CRANLEIGH
Page 110
Coast & Country
Do it once and do it right DIY and environmentally-friendly – this dairy’s a collection of Kiwi ingenuity that makes it a winner from all angles.
When New Farm Dairies visits, Alan Henderson’s 300 hectares Te Awamutu farm is in near drought and looks a lot like Central Queensland. There isn’t much grass for his 640 cows, but thanks to good planning he’s still milking twice-a-day. When his family bought the property in 1952 they ran sheep. Then they converted to beef, cropping and finally – 31 years ago – went into dairy. Alan’s kept it diverse with some drystock, cropping and now kiwifruit, nashi, apples and 50ha of fodder crops to see him through the droughts. And he rears 600-700 calves to keep busy during winter. Alan plans everything ahead, so when he replaced his old rotary he used the principle ‘do it once and do it right’ to plan, design and project manage it himself. “It’s cheaper to build floor area once; if you think half a metre is going to be comfortable, add another 300mm onto it and you should be right,” says Alan. The dairy he’s designed is big; he reckons he could drive his four-wheeler all the way round the platform.
Space
That’s not just for future expansion, Alan likes space. He says it’s much more comfortable for workers and cows. He started planning the job six months before the first sod was turned and thoroughly researched buildings and milking plants. Then, once he’d decided on exactly what he wanted, he did his research on sub-contractors for the work he and his staff couldn’t do themselves – DIY can only go so far. He needed an experienced dairy builder, so he looked at new dairies in his area and talked to other farmers before settling on Hamilton-based About Time Builders. About Time Builders is a family-owned and operated business that’s been building dairies since 2000.
WMS’ Heath Lunjevich, Alan Henderson, Any Angle Roofing’s Shaun Higginson and WMS’ Josh Janmaat.
About Time Builder’s manager Gary Pepperell says farm buildings form a major part of their business, but they’ll take on pretty much anything. “We’ve built a reputation around going that extra mile to work around the customer’s needs and meet their expectations. Alan was easy; he knew what he wanted,” says Gary. Alan had specific requirements for cladding, so he called Shaun and Jenaya Higginson, owner/managers of Te Awamutubased Any Angle Roofing. Shaun is a licenced building practitioner with more than 15 years’ experience in the roofing and cladding business – and he came highly recommended. Alan wanted Colorsteel exterior cladding
Helping turn Cranleigh’s vision into reality! waikatomilking.co.nz | 100% NZ Owned & Operated
on the dairy; and as a specialist in long run roofing, this was right up Shaun’s alley. He’s done a job Alan can be proud of, and he gives a five-year warranty on his workmanship. Alan wanted a fully integrated milking system, so he did his research (of course) and Waikato Milking Systems came out on top on all counts. “I went for Waikato because of the simplicity and quality of their plant, and their reliable local service,” says Alan. Local Waikato Milking Systems agent Jeremy Collett explains the finer details of the plant he’s installed. “Alan’s got a 60-bail Centrus rotary platform fitted with SmartECRs electronic cup removers, BailGate Straps to keep the cow in the bail if she kicks the cups off, and an
Cranleigh The dairy building and yards with Alan’s powergenerating solar panels.
auto plant wash to make things easier for the milker. “We also fitted a Milk Recovery System that uses compressed air to push the milk remaining in the pipes through before the cleaning cycle starts.” The plant also features a SmartPULS digital pulsation system and a Hush Kit along with a standard Waikato Orbitor Gland, 320 Claws and a G2 Cluster Washer. The plant is controlled through a SmartCONTROL touch screen controller, all very efficient – just as Alan planned it. But it’s the clean lines of Waikato’s Centrus platform that catch the eye. Waikato’s Centrus division manager Josh Janmaat says Centrus platforms are a fibreglass composite – and 22 tonne lighter than the equivalent concrete platform.