Nz dairy summer 2015 by Waterford Press Limited

Summer 2015

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Cloud-based system reins in ‘bolted horse’ INSIDE

Contractors strut their stuff – CONTRACTING

Bad timing, good result in the ‘Naki -– PAGE 13

Like so many small businesses Taupo-based Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems was bursting at the seams as staff struggled to cope with dairying-driven growth. To the point it was becoming quite difficult to manage, says owner Daniel Gorton (left). But a ‘massive investment’ in technology and systems two years ago has transformed the efficiency of the business – and made working life easier and more satisfying for staff. Story: page 18

Transportables target farmers – PAGE 26

Couple hang on calls for help – PAGE 45

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Karla Frost

NZ Dairy

Young manager finds research farm fertile ground Sue Russell

15DAR017

Northland farm manager of the year winner Karla Frost (top) and part of the research farm herd (above).

Managing Northland’s only research farm, near Dargaville, is bringing Karla Frost plenty of challenges and many rewards. The enterprising Massey University Bachelor of Agri-science graduate has wasted no time progressing her farming career and says the firsthand experience she is gaining while running the research farm is an excellent way to set herself up to move in any number of directions. This season will be her third managing the farm. “I am looking toward an eventual sharemilking position and, ultimately, to farm ownership, and I am also very keen to possibly move toward farmconsultancy work.” The Northland Agricultural Research Farm property is quite different from other research farms, she says. “It is only a small farm, totalling 84 hectares and carrying 230 cows split into three herds, each with 28 hectares and each farmed through a different management system.” The three-year research project is aimed at assessing which of the three management systems is best, in terms of productivity and cost inputs. One herd is being fed grass only, another is crop-fed (including grass maize, turnips and fodder beet), and the third is pasture based with the option of palm kernel as needed. The differences in productivity, along with all the other measurements continually assessed, won’t really come into play until later in the season, she says. “It is early days yet this season as we have had a really good winter and spring for grass growth.” She has two full-time staff working alongside her, and members of the committee she reports to visit the farm every fortnight or so. It’s a good time, she says, to sit down for a few hours and

discuss round the table just what is happening on a day-to-day basis and to review the accumulating research data. Karla applied for a second-in-command position on the farm, but circumstances changes within a couple of months and she took up the manager’s role. She remembers feeling pressure at the realisation she was in charge and responsible for making decisions. “I had a lot of support from the committee. It is a very collaborative environment to work in. And because this farm is entirely research-based, we are not necessarily expecting certain goals to be achieved as such, but rather monitoring and recording how the herds respond. In doing so, we are still achieving some really great targets” She recalls that when she began farming, there were few women managing farms. But that has changed, partly because of the inherent aptitude of women toward recording and assessing information, animal health and husbandry. She won this year’s Northland Farm Manager of the Year title, after finishing third last year. “It was quite daunting that first time. You spend two hours talking about your farming systems. When it came to the second time around, given this is a research farm, I had to have really good data.” She recommends entering such events because of the opportunities to meet other aspiring farmers and to receive advice from industry specialists and people who have been farming for many years!” Karla went on to finish third place in the Dairy New Zealand National Farm Manager of the Year competition, and received the financial merit award for farm and personal finance. “The judges could see that I was farming for profit, not just chasing production.” She also received the leadership award as recognition of her role and commitment to the industry, in particular the Whangarei Young Farmers club.

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Cloud-based system reins in ‘bolted horse’ INSIDE

Contractors strut their stuff – LIFTOUT

Bad timing, good result in the ‘Naki -– PAGE 13

Transportables target farmers – PAGE 26

Couple hang on calls for help – PAGE 45

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » James Griffin

Left: Rangitikei farmer James Griffin has been growing fodder beet for six years and uses it as a high-quality supplement for his dairy cows. Above: Griffin cows make sure they don’t miss out on their fodder beet.

Fodder beet ‘almost rocket fuel’ Kim Newth Fodder beet has been gaining in popularity in recent years, with many farmers keen to try this agrarian super food as an economical way to supplement winter-feeding systems for dairy cows. Rangitikei farmer James Griffin turned to fodder beet not only because of its cost effectiveness, but also because of its reputation as a high quality feed – “almost rocket fuel!”. He manages the Griffin Family Partnership, which has been growing fodder beet on its property north of Marton for the past six years. Dairy is only part of the farming business - it also grows potatoes and other fodder crops, and finishes lambs and bulls. The dairy platform is 97 hectares. James uses fodder beet primarily as a highquality supplement for dairy cows – as both a spring and autumn feed for lactating dairy cows, and as a winter feed for dry dairy cows. Fodder beet is also used as a winter feed for hoggets and friesian bulls.

We feed the beet out as a single supplement – no silage, palm kernel or balage – as the cows will walk on and waste other supplements as they try to get to the fodder beet. Utilisation is close to 100 per cent. There is little doubt that fodder beet is helping boost the farm’s production and lower costs, he says. Between 2012-13 and 2014-15, the milksolidsper-cow target increased from 358 to 447 kilograms while farm working expenses fell from $4.13/kg milksolids to $3.18. Harvesting the fodder beet twice a year makes bulbs available continuously from calving through to late February/March when the fodder-beet crop is ready to graze on the dairy platform. James says bulbs can be stored for up to five months post-

harvest, with the stack fed out by Christmas. He has found that feeding 3-6kg of dry matter beet gives a 0.3 to 0.6kg milksolid lift. “Beets are a cheap, high-energy supplement. Anecdotally, the cows also seem to have more energy, walking faster in and out of the dairy shed and around the farm.” “We feed the beet out as a single supplement – no silage, palm kernel or balage – as the cows will walk on and waste other supplements as they try to get to the fodder beet. Utilisation is close to 100 per cent.”

The farm’s autumn beet crop has enabled lactation to be extended by around 35 days, compared to having the same paddock planted in turnips. Dairy cows are also being grazed over winter on beets in situ, with the goal of getting the animals off the dairy platform and boosting body condition. Left-over bulbs are cleaned up by other stock. While fodder beet is a relatively simple and profitable crop to grow, James says that to maximise results, it is important to prepare, plant and spray it properly. “My beet crops are grown on fertile Kiwitea loams, following potatoes or grass. Conventional cultivation is used. Beets are deep-rooted, so deep ripping is required if any compaction is present. A final roll is used to ensure maximum soil/seed contact, to retain moisture and to minimise soil losses.” He says the varietal planted will depend on the end goal, whether to harvest beets mechanically (lifting varieties) or have them grazed by stock. Beets are best stored on a pad in full sunlight.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Jodie Mexted

NZ Dairy

Winner makes hotel-to-farm Kim Newth Farming was not the first career choice for the 2015 Bay of Plenty Farm Manager of the Year, Jodie Mexted. The 29-year-old, who received the regional dairy industry award in Whakatane, grew up on a dairy farm but never thought she would go farming. Her first choice, after leaving school, was to pursue a design and marketing career via a course at Otago University. She then switched to a degree in hospitality and tourist management. “I thought that made sense because I like working with people and I enjoy the food and beverage side of things,” she says. “In the end I specialised in hotel management.” From Dunedin, she moved to Wellington and worked at the James Cook Hotel for almost three years, rising from restaurant supervisor to manager in that time. She then decided to travel overseas, but not before returning to work for her parents, Michael and Linda Mexted, on their Whakatane farm. As Jodie recalls, at that stage she still had little interest in farming. “I just felt that having come from a dairy farm, I ought to know how to milk cows. It was something I wanted to be able to do.” By the time Jodie had boarded a plane for London, she had decided not to resume a career in Wellington’s hotel industry. But she was still unsure of her next career move. “After six months away travelling, I came back and did some relief milking on the farm as I had been doing before I left. “Then the farm assistant left. By then I had realised I was really enjoying it, so I decided to stay

I have found the dynamics of farming really exciting. It is hard work but never boring. There is always something to learn. I can’t get enough of it.

Whakatane farm manager Jodie Mexted specialised in hotel management before deciding on a career change.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Jodie Mexted

career move It is a really cool industry to be a part of in New Zealand. The Dairy Industry Awards are an example of that – young farmers are really encouraged and supported. Lots of people are happy to share ideas. They think it is a good thing if someone else is doing well; it doesn’t mean they are any worse off. It is a co-operative approach. on.” Within three years, she was managing the 530-cow farm. Part of what hooked her on farming was discovering there was much more to it than she had once thought. “I have found the dynamics of farming life really exciting. It is hard work but never boring. I go to a lot of field days and there is always something new to learn. I can’t get enough of it. You also learn a lot from experience. “ I once thought dairy farming was simply about cows eating grass and making milk. Now I know that every farm is different and there are so many variables such as soil type and the weather.” She has also been pleasantly surprised by the supportive dairy-industry culture. “It is a really cool industry to be a part of in New Zealand. The Dairy Industry Awards are an example of that – young farmers are really encouraged and supported. Lots of people are happy to share ideas. They think it is a good thing if someone else is doing well; it doesn’t mean they are any worse off. It is a co-operative approach.” She regularly meets with other young farmers to discuss common issues and matters of interest. Her background in hotel restaurant management has been useful, though she still finds managing

farm staff one of the hardest parts of the job. “You need to get the team on board, but people are so different. There is no ‘one way’ to work with everyone. You’ve got to know what works for each individual.” Her favourite jobs on the farm include record keeping and managing animal health. Training comes with the territory. She has completed some agricultural ITO courses, including milk-quality certification and various level four courses. At the peak of the season Jodie is managing 550 kiwicross cows on 140 hectares. They are milked through a 48-bail rotary shed. The Whakatane property is a high-input system 5 dairy farm; maize is grown on a 20ha block and another block is used for growing lupins. There is a run-off for young stock, and this is also used for grazing cows over winter. Over the past few years, more trees have been planted for shade and shelter. – “This is a wet farm – it used to be a swamp.“ . Her two younger brothers are also pursuing farming careers. One is working on a South Island farm and the other is in his final year at Lincoln University. Next step for Jodie is contract milking, though for now she is happy to carry on learning in her current role.

Jodie Mexted manages 550 kiwicross cows on a 140-hectare farm near Whakatane. Milking is through a 48-bail rotary shed.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Lydia & Sean Baty

Dairy goat farmers Lydia Baty and dad David Phillips inside the milking shed at Tukituki Dairy Goats.

Dairy goats pose a few different challenges Karen Phelps Goat farming is like having 600 children, says Lydia Baty who has just started Tukituki Dairy Goats with her husband, Sean, and her parents, David and Jo Phillips. Even though they started milking in August, the goats are already proving more challenging than sheep or cows. While they were still raising their herd, the goats managed to start a fire because they played with the heat lamp in the shed; another kid was found inside a 200-litre milk drum – how it got there remains a mystery. The goats also ‘pruned’ the Phillips’s immaculate garden when they got out one day.

The Batys approached the Phillips, long time sheep, beef and cropping farmers, with the idea of a goat farm after Lydia started working for the ASB Bank in Waikato and saw what her goat-farming clients were achieving. With her three siblings, she will one day be entitled to a share of her family’s farm, and she says goat farming provided a pathway for her and Sean into land ownership and for farm succession for her parents. “We wanted to be farmers sooner rather than later, so we were looking for something to help us create equity. Because goats are smaller than cows, I can do all the physical jobs on the farm just as well as Sean can. Plus I totally love my girls.”

• To page 8

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RURAL PEOPLE » Tukituki Goats/John & Janine Bartlett

NZ Dairy

Goat milk used in infant formula • From page 7 The family partnership between Lydia, Sean, David and Jo has seen 41 hectares of the family’s sheep and beef farm converted to goat farming. It is now milking 650 saanen goats (which Lydia likens to friesians if you make a comparison with cows), which they reared themselves. Their herd is around 65 per cent yearlings and the remainder rising two year olds. It has been crossed with the nubian breed, which Lydia likens to the jersey-cow breed. The Batys contract-milked part of their herd, 200 goats, as well as 630 owned by the farm-owner, on a unit at Matamata last season. But, despite the fact the family had never milked before this and many of the goats had never been through a shed before this season, there were few teething problems when they started milking the herd on their own farm. The main challenges occurred during the resource consent process, with the pair having to teach council staff about the requirements and processes of goat milking. Lydia says a milking shed designed for goats works much the same as with cows apart from being a lot smaller. The goats walk forward to enter the shed and also walk forward off the platform. As goats tend to move their back legs more than cows, the cups are set up on the inside of the platform to be visible at any point of the rotation. Because of goats’ tendency to hold their milk sometimes, there are also two feeding bays to encourage them to relax. As some of their yearlings

this season are a little smaller than the Batys would like (they have needed to put two of these goats to one milking bay), they have decided to take care of this problem at the breeding stage next season. Another benefit of goat farming is that the effluent is about 10 per cent of that of a dairy farm with the same number of cows. It will be spread on 4.1 hectares using a travelling irrigator. The Batys are uncertain of the profitability of their operation compared with milking cows, but expect gross returns from goat farming will be 10 times greater per hectare than from sheep and beef. The family has a contract to supply Fresco Nutrition, a manufacturer of infant formula; the price per solid is sitting around $13-14 per kilogram. This sounds impressive, but Lydia points out that the running costs of a goat farm are higher than for cows. “Goats are housed inside all the time and we have to cut grass and bring it in to them. There are higher animal-health bills and we don’t get the same volume of milk as dairy cows.” Goats, to put it politely, are also fussier creatures, she says. “They produce better inside (outside goats produce at least a third less than inside goats) and are happier there. For example, there is only five metres between the milking shed and the loafing barn, and the other day when it was raining, they looked miserable at the thought of having to walk that five metres in the rain. It took some encouragement to get them moving but a ‘come on

New kids on the block: These youngsters are happy to frolic outside but most dairy goats are housed inside. girls’ finally got them to dash across although they still didn’t look happy about it.” Goats are also susceptible to parasites, so the family has put aside some flat paddocks to be cleared of parasite eggs, and pasture is cut from those for the goats. They are fed balage, pea vine hay and maize, as well as alkamaize, which is essentially wet maize straight from the harvester. David helps out on the goat farm each day, and continues to run the sheep, beef and cropping unit – 500 hectares plus 270ha of leased land. Lydia says one goal with the goat farm is for the family to be able to buy the 270ha block. They plan to gradually increase goat numbers to meet

the market, which, she says, is rising. The couple are members of the Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has 69 shareholders, between them milking 44,000 goats in New Zealand. The total annual milk supply is 26,000,000 litres and turnover from shareholders was $150 million in 2014. “More people have intolerances to cow milk these days and goat milk is the closest thing to human breast milk,” says Lydia.. “I’m feeding our nine-month-old son, Harry, on goat milk. It’s a nutritious food and gentle on the stomach. Dairy goat farming is becoming more known in New Zealand, which is great as it helps us build our brand, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Auckland houses fund farm for ex-navy man Karen Phelps John and Janine Bartlett sold two Auckland houses and a superannuation scheme to fund their way into dairy farming. By surrounding themselves with the right people and reinvesting back into the farm their farm at Kiwitea is now producing 220,000 kilograms of milksolids compared with the 70,000-80,000kg the farm was producing before they took over. John grew up on a 16-hectare hobby farm in Kimbolton while Janine is from Auckland. Although

he always dreamed of going farming John ended up in the Royal New Zealand Navy for 30 years before the couple bought Oatley Hill in 1999 in partnership with John’s brother. A sharemilker was put in charge of the unit and, as John’s job was based close by, he could pop into the farm lending a hand whenever possible. When John eventually left the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2004, he and Janine bought the farm outright. It’s 17 kilometres north of Feilding, set on two terraces separated by a road with an underpass. A valley runs through one side of the farm. It’s around

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65 per cent flat with some steep parts planted in pine trees. Contract milkers are in their fourth season on the 220ha effective (260ha total) unit, which includes 40ha of lease land. The farm is supported by a 40ha run-off five kilometres away. The Bartletts have put a lot of effort into developing the farm...lanes, fences etc, which they say has assisted production gains. The farm milks 600 predominantly jersey cows through a 32-bail rotary shed with a meal-feeding system and automatic drafting, cup removers and teat-spray systems. John says the farm has a good system of growing crops of turnips and grass silage for summer feed to combat the drier months. The farm winter-milks 170 carry-over cows, so the Bartletts split-calve the herd – 400 in spring and 100-140 in autumn. It’s their third season of winter milking and they say this has helped them use more of their grass “The first season winter milking was easy. Last season was still successful, but more challenging as it was wet and cold. We estimate we are getting an extra 30,000kg milksolids as a result,” says John. As the herd is now in its fourth season after the Bartletts made the change from sharemilkers to contract milkers, the cows are starting to hit their stride. They have been using AI to improve genetics with both productive and breeding worth figures shifting from around 50 to 100.

