching Most of the nitrogen leached on dairy farms comes from cow urine. Ryegrass-clover pasture frequently contains more nitrogen (or crude protein) than cows can utilise. The bigger the nitrogen surplus in a cow’s diet, the higher the amount of nitrogen excreted in her urine.

Feeding low nitrogen maize silage in conjunction with pasture dilutes dietary protein levels, and this in turn reduces the amount of urinary nitrogen.

To learn how maize silage can fit into your farming system or to find out the optimal amount of maize silage for your farm call 0800 PIONEER (0800 746 633).

1 Lee et al, 2012. Perennial ryegrass breeding in New Zealand: a dairy industry perspective. Crop and Pasture Science 63: 107–127.

2 Pioneer brand ‘Maize for Silage 2016-17’ ◗

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

36 // FEED

How to make great pasture silage RAEWYN DENSLEY PIONEERÂŽ BRAND PRODUCTS

PRODUCING HIGH QUALITY

pasture silage requires the combination of a quality pasture or crop; an excellent fermentation; excellent harvest, storage and feed-out management.

Your ultimate goal for your stack or bales is to completely eliminate oxygen and keep it out, creating an environment where a good fermentation can take place. During good fermentation plant sugars are converted into lactic acid by the right strains of lactic acid producing bacteria working

in oxygen-free conditions.

Yeasts and moulds grow in the presence of air. They make silage heat and decrease the quality and the quantity of the silage available for feeding.

Oxygen-free conditions are achieved by compacting air out of the silage and keeping it out.

Why is silage quality important?

1. Time of feeding. High energy, high protein pasture silage can be fed year-round and is an excellent feed for

GOALS FOR PASTURE SILAGE Always test your pasture silage. It will help you determine when you should feed it and how much to feed. It will also help you to determine what you have done right or wrong, so you can modify your management next spring. pH is a measure of the silage’s acidity. Silage that has a low pH will be more stable and less prone to the growth of undesireable microorganisms. Ammonia nitrogen is a measure of how much protein has broken down during the fermentation. Lower levels are better because you want to keep nitrogen in the form of amino acids which your herd can use for milk production or body condition score gain. Lactic acid is the most desirable fermentation acid. The smell of your silage can tell you a lot about the fermentation pathway.

Lactic silages have a molasses or slight tobacco odour. Silages which smell like vinegar (acetic), vomit (butyric), alcohol or yeast have not gone down a desireable fermentation pathway.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

FEED // 37

milkers. If you make poor quality silage it is at best a filler for dry cows. 2. Milk response rate. Research conducted by Kevin MacDonald at DairyNZ showed that high quality pasture silage fed in the spring, summer or autumn produced an average of 0.22 kgMS/cow/ day more than poor quality pasture silage.

3. Palatability/wastage.

Wastage is a big cost associated with supplementary feeds.

Feedout wastage is the most

costly form of wastage because you have already paid for the feed, paid to store it and paid to feed it out. Silage that is badly fermented (e.g. butyric and smells like vomit) will have higher wastage rates.

4. Animal health concerns.

Some silage moulds can produce toxins and cause ill thrift, fungal abortions, pneumonia and reduced production. A little bit of some moulds can cause a big problem and large animal health bills.

5. Cost per MJME. High quality pasture silage costs about as much to make as poor quality pasture silage. High quality silage has a lower cost per MJME and gives a much better return.

Key steps to making high quality pasture silage 1. Harvest at the correct time.

Harvest no later than 35-40 days after the last grazing, or when a maximum of 10% of the ryegrass seed heads have

emerged.

2. Wilt to at least 25% dry matter for stacked silage or 30% dry matter for bales . Wilting concentrates the sugar and increases the chance of a good fermentation. It also decreases the risk of silage effluent losses.

Silage effluent contains valuable nutrients and is also a powerful agricultural pollutant. Where possible wilt within 24 hours.

3. Avoid getting dirt in the silage. Avoid effluent application to paddocks that have

Harvest pasture at the correct time.

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been closed for silage. Make sure the cutter bar does not scalp the paddock.

4. Use a quality silage inoculant. Research has shown inoculants can give good returns because they reduce fermentation losses and produce higher quality silage.

5. Compaction and sealing.

For stacked silage, spread into 100-150 mm layers and compact until the surface is firm. Use a high quality plastic cover and weigh it down with tyres that are touching. Seal the edges

with sand or lime. For baled silage use quality plastic and the recommended number of wraps.

6. Careful storage and feed-out management. Handle bales carefully to avoid puncturing the wrap. Mend holes that develop in the silage cover or bale wrap immediately. Feed out stacked silage carefully – do not loosen the silage face more than you need.

Silage inoculants – do they work?

Wilt to at least 25% dry matter for stacked silage or 30% dry matter for bales.

Silage inoculants contain specially selected strains of lactic-acid producing bacteria.

When applied to the crop at harvest time these bacteria outcompete the naturallyoccurring bacteria improving the speed and quality of fermentation. There are a number of things you must consider when purchasing an inoculant: · Always look for a product that provides 100,000 colony forming units (cfu) per gram of forage.

· The bacteria must be live – so look for a company which has a good quality control programme in place. · Ask for product-specific trial data – not all products work. · Choose a company that understands silage making and can provide comprehensive technical back-up.

Products like Pioneer® brand 1127 give a return on investment of about $2.50 per dollar invested at the current milksolids payout. ◗

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

FEED // 39

Ryegrass as a feed HIGH QUALITY RYEGRASS

pastures meet the nutritional requirements of the dairy cow.

Dairy cows are ruminants, and have evolved to thrive on forages.

Microbes in the rumen enable the cow to digest plant material, therefore cows are very efficient at extracting energy from forages such as pasture.

Many of the nutritional recommendations widely provided are based on data derived from cows fed a total mixed ration (TMR) but these are not always applicable to grazing dairy cows. This is because pasture and pasture-fed cows have unique characteristics.

In theory, milk production is

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40 // FEED

maximised when soluble sugars and starches are 35-40% of the diet.

Although spring pasture contains less than this, the structural carbohydrates (cellulose) in good quality, leafy pastures are highly digestible (70-85%) and are degraded relatively quickly, thus supplying similar energy to soluble sugars and starches.

This means there is enough readily available energy in pasture for the dairy cow.

But why?

This is because the building blocks of all carbohydrates (soluble sugars and starches, and structural carbohydrates) are essentially the same (a simple sugar e.g. glucose) with the only chemical difference being the type of bonds that joins the sugar molecules.

Bugs in the rumen can break all these bonds supplying

the pasture-fed cows with energy.

Fibre Recommendations from total mixed rations suggest that neutral detergent fibre (NDF) should make up 27-33% dry matter intake with effective fibre (the fibre most effective at stimulating rumination and salivation) making up 20% of dry matter intake. The neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content of pastures is generally in excess of these requirements and although the ‘effective’ fibre in pasture is estimated to be lower (17-20% DM) than a TMR diet (and rumen pH are sometimes lower than recommended), this does not negatively affect digestion or microbial growth. Further there are no performance benefits of adding additional effective fibre (for example straw or hay) to a pasture-based diet.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

FEED // 41

But why?

This is because the lower rumen pH in pasture-fed cows is generally caused by an increase in acetic acid (such as vinegar) and does not result in rumen upset.

In comparison, a drop in rumen pH in a TMR-fed cow is usually associated with increased lactic acid which can have detrimental effects (rumen acidosis, lameness).

Additionally, it is sometimes suggested that if the NDF content of the diet is too high, dry matter intake will be limited and occasionally the below equation is used to predict intake: Dry matter intake = (120 ÷ NDF%) ÷ 100 x liveweight However, this would suggest a 500 kg cow eating pasture at 40% NDF can only eat 15 kg DM or produce 1.5 kg MS which is not true. In reality, a 500 kg cow eating good quality pasture with an NDF of 40 – 45% will still eat 17 -20 kg DM and produce 2 kg MS. In fact, when cows are grazing good quality pastures NDF content has only a very small impact on intake.

But why?

This is because the NDF in good quality pastures is highly digestible and rapidly degraded.

However, as pasture quality declines, and digestibility and degradation rate decrease, NDF will play a bigger role in regulating intake. Thus the fibre in poor quality hay, silages or ryegrass that has not been managed properly, or in some tropical grasses (kikuyu) can play a role in limiting intake.

Protein Recommended protein levels for TMR- fed cows in early lactation, is a diet containing about 18% crude protein, of which 65% is degradable, while 35% is not digested in the rumen (by-pass protein).

At most times, good quality pasture contains more protein than cows require.

Even though the protein in pasture is highly degradable (70-90%), fast rumen passage rate means there is still sufficient dietary protein that

by-passes the rumen.

But why?

When protein is degraded in the rumen, ammonia is produced and is used by the rumen microorganisms for their own growth.

Any excess ammonia is transported in the blood to the liver, where it is converted to urea and either excreted: primarily via urine, although a small amount ends up in milk, or recycled back to the rumen. The process of converting ammonia to urea is not energetically expensive to the dairy cow and in pasturebased systems, high dietary intakes of crude protein are not detrimental to health or reproduction.

Wait a sec, milk urea?

Milk urea is a by-product of the breakdown of dietary protein in the rumen, and, it is an approximate indicator of dietary protein. Briefly, in a pasture based system, high MU levels are not detrimental to performance or reproduction, and generally it is not economical to bring in protein supplements if MU levels are low.

Can milk urea concentrations help to improve environmental footprint?

Although milk urea concentrations are positively associated with urinary nitrogen concentrations, the implications of small changes in the urinary nitrogen concentration on environmental nitrogen loading needs to be considered with other system factors.

Numerous management and resource factors determine the environmental outcome on farm and the impact of any change must be determined by considering the whole farm system (e.g. stocking rate and dry matter intake).

The addition of low protein supplement to reduce milk urea and subsequent intensification in the absence of changes in other inputs, management practices or infrastructure, could lead to increased nitrogen leaching per hectare. ◗

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

42 // EFFLUENT & WATER MANAGEMENT

Charting path to change Alan Campbell is land management advisory services team leader at Waikato Regional Council.

ALAN CAMPBELL WAIKATO REGIONAL COUNCIL

“The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.” – John H. Schaar THE PROPOSED WAIKATO

Regional Council Plan Change 1 -- also known as Healthy Rivers: Plan for Change/ Wai Ora: He Rautaki Whakapaipai -- is the first step on a path to a future in which our grandchildren can swim and fish safely in the Waikato and Waipa rivers.

In choosing to help create such a future, rather

than just accepting a future that happens by accident, the council is responding to a concern always close to the hearts of Waikato people, and meeting its legal responsi-

bilities. The proposed plan change has been over two years in the making and addresses the inescapable fact that our rivers are slowly declining in quality. It covers the first 10 years of an 80 year journey to make the rivers safe for swimming and fishing, and is designed to get us 10% of the way

towards the final goal.

All rivers are the product of the land they drain and the land of the Waikato and Waipa catchments is some of the most productive and, therefore, most intensively farmed land in New Zealand. And every hectare of that farmed land releases a small load of contaminants – nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment or bacteria -- with every rainfall.

So how do we continue to grow and sell all that product without impacting on our rivers?

