NZ Dairy
FARM PEOPLE » Aaron & Jo Passey
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Cow health drives once-a-day plan Russell Fredric Once-a-day milking is a permanent feature of Aaron and Jo Passey’s share-milking operation. The Dannevirke couple are in their first season as 50:50 share-milkers after working in a lower order position on another farm in the area for the previous two years. Over a period of about 10 years they built their herd up to 180 cows and leased them from the age of rising two year-olds. In addition they owned 60 head of young stock. Their present herd of 270 cows is supported on a 110 hectare milking platform owned by Koro and Mavis Mullins. It is expected the herd will produce about 85,000kgMS this season from an average of 314kgMS per cow. “We are targeting long-term to get up to 380 (kgMS) a cow,” Aaron Passey says. The Passey’s have budgeted for their share of farm working expenses at $1.80 from a total FWE of $3.80. Summer feed is grown on 7ha, comprising turnips, and lucerne because of its resilience in dry conditions. Aaron explains the reasons for milking their herd on a once-a-day system. “We’ve got quite a long skinny farm so there’s a fair bit of walking involved; it cuts down the walking and with it being summer dry it helps hold their condition through the summer time.” As well as improving overall animal health including reduced lameness in the herd, improved mating results and better body condition, it also reduces the day-to-day workload, particularly as the Passey’s do not employ any staff. The herd is milked through a 20 a-side herringbone shed which takes two-and-a-half hours. “It gives a better work-life balance. I don’t have to come back to the farm and milk in the afternoon. There’s nothing worse when you go to town than having to race back to milk the cows, or when you’re out on the farm halfway through a job you have to stop and come back and milk.” Cows also spend more time in the paddock eating grass; grazing is on-farm throughout the season, but this is set to change because of upcoming environmental rules. One of the challenges the farm operation is facing is nitrogen leeching limits being imposed under Horizon Regional Council’s One Plan for the Manuwatu-Wanganui region. The focus of the plan is four keystone environmental issues: surface water quality degradation, increasing water demand, unsustainable hill country land use and threatened indigenous biodiversity. “Through the One Plan you’ve got to show
Aaron Passey is in his first season as a 50:50 sharemilker on the Dannevirke farm of Koro and Mavis Mullins.
improving N (nitrogen) loss levels. We are going to have to make some big changes to get ahead of that.” Because the soil is free draining and leeching occurs during high rainfall periods, cows will be wintered off-farm during June and July this year. While this will come at a cost, there will be advantages for pasture; the workload will also be reduced during the six week period the cows are away from the farm. Although once-a-day milking reduces the daily work load, winter milking will extend the season, while capturing the premium paid for winter milk. To achieve this, early calvers will be sent away for grazing, while late calvers, empty cows and autumn calvers will milk through the winter. “The climate of the farm suits it pretty well and then the premiums this year are pretty convincing.”
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“Through the One Plan you’ve got to show improving N (nitrogen) loss levels. We are going to have to make some big changes to get ahead of that.”
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