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The first season winter milking was easy. Last season was still successful, but more challenging as it was wet and cold. We estimate we are getting an extra 30,000kg milksolids as a result. The farm employs two full-time staff in addition to the contract milkers, and the Bartletts take care of the cropping, silage, maintenance and upgrading work. John’s engineering background has been put to good use. With the lower payout they plan to continue to farm as they have been, aiming to reproduce last season’s good production.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Shane & Sharee Edwards | 9

Pay-out dive drives efficiency quest Kim Newth If there is a positive side to reduced dairy payouts, it lies in farmers and dairy workers finding sustainable, thrifty ways to reduce the cost side of the production equation. That’s according to contract-milking manager Shane Edwards, who runs a dairy unit at Cheltenham, just north of Feilding in the Manawatu region. Shane, Sherree and their two kids moved to Cheltenham last June after having previously seen out five seasons of 50-50 sharemilking near Feilding. Shane has five full-time staff assisting him at Cheltenham, where they milk 1050 cows through the property’s modern rotary shed equipped with automatic weighing and drafting, and capacity for in-shed feeding. As Shane observes, the challenge with current dairy pay-outs is to try and minimise the impact on the property’s owners without impacting too heavily on his own bottom line. “You do that by being as efficient as possible. I wouldn’t be in a job for long if it I did it any other way. The key goal is to try and keep costs down while maintaining production. “So you utilise the feed you have got and cut down on unnecessary waste as much as possible. That is the biggest objective – not to waste supplement or pasture, while also finding ways to maximise growth. “It is back to basic farming.” He now has 13 milking seasons under his belt. Before making the move to contract milking, he spent the best part of a decade as a sharemilker. At Feilding, he was milking 300 friesian cows through a basic, 26-a-side herringbone shed. “Coming here has had its challenges, mainly mentally. Before this, it was just me and one other

You utilise the feed you have got and cut down on unnecessary waste as much as possible. That is the biggest objective – not to waste supplement or pasture, while also finding ways to maximise growth.

Feilding contract milking manager Shane Edwards runs a dairy unit at Cheltenham milking 1050 cows. staff member. It was easy to organise the day. In order to get all the jobs done now, I need to keep everything moving and organised. I have to think on my feet a lot more so that jobs get done in a timely fashion.” It has proved a good move overall for Shane, who is pleased at how the property finished ahead

for last season in terms of production. “It helps that the weather is reasonably friendly here. It does get fairly cold over winter and a bit dry in summer, but we don’t get the same extremes as other parts of the country.” Another adjustment has been learning to work

around a predominantly jersey herd after having previously milked friesian cross cows. He has been keen to build more work-life balance into his routine and says he has been able to achieve more flexibility in his hours at Cheltenham and spend valuable time with his family. His wife, Sherree, works full-time as a high school English teacher. To ease the load, the couple have employed a nanny to help with after-school care of their children, aged nine and seven. However, Shane finds there is often no option but to put in the long hours on the farm to make sure the job is done well.

Ryegrasses put to the test Kelly Deeks

grasses in spring, summer and autumn. Top-performing perennial ryegrasses included new technology that produces low-aftermath heading cultivars, which give more grass, retain more leaf, and produce fewer seed heads in early summer. Many older grass varieties performed poorly in the trials, says Kubala, Nui ryegrass for example. “Most farmers look for is the persistency of grass cultivars,” he says. “Out of 33 perennial diploid varieties, only seven showed distinctive persistent traits – all were fine-leaf varieties.” Similar findings were found with tetraploid varieties. Southland Grain and Seed’s next big trial is on mixed grass varieties, with the aim of achieving a gain in yield and persistency that will benefit farmers. Kubala says that as an independent company, Southland Grain and Seed is in a position to get its hands on particular varieties which larger companies don’t deal in. The high yielding Magnum oats is an example. “That has been a big plus. I’ll deal with anyone who has a good product.” The company is also a supplier of AGPRO DIRECT agricultural chemicals, which include sprays for pasture weed control, glyphosate, and grain, brassicas, and beets, with the objective of supporting production.

Southland Grain and Seed has been trialling more than 60 varieties of ryegrasses to see how they perform on high- and low-analysis fertiliser plots, to evaluate yields and persistency of grasses. Director Kevin Kubala says Southland Grain and Seed is the first company to do a completely independent trial of almost all the ryegrass varieties on the market. While seed manufacturers’ suppliers complete their own trials, the results published in their pamphlets will invariably claim their varieties are the best, he says. “Our trials are completely independent, and provide accurate information so that I can get all the very best products out to my farmer clients.” The trials are being done in Southland to evaluate which grass varieties can handle the tough conditions in the area. Every month the grass plots are cut and weighed, and the data is then sorted to show the performance of each grass in each month, year round. The results of the trials have been interesting to say the least, says Kubala. “We have found that just by choosing the right grass type, you can increase your production by up to 30 per cent,” he says. The yield of perennial diploid grasses on high analysis fertiliser (urea) plots in the trials increased by 20%, and that of the tetraploid perennial and Italian ryegrasses increased by 25%. “The most interesting thing was that we had a terribly wet spring last year and the increase was 50% .” Kubala says it was also interesting that in the trials, italian ryegrasses crossed with perennial grasses consistently outperformed almost all of the italian Ryegrasses under test in the Southland Grain and Seed trial.

Proud to be associated with Shane & Sheree Edwards Phone: 06 329 1885 | Mobile: 0272 432 514 (Robbie) 0274 424 706 (John) Email: seymourstransport@farmside.co.nz | Location: 841 Poplar Rd, Opiki, R D 4, Palmerston North

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10 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Tauhara Moana Trust

NZ Dairy

Monitor farm tackles climatic, Kim Newth

The Tauhara Moana Trust farm near Taupo is split into two units – Tauhara (365 hectares) and Moana (409ha), which is a Dairy New Zealand monitor farm.

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the moment is to fill the feed deficit in summer so that we can generate more profit.

Five years ago, the Tauhara Moana Trust engaged with Dairy New Zealand in a development programme tailored towards improving profitability of the trust’s dairy farm near Taupo. A key objective was also to test tools and technologies that could help overcome some of the environmental and climatic challenges shared by the wider Central Plateau. dairy-farming community. The results have been very encouraging. The Tauhara Moana story has evolved, with an original 50:50 sharemilking arrangement being phased out and replaced with a farm-management regime. Effectively, the Tauhara Moana Trust owns the land, while a partner company owns the cows, machinery and other assets. In addition, the property has been split in half and a new 60-bail rotary dairy shed added to supplement the original shed. The first dairy unit, Tauhara, covers 365 hectares while the second dairy unit, Moana – DairyNZ’s monitor farm unit – is 409ha in area. The objective of the monitor farm is to provide up-to-date information on its performance, which is being closely monitored on a 10-day reporting cycle. “It gives everyone a heads up as to what is happening on the farm and whether targets are being met,” says spokesman Mark Johnston, of Agribusiness Solutions. “The other part of this is about increasing engagement with the trust farm and allowing it to gain a better return as a Maori agribusiness.” This year, Tauhara wintered 1150 cows, with another 1250 on the Moana monitor unit. Before the second shed was installed, cows had to walk up to 11 kilometres to get to the shed. That distance is now only 2km. As well as saving time and reducing lameness in the herd, running the two units with two sheds also reduces the overall risk to the business, says Mark Johnston. Management, stocking and feed regimes are similar across both units. One of the key goals of the farm has been to find ways to meet the environmental, climatic and sustainability challenges of the Central Plateau area. Central to this has been its decision to go into partnership with Contact Energy by leasing 1000ha of land from the electricity generator for dairy support.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Tauhara Moana Trust

environmental challenges Of that land, 155ha is in lucerne for cutting and carrying back to the dairy farm as lucerne silage. Another 80-90ha of winter crop, kale, is also planted every year. All of the young stock are also grazed on the leased land. “We also winter virtually all the cows on that block too; they are wintered off the farm,” says Mark. Around 450ha of grass silage is cut every year. Self-sufficiency in feed is the ultimate goal, though palm kernel is still being brought in as supplementary feed. One of the particular challenges for Tauhara is that it lies in a rain shadow and is very prone to drying out over summer. This is exacerbated by the farm’s free-draining pumice soil. Mark says the farm used to produce 600 to 700 kilograms of milksolids per hectare. By leasing land and generating grass silage and lucerne silage, the farm is able to push its production to 1100kg milksolids per hectare. The overall milksolids target for this year is 920,000kg over both units. “We are real dry here in summer,” says Mark. “Our strategy at the moment is to fill the feed deficit in summer so that we can generate more profit.” Regular field days are being held on Moana, the monitor farm unit. The most recent field days, in October, reviewed the farm’s financial performance and achievements, and also had a strong focus on this year’s financial situation and ways of adapting to the downturn in dairy prices. Altogether, the farm employs 12 dairy workers, two dedicated tractor drivers and three calf rearers (working full-time from mid-July to early December). “We put all our own fertiliser on and do our own cropping,” says Mark Johnston

A field day the Moana monitor farm near Taupo.

It (Moana monitor farm) gives everyone a heads up as to what is happening on the farm and whether targets are being met. The other part of this is about increasing engagement with the trust farm and allowing it to gain a better return as a Maori agribusiness.

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| 11

DAIRY PEOPLE » John Butterworth

12 |

NZ Dairy

Sharemilkers urged to work with owners Karen Phelps Federated Farmers is urging sharemilkers to work with farm owners to get through this tough year, says the federation’s sharemilker sub-section chairman for Rotorua/Taupo, John Butterworth, “Everyone is in the same boat,” he says. “It’s about coming together, communicating and making it work for both parties. From farmers we’ve talked to, the amount of stress equates to the amount of debt carried. Fortunately the banks have been quite good and seem to be sticking with the farmers and working through it all.” John knows the challenges sharemilkers are facing first hand – he’s a 50:50 sharemilker on Forest Gate Farm at Rotorua, owned by his parents, Jack and Shelley. The 200-hectare effective (285ha total) unit milks a herd of 600 crossbred cows through a 48-a-side herringbone shed. John says the biggest challenge this season has been cutting costs. He’s scaled the system back, buying in about half the palm kernel he typically buys and getting back to basics to keep the system profitable. He has also culled 20 cows and is being vigilant about pasture management to make every blade of grass count. John started his farming career at Taratahi College in 2004 completing a Level 4 Certificate in Sheep and Cattle Farming, followed by a Diploma in

Agribusiness Management through AGITO in 2009. After graduating, his first job was on Mangamingi Station, a 3700ha property south of Rotorua. He started as a farm trainee and ended up stock manager. Realising that his goal of farm ownership was difficult if he stayed with sheep and beef, he decided to go dairying when his parents converted their deer farm to dairy in 1990. John now supplies Open Country Dairy and owns his own 64ha run-off as well as leasing 95ha of land within the catchment used for heifer grazing and making silage. The family farm also continues to run a small number of deer but even in the low payout cows still pay better then deer, says John

indicating there are no regrets from the family about their decision to convert. The farm employs two full-time staff. Shelley is still actively involved in the farm, washing out the shed every morning and rearing the calves. Jack helps out with pricing and capital projects. Realising there is more to life than cows, John is a strong advocate for off-farm interests. Aside from his role with Federated Farmers John, with Shelley, has helped to convene the Central Plateau Dairy Industry Awards for the last two years. He entered the awards in 2011, then went onto win the Central Plateau Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year in 2012, backing up with runner-up at the National

Awards. He says the experience of entering the awards was invaluable to his business. In his spare time he also likes to hunt. John says the aim this season for the family farm is to maintain similar production on a lower input system. Last season the farm produced 251,000 kilograms of milksolids and this season the aim is 240,000kg. Despite the tougher times John remains positive. “We’re making it work because we’re in this for the long term,” he says. “We’re staying here and sticking with dairying. We have to realise that we are price takers and the dairy industry will always be volatile.”

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PHOTOS: John Butterworth, pictured with partner Nicole Way, is the Federated Farmers sharemilker sub-section chairman for Rotorua/Taupo. He is also a 50:50 sharemilker at Forest Gate Farm, Rotorua milking a herd of 600 cows through a 48-a-side herringbone shed.

Organic butter boosts dairy Kim Newth

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Retro Organics was first to market a few years ago with a lactose-free milk and yoghurt, sold in supermarkets through New Zealand. Organic butter is now joining the range of this boutique producer. From late July/early August, 250g packs of Retro Organics’ butter have been hitting stockists’ shelves. Until now, Australia has virtually cornered the organic butter market, but Retro Organics expects that will change once consumers get a taste for their creamy, locally made product. Robin and Lois Greer have spent almost two decades developing their organic farm and dairy at Tuturau, near Gore. They chose to go organic out of a desire to farm in a healthier, chemical-free way. “Both our families had a history of cancer, so we wanted to cut chemicals out of the equation,” says Robin Greer. “We moved to an organic way of farming over five or six years after we purchased the farm in 1993.” Their 100 per cent-organic dairy operation always seems to have something new on the go. This winter also saw the release of a light, low-fat yoghurt, in response to consumer demand. “I’m always looking for new ideas; we have

more new products coming out all the time,” says Greer. A herd of 350 jersey cows graze the Greers’ 20-hectare property. Jerseys might seem an unusual choice given that larger friesians dominate the southern dairy sector. The Greers chose jerseys not only because they calve so easily and naturally, but also because of the higher cream content of their milk. “Jersey cows do fit well with a pasture-based system and the cream content of the milk is what gives our cheeses their distinctive flavour,” says Robin. The milk also has a creamier colour compared to the regular milk sold in most stores. At the farm, fresh milk is pumped directly to a nearby dairy processing facility, used to produce creamy yoghurt, butter and a wide range of cheeses, including camembert, brie, feta, haloumi, farmhouse cheddars and gruyere, (another new addition). The shed is just 75 metres away from the processing plant. Learning how to make all these products has taken time, study and considerable perseverance. A degree of perfectionism probably helps. “We have done a lot of reading and research – it takes a lot of trial and error,” says Robin Greer. Yoghurt remains a mainstay for Retro Organics.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Barry & David Knowles

| 13

The new 50-baIl rotary shed on Barry and Susan Knowles’ Taranaki farm has reduced milking time and labour costs.