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

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Industry figures indicate 96% of Clean Streems Accord waterways are now fenced.

Modelling has shown that if all farmers were to adopt good practices outlined in the proposed plan we could expect to see at least a 10% improvement in water quality in most parts of the river system.

That would mean double the number of swimmable sites based on E.coli readings and a 10-fold increase in the number of swimmable sites based on water clarity.

The good practices will be tailored to each farm according to its particular situation and written into a farm environment plan (FEP) the farmer must implement. It will identify the risks on the farm, what farmers are going to do about them, and when. Those good practices are familiar stuff for dairy farmers and few if any would argue against an expectation that good practice is the industry standard. And for those who are already carrying out good practice, this provides assurance that others will also play their part.

In general these are things the dairy industry has worked on for many years, going back to

the first Clean Streams Accord.

In particular the industry has spent a lot money on effluent management infrastructure such as storage and improved irrigation. Some farmers still haven’t sorted this out, but they are now the exceptions who are letting the industry down.

Getting stock out of streams and lakes has also been a recent focus and industry figures indicate that 96% of Clean Streams Accord streams are now fenced. Plan Change 1 takes this a step further and requires all permanently flowing water to be protected.

Dealing with nitrogen leaching is a more challenging requirement under the proposed plan. This is driven by the production system itself and is particularly sensitive to stocking intensity so decisions about this have to carefully considered. Big gains in recent years have been made as farmers have taken a more analytical approach to their farm systems. For many this has led to an improvement in profitability as the process has identified efficiencies in the

system, but this is not always the case.

Plan Change 1 requires farmers to hold their nitrogen leaching at or below their level in the highest of the last two years, and for those who are the highest leachers, to get their leaching down to the 75th percentile. Or, in simpler terms, the ‘worst’ quarter in terms of nitrogen leaching have to reduce to the level of the others by 2026. For some this will be a huge challenge and will require the advice of a nutrient management specialist.

Many farmers will also identify additional risks and opportunities on their land.

Maybe it’s runoff from races or sacrifice paddocks into streams, or maybe it’s an opportunity to fence a wet area and let it trap sediment. Maybe it’s a paddock where you break feed a winter forage crop and you need to provide a filter strip, cultivation for a maize crop, or maybe it’s steep sidlings you could consider planting a woodlot on.

This is also a good time to consider what makes your farm a great place to live and

work. Maybe your streams are spawning areas for whitebait or trout and you could add shade through suitable plantings in your riparian areas, or maybe you have a remnant totara stand that hosts kereru and you could enhance it. These are choices you can make, based on your knowledge of your land and the things you care about, and build into your FEP. The key thing about a FEP is that you can personalise it to your circumstances as long as you deal with the minimum requirements. Then it must be approved by a certified professional, who may be provided by an industry scheme, or could be an independent farm consultant. The certification systems are still in development, so once they are in place we will publish the contacts for certified farm environment planners and certified industry schemes.

Federated Farmers recently led a project to assess the implications of Plan Change 1 by developing FEPs for 24 farms in the Waikato and Waipa catchments. They included 14 dairy

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

EFFLUENT & WATER MANAGEMENT // 45

operations. Of those 11 FEPs were developed by Fonterra and the others by Ag First.

Overall the costings confirmed the benefits to dairy farmers of the proactive approach over the last several years. The average cost of implementing the FEP on the dairy farms is estimated at $30,000 ($35,000 if we include the farms that still have effluent management infrastructure to complete). The range in costs was from $5000 to $111,000, illustrating how much most farmers have already spent.

Typical mitigations include cut-offs on races, reshaping some races and gateways, protecting swampy areas and planting within existing riparian areas. Effluent system management and under-passes also come in for attention but these are already covered by existing rules so are not a cost of Plan Change 1 itself.

Andrew, one of the farmers

The farm environment plan can include planting more trees as shade for cows.

We can fix your crusted pond in two ways... #1: Fixing your pond RIGHT NOW

#2: Fixing your pond PERMANENTLY

The immediate cause of your pond crust is pathogenic bacteria in the effluent. These bacteria separate the effluent fibres and the send them to the surface to form the crust.

Q: Where do these crust-causing bacteria come from?

A: Your soil. Here’s the key principle: Whatever is in the soil gets transferred: to the grass, to the animals, to the effluent, to the pond. If your soil is dominated by pathogens, it is biologically inevitable that your pond will suffer the same domination.

What kind of soil is home to pathogens? A soil that has low pH levels. A low soil pH helps pathogens breed since pathogens prefer higher acidity levels.

At Forward Farming, we help farmers condition their soils to: (1) promote the good biology that grows healthy grass, healthy animals, and full vats (2) to suppress the pathogens that cause disease and pond crust. This approach is not costly but works, longterm. To read more, go to www.fowardfarming.co.nz

How do you counter these bad bugs? With good bugs. That’s what Slurry Bugs are – helpful bacteria that eat the pond crust. Literally.

Not only do Slurry Bugs remove the crust, they transform the effluent nutrients into organic forms that are easily used by plants. In other words, they liquefy your pond and turn it into an effective, spreadable fertiliser.

To fix your pond without expensive machinery, use Slurry Bugs. Go to www.slurrybugs.co.nz to find out more.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

46 // EFFLUENT & WATER MANAGEMENT

who volunteered his farm for the study, was positive after going through the process.

“We should all embrace the plan change and get on board. Most of it is achievable, manageable and easy to be responsible for.

“Some of us will be hit harder than others, but most dairy farmers I know are already on the right track. It’s nothing to be scared of, it’s not all doom and gloom.”

Under the proposed plan change, FEPs will be due on a rolling schedule, starting in July 2020 for the first priority catchments, 2023 for second priority and 2026 for third priority catchments.

You can check which priority your farm lies in by going to our website http://www. waikatoregion.govt.nz/Council/ Policy-and-plans/Plans-under-

development/Healthy-Rivers--Plan-for-Change/Find-myfarm-mapping-tool/, or you can phone us and we’ll check it for you.

Plan change 1 provides two ways of getting a FEP. The default option is to develop it with a certified farm environment planner who will approve it once it meets the required standard and then use it to apply for a consent. There is currently no system in place to provide the certification, but Waikato Regional Council is working with industry to build on existing systems, with a view to having this in place by July 2017.

The alternative option will be to go through a certified industry scheme.

In that case no consent is required and the scheme itself will ensure the FEP is adequate

Waikato Regional Council is ready to work with farmers to tackle freshwater quality in the region.

and that the farmer implements it. So far the council is working with some potential providers of certified industry schemes, but no confirmed proposals have been offered yet.

Other key provisions of the proposed plan change include the requirement to register your land use with the council and provide your nitrogen reference point (NRP) information by March 31, 2019.

The NRP is based on your highest annual nitrogen leaching loss in either the 2014-15 or 2015-16 financial year for the property and associated data, including the Overseer output file, so it’s important you keep your records for those years.

Overall Healthy Rivers continues the work the dairy industry began some years ago to reduce the effect farming

has on our rivers. It builds on existing industry systems and will make it much easier for the industry to show the community how much effort farmers expend to create a positive future for the industry, for the community it works in and for the environment we all rely on.

Proposed Plan Change 1 is now open for submissions until 5pm on March 8, 2017. That means you can make suggestions about how you think we could improve the policies.

Submitters can choose to present to a hearing of submissions, and decisions on changes must be made by October 22, 2018.

Find out more about Healthy Rivers from your dairy company, DairyNZ, or at our website http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/healthyrivers.◗

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

EFFLUENT & WATER MANAGEMENT // 47

Working out the farm’s storage requirements THE DAIRY EFFLUENT

Storage Calculator is a software tool developed by Horizons Regional Council and Massey University to determine the effluent storage requirements of a farm.

It works by looking at a farm’s inputs of soil risk in the effluent block, catchment areas, feedpads or barns and their use; wash water in the dairy, effluent irrigation depths, and the daily volume of effluent able to be irrigated.

The DESC then looks at 30 plus years of rainfall and evapotranspiration data from

a local climate site, and from there it can calculate a daily soil water balance to determine how often effluent irrigation could occur, or if conditions are unsuitable how much effluent should be directed to storage.

This produces a graph showing the maximum storage volume required for each season over the past 30 plus years.

The storage calculator is great for checking existing pond volumes if there is a pond already on farm. It can also help determine pond volumes for new systems, and for running scenarios to compare

the different inputs to find out where the farmer gets the best value for money.

Farmers may be asking themselves questions like: kk What happens if I put in a

green water yard wash? kk What if I put in low depth irrigation? kk What will a storm water diversion do to my storage requirements? kk What if I shift the effluent block to include an area of low risk soil? kk By investigating each of the input variables, and

the impact these have on storage requirements, we can make informed decisions on effluent system designs or changes for individual farms.

Why is having adequate dairy effluent storage important?

Having adequate farm dairy effluent (FDE) storage capacity for your dairy farm is the basis of sustainable and successful FDE irrigation.

Sufficient effluent storage enables you to irrigate FDE at a time that suits you and your soils, and as a result maximise the nutrient and water value of

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

48 // EFFLUENT & WATER MANAGEMENT

FDE. If your farm does not have the ability to store adequate quantities of FDE, then no farm management strategies, technological innovation or good intention, will allow successful FDE irrigation at all times of the year.

The purpose of FDE systems is to capture and apply FDE to land. This is done to maximise the beneficial use of nutrients for plant growth, and to minimise contamination of ground water and surface water bodies.

The consequences of inadequate FDE storage capacity are plain and simple – environmental damage to our waterways and financial/ production losses to the farming system. Environmental damage and non-compliance with regional council FDE regulations continues to be a issue in many regions of New Zealand.

Common causes of non-

compliance with regional council guidelines include: kk FDE storage overflow kk FDE ponding, surface runoff

and/or drainage caused by excessive FDE application rates or application depths for the conditions.

Attempts to identify FDE storage requirements using industry averages is not a robust or recommended strategy,

not least because each farm will require a unique storage volume to successfully practise deferred FDE irrigation.

How does deferred irrigation benefit your farm?

The purpose of FDE systems is to maximise the beneficial use of nutrients for plant growth. The main reason why this is not always achieved is

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the effluent while decreasing potential contaminants and making the nutrients available to plants. Deferred irrigation involves storing effluent in a pond/ tank then irrigating it strategically when there is a suitable soil water deficit.

This avoids the risk of generating surface runoff or direct drainage of effluent and maximises the use of nutrients for plant growth.

The objective of the FDE calculator is to highlight to farmers opportunities to: kk improve returns on FDE

application improve nutrient use efficiency kk reduce risk of nutrient loss.

By improving the uptake and understanding of FDE systems, farmers can be more strategic in the management of nutrients within their operations and ultimately become more profitable and sustainable. ◗ kk

THE DAIRY EFFLUENT STORAGE CALCULATOR DESC provides the volume of storage required. In simple terms this is the difference between the rate that FDE is generated by your farming system and the rate that it can be irrigated to land in a sustainable manner i.e., only when there is adequate soil moisture deficit.

Important: Considerations when using the DESC kk It is assumed that you have

completed an Overseer Nutrient Budget before using the DESC. kk It assumes application is

evenly spread across high risk and low risk soils. kk The DESC is based on soil

hydraulic principles. It is NOT a nutrient calculator. kk Soil risk level is based on

runoff and preferential flow, not nutrient load. kk Low risk soils still have the

potential to have nutrient loss if effluent is over applied.

