TURNEY
Page 60
Coast & Country
Technology and automation Farm owner Rob Turney is mostly hands-off but is still passionate about his animals.
Permbrand installed and supplied the two 30 tonne silos.
When Rob and Kim Turney decided to convert most of their existing cropping farm near Methven to dairy, they had one goal – to sell two products. They also carried out a large amount of the work themselves. Prior to conversion, 148 hectares of the 158ha property was used for growing grain to supply their outdoor sow breeding and pig finishing unit. Rob had thought about conversion to dairy for two or three years and in 2014 began the process of developing the cropping area into pasture for cows, with the aim of running a dairy farm and keeping the pig farm. “I wanted to sell two products – pork and milk. The first thing was getting consent for a
change in land use,” says Rob. Once consents were through, work began on laneways and effluent ponds. With good heavy soils, gravel wasn’t readily available, but he managed to scrape enough shingle to build up the area for the cow shed and tracks. As the farm wasn’t fenced apart from the outdoor sow unit, fencing began at the same time. Irrigation was already in place, with three pivots covering 130ha. A DIY sort of bloke and mindful of spending, Rob decided to build the shed with help from his brothers David and Simon. Having built pig sheds in the past, he was confident it would be financially sound to manage the building project himself. The gamble paid off and the result is a roomy 54-bail rotary shed that accommodates both
Permbrand operations manager Phill Shaw.
Turney
cows and workers with good natural light and plenty of room to move in.
Electronic milk meters The first part of the shed to be tackled was the water pipes, which were dragged into the ground and underground power cables. Pipework was made early by a local engineering company. Then the centre and floor were poured, which included a concrete underpass to each side of the platform and an alleyway into the centre. Plumbing was all in place prior to the pour. Next was the platform. The concrete was laid for the main yard, requiring two pours and 125 cubic metres of concrete. Rob says the biggest challenge was the plumbing and electrics. Because he wanted electronic milk meters installed this required more work
than a standard shed. Waikato Milking Systems supplied a system that was as automated as possible and Morrison Agri – which was re-branded from Ashburton Milking Systems – installed the equipment. “Rob wanted technology and automation,” says Waikato Milking Systems Central and Upper South Island area sales manager Chris Barclay. To enable the 565 cows to be milked by one person, a rotary loop line with a slug cleaning system was installed. Auto cleaning using the SmartWASH system – a programmable automated wash system – and SmartECR electronic cup removers, Bail Gate Straps, SmartSPRAY automatic teat spraying and Electronic Milk Meters all contributed to making a low labour input shed.
Show Home Address: 106 King St, Redruth, Timaru.
The Turney dairy farm has a stunning backdrop of mountains.
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