Bad timing, good results with new shed Russell Fredric Investing in a $1.2 million rotary milking shed made good business sense to Taranaki dairy farmer Barry Knowles last year when Fonterra’s was forecasting a farmgate milk price of more than $8 per kilogram of milksolid. Although he has no regrets, Barry Knowles relates how he committed to the project and a large mortgage, seemingly at the worst possible time, with a mix of stoicism and light-hearted resignation in the light of this year’s plummeting payout. “I just hoped (the payout) would stop dropping – they were talking about $3. We thought, “The banks can’t sell up everybody. We had already committed to the construction, so we had to go through with it.’’ Barry’s son, David, is a 50:50 sharemilker on the 158-hectare (138ha effective) family farm,

having worked his way from contract milking before eventually buying the farm’s herd outright three years ago. The new 50-bail rotary shed, completed in April after the build started October last year, replaced the farm’s aging and inadequate 28-a-side herringbone shed, originally built to milk about 200 cows when Barry and his wife, Susan, bought the property 38 years ago. However, with the Midhirst farm’s herd now around 360, milking was taking too long: “We had two people milking, taking two to two-and-a-half hours; now we’ve got the new cowshed, it takes us one hour 20 with one person milking,’’ says Barry.. Despite the unfortunate timing, he agrees that delaying building a new shed would have resulted in a higher capital cost, while wage savings of $40,000 to $50,000 annually will be achieved with the reduction in staff. The new shed also seems to have the stamp

of approval from the Knowles’ herd: “The cows adapted really quickly,” says Barry. “We put a feed system for feeding meal in to the cowshed. After about four milkings, the cows were just about fighting to get on.’’ Additionally, the cows are now standing for considerably less time as they wait to get on to the milking platform. Because they are released more quickly, the number of lame cows has dropped. “They are far more relaxed, I think – they are not getting pushed around as much.’’ It has been difficult to determine if there are any benefits to the farm’s bottom line since the cows started milking in the new shed, but with milk production on par with last year despite a wet winter and calving period. and some surrounding farms’ production 15 per cent lower than usual, early signs are encouraging. Because the rotary shed provided for increased milking capacity, there are also opportunities to

range from the south

After about four milkings, the cows were just about fighting to get in.

expand the farm, which lies on a rolling contour between Inglewood and Stratford on the eastern side of Mt Taranaki. Because of the low payout, this year rates as one of the most challenging since the Knowleses bought the farm during a drought in 1977. Production is derived largely from a pasturebased system producing around 150,000kg milksolids a year from the herd of one-third jersey/ friesian cross and two-thirds friesian.

B U I L D E R S LT D Proud to b e supp or ting David Knowles Ph: 027 2300 075 w w w.qob.co.nz

Retro Organics’s cheeses include camembert, brie, feta, haloumi, cheddars and gruyere.. No thickeners are added. Rather, the yoghurt is drained naturally to produce the thick texture. The result is a creamy, smooth product based on wholemilk. He is a firm believer in the benefits of healthy soil and pasture, seeing this as fundamental to solving many potential, animal-health problems. Fields are nourished with fish oils, natural rock fertilisers… and dung beetles. “We were the first in the South Island to release dung beetles and we don’t use acid fertiliser or chemicals. We try to keep the soil biologically alive rather than killing it.

“Having herbs in the pasture is also very important. Deep-rooted plants bring up nutrients and trace elements from down deep.” The gourmet pasture selection includes heirloom rye, chicory and plantain herbs, clover and sweet timothy. The couple’s approach to farming marks a return to an older style of farming focused on working with nature to make handcrafted boutique dairy products. They have cherry picked all they need to know about how to farm successfully organically, while rejecting industrialised farming practices they deem to be harmful.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Evan & Jan Billington

14 |

NZ Dairy

Awards reward for hard graft and planning Tony Orman Evan and Jan Billington, who farm near Ngatea on the Hauraki Plains, are the 2015 Auckland-Hauraki Sharemilkers/Equity Farmers of the year, and the winners of national merit awards for farm safety and health, risk management and interviewing. The successes have vindicated Evan’s long-held wish to go dairy farming, as well as allowing him and Jan to work together while increasing equity and. Evan, now 47, spent boyhood school holidays

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on his uncle’s dairy farm, where the ambition to one day be a dairy farmer was born. But his first steps on leaving school were as an apprentice chef, then into the police force. After 18 years of police work and two years with Environment Waikato, he decided to realise his latent dream and go dairy farming. Evan and Jan, who was a school teacher, had bought a lifestyle block and, when the neighbouring farm sold with a farm job on offer, Evan grasped the opportunity and went to work for Terry and Irene Assen, near Tirau. He spent two seasons there as the assistant manager, learning a wide range of practical farming skills. The couple then shifted to Waharoa, near Matamata, where he took a job as a farm manager for Steve and Trish Atkinson, milking 290 cows. There he learned the importance of pasture management and feeding cows well in a low-input system to maximise production. The couple then successfully applied for a 50:50 sharemilking position at Ngatea, on the Hauraki Plains, milking 350 cows for Ken and Pat Jones on a 100-hectare farm. After two seasons, they bought another 350-cow herd and took on the Jones’s second 50:50 sharemilking position on their other farm across the road. That gave them a total of 700 cows in a 50:50 sharemilking arrangement. “Basically we had sold our Waikato lifestyle block and invested that money into dairy cows,” says Evan. “We’ve learned to do our budgets and to analyse our results, and as a result of lots of hard work, our equity has doubled in the last four years.” All of this time he had been gaining valuable experience on farm and education via Ag ITO training. The Billingtons are now in their fifth season on the Jones’s two farms, each of which has a herringbone milking shed (a 42-a-side and a 30-a-side).

• To page 15

Hauraki Plains sharemilkers Evan and Jan Billington

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DAIRY ENGINEERING » Ag & Industrial

| 15

Mobile firm offers cost, time savings

Sue Russell The services provided by Ag & Industrial Ltd have “just kind of evolved as demand and opportunity presented”, say owners Matthew and Kyla Cover. The couple came up with the idea of a mobile, rural engineering business to service the central Waikato area 12 years ago after they had achieved their dairying goal of 50:50 sharemilking. Matt needed a new challenge but was keen to stay in the rural sector. Thrugh his dairy work he had discovered he was fairly handy at fixing things, so they thought it logical to harness those skills into a new business. They have three full-time staff working in their niche areas. Simon Green is full-time in the engineering workshop in Matamata, Kevin Wellington looks after concreting and block work, and Jamie Dench, who has been with the business eight months, is the sitework specialist. Viv Bishop, the most recent recruit, helps parttime in the office. The company built two new dairy sheds last year and another is pencilled in for next year, says Matt. Depending on demand for these substantial jobs, he will take on contractors to assist. It’s an arrangement that works well. He still prefers to be as hands-on as possible and is always interested in acquiring new skills and looking for opportunities from new technologies. Matt says the recent decision to buy one of only a handful of Prime Cut Ultrathermic cutting and welding systems from the New Zealand distributor, Brocco Ltd, will add value to the work the company takes on. Heavy-duty structure demolition or seized pin removal, and the like, will be remarkably easier using this new equipment, he says. Given the portable nature of much of Ag & Industrial’s work, he can see benefits to clients in cost and time savings on projects requiring gouging or piercing of steel in comparison with the traditional ways. “Jamie and I have recently completed some

This technology has several cool features. It is remarkably fast at cutting through steel forms. It will definitely be a useful addition.

Dairy sheds and yards form a substantial part of Ag & Industrial Ltd’s business. hands-on training with the equipment,” he says. “There are not many around and I can see the portability of the machine will be ideal for the sort of work we’re asked to do, especially cutting out old bolts and repairing worn steelwork. “This technology several cool features. It is remarkably fast at cutting through steel forms. It will definitely come into its own as a useful addition to the gear we have.” Though a small operation, Ag & Industrial is prepared to tackle jobs of any magnitude. In fact, Matt says the variety of work keeps everyone engaged and challenged. “We’re about to re-construct the start gates for the local motor cross club,” he says. “While the bulk of our work is on farm, our engineering and problem-solving skills are applied to a wide range of projects.”. The company has two trucks specially fitted with tool boxes designed and built in house. These contain portable engineering equipment. Matt says he and Kyla are happy with where their business stands, and they plans for steady growth in relation to demand. “The whole point of being a portable, on-site, engineering company is that we can get to the jobs quickly and there is the least possible disruption to farm activities,” he says. “That’s our priority always – to deliver costeffective and timely work for our clients.”

Building equity immediate goal • From page 14 Jan Billington has forsaken the school-teaching life for that of a dairy farmer. In their sharemilking operation, which normally employs four full-time staff, she works on staff days off and annual leave – in a normal season, three to four days a week. However, this season, they have had to reduce labour costs and she is effectively milking four to five days a week while Evan is seven days a week during the busiest timers (they use relief staff to have breaks . Jan is also responsible for the office work – accounts, staff administration and associated paper work. The couple have worked on systematically planning and chartering the future, and setting goals. While sharemilking the two Jones farms, they have formulated a business plan and written an operations manual on running two farms, each with individual staffing. The task was enhanced by Evan’s police background of putting systems and structures in place. “Basically, we had sold our lifestyle block and home and put our life savings into dairying. We just had to make it succeed,” says Jan. “Yes,” says Evan. “We wanted to create a secure, successful and profitable farm business to

increase equity, give future security and open up future opportunities.” Opportunities? Farm ownership? “Well, by building equity, we can look at options,” replies Evan. “It could be more sharemilking or moving to farm ownership. Sure, it involves hard work, but it’s our lifestyle choice and we love it.” The couple aim to attain 800 kilograms of milksolids per hectare by the end of December, which would maximise their milk production before the potential dryness of summer sets in. Three dry summers in a row have been challenging, with a number of options such as early drying-off, once-a-day milking of some younger cows, and supplementary feeding being required. Replacement heifer calves are off the farm by the beginning of December. Their seasonal milk-production target is 1200kg of milksolids per hectare.Goals feature strongly in the Billingtons’ management. One is a breeding programme to improve genetics and target a crossbred cow with improved capacity. Health and safety, and staff training and retention are other areas of focus. “That team approach is so important to achieving not only production but harmony too,” says Evan.

Working alongside farmers since 1946

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16 |

DAIRY ENGINEERING » Reporoa Engineering

NZ Dairy

The running gear for Reporoa Engineering’s High Lift gate has re-developed from a channel system (above left) to an ‘I’ beam (above right), eliminating the possibility of derailing.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY ENGINEERING » Reporoa Engineering

| 17

I-beam innovation for gate Kelly Deeks Reporoa Engineering has re-developed the design of the Reporoa High Lift gate, its benchmark product for more than 20 years. The nationally recognised product was the first solid, rectangular-yard backing gate and it revolutionised yard management for many farmers throughout New Zealand and overseas, says Reporoa Engineering director John Perrin It ensures maximum cow-flow through rectangular yards, and, while it works well in larger yards, is perfect for yards with capacity for fewer than 300 cows, he says. The company built on its technology with the development and launch of the Herdflow Crowd gate, which John Perrin describes as a sophisticated and fully automated option for any size herd. Now Repproa Engineering has adapted the technology developed for the Crowd gate and applied it to the High Lift Gate. This has seen a change in the running gear – from running in a channel to running on an “I” beam, which eliminates the possibility of derailing. All the other features of the High Lift, such as the pulse-forward auto stop, the manually operated Dungbuster wash system, pause when lowering, and high/low rail options, remain. John Perrin says that farmers looking to repair or replace their old High Lift can have it upgraded for less than half the cost of replacement. “We can give them a better performing gate with optional extra features, including upgraded electronics featuring the new breech-sensing technology and even a four-wheel-drive capability,” he says. Developments have also been made to Reporoa Engineering’s round-yard gates. All gates come with a high level of technology and a robust construction. “We can provide options to fit any yard and budget,” Perrin says. Perrin has been a director of Reporoa Engineering since 2008. A registered farm management consultant and director and shareholder of Perrin Ag Consultants, he has extensive farm knowledge and experience, and has able to lead the business into new markets and opportunities nationally and internationally. One such development was the creation of the Herdflow product brand in 2008. “The Herdflow approach to dairy-farm building design and construction is about providing engineering that focuses on the needs of the dairy farmer, with particular emphasis on reducing animal stress to increase milk yield, ensuring ease of use and increasing efficiency in the yard,” he says. Reporoa Engineering has gathered a reputation for reliable and robust engineering through its flagship Herdflow brand.. “Increasing productivity through maximising cow comfort and cow flow, coupled with the provision of excellent working conditions for milkers, is the core philosophy behind Herdflow,” he says “We aim to deliver confidence and value to our customers through design, innovation, and expert focus on superior animal handling, milk harvesting, and workplace equipment.”

Reporoa Engineering has re-developed the design of its backing gate. Farmers looking to repair or replace their old gates can upgrade for less than half the cost of replacement.

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18 |

DAIRY ENGINEERING » Mainland Engineering

NZ Dairy

The introduction of the AroFlo business management system has streamlined Daniel Gorton’s engineering business.

New system sparks ‘revolution’ Russell Fredric Technology and systems have proved a saving grace on multiple levels for a burgeoning Taupo company. Mainland Engineering and Dairy Systems owner Daniel Gorton concedes that with his business bursting at the seams four years ago, the horse had already bolted by the time he realised its growth had outstripped its systems. “We grew to a point where it was becoming quite difficult to manage,” he says. “We’ve been really focusing on trying to systemise the business so that we can consistently give the very best service possible to our customers time and time again.’’ One of the first steps to reining in the bolted horse was the implementation, two years ago, of AroFlo, a cloud-based system that includes job

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The real-time system – which runs on smartphones and tablets, with information immediately accessible at the company’s office – has revolutionised the business. management, project management, maintenance programming, invoicing, quotes, inventory, timesheets, health and safety. The real-time system – which runs on smartphones and tablets, with information immediately accessible at the company’s office – has revolutionised the business. “The service techs and engineers do all their

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data entries on their phone – timesheets, invoicing and purchase orders,” says Daniel. “Everything gets billed out from their phones through the AroFlo management system, which is huge for us because we can do everything as we go and from site, as long as we’ve got cell-phone coverage.’’ The company also introduced EROAD, a GPSbased tracking and automatic road-user-charge purchase system. “If we have a plant breakdown, we can get the closest service tech or engineer to the job.’’ “Putting those two systems in, there has been a massive investment in time and money, but it gives us the ability to give our customers great service and keep accurate records.’’ Daniel bought the business as Mainland Engineering, then a two-man operation, 11 years ago. He had done his heavy fabrication engineering apprenticeship with the firm, then had a stint overseas. Mainland Engineering and Dairy Systems provides a wide range of services within the dairy industry, such as dairy-shed structural steel works,

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yard construction, dairy-plant installations, repairs and consumable sales, dairy-shed water systems, automated in-shed meal-feeding systems, and backing-gate repairs. Much of the company’s work is on large corporate-owned farms in the central North Island, with March to August its busiest time of the year, either building, upgrading or servicing sheds. Services include a 24-hour, dairy-shed milking plant and water-system breakdown service. “In 2006 we took on the dealership for Milfos, which was a huge step in the development of the company,” he says, “We’re dealing with top-quality products, and a sophisticated level of research and development sits behind the Milfos brand.’’ Milfos was bought three years ago by European giant GEA Farm Technologies. As a result of this connection, Mainland Engineering and Dairy Systems can access the effluent processing technologies developed by a Canadian company, Houle, which is also owned by GEA along with WestfaliaSurge, Norbco and many other brands. “Effluent is a massive market,” says Daniel. “It’s a hot subject and we see quite a large future both in effluent and water systems that reduce water use.’’ His company also offers green-water, washdown systems, which work by separating effluent solids produced in milking sheds and yards. The green water from the separation process is then used to wash down the yard and feedpad with pioneering GEA Houle flush valves, which operate at low pressure but a high-output volume of green water.