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Phill sees the benefits in terms of track maintenance and grass growth as well as ensuring the availability of his water. The water he saves under one pivot can be redistributed to irrigate an additional 23ha of his farm.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

50 // MATING MANAGEMENT

Improving heat detection DETECTING COWS ON

heat is critical for successful herd reproduction. Missing or wrongly identifying cows on heat results in lost revenue each year, through reduced milk production and wasted artificial insemination. DairyNZ team leader reproduction, Chris Burke, explains.

“When detecting heat, the two mistakes commonly made are missed heats and cows not actually on heat. If heats are missed, the submission rate (SR) of a herd will be low and since SR is the key driver of six-week in-calf rate, then this too will be reduced,” says Burke.

“Conversely, it is not wise to achieve good submission rates by inseminating cows not on heat, as ultimately the herd’s conception rate and the number of cows pregnant will be reduced.”

Accurate heat detection is important to herd reproductive performance and farm profitability.

Use records to evaluate heat detection A good way to check heat detection skills is the heat detection indicator in the InCalf Fertility Focus Report.

Farmers with great heat detection will achieve 95%.

If three-week SR is less than

Missing cvows on heat result in lost revenue each year.

90%, heat detection could be a problem. Another cause is an excessive number of non-cyclers before the planned start of mating date.

Signs of heat A cow is most likely to be on heat if she is standing to be mounted by other cows, tail paint is removed or the heat mount detector has been triggered.

Other signs include mounting other cows, poor milk let-down, she is restless and bellowing, and has mucus around the vulva or mud marks on the flanks.

Record all observed heats.

This ensures non-cycling cows can be identified and treated.

Heat detection should be considered a high earner, ◗

INCREASING HEAT DETECTION EFFECTIVENESS Most improvements to heat detection involve a change in how things are done.

The best programmes start with careful planning, good observation and the effective use of detection aids. Being able to distinguish and interpret cow behaviour and other signs is critical; so is good recordkeeping and training. kk Step one

Review heat detection skills onfarm; are they up to scratch?

Does everyone involved know

exactly what to look for when detecting cows on heat? It’s important that staff responsible for heat detection know what to look for and how to record information. kk Step two

Designate one or two experienced people with responsibility for observation.

Others may be involved, but should report their observations on a specific form or to the individuals responsible.

kk Step three

Determine which aids to use.

Remember, farmers with the best heat detection results use a combination of observation and heat detection aids. Be prepared to test several combinations to find the most suitable. kk Step four

Finally, schedule specific times each day to check cows and regularly monitor the success. This information is critical to spot trends early.

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This programme has enabled a series of progeny trials with dairy dams to identify the most suitable bulls for dairy matings and grass-fed finishing.

Wagyu is partnering with LIC. LIC will provide Wagyu semen to selected dairy farmers and manage the rearing of the resulting progeny prior to the weaners transitioning to beef finishing farms.

“Growing the ‘rock star’ of beef is proving to be a prudent business case for New Zealand

LIC biological systems manager Geoff Corbett says the partnership with First Light is happening at an opportune time as interest in beef options are ramping up.

prices come and “Commodity go but Wagyu is recognised as

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Wagyu is a Japanese cattle breed revered for its nutty-flavoured, fat-marbled beef. The beef is high in Omega 3 and 6 due to its high proportion of monounsaturated fat, and with a low melting point, that fat dissolves into the meat making it juicy and rich.

The Marbled Grass-Fed Beef Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme is a partnership between innovative food company First Light Foods, First Light Wagyu, Brownrigg Agriculture and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Through First Light Wagyu, the programme is supporting the use of Wagyu genetics (AI and bulls) by dairy farmers to provide calves to an established and growing beef rearing and finishing network.

Wagyu Breeders Ltd, a beef cattle stud owned by Brownrigg Agriculture, uses a comprehensive range of Japanese Wagyu full blood genetics to

dairy farmers who are looking to diversify their income streams,” says programme manager Matt Crowther.

“First Light Wagyu presents a great opportunity for dairy farmers. Providing a high-value, sustainable alternative to bobby calves (including Friesian/Jersey cross) makes economic sense as well as providing a feel-good factor. Farmers are gaining certainty of income with fixed price contracts on the back of a growing demand from finishers and international markets.

“The demand for First Light Wagyu weaners from beef finishers has exceeded supply this season, despite numbers doubling from last year Commodity prices come and go but Wagyu is recognised as ‘topshelf ’ beef internationally, which results in greater price stability in addition to an attractive premium,” he adds.

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“We are excited by the potential of offering new options for dairy farmers as well as driving a high-value beef product that fits in with NZ’s grass-fed animals.

LIC sees this partnership as a great chance for farmers to increase their herd’s genetic gain by mating lower BW (Breeding Worth) cows to Wagyu.

“The programme between LIC and First Light also connects the dairy and red meat value chains to create an emerging value-added product. In 2017, LIC will not only be carrying out the first collections of autumn-born calves from 2016 inseminations, we will also be looking to increase volumes for both autumn and spring,” says Corbett.

“Wagyu is commanding a premium from consumers globally and there has been a significant increase in the programme’s uptake by dairy farmers,” says Crowther. “The opportunity is significant in terms of the economic benefit it can bring to a farming operation here in New Zealand.”

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

52 // MATING MANAGEMENT

There is a good demand for Hereford dairy cross bull calves.

Only breed to guarantee a white face THE DEMAND FOR Hereford-

cross dairy calves at the sales pushed the price of four-day-olds to an all-time high of $450 this spring, once again proving the value of using registered performancerecorded bulls.

The challenge for the Hereford breed this year has been to provide enough animals to meet this strong demand.

The additional challenge for the NZ Hereford Association (NZHA) is to make these bulls easily identifiable in the market.

The strong demand for Hereford shows purchasers clearly understand that by using registered Hereford bulls they can buy ‘safe’, knowing registered bulls come with 50 years of performance recording, clear predictive growth, calving ease, temperament and a free

DNA, as it’s the only breed that will guarantee a white face. The figures speak for themselves.

The real value to farmers in using registered recorded sires with known genetic history is they can put faith in the figures. Choosing bulls with strong calving ease and low birthweights followed by growth rates dramatically increases the chance of the continuation of these traits.

It was recently reported that the demand for dairy-beef weaners will not be met by the number from calving. The demand is also due to the trend of dairy farmers bringing their replacements back home, resulting in the dairy grazers having greater capacity to bring on more dairy beef cattle.

This factor, combined with cow numbers being down

and dairy conversion activity slowing, makes dairy beef a sought-after market.

PGG Wrightson national genetics manager Calum Stewart says the company’s stock agents have reported good demand nationwide for Hereford cross dairy, which was reflected in the spring price -- top four-day-old Hereford dairy cross bull calves reached $350-$450, and medium bull calves $250-$350. Top heifer calves were selling for $130-$170 and medium heifer calves $80-$120.

For the second year NZHA is working, with Beef + Lamb Genetics, on a dairy beef progeny test. It is hoped this test will produce further statistics to validate the use of registered Hereford bulls in the dairy industry.

During the first year of the test, 600 dairy cows were inseminated with Hereford and Angus semen and 200 heifers ran with eight yearling bulls, four of which were registered Herefords.

The mission of the progeny testing is to further validate the value of registered Hereford genetics and demonstrate the use of estimated breeding values (EBV). With calving completed, using proven bulls with low birth weight traits has proved successful, with minimal calving difficulty across cows and heifers.

Additionally, the Beef + Lamb NZ dairy beef integration project published findings on the benefits of dairy farms using better beef genetics.

The use of quality beef sires on a dairy farm and

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

54 // MATING MANAGEMENT

Hereford bulls.

the impact on the progeny’s performance was demonstrated using Ezicalve Hereford sires compared to unrecorded Hereford sires.

The project found the performance-recorded sires minimised calving problems and, despite having smaller calves at birth, their progeny performed similarly to those sired by unrecorded bulls during rearing and finishing.

No calves born to natural matings by the recorded bulls required assistance at birth, compared to 4% and 2% of calves sired by unrecorded bulls in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Despite lower birth weights, the calves sired by performance-recorded bulls took a similar time to reach 100kg liveweight as those sired by unrecorded Hereford bulls.

Although the sire had little effect on meat quality, cattle

from the recorded sire with the highest live weight EBVs were quicker to reach slaughter targets and produced heavier carcases. The project concluded that using beef sires with high EBVs for calving ease and liveweight on dairy farms has benefits for dairy and beef farmers.

“On dairy farms, the use of beef sires with good EBVs for calving ease and liveweight can minimise calving problems associated with using beef bulls and produce a calf of greater value to the beef industry,” the report said.

To address the second challenge of recognising registered bulls in the market, the NZHA introduced the striking Hereford True Blue ‘H’ ear tag, which is available only to performance-recorded animals from registered Hereford breeders.

True Blue Hereford tags, introduced last year, clearly distinguish registered, performance-recorded Hereford bulls, ensuring confidence in the market that animals are the genuine article.

This gives buyers the confidence they are purchasing sires with figures giving an estimation, and accuracy, of breeding worth potential.

The tags are an exciting and cost-competitive initiative to differentiate registered Herefords from the pack, build brand awareness and ensure buyers have confidence in the genetics they are purchasing.

NZHA council member Paul Scott says the tags came about when the association decided it need to do something to distinguish registered Hereford bulls from non-registered bulls.

“We decided we needed our

own distinctive eartag, available only to breeders of registered bulls,” Scott says.

“True Blue is synonymous with something that’s genuine or fair dinkum. A True Blue tag means you know it’s a genuine registered Hereford cattle beast.”

The tags mean commercial farmers can have confidence in the pedigree of the bulls they buy and the traits they possess. They give certainty farmers are buying a registered, performance-recorded bull with proven genetics, making it easier to select for specific traits, like short gestation period or growth rate.

Many dairy farmers are already experiencing the benefits of using registered, recorded Hereford Bulls – temperament, improved calving and rapid growth – as well as more profit.◗

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

56 // CALVING / CALF REARING

Calving impact cuts cow to the bone WHILE THIS SEASON has

been one to forget for many farmers, there is still time to plan for a better start to next season, focussing on the herd’s mineral needs leading up to calving time and beyond.

Animal nutritionist and DSM technical manager Dr Joe McGrath is calling on farmers to pay as much attention to their animals’ skeleton ‘condition score’ as they do to the usual body condition score.

McGrath has been working to try to lift farmer awareness of the critical nature of skeletal calcium reserves in dairy herds and the effects poor nutrient levels, milking demands and stress play upon skeleton health.

“We hear of this in reports of the incidence of sudden bone fractures in dairy cattle for apparently inexplicable reasons. This is indicating a real deterioration in animal bone structure that can be addressed by giving attention to mineral and vitamin ratios throughout lactation and the growth period,” says McGrath.

Recently, a peer reviewed article in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal showed that the fractures were due to osteoporosis during the first and second lactation. The bone fractures are due to a lack of calcium and phosphorus being deposited in the bone, otherwise known as osteoporosis.

