MANGAPOUA FARMS
Page 102
Coast & Country
Bump rails stop cows tipping into the troughs on the feed pad.
The Johnston dairy features a Waikato Milking Systems’ Orbit concrete platform.
Effluent is discharged to land via the farm’s travelling irrigator system.
A platform for
future growth
Father and son Kevin and Cameron Johnston have invested in the future with the construction of a new dairy shed that will allow them to grow their herd to 1000 cows. Before the upgrade, they milked 440 cows through a 22-bail rotary on the family farm, which is just outside the small settlement of Normanby in South Taranaki. It took two people up to five hours to milk, says Cameron. A desire to use their resources more effectively saw them build a new shed complete with 60-bail rotary, in-shed feeding and new effluent system, which have transformed milking time and facilitated herd growth. In the season just gone the Johnstons calved 550 cows. This year they plan to move the herd to 680 cows. But the new dairy has been
built with a 1000-cow herd size in mind, says Cameron.
Integrated system Installation of the platform and milking plant are major components of any new dairy build, so it’s important this goes smoothly, says Waikato Milking Systems area sales manager Brian Luff. “All Waikato Milking Systems’ equipment is fully integrated, which cuts down on complexity and installation time,” says Brian. “There is no need to design or build anything on-site. Everything is manufactured at our workshop in Hamilton and is ready to install without alterations or additions.” Moa Milking and Pumping, which is an approved installer for Waikato Milking Systems platforms throughout the North Island, installed the Orbit concrete platform.
Installation takes between two and three weeks and after connecting all of the bails, which arrive on-site in a container. Concrete is poured around the installed bails to form the platform deck. At 2.7m wide, the Orbit offers superior protection for the milking equipment that is mounted underneath the platform.
Peace of mind monitoring Hunts Farm Services, a local Waikato Milking Systems partner, took care of the rest of the plant installation including a SmartDRIVE milk pump controller, SmartPULS pulsators and SmartECRs. Provision was also made for adding an automated SmartWASH system in future. While the install at the Johnstons was reasonably standard, says Hunts Farm Services’ Daniel Lord, “the system includes a couple of useful extra features”.
One of two 120m feed pads, which were part of the new dairy build.
Daniel highlights the system that monitors vat temperature, valve position on the vat silo and farm water usage. “If, for example, vat temperature goes outside identified parameters, the system sends a message to Cameron’s smartphone allowing him to take action straight away.” There are also two washdown pumps, says Daniel, with the additional one kicking in to provide extra pressure if there is more than one person washing down simultaneously.
Supplement feed Cameron says 50 per cent of feed is grass, with the remainder coming from supplements fed either in-shed, or from large feed pads constructed as part of the new dairy build. Two 16 tonne silos from PPP Industries provide supplement storage. PPP Industries’ local partner Elite Farm Solutions installed the silos and in-shed feed system.