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY ENGINEERING » AgFirst Engineering

| 19

Group spearheads water, waste systems Neil Grant “Keeping ahead of the herd” seems an appropriate motto for a company involved in the dairy industry. But the herd is not just friesians or jerseys. What AgFirst Engineering director Davieth Verheij has in mind are other agricultural engineering companies, farmers, town water suppliers, and horticulturalists. AgFirst Engineering is a part of the AgFirst NZ Group, a wide ranging company working across New Zealand and Australia. It developed in the 1990s when some Ministry of Agriculture staff, unhappy with the changes taking place in their organisation, withdrew and started AgFirst in the regions they were working in. “The group provides a wide range of services, primarily to the rural sector,” says Davieth. “We have New Zealand’s largest network of agricultural, horticultural and engineering consultants, ensuring New Zealand’s primary industries remain competitive. “We are involved in everything to do with water and waste water in farming systems from design and consultation right through to product supply, project management and construction.” It is a lean machine. Verheij’s Te Awamutu branch has a staff of six. Their major recent project has been the Landcorp Farming-managed Wairakei Estate in Reporoa. Formerly forestry-farmed land, this development has seen nearly 10,000 hectares become 13 dairy and dairy-support farms, with another 3500ha developed for dry stock. AgFirst designed, supplied and built the stockwater supply and reticulation systems, and the effluent disposal plant for 11 of the farms. Of course, the six Te Awamutu staff cannot do all such work themselves. They have developed relationships with contractors with the equipment and skilled staff to do the physical work. AgFirst source or construct the technical equipment in house and oversees the whole project. “We keep our team small, sharp and knowledgeable,” says Davieth. “We manufacture and install the pumping and pond-stirring equipment, and have companies keen to work with us doing contract work such as lining, earthworks and electrics.” AgFirst staff have attended three of the largest European agricultural exhibitions during the last two years, and made farm visits in Europe. “These exposed us to world-leading companies

• To page 20

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DAIRY ENGINEERING » AgFirst Engineering

20 |

NZ Dairy

PHOTOS: A feedpad and effluent storage tank (above) and pumphouse (lower right). Agfirst Engineering focuses on nitrogen-leaching reduction, effluent recycling,dairy-shed systems, and effluent pumping systems.

Latest technology and contacts from around the world • From page 19 and technologies, and have led to strong business relationships, with cutting-edge technology introduced to New Zealand.” Focus areas are nitrogen-leaching reduction, nitrogen stripping, energy harvesting, effluent recycling and treating back to clean water, dairy cow and sheep milking-barn systems, dairy-effluent pumping and irrigation systems, and effluent solids separation systems. Davieth Verheij believes regulations now required of farmers mean the old idea of buying a pump and pipes and installing a reticulation or effluent system, or getting a local engineer to do the job, just doesn’t cut it any more. It may work for a few years, but can run out of steam, or will not measure up to environmental standards and have to be replaced. It is more economical in the long run to use a company with expertise, knowledge and international contacts to do it right in the first place. This does not mean local rural companies disappear. AgFirst is expanding its business by providing the planning, plant and oversight for

local companies to do on-farm work. This gives AgFirst access to farmers the company might not otherwise have known about, and maintains the rural infrastructure that has worked with the farmers for years. This applies also to rural town-water supply systems and municipal wastewater treatment. Local bodies cannot always maintain knowledgeable planners, engineers and skilled staff. AgFirst, with engineering bases in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, is well placed to design and fabricate plant for installation by local contractors around the North Island, and increasingly, further south. Two examples of recent systems innovations are the Weta travelling rain-gun, and the Rota 2000 solids-separation system. The Weta, developed by AgFirst, ensures a farmer complies with dairy effluent regulations. The key design consideration was achieving consistent application depths throughout the effluent area and ensuring fail-safe spread of nutrients. Effluent travelling through the gun via a turbine and

• To page 22

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DAIRY ENGINEERING » AgFirst Engineering

Vat Wash Pumps

| 21

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DAIRY ENGINEERING » AgFirst Engineering/Hotter Engineering

22 |

NZ Dairy

Rain gun, solids separator complete ‘game changers’ • From page 20 hydraulic motor and pump propels the machine. A solar powered by-pass valve selects travel speed. A motion sensor controls the valve so that, if speed is reduced by extra drag, for instance, the valve will alter the application rate and depth. If the irrigator stops, including reaching the end of its run, the motion sensor shuts off the valve, eliminating over application. A pressure-flow sensor at the pump turns it off automatically, eliminating telemetry between irrigator and pump. “The Weta achieves flows up to 40,000 litres per hour,” Davieth Verheij says. “Application depths range from 1mm to 20mm, and wetted widths from 20m to 80m. “The Rota 2000 solids separation system has completely changed the game when it comes to solids removal in dairy effluent systems,” he says. New Zealand has a range of solids separation systems available, but he reckons the Rota is the first on the market to successfully achieve the trade-off between low maintenance, processing capacity and coping with high solids loadings. It can process up to 80,000 litres per hour, important in high rainfall and large catchment areas

such as feed storage and feedpads or barns. Not all alternatives can keep up with large stormflow events, needing very large and costly primary storage structures and elevated risk of discharge of raw effluent into waterways. “The Rota can achieve this with only 1.1kW, up to five times less power than other solids separators with even less processing capability.” Because it self-regulating, if the effluent is very thick, the Rota allows it to flow back to the primary sump, removing the risk of overflow into the solids bunker. The processing volume can be maximised, as the pump flow rate can be set during a storm event when the liquid is thinner and needs to be pumped out faster. AgFirst Engineering is moving into retail and distribution. With its research and development skills, design and project management skills, and the overseas contacts, it is in a strong position to cost-effectively assist other companies provide services in rural areas. “We build complete kitset systems for our partners around New Zealand,” Davieth says. “ They have the peace of mind that the systems are well designed and are going to work for their clients.”

Global firm has Kim Newth

The Weta travelling raingun achieves flows up to 40,000 litres per hour.

It all started in 1969 when Taranaki engineer Tom Hotter made a prototype for his friend, farmer and inventor Merv Hicks. The Turn-Styles rotary milking system prototype, installed on Merv’s farm that year, was to change the course of dairying across the world. Soon after being granted a worldwide patent in 1970, it grew to become the preferred milking system for large-scale dairy operations everywhere. When global milking systems giant DeLaval bought the Turn-Styles brand and intellectual property from Merv in 1989, it launched a 25-year collaboration between Hotter Engineering and DeLaval. That collaboration continues. Hotter Engineering is the only global manufacturer for the DeLaval PR3100 HD platform. This flagship model is being sold into the world’s biggest markets – the United States, China, Germany and Eastern Europe. Hotter Engineering is also one of three global manufacturers of the DeLaval PR2100 platform being sold into grassland and free-stall markets across the world. And it is a North Island manufacturer and installer for the

DeLaval PR1500 platform, which is sold solely in New Zealand. “We use a wide range of CNC and robotic machinery to produce the highest-quality products in the most efficient way, so we have specialists in many areas,” says Hotter Engineering owner and chief executive officer Russell Hotter. “All of our production welding is done on our two robot welders to give unparalleled accuracy and weld quality.” Installation crews, trained for high-quality platform installations, are rotated between domestic and overseas work. In the last two years, Hotter Engineering has exported rotary platforms to the US, China, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Canada, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Taiwan, Russia, Argentina, Italy, Japan, South Africa and Australia. “We have also undertaken heavy-maintenance projects on rotary platforms installed in the USA, the United Kingdom, France and Italy (eight projects), where replacement parts have been manufactured in our factory and sent to site for our maintenance crews to fit.” The firm has retained its home base in Taranaki, one of New Zealand’s major traditional dairy farming regions.

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DAIRY ENGINEERING » Hotter Engineering

| 23

roots in ‘Naki Installation crews, trained for high-quality platform installations, are rotated between domestic and overseas work. In the last two years, Hotter Engineering has exported rotary platforms to Australia, Asia, Europe,

PHOTOS: Above: Matt and Russell Hotter and Jill Bevins with the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce business excellence award. Far/centre left: Hotter Engineering manufactures and exports DeLaval milking platforms.

North and South America...19 countries in all Hotter Engineering has been at the forefront of the rotary market since the 1970s, and its specialist technicians cover the full range of milking platforms – going back to the original 16-bail platform installed on Merv Hicks’ farm. As well as building the first rotary platform in 1969, the company built the first 60-bail rotary platform in 1980. “At this time, this was seen as the biggest that they would ever be,” says Russell Hotter. “In 2015, the biggest platform we manufacture is 106 bails – and we are being asked regularly for bigger, up to 120 bails.”

In 2013, Hotter Engineering received the Westpac Taranaki Chamber of Commerce supreme business excellence award. As well as being a major employer, the company supports community projects, and has sponsored engineering design projects at Canterbury and Massey universities this year. The ground-breaking contribution of Tom Hotter and Merv Hicks has not been forgotten. Merv has received a Dairy Industry Lifetime Achievement Award. “Tom and Merv were absolute pioneers,” says Russell Hotter.

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24 |

DAIRY ENGINEERING » Tenua Engineering

NZ Dairy

Dairy-shed tip: Think like a cow thinks Karen Phelps Kim Kuiti, director of Tenua Engineers, calls his company a “jack of all trades”. The company’s services cover structural buildings, farm buildings and general engineering work for a variety of clients, with farmers being a large client base. A locally owned and operated engineering business based in Foxton, Tenua Engineers was bought by Kim in 2011. He had worked for the company for more than 30 years. His first job out of school was on a dairy farm, and he says this has given him valuable insight into servicing his large rural client base. “A lot of farmers ask my advice now. I can offer more than 30 years of industry experience. We also have a number of long serving staff.” Kim says the company is the original cowshed builder in the Taranaki, Horowhenua, Manawatu and Wairarapa area. The company continues to build and repair rotary and herringbone sheds. His experience in building dairy sheds is invaluable to clients, with Kim often helping work out the shed design and layout. “I think like a cow thinks when designing a shed. Most people don’t think about what the cow will actually see, but it’s really important. Just the other day I was discussing a layout with a client and pointed out what the cow would see as it came into the yard, which resulted in changes in the design. It’s all about optimal cow flow.” Tenua Engineering also builds implement sheds, does pipework for cow and cattle yards, produces feed trailers, silage bins and feedpads, and repairs machinery, tractors and irrigators. Its heavy-duty palm kernel bins have one-and-a-half-tonne capacity, and its specially designed silage bins for truck-and-trailer units are popular. The silage bins come with hydraulic or container lock-doors. “A lot of our customers reckon they are the best bins they’ve ever used,” says Kim. “We line the bins with heavy-quality iron or aluminium. They are built to last. Our first bin would have been built about 20 years ago and is still going strong.” Offering a prompt service is a focus, especially when it comes to emergency dairy shed repairs. It is at these times that the fact the company offers such a variety of services really comes to the fore. “We offer a 24/7 emergency breakdown service. As we can complete so many different kinds of repairs in-house this means we can help get their shed up and running again as soon as possible.” Working closely with Caldow Builders, no job is too big or too small for the company. Tenua Engineers will take on anything from a small weld to the steelwork for a new dairy shed. The company has clients from Featherston to Taranaki although the majority of work is undertaken in the Manawatu, Horowhenua and Wanganui regions. Past projects

Tenua Engineering’s palm kernel bins (above) and silage bins for truck-andtrailer units are proving popular with contractors and farmers.

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completed include the steelwork for seven large chicken sheds for Turks Poultry Farm, Foxton Medical Centre, Te Takere library and community centre in Levin and earthquake seismic work at Tasman House, also at Levin. Company growth has meant that Tenua Engineers is currently in the process of purchasing the 11,090 square metre premises it is currently leasing. Kim says he aims to keep on offering clients the same versatile, comprehensive service – the ability to start a job and see it all the way through to completion in-house offers economical and quicker turnaround.

I think like a cow thinks, when designing a shed. Just the other day I was discussing a layout with a client and pointed out what the cow would see as it came into the yard, which resulted in changes in the design. It’s all about optimal cow flow.

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Hall & Wilson

NZ Dairy

Bosses love the driving seat Karen Phelps “We’re on the job, we’re the ones driving the gear. I believe that the customer wants to see the guy who owns the business out doing the job,” says Nathan Wilson, owner of Te Awamutu-based Hall & Wilson Ltd. Since Nathan went into partnership with Allan Hall in 2014, business has doubled. Allan’s father, John, started the firm about 50 years ago as Hall Agri. Allan has been running it for many years and has established a sound reputation in the region. Nathan, who has a background on a beef farm in the United Kingdom, visited New Zealand on a working holiday. He met his Kiwi wife, Sarah, during a harvest in the United States as the couple worked their way over 2000 miles. Shortly after, foot and mouth disease hit the UK and he headed back to New Zealand and had eight years of full-time contracting in the North Island, then a John Deere dealer for three years. He still favours the brand for his contracting equipment. “We’ve been investing heavily in equipment because work has increased so much,” he says. “We need to keep up with demand.” The firm has seven tractors, a forage harvester, two eight-row maize planters, double and triple mowers, a four-rotor rake, and a two-rotor rake. Services cover the full cultivation range – including ploughing, discing and power harrowing. The main focus is grass, maize and whole-crop silage, along with round baling of hay and silage. Mowing, spraying and maize planting are also on the agenda. Nathan Wilson says there has been a lot of growth in forage harvesting this season. “There are a lot of factors involved in making good silage, from mowing to stacking it right. Of course weather is critical; we liaise with farmers to ensure we are harvesting at the right time. We have

Te Awamutubased Hall & Wilson offers farmers a full cultivation service, but its focus is grass, maize and wholecrop silage.

to be flexible and ready to go when they need us.” The firm employs up to six staff at peak season. Nathan’s wife, Sarah, does the company bookwork and fills in as a driver when needed. Allan also runs his own dairy farm near Otorohanga, which, says Nathan, helps provide them with a sound understanding of the needs of their customers.

We want to keep driving the machines because that’s what we love to do. We want to be on the job setting the standard for the team to follow.

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Most of Hall & Wilson’s work is in the area between Te Awamutu and Piopio. Nathan says he and Allan are working on developing their business further, but are keen to remain the men on the job. “We want to keep driving the machines because

that’s what we love to do. We want to be on the job setting the standard. The buck stops with us – we’re the ones doing the job. There are a lot of big contractors in the area and this really sets us apart – we can offer a more personal service.”

CONTRACTING » Philip Parry Contracting

NZ Dairy

Contractor gets gumboots on Russell Fredric Whakamaru rural contractor Philip Parry has good reason to understand his farmer clients’ needs from their side of the fence. The owner of Philip Parry Contracting Ltd, based in South Waikato, has himself ventured into farming having recently bought a 72-hectare dairy farm. “I’ve worked hard for years to buy a little 200-cow farm. It’s been a good challenge and it definitely helps me understand the client’s side – not that I didn’t, it just reiterates it.’’ The purchase of the farm, and the possibility of expanding his landholdings “if things go well enough’’ created a balance with the considerable machinery needed to undertake a varied rural workload such as cropping, seed drilling, precision planting, round and square-wrap silage bales, round and square hay bales, cereal, grass and maize silage and muck spreading. “It just levels out my business a little bit. We are always buying depreciating assets, so it was a good thing to buy some land and see (assets appreciating).’’ Philip bought the business as a one-man, onetractor operation for conventional baling 24 years ago. He has seen farming in the area convert from predominately sheep and beef to dairying, and believes the region’s agriculture has improved because of ability to farm more precisely to conditions, while addressing soil deficiencies and improving weed control – a mix that has ultimately benefited his business in conjunction with the dairy boom. “The dairy farmers do a lot more intensive work

• To page 3 Maize harvesting, Phillip Parry Contracting-style.

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CONTRACTING » T L & A J Adams Contracting

NZ Dairy

Changing times: Tractors and a baler (upper left) from the T L & A J Adams Contracting fleet of the 1960s, Les and Alison Adams (above) in front of a modern-day tractor, while a late-model Case tractor and silage wagon (left) do their business.

Firm stands test of time Belinda Carter When Les Adams formed T L Adams Contracting in Makarau in 1949, the machinery he had to work with was a lot smaller than today’s models “Everything today is bigger. For example, 60-horsepower tractors with no cab are now 120hp with cabs,” his wife, Alison Adams, says. She married Les and moved to the farm at Huapai in 1957, and has run the contracting business since Les retired from the businsess about three years ago. Haymaking for the local area was very much a community event with the farmers helping out. “It was like a social occasion and many lifetime friendships were formed, “Alison says. “After a hard day’s work, the guys would come back to the workshop to do maintenance while the wives were home milking the cows. “The local hall was the centre of the community and was where the majority of the work was organised.”