“What is forgotten is that cows milk off their calcium rich skeletons, just as they milk condition off their backs. The problem is, that loss in their skeleton, unlike body condition, is impossible

to see and difficult to measure.”

A cow, even when fed as much as she can eat, will still be in a calcium deficit for up to two months post calving, losing skeletal mass and only regaining some of it back during the late lactation and dry period.

She experiences a net decline over her milking life of calcium levels. Published data indicates that during early lactation a cow can lose 0.3-1.5kg of calcium from her bone structure.

The 2016-17 season has been a particularly tough one on farmers and their cows, with a hard spring taking a toll on cow health.

“This has been exacerbated by the tendency for New Zealand cows to have

compromised calcium levels.

Their ability to bounce back from tough periods is compromised, and resulted in a higherthan-usual number of down cows well into spring.

“Broken bones show there is a serious issue. We should not be feeding proper diets solely so that cows don’t break bones; they must be able to produce, get in calf and not get milk fever.

A healthy skeleton is partly responsible for all of these issues.

“Broken bones and down cows are like the tip of an

iceberg: for every downer there can be up to 10 close to going down. Prevention is the key to these issues.”

DSM supports the NZ business Sollus with an activated form of vitamin D (Hy-D) which helps a cow metabolise calcium supplied in her diet more effectively.

Sollus works with farmers to ensure their cows can manage the minerals in their diets year round. Cows on the Sollus regime face fewer challenges and are able to utilise minerals properly.

“This includes being able to supply calcium in their diet before calving, which is not common practice in NZ and often frowned on. But why would we make a cow deficient in a product she craves? Traditional NZ diets are imbalanced and even a critical nutrient such as calcium can cause problems when diets are incorrect.” ◗

Dr Joe McGrath

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

58 // CALVING/CALF REARING

Central Southland sharemilker Sara Korteweg at the farm’s new calf loading facilities.

Calves should walk safely onto and off the truck AS WE HEAD toward

another calving season, it is timely to review loading facilities and look at the new regulations coming into force in 2017.

From August 1, 2017, calves being transported for sale or slaughter must be able to walk safely onto and off the truck. This will require many farmers to alter existing loading facilities.

Talk to your transporter before making changes

Talking to your transporter before you make changes will help ensure facilities are fit-forpurpose.

Road Transport Association New Zealand upper North Island area executive Keith McGuire says building a new structure is a long-term investment so it’s important to get it right from the beginning.

He says whenever calves leave the farm on a

truck, working with your transporter to make their job easier creates a better outcome for animals and people.

“Transporters can provide a different perspective about what works well and what’s practical for the truck and for loading. Some farmers have built ramps or structures and then realised things could have been done differently to make it more practical. Talk to

NEW REGULATIONS FOR CALVES kk From February 1, 2017 - calves must be fed at

least once in the 24 hours before slaughter. kk From August 1, 2017 - calves must have access

to shelter that is clean, dry, suitably ventilated and which provides protection from adverse weather, including extremes of heat and cold.

This applies before and during transportation and at points of sale or slaughter. kk From August 1, 2017 - calves must be able

to safely walk themselves on and off transportation using loading and unloading facilities when being transported for sale or slaughter.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

60 // CALVING/CALF REARING

your transporter and make a plan before you start,” says McGuire.

Allan Kempthorne, of Kempthorne Transport, Waikato, says it’s most important that farmers ensure the truck has easy access for loading.

“When calves can walk on easily the driver can see if they are in good condition or if they have any abnormalities,” says Kempthorne.

“Farmers often ask our advice before building and sometimes they’re able to make adjustments using existing materials.

The ramps might not look flash, but they work perfectly. I’d say that 15-20% of our customers already have good raised loading facilities.”

New loading facilities make life easier Two years ago, central Southland sharemilkers Blake and Sara Korteweg built a loading ramp and took the opportunity to make it calf-

friendly. He says at the time they didn’t know the new regulations were coming in but the set-up has worked a treat and made life easier for everyone.

“The transporters are grateful because it’s under cover. We have four pens and the bobby pen is raised, so it’s foolproof.

The truck driver walks through a footbath, climbs the ladder and opens the doors to let the calves walk into the truck,” says Korteweg.

“This season we trialled the new DairyNZ bobby calf collection sign. We used it every day to tick off the checklist and display how many calves were out for collection. So now we don’t have to be at the loading ramp when the calves are collected. If any calves are not picked up, the driver can write the reason on the whiteboard.

It’s been very useful.”

DairyNZ is supporting farmers through the changes by working with others in the

supply chain and providing training and resources on suitable loading facilities and fit-for-transport requirements.

See guidelines for calf

holding and loading facilities that meet the new regulations at: www.dairynz.co.nz/loadingfacilities. ◗

GUIDELINES FOR CALF HOLDING AND LOADING FACILITIES kk Off the roadside kk Roadside collection is hazardous to truck drivers, staff and other

road users. Calves must be collected off the roadside. kk Accessible for the truck and trailer to reverse up to kk Access should be free-draining and constructed with a level

hard-standing surface. kk Track should be no less than 4m wide. kk Height clearance of 4.3m for any overhead obstructions e.g.

trees, water lines and electric fence wires; and 6m for powerlines.

Loading calves directly under powerlines should be avoided. kk Locate the loading facility at or near the bobby calf rearing pen and

allow sufficient turnaround (25m) for a truck and trailer unit. kk Consider other traffic flow - if positioning or accessing the holding

facility via the tanker track, design loading so that both trucks can pass or at least travel in the same direction. kk Maintain clear access, avoid holding stock in the accessway

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

CALVING/CALF REARING // 61

Nurture heifers well KEVAN STEWART, VETORA PUTARURU

A NATIONWIDE SURVEY by LIC in February 2015 found that of 105,000 animals, 73% were 5% or more underweight at 22 months.

Heifers represent the future of your dairy herd. How well heifers are grown, and their body condition at first calving, have a big impact on their reproductive performance and milk solids production in their first season.

Well grown heifers kk Have improved milk production: heifers reaching their target liveweight will

produce 8.5kgMS more in their first lactation than if they are 10% below their target liveweight. kk Have greater lifetime productivity: heifers reaching their target liveweight will have 5% better 6-week in-calf rates and 15% lower empty rates.

This equates to $35 economic benefit per heifer compared to heifers 10% below their target liveweight. kk Have reduced replacement costs: using In-Calf data for a mob of 50 heifers, the potential gain of moving them from 10% under their target liveweight to achieving their target is $3875 at a $5/ kgMS milk price.

Liveweight targets for heifers

Graph1 Achieving the 30, 60 and 90% targets is more important than the pattern of growth. It can be difficult to achieve the daily required growth in winter, but compensation is possible in the spring. You can calculate

the growth rate for your heifer group by determining their current weight and next weight for age target. An example calculation: Graph 2 Most dairy farmers and

Graph 1.

AGE

WEIGHT (IF 475 KG ADULT)

PERCENTAGE OF MATURE LIVEWEIGHT (5)

3 MONTHS

20

95

6 MONTHS

30

145

9 MONTHS

40

190

15 MONTHS

60

285 (mating target)

22 MONTHS

90

430

Graph 2.

At 3 months old a group of heifers averages

= 105kg

Aim at 6 months old

= 160kg

50 kg/90 days

= 0.6 kg/day growth rate

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

62 // CALVING/CALF REARING

Heifers represent the future of your herd.

advisors can recognise whether heifers are in good or poor condition, but few can judge whether they have actually achieved their target liveweights for their particular age. InCalf recommends weighing every 3 months.

Individual liveweight BVs are of low reliability, in part due to identification (some 23% have incorrect parentage).

Grazing heifers off-farm.

How does it stack up?

If heifers are grazed on the milking platform, the number of cows milked will need to be reduced by around 0.7 cows for every extra heifer to match the extra feed needed.

The value of running heifers on the milking platform depends on the milk price, production/cow, and the price of grazing. Another consideration is the facilities and infrastructure/fencing on the home farm as a suitable young stock rearing location.

Young stock can become a forgotten group on a dairy unit, with a lack of attention given to their needs.

The decision to graze young stock away from home needs to acknowledge the additional risks of quarantine control for a range of conditions. Theileria, BVD, TB and drench resistant parasites can all be brought back from grazing to become established on the dairy farm. If young stock are reared at home,

production will be down and this will be a consideration if the farm is to go on the market; the purchaser will look at current production levels.

In 2013, DairyNZ facilitated meetings nationwide to gather information from dairy farmers, graziers and advisors as to what constituted ‘good’ dairy replacement grazing. Farmers were surveyed about the current level of payments being made for grazing and how these figures were arrived at.

In some cases, there was a ‘race to the bottom’ in pricing.

A grazier may have been charging a price designed to undercut existing grazing prices to attract clientele, to help diversify income stream on a dry stock operation. This then set a benchmark price that bore no relation to the cost of what was being provided, i.e. a constant source of adequate, good quality drymatter. When a drought or some other crisis ensued, there was no margin for the grazier to provide supplementary feed.

The ideal is a win-win situation. The dairy farmer receives back from grazing a quality heifer that has met all the industry targets for liveweight and reproductive performance. The grazier has been well compensated for the heifer he has grown, which has allowed him a margin to provide good quality and safe facilities. The grazier will also

be required to provide quality reporting on a regular basis, so the dairy farmer is kept informed of the progress of the heifers at grazing.

Some of the old-school graziers surveyed were reluctant to weigh stock, preferring to eyeball them because they believed they were accurate. Some were also reluctant to use electronic recording systems. Now, with the use of compulsory electronic ID systems, the use of technology at heifer grazing locations should be able to increase.

One regular point of contention is that underweight young stock were delivered to the grazier in the first instance, then the grazier was required to play catch-up to get the heifers to meet targets along the way.

The fairest way to overcome this situation is that the grazier has the right of refusal to accept these animals in the first place.

Some dairy farmers use the system where the grazier visits the young stock at the home dairy farm the day prior to departure, where the stock are weighed and any poor animals can be rejected.

These then get left behind when the other animals go away. If the dairy farmer can get these up to target, they are then transported separately to grazing. Because all parties know in advance that this is the

situation, poor animals are dealt with earlier at home.

Dairy NZ has many good resources on its website related to heifer grazing (see references at end of document).

These include various Farmfact documents (already used for figures in this paper).

Included are questionnaires for ‘Stock owner to grazier’ and ‘Grazier to stock owner’. These documents help to establish expectations before a grazing relationship begins.

Federated Farmers has a legal contract that can be purchased from its website, to cover most scenarios that may occur if there is argument about situations that may arise in the grazing arrangement.

DairyNZ also has available a partial budget (Excel spreadsheet) that helps calculate various scenarios for grazing price versus milk price changes. Included are provisions for transport costs, interest, labour costs, etc, to assist with making an informed decision about grazing options.

Am I getting value for money from my grazier? When reviewing heifer grazing options, the value of grazing needs to be compared with its costs. Low cost grazing is not necessarily good value, just as paying top-dollar for grazing does not guarantee top results. Two examples below demonstrate cost versus value. ◗

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

MILK QUALITY // 63

Tough changes loom to milk cooling regulations MILK COOLING AFFECTS

milk quality. The quicker the milk is cooled after milking, the better the quality when it is collected from the farm.

