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DAIRY PEOPLE: Eliot & Mary Cooper
NZ Dairy / Summer 2014
Small tweaks add up to sizeable gains Karen Phelps Sometimes it’s not just the big changes that net results on farm; the small, seemingly insignificant tweaks to the system can add up to gains in production and savings. This has been the experience of Central Hawke’s Bay farmers Eliot and Mary Cooper. Farming a 260-hectare (effective), 280ha (total) unit at Takapau, just north of Dannevirke, the couple milk a herd of 600 predominantly friesian cows through a 30-a-side herringbone shed. The installation of rubber matting on the pit floor last season was one of the latest tweaks, and Eliot Cooper says it has made a real difference for minimal investment – around $2000. “I saw the matting at the Fieldays and it made sense to try it,” he says. “The staff’s bones and muscles don’t ache at the end of milking now; rather than crawling out of the shed, they run.” The real gains, though, have been made in productivity: “We’ve knocked 10 minutes off the milking, which is 20 minutes per day. Over a week that’s over two hours.” Cooper was raised on a mixed dairy, beef and sheep farm in the region. After going through the farm cadet scheme he, and later Mary, progressed through the sharemilking system on farms in the Manawatu. The couple bought their farm in 2001. A mixer wagont was acquired to help them towards their goal of achieving 100% of bodyweight in production, a target he aims set to reach this season. The farm has a 300-cow feedpad and the mixer wagon helps them use the feed better. “The older cows used to sort their way through the feed and the more dominant cows picked the good stuff out. Now the feed is mixed better, the herd gets fed more evenly. We’ve never achieved more than 2 kilograms of milksolids per cow during winter, but last winter we reached 2.1-2.2kg. We put this down to the mixer wagon.” They also replaced a Roto Rainer irrigator with a centre-pivot two years ago, and this has enabled them to make better use of water by varying the rates of application.
Cooper has also been investing in new pastures. This year he is soil-testing every paddock instead of a cross-section, to establish the condition of the land accurately. Their aim is to grow 16 tonnes of grass per hectare. Last year they averaged 12 tonnes, and they hope to reach their goal quickly as the effects of the irrigation system kick in. The Coopers are also striving to improve their herd. Their goal is a 12% empty rate. At present they are sitting at 15%, down from 16% the previous season. They have also invested in synchronising cows to cycle within 48 hours with CIDRs and are now getting a high percentage of heifers calving within the first 10 days. They employ four full-time staff. Mary runs her own human-resources business and also looks after the farm accounts and staff management. The Coopers have also developed a partnership with Flaxmere School through which around 25 children come on farm once a week for 6-8 weeks each year. Each child is assigned a calf to care for and groom. Finally a pet day is held at the school where the children have to groom their calf and lead it before judges: “It’s good to give kids an opportunity to get a taste of farm life,” says Eliot Cooper. “When they come to choose a career, perhaps they might look at farming. Feedback we’ve had is that being involved on a farm also changes academic performance as the kids get more focused and motivated.” The next step for the Coopers will be to build another cowshed – a 40-a-side herringbone – and run the herd through the two sheds. “We’re hoping it will improve the running of the farm and reduce milking and cow walking times,” he says. “The new shed will mean that the cows will be within 15-20 minutes’ walk of the shed rather than one hour. If they don’t need to spend so much energy walking, that energy can go into milk production. Our aim is to be in the top 5% of the district in terms of production and we’re not far away from that.”
Takapau farmers Eliot and Mary Cooper have developed a partnership with Flaxmere School to encourage the next generation to have a go at farming. The children are assigned a calf to care for which culminates in a pet day at the school where children have to groom their calves and lead them before judges.
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