The local hall was the centre of the community and was where the majority of the work was organised. In the 1970s, the business started doing bulk silage, which it still does, plus round and squarebale silage as those technologies came along. “Les got up to four conventional balers working each summer; now they don’t do a lot of the conventionals,” says Alison. “With the advancement of technology, it also became easier to feed out hay and silage. Larger areas can also be done more quickly now.”

Demand for direct drilling up • From page 2 than a sheep and beef farmer doing a couple of thousand conventional bales a year. They are pretty big farms too.’’ The geography of the land the company operates in is predominately rolling to steep, which requires large tractors with good capability on hills. Philip Parry Contracting Ltd operates a fleet of about 15 German manufactured Fendt tractors ranging from 140 to 300 horsepower. “We think they are pretty much the Rolls Royce of tractors. They are highly specced technology wise – they’re very fuel efficient, they’re fast, they’re powerful and comfortable.’’ The company’s staff love the tractors for their high-tech features as well as “all the comforts of home’’, including cooler-units in the cabs for food and drinks. The firm’s 18 staff includes a full-time tractor technician to service the fleet, and temporary staff from the United Kingdom, Scotland and Ireland are employed during the peak season from October to February. Philip Parry says the demand for direct drilling is increasing as its advantages become better understood. Fodder beet is also a growth area with a total of 250 hectares contracted, for the first time, this year. A spreading service was added two years ago

Philip Parry Contracting operates a fleet of 15 German-manufactured Fendt tractors. and includes dairy muck spreading, burnt lime, chicken manure and vermicast which is sourced from MyNOKE, a large-scale worm farm at Tokoroa. Philip expects an increase in regulatory requirements for spreading organic matter – and, he says, the company is already measuring and recording its application per hectare.

Basically Adams Contracting does mostly tractor-based agri work, but less of this is for dairy farmers as lifestyle blocks replace the farms. The business covers the area from Glorit in the north, to Taupaki in the south, roughly 50 kilometres out west of Auckland. November through to March is the busy period and additional staff are taken on to handle the work. As well as running the contracting business, the Adams family has a farm near Helensville, which Les’s parents bought in 1915 and cleared, premachinery days, by hand. Nowadays, son Graeme milks 120 dairy cows on 90 hectares through a 10-a-side herringbone milking shed. He also runs more beef these days and has leased a farm up the back. However, the property’s days as a traditional, family dairy farm may be numbered. Auckland has come out to meet the farm – the motorway is just seven or eight minutes away – and all the neighbours live on lifestyle blocks. There are a lot more houses in the area than there used to be.

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CONTRACTING » Denis Wheeler Earthmoving

NZ Dairy

Moving the earth? Denis has it covered Belinda Carter Denis Wheeler does just about any earthmoving tasks a dairy farmer could ask for. It’s not just about digging holes; it could be draining, site development for herd sheds, oxidation ponds, excavation, demolitions, removal of concrete, recycling, waste management or “anything required for the modern dairy farm” and needing heavy-duty equipment. However, he says, it very much depends on the payouts dairy farmers get. They don’t go in for much development when times are lean. Nevertheless, he says his workflow is “neutral”, neither growing or declining. He finds work with established farmers, but anyone with a mortgage, “the last thing they want to spend money on is a digger”. Based at Urenui, on the coast just north of Waitara and New Plymouth, Denis Wheeler has operated his earthmoving company for about 12

years since buying it off Colin Pierce. And Denis says he knows dairy farms and dairy farmers. After all, he was one 25 years ago. Dairy farms used to be pretty much the same in terms of requirements, but now “every dairy farm is different”, he says. He used to turn up to farms and there would be a quick, ‘’ ‘Oh, while you’re here, can you...?’ These days, it’s likely to be one job well done, and that’s it until the next visit.” One of the changes he has seen over the last decade is greater riparian planting in creeks. He gets asked to help prepare the fenceline around waterways, and with race development, feed pads, herb barns and feed bunkers. Dairy farming is a small but important part of his work, but these days you’ll probably find him on residential developments, such as the upmarket residential apartment complex, Westwill Heights, in Hillstone Drive, New Plymouth, which has been

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PHOTOS: Although dairy farming is an important part of Denis Wheeler Earthmoving’s work – anything from site development for herd shelters to oxidation ponds – demolitions and residential developments keep the contractor busy.

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NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » Davidson Contracting

Balage and pasture drilling are core services for Colin and Michael Davidson, of Wanganui-based family run company, Davidson Contracting Ltd.

Contractor quick out of the gates Kim Newth Wanganui-based rural contractor Colin Davidson starts every season by getting out and talking to clients about their needs, rather than waiting for the phone to ring. It is an approach that has worked well for his business, Davidson Contracting Ltd. “There is really no substitute to canvassing people to see what they want to do for the coming season.” Colin started off as a sole trader 44 years ago, but his venture has grown into a thriving family business. “When I got married, my wife, Veronica, joined me in the business. She helps with the books and used to do driving work too. Fifteen years ago my son, Michael, got involved too, and four years ago we formed a company.” Father and son split the contracting jobs between them, with Michael often driving the baler while Colin does the mowing and raking work. Davidson Contracting Ltd handles baling, balage hay, cartage, cultivation, direct drilling, mowing, ploughing and mulching. Balage, hay and straw, along with pasture drilling, are core services. “We supply a lot of hay and straw to the Taranaki market … we do 600 hectares of barley straw alone every year,” says Colin. He bought his first tractor at the age of 17 and started off doing mowing and raking work for his

Balage is a big source of work for us. It is getting bigger all the time. You can mow today and bale tomorrow. It is not like mowing hay, which usually

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you need to turn it two or three times. two elder brothers, both of whom had hay runs. In time, he bought out one of his brothers and eventually took over his other brother’s run as well. These days he and Veronica are based on a lifestyle block near Wanganui: “We have helped all the farmers around here for years,” he says. Their long experience in the rural sector does not mean the couple are complacent about how they provide their services. In fact, Colin and Michael always use modern machinery and equipment sourced from C B Norwood, in Palmerston North. They work the greater Wanganui area, including Westmere, Maxwell, Fordell and other outlying rural communities. There are four or five dairy farms in the area, but most of their clients are beef farmers. Demand for balage from the beef-farm sector is proving very strong.

“Balage is a big source of work for us, “ says Colin. “It is getting bigger all the time. You can mow today and bale tomorrow. It is not like mowing hay, which usually takes three or four days – and once you’ve mown it, you need to turn it two or three times. “With balage, you are putting it away green. You wrap it in plastic and it cooks itself. We put in an additive so that the process works faster. It is good food value – no wonder there is so much demand for it.” Colin says they are usually fairly busy from the end of October, but dry conditions this year have delayed growth. “So, we’re running late at the moment and anticipate having a late November or early December start.”

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Site preparation and retaining work under way by Denis Wheeler Earthmoving.

Chicken sheds a growth area • From page 4 keeping him busy recently. He estimates that about 90 per cent of his work would be classed as commercial development and demolition, with “maybe 10% max” as dairy. He also does a lot of chicken sheds (a big growth area around New Zealand), installs septic tanks and builds rockwalls. To do all this requires a lot of up-to-date machinery: bobcats, dumpers, 10 diggers or

excavators ranging from one tonne to 30 tonnes, four tip trucks – and he’s adding more each year. One of his latest acquisitions is a hyrdrema or offload dumper and a laser blade on a bobcat, which is a big hit with the clients. Denis Wheeler is also heavily involved in his community, sponsoring golf tournaments, the local rugby club, axemen’s competitions, local workingmen’s club snooker and the like. His equipment also makes some excellent mudslides.

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CONTRACTING » Robert Walters Contracting

NZ Dairy

Robert Walters Contracting specialises in hay and silage processing as well as cropping and spraying.

Farming, contracting shared passion Sue Russell A life bound around a love of dairy farming and agricultural contracting can go hand in hand as Robert Walters, from the Otorohanga district, can attest. He’d be the first to say that having these two streams in his life has been the very thing that has seen him through some pretty tough times to the point where, at 61, he can look back on a great deal achieved. “I always wanted to see my farming journey move from sharemilking through to farm ownership. My time started when I was 19 and sharemilking for my father for four years, then buying the neighbouring property. I think the key for me was that when I gained ownership of a farm, I kept the mind-set of a sharemilker.” In 1984 when Robert was 29 and had four young children, his wife died, and he was left to manage with the help of family. “My sister moved in as our youngest was only 10 months old. We had also just signed up to purchase our second property. Everything became very urgent.” In 1987 interest rates were tracking at 30 per cent, and penalty rates added to the stress of managing to stay afloat. “It felt like one step forward and two steps back.” Through these years Robert had accumulated a lot of farm equipment and decided the options were to either sell the gear or put it to work – he did the latter. That was how his contracting business got

Seeing the kids gain qualifications and step out into their own lives has been the real prize for me.

Otorohanga-based contractor Robert Walters has formed a close working relationship with European brand Lely. Walters now trials the new machinery the company produces. under way and enabled him to continue to develop the farming business alongside. Despite now owning eight farms carrying a total of 2500 cows and a contracting company, he says the real prize of his life has been seeing his four children grow up, all go to university and gain

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qualifications, and step out into their own lives as professionals. The contracting operation began with processing silage and hay and evolved to include cropping and spraying in 50:50 partnership with Neville Disher. Another evolution saw the business acquire

trucking and digger work along with ownership of a quarry. “It seems that every three years through my life, there has been a major development so I’m expecting something else to happen soon,” he says. A close working relationship with European agricultural machinery maker Lely (particularly Harry Smith and Peter Vis) has developed to the point where Robert and his staff trial new gear the company has produced. “We test their gear for a couple of years to confirm its performance and feed back our experiences before it is released to the market.” As a consequence, in 2012 Robert and partner Delwyn were shouted a trip to the Lely factory in Germany and were ‘wined and dined’ by Alexander von Lely. Robert says he will never forget that trip. “You get tied up in a brand because their service

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NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » Belton Contracting

Dairy slowdown ‘hasn’t hit us yet’ Karen Phelps Belton Contracting wouldn’t be where it is today without its suppliers, says company owner Garry Belton. “There are a number of companies we use that help us to offer our customers the best service possible,” he says. “It’s this team approach that enables us to give our customers a really good service.” Nephew and accountant Hayden Belton, from Belton, Smith & Associates, assists with the business side of the operation. Northfuels keeps the company’s fuel supply consistent, enabling Belton Contracting. Testlab Wanganui does compaction and clay testing for Belton Contracting’s effluent pondst. And all suppliers help troubleshoot problems and offer their expertise to projects, says Garry. Belton Contracting was formed in 2004 when Garry exited a family farming partnership in Waitotara. He had always done all the contracting work for the farm and enjoyed it, so he started Belton Contracting with his wife, Genal, and their sons, Craig and Daniel. He says his extensive background in sheep, beef and cropping enables him to helphis clients , as he understands their needs from the ground up. “We know what we wanted in the past and we do every job like we’re working on our own farm.

We’ve never had to advertise in the 10 years we’ve been going. It’s all repeat work from word of mouth.

We know what works and what doesn’t. We can offer farmers advice and suggestions.” The Beltons also continue to farm after buying 485 hectares at Marton, which is used for contract grazing for dairy farming clients. It’s another service Belton Contracting can offer to support its clients’ farms, and also helps diversify the business, says Garry. Belton Contracting does earthworks (farm tracks, dairy races, effluent ponds etc), metal cartage, maize planting, harvesting, contouring and dairy conversions. The company’s plant includes three Hitachi diggers, two ERF road trucks, a Volvo 6x6 dump truck, Massey Fergusson harvesters, a front-end loader and bulldozer. Supplementary equipment is hired by the project. The business is run by old fashioned principles – doing a good job and doing things right the first time. “We’ve never had to advertise in the 10 years we’ve been going,” says Garry. “It’s all repeat work from word of mouth.” Although most of the company’s clients are from dairy farms, there is also work for sheep and beef clients and the occasional developer. And, he says, there is still plenty of work. The company is booked up until after Christmas. “The dairy slowdown hasn’t hit us yet,” says Garry. “There is still plenty of investment being made in dairy farms.” The company has also been working on farms hit by the June floods. Some farms were totally under water and are having to reinstate cow races. Garry says being family focused has helped the business grow quickly: “When it’s all family on the job, we’re more accountable. It’s our business and our name, so we have a vested interest in doing the best job we can for our clients.” He says his and Genal’s grandchildren are starting to show an interest in the business, “The four-year-old already likes sitting in the digger, so he may well be the next generation,” smiles Garry.

PHOTOS Above: A dozer sunset as the sun sets over the flooded Turakina Valeyy Below: The earth moves as a bigger gets into its work.:

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The crew at Belton Contracting: From left, Daniel, Garry, Gay and Craig.

Staff backbone of business • From page 6 and innovative technology is brilliant. I think their determination to make stuff better is a real driving force behind the brand’s success.” He also can’t speak highly enough of the longterm association he has had with Giltrap Farm Machinery – and Andrew Giltrap in particular. It is relationships like these that Robert really values and that for him, looking back on 40-plus years in farming and 20-plus years in agricultural

contracting in the region, have been significant to his success. To offset the current tighter times in the dairy industry, the company has picked up some city work, including subdivision earthworks, and significant roading and work at the National Fieldays site near Hamilton. Robert Walters remains humble: “The staff sort of come and don’t go. I would be absolutely nothing without these people, and that goes for clients I would also call my friends.”

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CONTRACTING » Murray Free Contracting

NZ Dairy

Client communication crucial Karen Phelps Murray Free says he knows how crucial feed is to dairy farmers – he grew up on a dairy farm himself. Therefore his business, Murray Free Contracting, places a big emphasis on establishing good communication with clients from the outset. Murray says this helps him ensure the job is done at the right time in the most efficient and effective way. “It’s about being responsive and getting there when the client needs us and when the conditions are good so that we can harvest the feed at its prime to ensure the best-quality feed for clients. “Mother Nature plays a big part, so we watch weather patterns closely and keep in touch with the clients as the harvest of their crop draws near.” Murray was brought up on a dairy farm at Opiki, south of Palmerston North, and started working for a local contractor after leaving school. He also harvested silage in the United States for three seasons, splitting his time between seasons in the USA and New Zealand. He and his wife, Lorraine, started their Murray Free Contracting business in 2011. Murray manages the contracting work and Lorraine looks after the office and administration. The company’s services include bulk silage (grass, whole-crop and maize), round bales of balage and hay, conventional hay bales, mowing, raking, weighing, stacking and bagging. The business has invested significantly in technology. By having modern equipment, you reduce the risk of breakdowns and untimely delays, says Murray. Last year, the business bought a new Claas forage harvester, an 830 stack tractor with 3.5 tonne silapress roller for extra compaction, and a Fusion 3 plastic-on-plastic bale wrapper. A Versa bagger imported from the USA four years ago is the only 10-foot Versa bagger of its kind in the country and has proved popular, he says. “Bagging the product helps to eliminate traditional storage problems by packing feed into individual smooth, ultra-tight bags contributing to nearly zero per cent spoilage. “We can pack all crops – including grass, maize, wholecrop, earlage and lucernen – with no wastage and in an environmentally friendly manner.” Its equipment includes a forage harvester, a

stack tractor, a weigh bridge, a fusion baler wrapper, Claas variant round balers, conventional balers, a maize planter, a plough, a bagging machine and a Catros cultivator-air seeder. The Opiki-based firm works across the Manawatu/Horowhenua region. Dairy farmers make up the mainstay of the company’s clientele and, despite the drop in payout, the business continues to grow, says Murray. “We managed to increase our turnover last season on the previous one and we’re aiming to do the same this season. It’s about accommodating clients’ needs as best we can during this tough time.” The company employs two full-time staff, casuals through the season, and has a group of sub-contractors who look after the cartage side of the business. “We don’t want to get so big we can’t offer a personal service and keep quality high. But if the workload grows, we’ll grow with it. It’s all about servicing our clients’ needs.”