Choosing the right cooling system for your farm means: Lower energy costs Milk cooling accounts for about 30% of the total energy costs of operating a dairy.

Energy demand and farm diary operating costs can be reduced using different options that involve heat recovery from your cooling system.

Less risk of penalties due to milk temperature Raw milk grows bacteria rapidly above 7°C. Meeting the new milk cooling standards,

which come into effect for all farms on 1st June 2018, may mean changes are required for your system.

New Milk Cooling Standards The Ministry for Primary Industries New Zealand Code of Practice for the design and operation of Farm Dairies has new milk cooling standards.

The rules apply to: Converted farms immediately All farms from 1 June 2018 The rules state that raw milk must: a) be cooled to 10°C or below within four hours of the commencement of milking; and b) be cooled to 6°C or below within the sooner of: i) six hours from the

commencement of milking, or ii) two hours from the completion of milking; and c) be held at or below 6°C without freezing until collection or the next milking; and d) must not exceed 10°C during subsequent milkings.

In situations where there is continuous or extended milking, such as automated milking systems, the milk must enter the bulk milk tank at 6°C or below.

“Continuous or extended milking” is defined as milking for six hours or longer from the time that milk first enters any bulk milk tank.

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Plate Heat Exchanger A PHE consists of a series of very thin stainless steel plates. Water flows along one side of each plate while milk flows along the other. Heat is transferred from the milk to the water via the plate. The capacity of a plate cooler is adjusted by adding or subtracting plates.

The easiest way to check the effectiveness of your plate cooler is to compare the temperature difference between the incoming temperature of the cooling water and the outgoing temperature of the milk leaving the plate cooler.

An efficient PHE should cool milk to within 2°C of the water before it enters the PHE. For example, if the temperature of the incoming cooling water is

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

64 // MILK QUALITY

14°C, the temperature of the milk exiting the plate cooler should be about 16°C. Vat refrigeration

In refrigerated/direct expansion tanks the refrigerant is pumped into the jackets (evaporators commonly referred to as ‘dimple plates’) on the internal surfaces of the bulk milk tank.

Here the refrigerant expands

as it takes heat from the milk, is pumped out of the jackets, compressed, then pushed into the condenser. The hot refrigerant is cooled by air (or water) flowing through the condenser fins. The cooled gas condenses into a liquid and is pumped back in to the jackets around the bulk milk tank to start the cycle again.

Direct expansion has the disadvantage of maximum

power draw during and after milking which is generally peak rate. If large electric motors are used there can be problems in areas of poor power supply.

Direct expansion refrigeration systems are pressurised, which means they require a skilled technician for maintenance.

Options for further milk cooling

If your current plate heat exchanger and refrigeration unit combination are not capable of meeting the new milk cooling regulations you may need to consider a secondary cooling option.

These can involve a large capital outlay and long payback period but may come with the benefit of heat recovery, enabling you to save on hot water costs. Carefully evaluate

Vat wraps are utilised by only 20% of the farms.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

MILK QUALITY // 65

all options to ensure the system is fit for purpose without over capitalising.

Here are the currently proposed new Milk Cooling regulations: kk Must be 100C within 4 hours of the commencement of

Cooling towers

Cooling towers can be very effective at cooling water especially in areas of low humidity. Water can be cooled to within 5°C of the wet bulb temperature in a properly designed plant.

The most effective plants are fan forced and turn over a large store of water every hour.

They operate overnight to cool a large volume of water, usually 4½ times the volume of the daily milk yield.

milking kk Must be 60C within 2 hours of the completion of milking; or

within 6 hours of commencement of milking (whichever is the lesser). kk Must be kept at or below 60C until it is collected or until the

next milking kk Additional milkings into a vat will not increase the milk

temperature to above 100C kk Must provide a minimum of 30 days cooling profile data for

delivery line and vat that is USB downloadable in CSV file format kk Must have a tamperproof system to indicate the disposal of

rejected milk kk Robotic Dairies must snap chill milk to 6°C immediately

after milk harvesting

Ice banks

Ice banks generate ice along evaporator coils using nightrate power. The ice is used to chill water for the pre-cooler.

The warm water is then returned from the pre-cooler to the top of the ice bank and cooled again as it runs down the ice.

These systems can require more maintenance than other systems and are not as energy efficient as a direct expansion vat. If working on night rate

electricity rates they may save money even though they use more energy. Ice banks take up less space than storage of chilled water.

Snap chillers

Another option is to use a refrigeration system to cool water or a food grade glycol/ water mixture. Glycol systems

tend to use a very small volume of fluid and create the chilled fluid on demand (at milking time).

Note that a system that is designed to chill milk to 4°C in line i.e. prior to vat entry, will need a much larger (and more costly) compressor than an in-vat system.

Generally, these systems are a

big capital expense.

Thermal stores

Thermal storage systems chill water using off peak power and require an insulated storage tank to hold a large (one day’s milking) volume of chilled water. Using more energy than a direct expansion tank they have advantages relating to installation and maintenance procedures.

Vat wraps Vat wraps are only utilised by 20% of dairy farms in New Zealand but can save around 15-25% of milk cooling costs.

They insulate your milk from outside temperatures and weather, preventing it from heating up and reducing energy used by the refrigeration unit.

Effectiveness of a vat wrap will depend on whether your vat is inside or outside and where in New Zealand you are located.

Estimate savings from vat wrap installation and payback using the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) calculator. ◗

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Johan Van Ras.

Switching to plastic – same cost, lasts longer GARETH GILLATT

A NORTH WAIKATO farmer

with his eye fixed on long-term benefits over short-term production gains is getting results, he says.

Johan Van Ras, Morrinsville, milks 215 Kiwi-cross cows on a 70ha farm in partnership with his wife Kylie and his parents Richard and Truus Van Ras. Their focus on the long term is paying off, notably in the shed, with soft plastic piping and tubes, and in herd management and mating.

While Van Ras has changed little in the property’s 20-aside herringbone shed, he has, importantly, fitted soft plastic long-tail bends, claw tubes and milk tubes to extend the life of the software.

Engineered from thermoplastic elastomer (a food grade soft plastic developed for use in the medical sector), the piping and elbows are clear, environmentally friendly and non-absorbent, and they last longer than traditional pipe solutions, says supplier DairyFlo. Van Ras chose to install the

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

MILK QUALITY // 67

new pipes chiefly because the farm’s rubberware equivalents were not lasting as long as he thought they should. Despite many of the pipes not being in high-stress areas, the rigours of the shed took their toll. Pipes flacked and cracked within two seasons.

“The rubber [elbows] sagged and cracked though after just one season. The hose to pulsators deteriorated and went all flaky so I wanted to find something that would last a bit longer.”

He discovered the soft plastic pipes while researching a potential solution at the 2012 Fieldays and says buying the products seemed like a sound option. The initial cost was similar to that of traditional rubber so it made sense to install them at the time, especially if they were going to last.

While the company hasn’t estimated the lifespan of the pipes and tubes, inflation testing by the company has shown an average lifespan of 5000 milking cycles.

Van Ras says if his experience is anything to go by, the tubes and pipes could last much longer.

Rubberware needs replacing after two seasons, but he is still using the soft plastic replacements after three seasons without any sign of deterioration.

He has seen discolouration in lines at the end of the pit where pipe is in direct sunlight, but he believes the company has resolved that by changing the tint.

“We have only replaced one pipe so far, Eddie [Crawshaw, company rep] was surprised the pipe was still looking good so he took one away for testing.”

While the soft plastic pipes are a little bit stiffer than their rubberware alternatives, Van Ras says they didn’t have to make any changes to the way the shed was set up.

And he has avoided all thermoduric and cleanliness grades in the shed since the units were installed; they keep somatic cell counts at an average of 100,000.

Cow reproduction and feed management are two more areas the partnership has worked a great deal on.

The property runs four weeks of AB, and uses a bull for four weeks before running four weeks of short gestation AB straws on any tail-ender stock which appear not to have got in calf “The short gestation is an insurance policy; we want to tighten up the calving pattern and it offers another semen in case the bulls haven’t done their job.”

Keeping cows in a good enough condition to be mated is also important, says Van Ras; he’d rather keep cows at BCS 5.0 by careful calving management.

Even when cows are in good condition he says getting the herd through summer requires care.

The summers can be hot and dry in the region so Van Ras usually will put cows on once-a-day milking as early as February so they avoid stress, rather than raising

supplementary feed.

“I’d rather keep it simple in the summer, go once-a-day and take advantage of the summers by going to the beach with my family rather than sitting on the tractor feeding out.”

The herd consumes 70 tonnes of maize silage and 200t of PKE every year, Van Ras feeding from summer to winter with a break in late autumn.

He pays careful attention to replacements, ensuring they are achieving liveweight targets set by DairyNZ, and will supplement their diet with silage, PKE and meal, then send them to a grazier for finishing.

By doing this the partnership, now into its seventh season on the farm, has kept costs down while seeing production reach up to 106,000kgMS per season.

Van Ras says total farm production costs usually average $3.00-$3.50/kgMS, meaning the operation is able to profit in most payout scenarios.

“We like to keep the costs down so we can thrive when the payout is good.” ◗

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

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App helps manage mastitis AN APP DEVELOPED by LIC Automation helps farmers with CellSense automated in-line sensors to more easily manage mastitis in their dairy herd.

CellSense gives a live somatic cell count (SCC) result within two minutes of cupping the cow. The new CellSense Connected app sends the SCC results straight to farmers’ smartphone or tablet. Data is presented in an easy-to-use format, allowing the farmer to assign an SCC result to a cow during milking.

The benefit of CellSense Connected is that it allows farmers without a herd identification system in the shed to benefit from the technology.

CellSense Connected reports the bail reading of the SCC level and then enables the farmers to record which cow the reading

belongs to. An optional extra is an optical warning light (OWL) that visually alerts farmers on their smart device to bails that need checking.

Stewart Fitzgerald, Te Awamutu, has used CellSense in-line sensors for three years and recently downloaded the CellSense Connected app.

He says the app has added more value to the sensors.

“We don’t have to be looking at the screens all the time to see which are our higher performing cows. I find CellSense Connected easy to use; if you know how to punch numbers into a phone it’s simple.

“We have a flashlight called an OWL in the pit which flashes if it’s over our threshold; we can look up the history of the cow then and there in the pit.

“If you see a flasher light, you go to that unit, get out your phone and it’ll tell you what that animal’s somatic cell count is. You can then look at the cow’s number and see whether you want to record that animal or not.

“We run a 24-aside shed, one person, so you don’t have time to be looking for cows with mastitis. CellSense picks it up and has dropped our bulk somatic cell count. The lowest we’ve had this season is 42,000.

“We use CellSense Connected most milkings. The time when the app plays a big part for us is early lactation, to find out which animals we’re going to treat. Especially with older cows, you can find out whether she is worth treating or remove her from the herd.

“Open Country Dairy pays us

a premium to be under 100,000 somatics which is worth 8 cents/kgMS to us. We also save time in not having to strip cows or find a mastitis cow, so multiply that by whatever you value your time at.

“We’re finding mastitis a lot earlier so we don’t have to use such strong vet medications to treat misdetected mastitis.”

Another function for the app is due in February 2017 to help farmers with YieldSense in-line milk sensors easily identify the bottom and top performers in their herd.