PHOTOS Above: Murray Free Contracting has invested heavily in new machinery and equipment. Below: Murray Free (l;eft) and his full-time workers, Brayden and Ivan.

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NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » CT Contracting

PHOTOS: Patoka-based CT Contracting has latemodel gear that provides services in spraying, spreading, discing, power harrowing, sowing, tyne and disc drilling, maize planting, and fodder-beet planting.

Business flourishing after `skinny start’ Sue Russell Callum Thomsen’s contracting company, CT Contracting, based at Patoka about 45 kilometres north-west of Napier in Hawke’s Bay, has been progressing in leaps and bounds on the slipstream of the dairying boom. Coming from a strong farming background, Callum, who was awarded the 2007 Young Farmer of the Year title, began by concentrating on cultivation work on the family farm where he worked for 15 years. “The cultivation gear was purchased to use in our own farming operation, and word of mouth being what it is, that side of the business grew every year. With the increased need for groundwork contracting in the area it made sense for us to fill this void.” In 2012 he and wife Kelly – having built the

business up to warrant a full-time commitment to it – branched out on their own, bought the equipment from the family farming business, and established CT Contracting, Callum describes that time of stepping out with his own business as a “pretty skinny start”. “We just drove and drove and drove, and still have a long way to go. But, of late, business has grown quite a bit.” As business developed, so did the fleet of gear and services provided to clients. This now includes spraying, spreading, discing, power harrowing, sowing, tyne and disc drilling, maize planting, and this year fodder-beet planting. Callum also runs a bulldozer, a 20-tonne excavator and a big dump-trailer to deal with groundwork jobs. Site work includes maintaining and developing new farm tracks and races, preparing the ground for dairy sheds and feedpads, and digging new effluent

ponds for farmers needing to meet compliance. Last year Callum and Kelly saw the opportunity to complement the agricultural contracting business when the prospect arose to plant a 60-hectare lease block in maize to sell locally as silage. The contracting business runs three John Deere tractors and two more leased tractors at peak season. It employs two full-time staff and additional in the height of the season, additional casual drivers. “I like employing good staff members and looking after them well so that we can produce the best possible work given the long-standing relationships we have developed with our customers,” says Callum.” “Chief staff member Matt Fryer has been with us since the establishment of CT Contracting. He owns the six-row maize planter and manages the maizeplanting side of the business. Where does he see the company in five years’

time? Callum says he has a goal to buy land to run in conjunction with the contracting business. He would also like to even out the workload over the year . He sees strip tillage as a possibility on the horizon to minimise wind damage strip tillage as a possibility that would fit with maize and fodder-beet planting. “Our busiest time is spring with the cultivation side, but the dairy work is growing as new feeding systems evolve.” Callum says there is a real skill involved in tilling the land in the areas he services. “Knowledge built from having lived and worked in the area provides an understanding of how best to attain good crops given the soil’s light nature. Striving to create an efficient grazing/cropping rotation for local farmers, we work in with fertiliser companies and seed merchants and choose the best cultivation and planting methods.”

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CONTRACTING » Codd Contracting

NZ Dairy

Give and take key to farm cycles Tony Orman David Codd, of Codd Contractors in Hawke’s Bay, shrugs and grins when asked about farming downturns. At 70 years of age, he knows all about the cyclic ups and downs of farming. “In the current dairying climate you weather it knowing it’ll come right. Farming in whatever form, is a cyclic business,” he says. “On the other hand, sheep are currently doing relatively well and cattle very well.” He sees Codd Contractors’ role as an integral part of farming. “It’s really about looking after one another through the thick and thin of cycles. It’s give and take and you establish a customer-client rapport,” he says. “Farmers are generally good, solid chaps, very resilient at coping with droughts, floods and whatever nature tosses at them. And they work seven days a week for most of the year.” David and Linda Codd, plus son Michael, service about 20 dairy farmers in the Bay from their twin bases at Puketapu just outside Napier, and Waikare, halfway between Napier and Wairoa. “We do lucerne, maize and grass forage harvesting, balage, buying and selling grass, cartage and transport, fertiliser spreading, direct drilling, power harrowing, discing and air seeding,” says David. They are meticulous in their approach as that dictates quality of feed. In grass silage, the dry matter percentage is checked by having samples tested. “Baling at the right dry matter and in the right weather conditions is important. Plus we use good quality wrap inoculant.” Codd Contractors covers the area from Mahia to Puketitiri in under the Kaweka Ranges, and to Otane, south of Hastings. The operation has its own weighbridge, seven tractors, two harvesters, one truck and two owner-drivers to call on while hiring other plant when needed at peak times. Codd Contractors has a staff of seven.

Codd Contractors invests in the latest equipment and technology. David’s involvement with farming goes back to his teen years when, on leaving school, he went farm working for three years and then bought a tractor. “I bought that tractor and went mowing and from that beginning it evolved steadily into my own business.” Codd Contractors invests in the latest equipment and technology where judicious to do so. As an

It’s really about looking after one another through the thick and thin of cycles. It’s give and take and you establish a customer-client rapport. Farmers are generally good, solid chaps, very resilient at coping with

example, not so long ago, new McHale baling equipment and Claas equipment were purchased. Five years ago, Codd Contracting switched to Silage King preservative produced by BioStart Ltd. “I’m very happy with the quality of the product and the significant savings it give us, and of course our clients too,” says David. “We appreciate the Claas Harvest in Hastings for sales and workshop service too. They’re tops.” The season of the change to Silage King was a very wet one, which made it difficult to get a high dry matter, but a good silage product resulted with no complaints. The Codds have Silage King liquid and granule applicators and Mike Codd says via the in-cab controller that application rates from light to medium to heavy crop loadings are easily made. One aspect farmers appreciate is the economic cost.“We charge for Silage King by the bale. For pit silage, we charge by the drum,” he says.

“We calculate dry matter and wet matter so farmers know they are getting a quality product that will deliver good milk production.” Silage King costs less than traditional oculants, so farmers are happy when cost is reduced, says Mike. BioStart Silage King suits all grass, lucerne and whole crop silage. Because it does not contain live bacteria, it is easier to use than traditional oculants. It also has the advantage of not requiring clean water at mixing and does not need to be chilled at the end of the day. It has a two-year expiry date, resulting in zero product wastage. Like all industries, contracting poses a few challenges. These include the vagaries of the weather, coping in peak times with increasing demand, and hiring young labour over the busy summer season when bigger money and bright lights might beckon from Australia.

droughts, floods and whatever nature tosses at them. And they work seven days a week for most of the year.

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CONTRACTING » John Austin Ltd

| 11

John Austin Ltd uses the latest technology and equipment to deliver a quality job.

John big on ‘latest technology’ spraying; fertiliser spreading; ploughing and cultivation; precision planting; maize for grain and silage; side dressing; drilling pasture, cereals and brassicas; harvesting grain and silage; round baling and wrapping (for silage); baling of hay. In addition the company offers specialist equipment for peat land development. John says that he seeks world-leading technology to improve the quality of the company’s services, both to improve efficiency and develop new or improved ways of doing things. He regularly travels overseas and maintains contact with researchers, farmers and agricultural machinery companies around the world. “We always aim to offer the best value and do the best job we can for our customers,” he says “The latest technology plays a big part in achieving this. For example, RTR GPS is used to drive the tractors to ensure strip tillage planting is even, and all planters are also GPS controlled.

Karen Phelps John Austin Ltd offers farmers a full agricultural contracting service. The company even employs an agronomist on staff to support farmers with their cropping. “It’s part of our drive to give quality and value to our customers,” says company owner John Austin. He started his business in 1980 after having grown up in a rural community. He began working on farms from a young age during his school holidays, then went contracting full-time at the age of 16 before taking over the business five years later. John Austin Ltd can provide a large range of agricultural contracting services, which, John says, are designed to maximise the productivity and profitability of clients’ farms. These services include: pasture and crop

All of the company’s combine and forage harvesters have yield-mapping technology, which can be provided to customers if required. One of the latest purchases is the John Deere HarvestLab, which allows the company to offer customers constituent sensing. “This helps our clients determine corn-silage nutrient quality to get the most out of their feed and ultimately increase production. “John Deere HarvestLab constituent sensing allows us to determine the content of several quality parameters simultaneously in various crops and organic material. Using corn silage as an example, we can measure the content of moisture/dry matter, protein, starch and NDF/ADF (fibre). HarvestLab uses near infrared technology to determine the constituent characteristics. John Austin says it also enables more precise application of silage inoculants at harvest time because rates can be adjusted according to crop sugar and dry

matter readings. The result is higher quality silage with greater feed value and less spoilage. Processes are another important part of the drive towards greater efficiency. John Austin says his firm was the first agricultural contractor in New Zealand to become ISO 9001:2008 accredited. “Since our inception our ongoing standard has always been to maximise the quality of our workmanship, processes and all we do for our customers. “Our quality is influenced by the quality of our equipment, our knowledge and our staff and together these components combine to deliver the value and quality our customers require. We really try to be as professional as we possibly can be in all aspects of the business.” . John Austin Ltd employs around 70 staff in the peak of the season. The company has two depots servicing the Waikato, Matamata-Piako, King Country and Ohakune areas.

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12 |

CONTRACTING » GB Contracting

NZ Dairy

Contractor with skin in the game Belinda Carter Taranaki contractor Greg Burnand has the best of both worlds – he’s a farmer, and also a contractor who produces the crops and supplements his customers feed to their animals. He says that being a farmer benefits the contracting business; feeding out to his own dairy herds, he soon learns what works and what doesn’t, and can adapt the process to suit the farmer. He has been doing this for a long time, too. He began contracting more than 35 years ago, and got into it seriously about 25 years ago. After growing up on a dairy farm, in his early 20s Greg drove for a contractor who lived next door, then started making extra hay for neighbours with a small, square International baler, and kept thinking up ways of doing a better and more efficient job. He has come a long way from that square baler;

he now operates some of the latest equipment on the market. He recently expanded his operation to include a Xerion 3300 with a 9.3-metre mower. The German-manufactured tractor from Claas is a fourwheel-drive and, with three mowers attached, can cut a lot of grass in a short time. “The tractor-cab lifts up, turns around and ends up facing the other way,” he says. “It means you’re looking down on top of your mowers. They’re right in front of you all the time, which gives you fantastic visibility and much better control. It may not necessarily be faster than other machine setups, but it is easy to use and efficient to operate. And that’s all you could want as a contractor.” You could call Greg a bit of any early adopter. He was one of the first to use a Welger baler – “in those days it was the best you could buy”. These days, he bales with two Welger 435 round

• To page 13

PHOTOS: Taranaki contractor Greg Burnand operates some of the latest equipment on the market (top) including the German manufactured Claas tractor and 9.3m mower. The tractor cab lifts up and turns around to face the mower, giving better control.

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CONTRACTING » Craig Mann Agriculture

| 13

Craig taps into specialists Karen Phelps Pooling the talents and resources of local subcontractors has enabled Craig Mann Agriculture Ltd to offer farming customers the latest equipment and excellent, says company director Craig Mann. “Rather than owning all our own gear, we use sub-contractors, each with their own special equipment. We’ve got a good staff who have been working together on jobs for a while,” he says. Craig grew up on a farm and, after leaving school, had a variety of jobs, including shepherding and working as a mechanic. In the late 1980s he entered contracting by working for another firm before soon buying it out and starting his own business in 1988. Based in Hikurangi, he works across Northland. His range of services offered and his company have weathering the ups and downs the rural industry inevitably brings. He believes the longevity of the business gives customers confidence that he will be around for the long term. He has serviced a lot of his clients for many years.

The business does baling (round and square bales), cultivation, fertiliser application, air seeding/ precision planting, power harrowing, loader wagon work such as picking up silage, effluent spreading, mowing and raking. This breadth of services probably partially explains his clients’ loyalty to the company. But Craig also runs his business on old-fashioned principles of trust, integrity, reliability and honesty. “We are loyal to our sub-contractors and

suppliers. You can go after the cheapest price, but what really matters are relationships and the result for the customer.” Although business has been good, he is uncertain of what the next season will bring as many of his clients are dairy farmers. But he is determined to continue to offer the same service. “Our customers are re-adjusting their businesses to cope with the milk prices. We will fit our services in with this to continue to meet their

needs, helping them as best we can and finding the most economical option for them.” There is no doubt that despite the payout farmers will still have to continue with certain services to maintain their farms and feed quality. Craig says he will maintain communication with customers to ascertain how best to assist. Although Craig has done many jobs in his time, contracting is his big love: “I can be my own boss and it’s very satisfying to do a good job.”

PHOTOS Craig Mann Agriculture uses a number of sub-contractors with specialist equipment on most of his jobs.

Greg pioneered balage in NZ • From page 12

I bought my first Welger

balers and a Welger Tornado baler/wrapper combo machine. “I bought my first Welger about 10 years ago and have stuck with them ever since. They do a bloody good job ,making a great bale. They’re as good as anything on the market.” He can’t tell you how many bales he does a season as he does not keep count. Quality of the job is what counts, he says. Greg knows a thing or two about making balage, having spent the best part of 30 years doing just that. In fact, he was doing it before you could even buy a bale wrapper in New Zealand. His father used to read English farming magazines, and came across an article on the topic. The pair of them decided to give it a go, making their own bags. They were labelled as mad, but now it’s a multi-million-dollar business internationally. The contracting work hasn’t all been plain sailing. There have been mistakes along the way, but Greg remains open to new ideas and is continually learning. Good balage, he says, comes with experience – which is something he has plenty of. He and his staff also do a wide range of cultivation work – from ploughing and discing to

about 10 years ago and have stuck with them ever since. turnip planting. They can do maize and beet planting as well, and have an Oekosem strip tiller and Monosem Maize/Fodder beet planter for the job. Based just out of Patea in South Taranaki, Greg’s operation is known as G B Contracting. The contracting business has grown on demand, employing between five and nine drivers, all of them on a temporary basis. Most of their work is close to– they rarely have to travel more than 30 kilometres or so. Greg bought part of his farm from his parents, Ted and Nessie Burnand, in the early 1980s, and added more land six years ago. While he is busy with the farm and contracting, he continues to have an active role in his local community. If you live in the Patea area, you’ve probably seen him, with staff in tow, helping with various events.

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CONTRACTING » Alexander Ag

14 |

NZ Dairy

Maize central to Nthland business Sue Russell Since 1992, Ross Alexander has been at the mantle of an agricultural contracting company in Northland, started by his father. The Kaikohe-based company concentrates the bulk of its activity growing, harvesting and supplying maize. Since planting its first block of 30 hectares back in the early 1990s, it has grown significantly and its maize-growing operation now extends over 700 hectares in the Kaikohe/Kerikeri districts. “We were, in fact, the first to grow maize in this area,” Ross recalls. “Back then, the Waikato was the centre of maize production and it took a long time for it to take off up here.” By 2000 and with a jump in payout, the fairly conservative Northland dairy farming community began to commit seriously to buying maize as a mainstream crop for herds, and Ross and his staff haven’t looked back. “What has changed for us of late is that a lot of our regular clients are getting older and selling off their farms, so there has been a sense of loss, to some degree, of our work history servicing this district.” Maize production these days is a much more competitive industry in the North than when

Alexander Ag began. For six years the company was the only one of its kind operating, but Ross says competition is good and has allowed him to let go of some of the smaller pockets of maize production that were not so profitable. “I have five full-time guys who have been with the company about 15 years and are extremely competent operators, and the rest are experienced seasonal workers coming mainly from England. While I used to be actively involved on the machines, these days I do a stint when someone can’t work.” Alexander Ag has an extensive fleet of equipment, including seven John Deere tractors, two Fendt tractors, one for power harrowing, the other for drilling, and two Claas harvesters. The maize-growing and processing industry has a strong seasonal cycle to it, beginning at the end of September with spraying before cultivating maize from October through to November 10. At the end of November, grass silage is ready to be processed, while December is a quieter month, allowing for servicing and repair work on the gear. From March 10, maize harvesting gets under way finishing in mid-April, followed by re-grassing work which carries through to the end of April.

• To page 15

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NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » Master Grading Services

| 15

The fine art of building a farm race Sue Russell Kevin and Margette Purser specialise in bespoke levelling, building and maintaining of dairy farm races, standoff pads and roads. Before establishing Master Grading Services (MGS) Ltd in the Manawatu, the third-generation asphalt-and-roading contractor had worked 30-plus years in civil roading construction, developing skills and an eye for line and level that Margette says separates him from many other contractors building farm races.. “When we relocated into this area, Kevin had sold his business, Kevin Purser Contracting Ltd, and decided it was the right time and the right thing to work for himself because he loves working on the farms and being responsible entirely for the work he does,” she says. It took time to establish in the dairy sector, but it wasn’t long before farmers could see the difference in the standard of work and the savings down the track in terms of ongoing maintenance with the work Kevin produced. MGS’s catchment includes the Manawatu, Horowhenua and Rangitikei areas through to Hunterville where it does some forestry work, cutting in tracks. Kevin is often called in to problem-solve and reform tracks. He says he enjoys overcoming challenges and producing really solid, well constructed farm tracks and races. “There hasn’t really been that much change in the equipment we use in this industry, it is more the attention to detail and understanding just how to create the best forms and levels that makes the difference from my client’s perspective.”

Master Grading Services’ Kevin Purser enjoys building solid, well constructed farm tracks and races. He has been driving roading machinery since he was 18, following the example of his father and grandfather, and has won several regional and national contracting awards. “I have always had to deal with millimetres in my life with asphalting and road building. While the farm work is not as fine, I have bought my skills from roading to the farm work I do.” Research has shown that well designed and maintained tracks are key to a successful dairy farm, reducing costs in wear and tear on vehicles and significantly reducing cow lameness. Water

quality is also enhanced by well designed tracks and raceways keeping dirty water out of farm water courses. Four years ago Kevin bought an 18.5-tonne, Bladerunner digger/bulldozer, one of only a handful in New Zealand and the only one in the Manawatu. He also has a 120g Caterpillar grader, which is in high demand. The crucial part of good races is to design the crown to the correct shape, he says.

“Cows don’t like walking along races that have steep crowns, and it is important to get a good foundation building it up well with silt or river-run. Capping the race off with a consistent layer of cowrace rock and using a thicker layer of rock closer to the shed is important. Farmers will get a lot of life out of rotten rock if they keep it scraped annually. MGS Contracting works alongside trucking company Reid’s Transport, owned and operated by Ray and Fiona Reid, which based at Rangiotu..

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Road-use progress pleasing • From page 14 “From May through to October it’s our winter and I concentrate on the 100 acres of land I own and lease out for dairy heifer grazing,” says Ross. “We also grow maize on part of the farm, cut it and supply it to a local dairy farm, so there is always something to do.” He is proud that, unlike a lot of maize contractors, his fleet of tractors is quite old – some have worked more than 20,000 hours, which is unusual in the industry. The key to gear longevity is in the quality of its maintenance, he says, and he’s a stickler for making sure this happens regularly. As a member of the Agricultural Contractors’ Federation, Ross is pleased to see significant progress in ironing out historical problems over

the use of tractors on public roads: “Police have been enforcing truck rules on us whereas we drive tractors, and it has been a real problem.” Another significant issue – concerning current limits imposed by Immigration for skilled overseas operators – is a ‘work in progress, he says. “It is ludicrous that we can’t have seasonal workers from overseas working with us for more than one season. It’s a political issue, and one the authorities don’t completely understand.” Work and Income argues that the industry should employ locally: “We want to use local people of course, but they have to have the pre-requisite skills to be competent jwith the equipment, and a lot of New Zealanders don’t want seasonal work. “Then there is also the issue of drug testing which is so essential.”

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16 |

CONTRACTING » Manawatu Mini Spreaders

NZ Dairy

Feilding-based Manawatu Mini Spreaders operates three trucks all equipped with Tracmap technology that guides and tracks where and how much fertiliser has been spread.

Mini-spreaders with big reputation Sue Russell It is a great system, in that the farmer provides me with

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It’s hard to gauge just what impact, if any, the lower dairy payout will have on his rural fertiliser spreading company, says John Brown, from Manawatu Mini Spreaders, The company, based in Feilding, is small and he is happy with its current size and capacity. Two other drivers, Ryan Winiata, an owner-operator, and Mark Mason, who is employed by Manawatu Mini Spreaders, provide the labour-force for spreading fertiliser on properties ranging from large dairy farms to smaller lifestyle blocks. “I can see that the tonnage farmers choose to purchase to be spread on their farms will reduce, but it is hard to get a picture of the longer-term implications of the slump,” says John. Over the last six to 12 months, he has observed a change in the product farmers are spreading, moving away from the more costly phosphorus/ super-based spreads to more nitrogen-rich ones. Lifestyle blocks and smaller holdings account for about 10 per cent of the business, and are not a constant source of work as owners tend not to put on annual applications. John offers a consultancy

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a map of the farm which I send to the Tracmap device. Detailed maps of the farm are then produced guiding the drivers as to where and how much fertiliser they dispense. service for new land-owners who may be unsure of what is the best approach. “I try to guide them more than advise them. It is very hard with lifestyle-block owners who are trying to balance their needs, so I aim to give them support to get quality rather than quantity.” He says the backbone of the businesses has been in priding itself on the service it offers along, with constant attention to the gear, good quality and the best driver training he can provide. The company’s three trucks are equipped with Tracmap, a software/hardware system that essentially guides and documents how much

fertiliser has been spread, and where it has been spread. “It is a great system, in that the farmer provides me with a map of the farm which I send to the Tracmap device. Detailed maps of the farm are then produced, guiding the drivers as to where and how much fertiliser they dispense.” The information is then fed back to the farmer as proof of placement. The whole process can take place without the farmer having to meet the driver at the farm-gate.

• To page 17

NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » Neville Cammock Earthmovers

| 17

Try 60,000 hours for experience Russell Fredric After 60,000 hours in the cabs of diggers, Neville Cammock has a pretty good grasp of the varied needs of his clients. In amassing a total of 25 years at the controls of an excavator, he has worn out “six or seven’’ of his own diggers during his 18 years as owner of Dannevirke-based Neville Cammock Earthmovers Ltd.. His present machine is a 12-tonne CAT 312C, hauled on an eight-wheeler transporter behind a 420-horsepower Mitsubishi truck. With 9000 hours on the clock, the digger is close to being retired But, with the dairy industry taking a hit this year and farmers deferring work, Neville is holding off buying a replacement. Nevertheless, he is being kept busy by sheep and beef farmers who appear to be faring better than their dairy cousins, and has upcoming work booked in on a large Palmerston North residential subdivision. With so much experience under his belt, Neville is prepared to tackle any job – farm work such as drainage, tracks, stump removal and effluent ponds, or building-site preparation, demolition and major civil works. His business was involved in excavation work for the construction of Dannevirke’s 120,000 cubic metre water reservoir, which is 15 metres deep and covers an area of about two hectares. The project was completed in 2013. He believes his charge-out rate represents good value considering the work that can be achieved by a digger in a short time. “Most of my clients reckon it’s the cheapest machine they will ever have on their farm because of what you can do for the price.’’

Dannevirke’s Neville Cammoch currently operates a 12 tonne Cat hauled on an eight-wheeler behind a 420hp Mitsubishi truck. While he has sometimes been undercut by competitors’ “ridiculous pricing’’, he has always concentrated on quality results and building longterm relationships.

His skill as a digger operator and knowledge of the farms he has worked on has created great trust from his clients, some who were almost worried what they will do when he retires. “I’ve been 25 years working for the same clients and I know their farms almost better than what they do. I do every job as though it is my own farm.’’ Driving and owning a digger was something of a boyhood dream for him. It appears he somehow has a natural instinct for operating machinery and clearly remembers the first time he had the opportunity to get his hands on the controls of a digger. “I had never driven a digger in my life and I picked it up within about half an hour.’’ The skill in driving, he says, is to operate in continuous, smooth movements and never stop moving. The result is that a job takes less time to complete. “That’s the secret, that‘s really the sign of a good operator.’’ Other skills are a good head for figures so that

I’ve been 25 years working for the same clients and I know their farms almost better than what they do. I do every job as though it is my own farm. you can calculate quantities of material accurately, and the ability to visualise the result. Neville Cammock sums these factors up in a straightforward sentiment. “It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.’

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Spreadmark certification for fleet • From page 16 “Operating independently of the farmer is a huge plus for both the farmer and the contractor as the system creates a lot of efficiencies and saves a lot of time.” Manawatu Mini Spreaders has also invested in the Spreadmark certification process for the fleet. This process means that the trucks have been independently assessed for their spreading rates and accuracy. This is done every two years and is really important, says John Brown. “Testing has proved that when fertiliser is spread unevenly on a paddock, it can have serious

negative consequences in terms of grass and crop production.” Spreadmark’s accreditation scheme guarantees to farmers that the machinery and driver training has been assessed and has reached the Spreadmark standard. “We also self-test our trucks in between times because we are always trying to improve,” says John. While the accreditation pathway is currently not mandatory, he welcomes the day when it will be. “It’s about our industry operating to the highest possible standards. I really enjoy doing a great job on a farm. I like the challenge and I like doing good work.”

Phone/Fax 06 374 9161 After Hours 027 531 3061 independenttyres2002@hotmail.co.nz 5 Miller Street Dannevirke

18 |

CONTRACTING » Bowe Spreading/Gray’s Contracting

NZ Dairy

Specialist firm ‘flat stick’ Russell Fredric Cambridge-based Bowe Spreading Ltd is expecting to be ‘’flat stick’’ until Christmas spreading urea, phosphate and lime – despite this year’s low payout for dairy farmers. It is no secret that one of the key components in maintaining good pasture, animal health – and ultimately farm production – is the application of minerals, whether for dairy, sheep, beef or cropping. Steve Bowe says that while dairy farmers have been affected by a low payout, they realise they still need to apply fertiliser and lime to get the results they need. The family-owned business was started by patriarch John Bowe as a single operator. Steve Bowe entering into partnership in 1989, and, with the business continuing to grow, son and brother Grant completed the partnership four years later. The brothers bought the business outright from John about seven years ago and say they have continued to benefit from clients’ ongoing loyalty. Bowe Spreading holds an annual Christmas gathering for its clients at its workshop, supplying refreshments and food along with the opportunity for farmers to mix and mingle. The function has become a tradition over 20 years. Now aged 79, John Bowe is still driving parttime in the business’ mid-sized truck, a Fuso Fighter, to asparagus growers’ properties, and equestrian and lifestyle blocks. The business operates four trucks, including three Mercedes Ategos. The newest, a 2013 model, represents a $280,000 outgoing for the truck and hopper.

PHOTOS Left/lower left: Bowe Spreading operates four trucks, including three Mercedes Ategos. The company has favoured hoppers manufactured by Ace Engineering, in Hawera, for the 15 years. “We think it’s the better product than elsewhere,” says Steve Bowe. “All of our hoppers are Ace hoppers. They are all running a (John Whitehead Electrical Ltd) computer in them, which controls the hopper. All the hydraulics are done by Windust Hydraulics in Hamilton.’’ Also in the equipment line-up are nine-tonne and 12-tonne side-tipper trailers, a 10-tonne Automat trailer, and a low-loader trailer to carry a loader to farms. While technology is an important part of the operation, it is nothing new. Computers have been used in spreader-truck cabs for about 20 years. “We’ve been using GPS since 2008 – presently we’re using Tracmap,” says Steve. “It just makes

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it a lot more accurate in the paddock. With your computer system you can dial in the belt widths. The GPS will automatically pick that up – you basically just follow the GPS.’’ The cost of fertiliser and the fact that farmers are doing more soil testing requires greater precision in application, he says. Specific minerals are being targeted more

Contracting couple enjoy Russell Fredric I could see that there Juggling work and family commitments has its challenges for Carterton agricultural contractors Shane and Sonya Gray. The couple took over Gray’s Contracting Ltd from Shane’s parents, who are now dairy farmers but retain a shareholding in the business, in 2008. Shane Gray is a fourth-generation contractor/ dairy farmer. “My parents decided there was more money in dairy farming and almost ceased contracting before us children were born,” says Shane Gray. “But I like working with tractors, so I got going again.” The company employs five full-time workers, which is boosted by up to 15 during spring and summer. The core business is forage harvesting and groundwork such as cultivating and ploughing. However, demand for effluent spreading is increasing, partly as a result of the Shane’s experience with the family’s dairy farm and the associated issues related to compliance and disposing of dairy effluent. “I could see that there was going to be a strong demand for machines to handle effluent,’’ he says. Gray’s Contracting is equipped to spray effluent on pastures as a part of a farm’s normal operation or in situations where soils are saturated and effluent has to be legally disposed of off the farm. Complementing the company’s fleet of trucks are 12 John Deere/Claas tractors, tippers, a digger and a Claas Lexion combine harvester, bought two years ago because of a strong demand for arable crop harvesting. With two children, and Shane working up to 90 hours a week during peak periods, Sonya Gray plays a vital role dealing with telephone calls, administration, accounts, wages, staff employment

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accurately to meet specific needs of soil and livestock: “It’s a lot better now that things are a little bit more technical.’’ However, despite the difference technology has made to the industry, he says one thing has – and is always likely to – stayed the same. “If there’s rain on the way, after 7 o’clock the phone will start ringing.’’

was going to be a strong demand for machines to handle effluent. contracts, health and safety, and compliance matters. ‘‘It’s juggling quite a few different hats,” she says. “Shane helps out admin-wise to get the accounts together, but it is quite diverse because nowadays there’s so much red tape to go through – it’s just a lot of paperwork and a lot of talking to people.” Although her workload is significant, having access to good systems makes her life a bit easier. The systems include support for employment contracts and understanding changing legislation from an employee’s association, a recent change to an on-line system, Easy Safety, for managing the company’s health and safety programme, and EROAD for managing road-user charges for its fleet of eight trucks. While the couple acknowledge it is not always easy to separate work and home life, they enjoy working together. Given the final comment on their demanding partnership, Shane emphatically reinforces Sonya’s contribution to the business. “”She’s actually got the most important part in the operation.’’ “I have no doubt that the business could operate without me here, but it definitely couldn’t operate without her.’’

We are pleased to support Grays Contracting Ltd who use our Krone grass equipment. The TFM Tractors’ slogan is ‘for support you can trust.’ How does this affect you? You get quality tractors, farm machinery and advice from knowledgeable and experienced staff. We provide all the back up, support, extra tractor and equipment parts you will ever need. All from your ‘local’ dealer! We also put a strong emphasis on training our staff, so you get the reassurance of talking to a qualified technician who understands your requirements and knows how to deliver the solution you need. Visit our Website: www.tftractors.co.nz or Call 0800 55 624

NZ Dairy

CONTRACTING » Marriner Groundspread

| 19

Spreading the good stuff runs in the genes Karen Phelps

Stratford-based Marriner Groundspread has a handy situation – opposite a Ravensdown depot.

working together

Carterton agricultural business Gray’s Contracting has a fleet of 12 tractors, including John Deere (above) and Claas.