YieldSense Connected will display the live volume, protein and fat levels on farmers’ smart devices while the cow is still being milked. This will allow instant reporting and more timely decisionmaking about low performing animals. ◗

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

70 // MASTITIS

Darren Ogilvy wears gloves in the milk shed.

Don’t let mastitis steal your productivity NATASHA MAGUIRE FARM MEDIX LTD

THIS YEAR HAS seen some big changes world-wide in the deadlines for reducing the use of antibiotics in food producing animals. Not only consumer driven, the concern about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to grow.

Each year, 25,000 people in the EU die from an infection involving multidrug-resistant bacteria (ECDC/EMEA Joint Working Group, 2009) and

63,000 people in the US die every year from hospitalacquired bacterial infections.

The National Mastitis Council conference (Phoenix, Arizona) this year emphasised this message, along with researcher’s findings that 95% of antibiotics used in dairy cows were used for the treatment or prevention of mastitis.

The NZ Veterinary Association conference this year also

acknowledged AMR and the need to prudently use antibiotics.

It is expected that practices such as dry-cow therapy are set to soon be only a memory. This leaves most concerned about how to keep a low SCC in the herd, and how milk quality will be affected. It is important that we don’t stop treating cows that need treatment, but we will need to test the milk from

affected quarters to know how to react.

Luckily, we are not the first to forge the way in these changes: the Netherlands has made changes with encouraging results.

If we make these changes strategically, we can achieve better outcomes for stock, reduce antibiotic use and have a lower SCC, improving milk quality.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

MASTITIS // 71

As summer gets into swing it’s tempting to relax and spend more time off the farm, but continued vigilance of mastitis issues will pay dividends in the future.

Simple practical steps that can be taken to help prevent or minimise new cases of mastitis include: kk 1. Infection control. Watch your bulk SCC, strip and RMT cows if you aren’t sure which cows may have issues.

When you have mastitis cases, know what your cows are infected with by using onfarm culture or submitting samples to your vet for testing. This will help you to determine the best protocol and drug to accurately treat cows, whether cows are contagious and need isolation, and also identify how you may be able to correct your actions by spotting trends.

Each case is an individual, irrespective of the time of the year. kk 2. Wear gloves. One of the biggest threats to your cows is your hands. Milkers’ hands are often cracked and harbour contagious and hard-to-treat

Herd screen test for Staph aureus.

pathogens such as Staph aureus. Wash hands before milking and wear clean milking gloves, cleaning them as you go in a bucket of disinfectant if they become soiled. This will help prevent infecting your cows with what is on your hands. Make sure any towels in the shed are laundered daily. kk 3. Be fussy when treating cows. Ensure your hands and teat ends are clean and wear clean gloves. Make sure all staff using treatments for the udder are trained by your local vet practice. This applies to mastitis treatments, teat sealing and dry cow treatments. kk 4. Quarantine. New cows should be tested for mastitis pathogens before purchase to ensure they are not carrying major or contagious pathogens. kk 5. Optimise teat condition.

Cracked, dry or

chapped teats will be more easily infected. Sun and wind in summer, and changeable weather, can cause teat condition issues. kk 6. Get savvy with Staph aureus. This is highly contagious, is often sub-clinical (so cows can be silent carriers) and can result in almost no clinical cases and a frustratingly high bulk tank somatic cell count. Submit a bulk tank sample for Staph aureus analysis and if it’s found in your herd, screen the herd for its presence to save yourself the heartbreak of many infected cows that produce reduced volumes of higher SCC milk. Management is your best asset in managing infected cows. kk 7. Teat spray. Be fussy when mixing teat spray. Use water free of bacteria and clean buckets. Don’t top up old drums; start fresh to keep safe. Ensure the area

around the container is clean, and don’t leave teat spray open -- it will deteriorate.

Ensure your emollient levels and active levels are correct; the new residue recommended dilutions may leave you vulnerable. If spraying by hand check your coverage, and if spraying automatically, check your sprayer each milking. kk 8. Trim tails. Dreadlocks on tails can harbour many environmental pathogens and cause mastitis as the cows use their swatch around their udder to fend off flies in summer. kk 9. Muck out under trees between rotations or in frequently used paddocks.

Cows seeking shade will lay in manure under trees. This attracts flies, and pathogens remain viable out of the sun for a long time. kk 10. Control flies and birds; they carry bacteria. Keep the shed, drains, feed pad areas and yard clean and dry to keep these pests away.

Manure piles should be well away from cows; clean up spilled feed if feeding in shed. ◗

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

72 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Example of BDD infection.

Digital Dermatitis: keep a good watch BOVINE DIGITAL DERMATITIS (BDD) is a highly infec-

tious bacterial skin disease of the feet of cattle, more predominant in New Zealand herds.

The disease thrives on dirty feet and spreads in dirty conditions. In the past, it was thought to be a problem of indoor systems, but the disease is now found in pasture-based herds.

A 2014-15 pilot study in Taranaki found that of the 224 herds tested (60,455 cows), 707 cows were found to have the lesions.

Taranaki vet Neil Chesterton, who led the study, says before the survey he knew of five farms in the area which had cows with lesions, but he was surprised at the degree of infection.

“Of the 224 farms we tested,

we found that 64% had infected animals, some with as few as two animals, one with 40. Not one farmer knew he had it,” says Chesterton.

He says a screening survey of herds in other parts of NZ is finding many other herds with BDD, like in Taranaki, and most farmers unaware they have infected herds.

“It typically starts with a very mild infection. If the disease isn’t proactively controlled, the number of cows affected and severity of the disease can increase.

“Cattle with digital dermatitis may show signs of lameness when standing or moving. The most commonly seen presentation is the standing animal that flicks its foot repeatedly for no obvious reason. However, a

high proportion of cattle with digital dermatitis may show no signs of lameness.”

Prevention and treatment Check for digital dermatitis at milking time. Clean the rear feet with water and look for any fresh ‘strawberry’ or dried scabby lesions between the claws at the back.

If you see even a small suspicious lesion, ask your vet to take a sample to check if it is the disease.

Record the tag of every suspicious cow so you can follow up with treatment.

Digital dermatitis is usually introduced by bringing infected animals onto the farm. Don’t graze your animals with animals from an infected herd.

All introduced animals

should be checked and footbathed before mixing with a clean herd.

Take biosecurity seriously, because once digital dermatitis becomes established it seems impossible to get rid of it.

Install a foot-bath for monthly sanitising of feet as a precaution.

For further information visit www.dairynz.co.nz/lameness and www.lamecow.co.nz. ◗

BDD WORKING GROUP A bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) working group was set up in 2012 to raise awareness and perform research. It includes veterinarians, Massey University, the Ministry for Primary Industries, DairyNZ and AsureQuality.

TAG, REGISTER, RECORD AND CONFIRM

The simple steps for protecting New Zealand’s livestock industry.

1. TAG 6

MTHS

Must be tagged within 6 months or before being moved off farm.

Exceptions: Impractical to tag stock, bobby calves, fallow deer and trophy stags.

WHITE TAG

ORANGE TAG

2. REGISTER Registration activates animals’ tags in the NAIT system so they are enabled for lifetime traceability.

7

DAYS

Register your animals in the NAIT system within 7 days of being tagged. animaltrace.nait.co.nz

!

Registration of your animals is NOT automatic.

3. RECORD & CONFIRM 2

Movements must be recorded within 2 days.

!

If you send animals to a NAIT accredited sale yard or meat processor, they will record the movement on your behalf.

DAYS

Stock movements must be recorded by both the sending and receiving parties – including private sales, grazing, mating movements and Gypsy Day. Remember to complete your ASD form.

If you receive animals from a NAIT accredited sale yard, you will need to confirm the movement.

NAIT is an OSPRI programme

nait.co.nz

0800 482 463

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

74 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Northland farmers Glen and Trish Rankin.

­Bovine viral diarrhoea – a cautionary tale NITA HARDING DAIRYNZ TECHNICAL POLICY ADVISOR (VETERINARY)

BOVINE VIRAL DIARRHOEA

(BVD) is a surprisingly common viral disease of cattle and other ruminants. It is serious and widespread in New Zealand, an estimated 60% of dairy and beef cows having been exposed to the disease.

BVD infection can have major impacts during mating and pregnancy. It can cause infertility, embryo loss, abortions (slips), small slow-growing calves, deformed calves and the birth of dead calves.

The most damage is done when BVD infects pregnant cows. If a cow contracts BVD in the first four months of pregnancy while the developing calf’s own immune system is

forming, she may give birth to a persistently infected (PI) calf.

PI animals are the main source of infection within a herd.

Farmers share BVD experience Northland Share Farmers of the Year Glen and Trish Rankin know this all too well.

Four seasons ago, as lower order sharemilkers with a herd of 300 cows, they had a serious BVD outbreak. The impact on the farm and the team was devastating. Rankin says he still shudders every time he thinks about the experience.

It started with a PI bull brought in for mating. The farm was part of three farms under the same ownership that were essentially closed herds, with all bulls born and reared on one location and provided for the other two farms. BVD was not considered a major risk, as outside bulls were not being

purchased.

Rankin runs two bull teams with three bulls in each team.

One bull didn’t look well but he didn’t think too much of it. Not until calving did the scale of the problem became apparent, he says.

“We had 50-60 dead and deformed calves: blind calves, calves with bows in the neck and calves born dead. Many of the surviving calves were weak.

Trish normally looked after the calves on her own, but when this happened, we needed 2.5 labour units to help.

“We were tubing 42 calves several times a day and the worst cases were also on IV drips. We were struggling to keep them alive. Fifty calves made it through to weaning but after BVD testing 12 PI calves had to be destroyed. The worst thing was they were 100kg

WHAT YOU CAN DO RANKIN’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO OTHER FARMERS: Learn about the BVD disease so you can recognise the symptoms.

Know the status of all incoming stock by testing for BVD. Test home-reared and brought in-bulls for BVD before they move, vaccinate the negative bulls and cull the positive bulls.

Test replacement calves. If they are infected and proven to be PIs they should be culled to prevent them from acting as a source of virus for the rest of the herd.

Bulk milk test and make sure you also test milk that’s not going into the vat. Test in groups and then individual animals if a positive result occurs.

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

ANIMAL HEALTH // 75

healthy looking calves, so PI calves aren’t always scrawny animals.”

PI calves main infection source By the time the Rankins found out what was causing the problem, they had unwittingly spread the infection by keeping their PI calves in the same pens as healthy animals.

PI calves are the main source of infection onfarm because they spread large amounts of the virus for their entire lives.

Control them and you control the disease.

Rankin says they have learnt from the experience.

“We took pride in looking after our own and other people’s stock and we set high standards. It was a case of shock and horror because we didn’t know what was happening.

We were all beside ourselves.

It was four years ago, but the experience is still fresh in our minds.” ◗

Facts and figures kk Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is

widespread. Most dairy herds in New Zealand have been exposed to the virus. kk It causes reproductive losses, an

increase in general disease, reduced growth rates and lowered milk production. Losses are estimated at $70,000 per infected average-size herd each year. kk Most BVD effects go undetected by

farmers. kk The disease is maintained in a herd

and spread to other animals by persistently infected (PI) animals. kk Throughout their lives, PI animals

excrete large amounts of the virus.

This occurs when an early pregnant (first four months) cow gets infected with BVD. The resulting calf is born PI.

kk To control the disease, you must

prevent the formation of PI calves by making sure early-pregnant cows do not become infected with the virus. kk Control is a four-step process: kk Define if BVD is in the herd. kk Assess the level of risk for your farm. kk Action a control plan to mitigate these

risks. kk Monitor to make sure it’s working. kk Ask your vet to work through the

process with you. They have the tools to help control the disease. kk Controlling the disease will have many

benefits for you and your stock. kk Thanks to the BVD steering committee

for this information. kk To learn more about BVD visit

www.controlbvd.org.nz

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

76 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Are your cows well protected against FE? EMMA CUTTANCE VETERINARIAN, AT VETERINARY ENTERPRISES GROUP (VET ENT)

FACIAL ECZEMA (FE) IS caused by the saprophytic fungus Pithomyces chartarum which lives on dead and decaying litter at the base of pastures. When weather conditions are warm and humid the fungus produces spores filled with a toxin (sporidesmin) that, when eaten, causes damage to the liver and bile ducts.

Clinical symptoms of FE include photosensitivity, in which the skin quickly becomes inflamed and may peel away, particularly on light coloured areas of the body.

The problems Images of badly affected stock are highly emotive, and present significant risk to New Zealand’s ‘clean green image’ and reputation for sustaining a high level of animal welfare in farmed livestock.

Costs associated with FE arise from deaths, condemnation of carcasses, poor liveweight gain, poor reproduction performance and lower milk production. The subclinical effect on milk

production is also a concern.

Research has shown a much greater proportion of herds have significant liver damage without any obvious clinical symptoms .

Recent work on FE In 2014, a study of 106 North Island dairy herds from nine different FE-prone regions was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of practices to prevent and manage FE. Results indicated that 32% of farms had sub-clinical FE damage. If this figure reflects an average incidence in FE-prone areas, the cost to the industry would equate to $78 million in lost production. In 2016, 1040 heifers were blood sampled to check for FE damage. 25% of them had severe liver damage and only one animal showed clinical signs.

Better spore counting Spore counting is currently the most widely used method to assess the potential intake of toxic spores by grazing animals, and thus their risk of FE. The spore counting technique most used by farmers, veterinarians, laboratories and researchers

involves collection of 200 g of pasture by walking diagonally across a paddock and stopping at 10 points to cut pasture at the base. A 60g sample of pasture is then randomly selected and added to 600 ml of water, then shaken vigorously for three minutes. The pasture is removed, leaving the ‘wash water’. An eye dropper is used to collect a sample of the solution (water aliquot) to read under a microscope at 100x magnification. Depending on the depth of the grids, the total pasture spore counts/g pasture are estimated by multiplying the number of observed spores by 5,000 or 10,000. In 2013, this method was closely examined by analysing 12,784 spore counts from multiple sites within a paddock from four farms. Throughout the sampling period, there was a large variation between farms (0-490,000 spores/gram pasture) and a large amount of variability between individual sites in the paddock. What this all means is that spore counts need to be taken from multiple paddocks and at regular intervals on the farm of interest.

Control options Pastures The role of pasture species in the control of FE was initially researched on multiple paddocks in Northland, Waikato and Palmerston North from 1997-2000. Results from this study suggested species supporting low levels of P.chartarum were chicory, red and white clover, lotus and tall fescue, while the species supporting high levels of P. chartarum were ryegrass, cocksfoot, browntop, and Yorkshire fog . A trial completed on a DairyNZ farm in 2012 showed that mixed pastures that incorporated tall fescue, chicory, plantain and lotus had similar spore counts to ryegrass pastures. This indicates that just including species known to be “FE safe” into pasture is not enough to decrease paddock spore counts.

They are only an effective control measure when grown in pure swards.

Fungicide sprays Fungicides act on mitosis and cell division in susceptible fungi and therefore slow down the development and spore production of the fungus.To

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

ANIMAL HEALTH // 77

be effective, spraying needs to be accurate and completely cover the entire paddock which includes fence lines, under shelter belts, around troughs and under trees. The spray prevents the fungus from developing, so if spore counts are high prior to spraying, the fungicide will not perform to expectation.

Zinc dosing Although all methods of zinc administration can be effective, all methods equally can fail. As a general rule, the more control a farmer has on the amount of zinc a cow receives (drenching, capsules), the more likely it is that the cows are receiving the correct amount of daily zinc.

Why FE control fails The 2014 study looked for possible reasons for breakdowns in control of FE. The key findings were: kk Blood sampling of 10 cows

per farm showed 32% of these herds had experienced a FE challenge (liver damage). kk Pasture spore counting was significantly under-utilised as a tool for FE management.

Only 33% of herd managers reported that they measured spore counts on their own farm. kk Only 31% of cows that received zinc supplementation had sufficient serum zinc concentrations to protect against FE. Most farmers were unintentionally underdosing cows. kk Zinc in the water is the most common method used but the least effective at achieving adequate zinc levels in cows. kk All FE management strategies had obvious opportunities for error to occur and were likely reasons why blood zinc levels were so low. The main problems identified included: (a) unknown and wide variation in cattle weights

within the same herd, and (b) failure to monitor blood zinc levels and liver damage in cattle which would allow management protocols to be adjusted, if necessary.

Protocol in place DairyNZ now has a protocol for farmers to follow to give the best chances of protecting against facial eczema damage (http://www.dairynz.co.nz/ animal/healthconditions/ facial-eczema/). In future, protection against FE will be improved by the selective breeding of dairy cattle for tolerance to sporidesmin (see DairyNZ July 2014 Technical Series). Semen from ‘FE tolerant’ bulls is already available on the market. However, increasing protection via breeding programmes is a slow process, so zinc treatment will remain the best FE protection tool for some time yet. ◗

KEY POINTS kk Sub-clinical facial eczema

(FE) is a problem on at least a third of dairy farms in the North Island. kk Spore counting is good for

detecting trends, but to be most relevant, the same paddocks need to be tested each week on your farm. kk Chicory and plantain, planted

in swards, protect against facial eczema, while tall fescue may have some protective effect. kk Lime has no effect on spore

counts. kk Zinc remains the best

protection tool but underdosage is common. kk Farmers need to test a

selection of cattle for zinc concentration in the blood and liver damage.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

78 // AGRIBUSINESS

Tips for managing a farm in tough times SIMON PONTIN, LIC FARMWISE CONSULTANT

IN THIS ARTICLE I would

like to explore the framework surrounding the control of a dairy farming business in times of risk or uncertainty, decreasing margins and how to manage increasing debt.

The first step is to analyse the environment in which the farm will have to operate in the future. This will comprise both external and internal factors. Some of these factors the farmer will have little or no control over; for example, the state of the economy, legislation and technical developments.

The internal factors include the resources and skills available to the business in its present financial position and level of performance. This analysis will try to detect both threats to the business and opportunities that lie ahead. Future plans must include ways of dealing with the former and exploiting the latter.

The next step is to draw up the strategic, long-term plan, which outlines the way in which the business is to develop during a specified future time. Normally in farming 5 to 10 years would be considered a sensible period of time. This plan comprises three parts, which take on progressively more detail and

form the main elements of the control system.

Firstly there is a need to define the purpose of the business. This is a general statement of what the farmer wants from his farm business.

The second part is more specific; it is to state unequivocally what result is to be achieved and by what date, in order to satisfy the purpose of the business. These are specific objectives. To review targets and performance Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are set. These can be any measure of the business that is chosen. A set of KPIs is shown below as an example.

These KPIs can then be reviewed regularly.

External factors should also be monitored. These may include values of stock and land, interest rates, exchange rates and milk price.

The third part of the strategy requires detail of what has to be done in order to realise the objectives. Goals are established which give the level of performance to be achieved, e.g. 1000 kg of milk solids per hectare may be the goal. At the same time there has to be a detailed assessment of what is required in order to attain each of the specified goals, e.g. the financial and physical resources needed, and the

Simon Pontin, LIC.

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

80 // AGRIBUSINESS

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

2014-2015

2017

Cows wintered

670

670

Cows at peak (November 1)

645

645

Milksolids/cow

457/kgMS/cow

480/kgMS/cow

Milk solids total

295,000kgMS

310,000kgMS

Submission Rate – first inseminations

90% 3 weeks, 98% 6 weeks

84% at 3 weeks, 96% at 6 weeks

6 week in calf rate

74% of peak herd

78% of peak herd

Cows not in calf

Below 10% of peak herd

Below 9% of peak herd

SCC

Average for season 150,000

140,000

Cow deaths

Below 20 = 3%

2.5%

Replacement calves reared

160 target 21-22% available for the herd as R2’s

No change

Herd SBW to begin winter

Whole herd % ancestry SPW/PW R1’s BW/PW

Ongoing rapid increase

Replacement liveweight targets

Monitored compared to target at least each 2 months MINDA weight targets

Average Pasture Cover at May 31st

2050kgDM/ha

Average Pasture Cover at August 1st

2350kgDM/ha

2350kgDM/ha

BCS @ calving

All cows above 5.0 not above 6.0

No change

BCS end of season

Only September calves below 4.5

No change

Pasture eaten

12.4t/ha

13.5tDM/ha

Supplementary Feeding

Systems 3-4 670kgDM/cow

Probably less/cow

Fertiliser Nitrogen

300kg/ha

Steadily lower 260kg/ha

N Leaching

No more than the base line

On the downward journey

Total farm working expenses and overheads excluding contract milking costs

$3.59kgms EBIT $4400/eff ha

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

AGRIBUSINESS // 81

feeding and breeding policies to be followed. Further data to be recorded have to be decided together with the frequency of recording and the control mechanisms to be employed.

“Key tasks” are identified that are of particular importance to the success of the plans.

Risk is part of farming and has always been there. However in recent times we have seen risk increase in almost every facet of farming including the following: kk Reduction of milk price. kk New weeds encroaching. kk New legislation.

It is important to be well informed so you have every opportunity to adapt or to be in a position from which you can make a rational decision.

It is important at this point to make tactical plans for immediate action during the coming year to help achieve the goals specified. Any critical problems that could jeopardize

future profits have to be solved.

Any major weaknesses revealed in the initial analysis of the business environment have to be tackled.

Reduction in margins Control procedures are essential to allow for where and when changes in the tactical plans are needed, which could be very frequently. It is also advisable to review the strategic plan periodically in light of changing circumstances, perhaps every three or six months for minor changes and perhaps every year for more fundamental long-term changes.

Regular review and revision of the farm budget is essential.

Analysis of the farming business to optimise the farm system is very useful.

One particularly important feature of this concept is the complete involvement of personnel at every level in

drawing up the detailed goals.

From the manager of the business to all other staff, their thoughts should be sought, so that goals can be set with their input. In this way, everyone knows what is expected of them and is committed to achievement of the plan and the performance level set.

Implementation of the plan requires information. In short, there is a need to know what is wrong and what to do about it.

This requires information from the farming system, staff and family, professionals, scientists and the media. Care must be taken to ensure the data that is collected is used because there is no point in recording information just to sit in a drawer.

Over the past few seasons many farms have increased their debt. This can represent a risk to the farming business as it will affect equity, potentially increasing the cost of

borrowing and ultimately could result in the loss of the farming business.

Farmers need to be aware of their equity position and be talking to their accountant and bankers. Possible solutions may include the sale of unused or non-profitable assets.

Farming businesses should be in a financial position that would allow principal repayments in the future, with their accountant and banker in agreement when the principal payments will be made.

In some cases an exit strategy may be the best alternative to protect equity.

Planning and control are often spoken about separately.

However they should be used together, taking place simultaneously and continually.

It is the task of the farmer to ensure the necessary decisions are taken and the required action taken quickly and effectively. ◗

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82 // AGRIBUSINESS

Are you making money from milk or milk from money?

THE AVERAGE COST of milk

production can be a misleading statistic in evaluating the cost/ benefit of system change, says John Roche, principle scientist animal science, DairyNZ. It is important to focus on the marginal response, while accounting for all costs that will change to achieve the additional production, he told a recent Northland Agricultural

DairyNZ’s John Roche urges farmers to factor in all costs of making more milk.

Research Farm field day.

“It is this metric that determines whether you are making money from milk, or making milk from money.”

According to Roche: kk Profitability from increasing milksolids (MS) production is determined by the cost of the additional MS (i.e. the marginal MS) and not the average cost of all MS

produced kk Profit/ha is maximised

when the marginal cost of additional MS = the MS price; kk To be profitable, supplements cannot replace pasture; they must be used when there is a genuine feed deficit. kk The NARF results indicate that: kk High MS responses to supplementary feeds can

be achieved when there are strict decision rules that ensure high pasture utilisation, but; kk Even when MS responses to supplements were high (120g MS/kg PKE) and PKE was relatively inexpensive ($245/t), the cost of the marginal MS was $6.28/ kgMS. This means that unless the MS price exceeds $6.28/

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

84 // AGRIBUSINESS

kgMS, the MS from PKE costs money to produce kk The marginal cost of the MS produced in the cropping farmlet was $7.22/kgMS; using crops to increase MS production from the farm must be carefully considered kk These are only one year’s data. The experiment will run for two more years and the collective results will be valuable.

In marginal economics we attempt to measure the cost of producing an extra kgMS and compare this with the MS price, Roche says.

This is based on the principal that the increase in MS production associated with inputs is large to begin with, but gets smaller and eventually flattens with increasing inputs.

This is the law of diminishing returns.

The first 100kg of supplement provided to a cow

the cost of the feed, but does not account for any other cost, Roche says. Analyses of databases in New Zealand

“50 to 60% of the operating expenses on a dairy farm relate to each individual cow.” results in greater marginal MS production than the second 100kg, which is greater than the third 100 kg, and so on.

The danger in marginal analysis People often talk about the ‘margin over feed’, which accounts for the milk production associated with supplementing the cow and

Use supplements when there is a genuine feed deficit.

and in other countries have highlighted that many costs increase with increasing use of non-pasture feeds (e.g. fuel, oil, labour, repairs and maintenance). “The experiment at NARF offers us a great opportunity to quantify some of those costs, for example, by keeping time budgets for people and machinery. Further costs that must be accounted for relate to

milking more cows.

“50-60% of the operating expenses on a dairy farm relate to each individual cow. Therefore, increasing the stocking rate leads to an increase in most expenses/ha (e.g. animal health, breeding expenses).

“The costs associated with the increase in stocking rate must be accounted for in any evaluation of the system change.

“Irrespective of the chosen farming system, it is important to understand the point at which further milk production is costing you more than the price you are receiving; in technical terms this is the point at which the marginal cost of milk production (i.e. marginal cost) is greater than the milk price.” ◗

GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

EMPLOYMENT // 85

Employment paperwork: what you need to know AS AN EMPLOYEE onfarm

in New Zealand, you have certain rights and entitlements. Let’s look at what paperwork you could expect to be in place and why it’s needed in the workplace. DairyNZ people team developer Daniel Schmidt explains.

Employment contracts By law, every person employed must have a formal, signed employment contract that sets out the rules between employee and employer. It should include hours of work, wage or salary entitlements, job tasks and position title and location of the work.

Employment contracts often also have leave entitlements, roster information, notice period and ending your employment information, farm policies like health and safety, harassment, redundancy, etc.

Most dairy farm employers

make sure each employee is offered an employment contract when they are hired. However, if you don’t have a contract, you can ask your employer for one.

Accommodation contracts Farm employees are commonly asked to sign a service tenancy agreement if they live onfarm. This paperwork is normally separate from the employment contract and sets out the rules about living in the house. It’s similar to a normal house rental contract, except the tenancy is linked to working on the farm and certain rules are different.

Timesheets Farm employees normally have to write down hours of work on a time sheet (or in a time sheet app) and it’s recommended you do this because: kk if you need to check your pay,

you will have a written record of your hours kk the timesheets could help work out any pay disagreements with your employer in future kk your holiday pay is calculated on your hours worked kk by law, your employer is required to keep written wage and time records and can get fined for not having the information.

Rosters Depending how many staff work on the farm, you may be put on a roster system that stipulates what days and times you work.

Each farm is different and has different rules for how the roster works but if you’re employed full-time, you would normally be rostered to work up to 50 hours per week. If rostered-on hours are above this and you are fatigued or Farm employees normally have to write down hours of work on a time sheet or in a time sheet app.

finding work-life balance difficult, talk to your manager.

Minimum wage Under NZ law it’s important you are paid the minimum adult wage ($15.25) or above minimum wage for every hour you work.

If you are on a salary, calculate how many hours you can work each fortnight. If you think you’ll go over that number of hours, mention it to your employer because they may need to top-up your pay to meet minimum wage, like in this example: Farm assistant Salary: kk $37,500/annum

Normal hours: kk 45/week ($16.03/hour)

Paid: kk fortnightly

Minimum wage: kk $15.25/hour

Fortnight ending 21 August 2016 Hours worked: kk 104 hours

Fortnightly pay: kk $1442.31 ($37,500 ÷ 26

weeks) kk Hourly rate:

$13.87 ($1442.31 ÷ 104 hours) Top-up payment required: $143.69 kk ($15.25 x 104 hours = $1586. kk $1586.00 - $1442.31 =

$143.69) ◗

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

86 // MACHINERY

Threesome we all should remember MARK DANIEL RURAL NEWS GROUP

IT’S HARD TO believe that the

three-point hitch found on the rear of most tractors worldwide hit 90 years old in 2016.

Attributed to Northern Ireland’s favourite son Harry Ferguson, this device connected implements to tractors rigidly, making the fledgling tractor of yore the productive workhorse we know today.

In the early 19th century, at the dawn of agricultural mecha-

Ferguson’s three-point linkage.

nisation, implements were mostly pulled on drawbars, which harked back to the times of horses; but because cultivation implements create draught forces it was difficult to get high output because of wheel slip.

Ferguson’s 1926 design had two lower connections and one upper point to create a three-point linkage, and used hydraulic power acting on the

two lower links to raise and lower the implement; altering the length of the top link altered the pitch of the implement.

In use, draught forces created by the implement were directed through the top link position and effectively transferred the weight to the tractor’s rear wheels, increasing traction.

This meant tractors could be smaller, easier to manoeuvre and safer, as they did not suffer

from the tendency for drawbar implements to create front-end lift and possible overturn if an obstruction was encountered.

Nowadays three point linkages follow the same pattern, but obviously rely on high tech electronics to fine tune their functions. It’s surprising then that many operators, young and old, still seem to struggle to work out the best way to couple an

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1.30

1.30

Cutting disc speed (rpm)

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620

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Number of knives

12

10

10

x

2.20

2.20

0.70

2.20

2.20

Power requirement (hp) *with maize head

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Metal detector stop

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N

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

88 // MACHINERY

Cat 2 linkage

implement to the back of a tractor.

So, let’s go back to basics: the first thing to understand is what category of linkage is on the tractor, and of course what’s on the implement.

A Cat 1 linkage was designed for tractors 20-45hp, and is typically found on old grey Fergies and the like, and on new compact tractors. The lift pin diameter is 5/8 inch.

Cat 2 and Cat 3 are likely to be found on tractors 40-100hp and 80-225hp respectively, and their lift pin diameters are either 7/8 inch or 1 7/16 inches, and typically cover most of the new tractors sold today. The largest Cat 4 linkages are found on 180hp+ tractors and the lift arm pins are 2 inches.

Watch out for the linkage balls used in today’s modern set-ups as they are designed to work with specific hook end linkages. Linkages might be Cat 2, so must be used with Cat 2

outer diameter balls, which can have a Cat 2 or Cat 3 inner pin diameter. Likewise, if the hook ends are Cat 3, they must be used with Cat 3 outer diameter balls which can be Cat 2 or Cat 3 inner pin diameters. In most cases the Cat 3 inner dimension can be reduced to Cat 2 dimensions by fitting removeable bushes.

Also, watch the design of these linkage balls: are your balls just plain and round or do they have exterior wings?

Both are designed for a specific purpose. Plain balls are designed to be used on a pin which passes through a clevis and is not subjected to any side thrusts.

The winged balls are designed to be used with an external pin type mounting, and close inspection will reveal a reinforcing ring on their outer edge, through which the lynch pins passes. This type of ball is recommended for heavy

implements, and helps to remove shear forces away from the lynch pin.

So, let’s hitch up an implement, Some people still struggle to couple an implement and as a to the back of a tractor. routine check a couple of points. Do we have a tractor linkage balls in place? Are the linkage that is compatible left and right vertical drop arms with the implement? Have we the same length? got the right size and type of Assuming these are all

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT 2017

90 // MACHINERY

Tractors and implements couple to be the productive workhorse we know today.

correct, slowly reverse up to the implement, aligning the top link of the tractor with the top link of the machine. ALWAYS fit the three-point linkage in the left/right/top sequence, and if removing an implement, the reverse – top/right/left.

Bring the left linkage into line with the left mounting pin or clevis of the machine and, once aligned, set the handbrake and switch the engine off.

Now push the arm onto the pin, or place the pin through the clevis, and secure with a good quality lynch pin. If the

tractor has hook ends, the balls would have been previously placed on the implement pins, and hook up will be a lot easier.

Now that the left side is attached, move to the right side and see how the linkage arms line up with the implement.

If you have lined up the tractor correctly, the right link arm should be a repeat of the left, with any vertical adjustment being taken care of by the screw on the lift arm, and any lateral adjustment by inching the tractor forward or backwards. Secure the arm with

a good lynch pin and now move on to the top link.

At this stage, it might necessary to stow the parking stand, if it interferes with getting the machine level, but once ascertained, fit the top link to the tractor in the first instance, and then adjust it to meet the top link position of the implement.

Once in line insert the pin, and then adjust the length to bring the front edge of the machine’s headstock to a vertical position. Once happy, use the locking nut on the top

link to fix this position.

It’s also worth noting, particularly in road work or over rough ground, that there are very high forces placed on the top link assembly. Always ensure that there is at least 50mm of the threaded portion within the main tube, at both ends.

On some top link’s there might be a machined groove in the threaded portion to indicate the maximum length of the top link.

Lastly, tighten the check chains and head off to work.◗

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