We’ve got a good

Neil Marriner’s father was a spreader so it was inevitable that one day Neil would follow in his footsteps. It took some years though before he and wife Pam started Marriner Groundspread together. Neil worked as an engineering trade assistant, then for Dixons Brothers driving a spreader. He spent 12 years working for spreading companies before thinking of venturing out on his own. The owner of Dixons Brothers backed him initially as an owner/driver and Neil worked for Dixons for four years in that capacity. Since he and Pam starting Marriner Groundspread in 1996 the business has grown from one to three trucks and two trailer units. Pam has been instrumental in developing the business, organising and initiating services to help the company diversify its operation.. The Stratford-based company works locally and now focuses on offering cartage and groundspreading of fertiliser. The company depot is handily located opposite the Ravensdown depot. Having three spreaders of varying capacities gives clients options, say Neil and Pam. The company operates a two-wheeldrive buggy spreader on floatation tyres capable of holding six tonnes. This machine is important as around 80 per cent of the company’s work is on the Ngaere Swamp. The company also has a 4x4 spreader with a six-tonne capacity and a six-wheeler for larger jobs, which can hold eight to 10 tonnes. All trucks come with a spinner/blower combination as well as GPS. The GPS printouts provide guidance information for accurate placement and can also be given to interested farmers. All the spreaders are Spreadmark-certified to ensure fertiliser is applied evenly and at the required rate to provide the best economic benefit to farmers and reduce adverse environmental impact. Neil and Pam say this is important. The evenness of spread has been highlighted in a New Zealand Fertiliser Association-funded study by Lincoln Technology, AgResearch and Agriculture New Zealand. The study showed that patchy

workload and loyal clients. It’s all about doing a good job. fertiliser distribution can significantly affect paddock productivity. Neil Marriner has now been spreading for 30 years and says clients come to the firm because of its reputation for getting the job done properly for a good price and on time: “It’s reliability – being there when we say we will.” Neil and Pam say farmers in the area are presently favouring nitrogen-based fertilisers while superphosphate usage has dropped. “We’re in a strong dairy region and farmers like to see results straight away,” says Neil. “We have to make sure our gear is up to scratch to avoid striping the paddock. If this happens, the nitrogen hasn’t spread evenly.” Another trend, which is not so positive for his business, has been a move to put spring-fertiliser mixes in with urea, which reduces the number of spreading rounds/ This has been driven by the lower dairy payout and farmers’ need to cut costs. Normally farmers would put urea on their paddocks in winter, fertiliser in spring, then another round of urea into November/December. “Our tonnage has definitely dropped away because of the pay out,” says Neil. “Farmers have nutrient budgets and are more precise than they used to be about what they put on the farm and are spreading at a lower rate.” Marriner Groundspread employs one full-time and two part-time staff. Pam handles the office and administration. Neil, a past president and current member of the Taranaki branch of the Groundspread Association, says they have no plans to significantly expand their business: “We’ve got a good workload and loyal clients. It’s all about doing a good job.”

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20 |

CONTRACTING » Jordaan Contracting

NZ Dairy

Bulk silage bagger a leap forward Karen Phelps Recent equipment added to the fleet is helping Jordaan Contracting offer farmers in the Bay of Plenty a more comprehensive service, says company owner Japie Jordaan. A new AG-BAG bulk silage bagger is one of the purchases that is saving farmers time and money. “Over 20 years of research has proven that storing chopped silage and wet feed in long, horizontal, oxygen-deficient tubes until feed-out will significantly reduce spoilage losses and improve the quality of feed,” he says.. “Of course this, in turn, contributes to cow productivity and health through better quality feed.” Japie says the bagged silage-pressing machine compacts silage in a way that results in high quality feed. The bulk trucks or trailer back into the bagger and tip their load into the unloading conveyor. The conveyer shifts the load through a set of teething beater that spread the crop out evenly into a constant layer ready for compacting. The forage then falls down into the pressing rotor and is forced into the bag by large pressing fingers, similar to the feed rotor on a baler. The pressing rotor keeps filling the bag until the bag has reached the desired compaction, controlled by the compact markings on the bag. The benefits for farmers include saving time (as there are no tyres to take off a stack or cover to roll back), markings on bag for more accurate feed calculations and no stack face spoilage or mouldy areas to remove. Jordaan Contracting has also recently bought a “tow and fert” machine capable of spraying liquid nitrogen. Japie says this is helping farmers save costs as the liquid fertiliser is more absorbable and doesn’t evaporate as easily. Reports from clients indicate they are halving their fertiliser bills, he says. Other recent purchases include a McHale combi round baler and a Case square baler as replacements. Continual updating of equipment and keeping up with technology, have helped the firm offer clients the latest services, he says.

Japie Jordaan grew up on a 2000-hectare farm in Free State, South Africa. He immigrated to New Zealand in 2001 and now runs Jordaan Contracting, employing 13 staff. Services include cultivation, all aspects of baling and maize silage. A passion for farming has been a key factor in the success of his business, he says, and one of his goals is to buy his own farm. Japie grew up on a 2000-hectare farm in

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the Free State province of South Africa where he managed and owned his own 613ha cattleand-sheep farm and ran a contracting harvesting business with a fleet of up to five combine harvesters. Japie immigrated to New Zealand in 2001 with his wife and worked extensively as a dairy and dry-stock farm manager and operations manager for a contracting business in New Zealand before establishing Jordaan Contracting in 2008. The business now employs 13 staff, including 11 drivers. and Its services include all aspects involved with baling, cultivation and maize silage. In spring, through to mid-September, the

company is busy with contracting. Over winter it offers winter grazing on leased land and sells balage made on the lease block during summer. Around 600 cows were grazed there this year and 80ha of maize was grown to on-sell to customers. Jordaan Contracting also grows, harvests and stacks maize on the farmers’ land. Customers are mainly dairy farmers, along with small number of dry-stock farmers. The company, which is a member of Rural Contractors New Zealand, works in the Bay of Plenty region, focusing mainly on the Te Puke,/ Tauranga area and surrounds.

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NZ Dairy

BUILDING SERVICES » Paul Lowe Builders

| 25

Concrete-laying expertise adds to the detail Karen Phelps Being able to complete all aspects of farm construction projects in-house has enabled Paul Lowe Builders to offer farmers in the Matamata region a broad-based service, says company owner Paul Lowe, a builder and blocklayer by trade. “This allows us to keep a tight control on quality and timing of projects as well as keeping costs down for clients,” he says. “We have total control over the whole job.” Paul started his company in 2005 after working as a house-builder for many years. He had experience of building dairy sheds as well and, noticing an increasing demand for dairy sheds in the Matamata region as farm sizes increased, he decided to specialise in rural clients. His’ services include construction of new and alterations to herringbone and rotary dairy sheds, feedpads, silage bunkers, covered bins and drying beds for effluent systems. His expertise in concrete-laying comes to the fore on many projects. “For example, while silage pits dug into hillsides are cheap, the problem is that the soil usually collapses from the sides and the inability to roll properly on the sides leads to silage loss and mud in wet weather. “This invariably forces farm managers to concrete the sides and bottom. Our expertise in laying concrete enables us to get the job done for farmers quickly and cost effectively.” The company has also made a speciality out of in problem solving and coming up with answers for clients. Rex and Nyrene McLeod, who farm of Walton, very close on Matamata, provide an example. Paul Lowe Builders built a 54-bail rotary which accommodated all of their suggestions and is finished with the company’s signature construction features – colour steel panels toned to blend with the landscape, base blocks inside, all finished with a multi-process speckled plastic and polyurethane finish. Paul describes the site and subsoil as challenging and necessitating massive portal frame

Our expertise in laying concrete enables us to get the job done for farmers quickly and cost effectively. concrete piles three metres long and half-set into the ground. “The shed itself therefore doesn’t rest on the ground, but is bolted to the concrete piles all round the perimeter. Our other trademark, which really appealed, is that every vertical pipe rising out of the concrete floor has the concrete around it finished in a neat small circle, while the rest is done with a non-slip finish.” Through sister company Tanks and Silos NZ Ltd, Paul Lowe Builders can offer Permastore products to farmers for effluent storage and water tanks and storage. The products sit above the ground and can be extended higher to create more volume. Tanks can also be dismantled and re-sited. “Building higher – up to 7.2 metres – ialso keeps the footprint of the tank down compared with in-ground tanks. This leaves more space on the dairy platform.” Because the tanks are made from highcorrosion-resistant glass fused to steel, they are secure as well. They can be installed quickly and maintenance costs are low, he says. These tanks range in size from 50,000 to 20 million litres. Paul says work is steady and recent projects have been completed for the YTT Trust saw the company build a 60-bail rotary shed, a covered feedpad and drying beds on a farm in the Mamakus. The firm has also just finished drying beds for Trinity Lands and does regular work for AgFirst Engineering.

PHOTOS: Matamata-based builder Paul Lowe has been building rotary (top) and herringbone (middle) dairy sheds for clients since 2005 and through a sister company, Tanks and Silos NZ, also offers the Permastore range of products for effluent and water storage (above).

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26 | BUILDING SERVICES » W D Davenport & Co/DavenHomes

NZ Dairy

Established Morrinsville building firm W D Davenport & Co will continue to focus on rural building projects and residential builds while its offshoot, DavenHomes, diversifies into transportable homes (above).

Transportables target rural market Kim Newth DavenHomes is a new name in the Waikato, poised to make a big impact in the region’s rural housing market. While the name may be new, the people behind it have more than 30 years of local experience. DavenHomes is an offshoot of established Morrinsville building firm W D Davenport and Co Ltd. It has launched DavenHomes as a way

to diversify and meet demand for well-designed transportable homes. W D Davenport and Co Ltd will continue to concentrate on rural building projects, including dairy sheds, barns, feedpads and silage bunkers. DavenHomes will specialise in building transportable houses for the dairy farm and residential market. Warren Davenport, who established W D Davenport in 1983, says housing was a strong

focus in his earlier days as a builder before the boom in dairy construction work and has remained part of the company’s portfolio. His wife, Sandra, also works full-time in the business, managing administration. The couple’s decision to set up DavenHomes

reflects an upswing in demand for transportable homes, partially as a result of ageing housing stock in rural areas now needing to be replaced. “A lot of farm cottages are just about past their

• To page 27

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NZ Dairy

BUILDING SERVICES » B & R Barron

| 27

Xmas alterations fill dairy-downturn gap Kim Newth

While the dairy sector remains fairly quiet, Taranaki building firm B & R Barron Builders is experiencing good growth in demand for house alterations ahead of the Christmas holiday season. Most of the company’s clients are farming families in rural Taranaki. Getting the home spruced up for summer is a priority for many. “We’re doing a big new deck at the moment,” says company founder Bruce Barron. “What starts to happen between now and Christmas is people decide they want their bathroom or deck done or a new kitchen.” With a more than 40-year track record in the Taranaki building industry, B & R Barron Builders has an extensive client base in the rural community. As well as home alterations, the Okato-based company has built and installed many new cowsheds in recent years, reflecting the shift to bigger dairy farms requiring more up-to-date and efficient milking facilities.

We can take a project through from start to finish, including getting the consents organised. We’re very responsive to the needs of our clients and our practices meet health and safety standards.

“We can take a project through from start to finish, including getting the consents organised,” says Bruce. “We’re very responsive to the needs of the client and our practices meet health and safety standards.” Bruce’s son, Jared, an electrician by trade, has been working with his father in the business for the past decade, along with another qualified builder. Bruce’s wife, Raewyn, does the books..

Giving back to the community is important to Bruce Barron. He is a long-standing member of the local fire brigade. At a special celebration at the Okato Rugby Club in 2008, he received a gold star medal to acknowledge 25 years of service. Son Jared is also a volunteer member of the brigade. “I’ve had a lot of fun as a volunteer in the brigade,” he says. . “There have been many changes over the

years. As in the building trade, health and safety has become much more of a focus than was once the case.” Recently, Bruce Barron also helped to build a large retaining wall for the Cape Egmont Boat Club. This was a voluntary project that had to be carried out at unusual hours to fit in with the tides. “We’d start the early shift at 4.30am and work until the tide closed in then go back at 5pm and work until 10pm or 11pm at night. It was quite challenging. Like myself, a lot of the volunteers were boat club members.” While most of B & R Barron Builders’ contracts are for alterations, the company is also available for new home builds. It has just completed a new house at Opunake. “It was for an electrician who does our electrical work. Its design was a little bit different – it was like a big C shape.” Energy efficiency is a key priority in today’s market so good insulation, double glazing and other energy efficient materials are routinely used by the firm to meet clients’ needs.

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Dairy sheds, feedpads, pool, beach house keep firm busy • From page 26 use-by date,” says Warren. “Some of them still have scrim walls. “Our transportable houses are being specifically designed to suit the dairy farm. For example, there will be an area to take off your gumboots as you come inside. When you come off the farm, you’re dirty. So we have designed these homes with a wet area by the back door with a toilet and shower so that you do not end up having to drag everything through the house to clean up.” DavenHomes’ first transportable home, currently under construction, has been pre-sold off the plans. It is a good indicator of future demand. Warren and Sandra’s daughter, Michelle Corlett, who is a licensed draughting practitioner, is working alongside her parents in the DavenHomes venture. She says plans for a range of rural cottages are being prepared: “We can also do customised plans to suit individuals using 3D computerised CAD.” DavenHomes is also building three houses in a new subdivision in Morrinsville, one of which is a Metra Panel home. Warren says he has worked with this affordable, high-performance product for some time, and it is also available in a transportable option. “Michelle is just in the process of selling her Metra Panel home that she has lived in for the past six years. She has been so impressed with it that she now wants another one in Metra Panel!” The advantages of this product are that it is hard wearing, provides greater usable space within a fixed floor area and is a good insulator. Made from

100 per cent renewable forest timber, Metra Panel housing is also Branz Appraised. W D Davenport is an approved installer of Metra Panel. Meanwhile, recent projects completed by W D Davenport include new feedpads, four new dairy sheds (two for goats – including one 108-bale rotary shed – and two for cows, in both herringbone and rotary layouts) and a large family beach house and private swimming pool complex. The company’s project manager, Jay Hawkins, worked on all four of these dairy sheds. The company offers a full design-and-build service for dairy-shed construction, whether for dairy cows or goats. Warren is happy to meet clients on site to discuss requirements, provide a plan and supply cost estimates. He says W D Davenport is committed to upskilling and training to ensure it maintains a qualified and professional staff. It currently employs six apprentices ranging from those just starting to those in their last year. “We have a good range of young guys – they are a great bunch. “We’re very lucky. It is good to know that by the time they have finished their apprenticeships, we will have so many qualified tradesmen, rather than having to struggle to find staff.” W D Davenport and Co, which has been in business for more than three decades, is a member of the Certified Builders’ Association of New Zealand,.. “We are local builders working in the local area and greater Waikato and we stand by the quality of our work,” says Warren Davenport.

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28 |

BUILDING/DAIRY PEOPLE » Nathan McDermott Builders/Leo & Patria Quintus

NZ Dairy

Dairying market holds firm for southern builder Sue Russell Nathan McDermott Building is a local Southland business run by local people, committed to providing its clients with a wide range of building solutions. Wyndham-based Nathan McDermott Building tackles a variety of construction projects – from farm buildings, effluent-treatment systems and wintering sheds, to house renovations and newbuilds. “We have extensive experience. Whether you are building or renovating a residential house or a new shed on the farm,,” says Nathan McDermott. A licensed building practitioner and member of Master Builders, he works mainly in the Eastern and Northern southland districts, but has done undertaken construction projects further afield. Effluent-treatment systems, such as weeping walls, effluent bunkers and sand traps, along with implement sheds, covered yards, storage sheds, workshops, wintering and calving sheds are all part of the the firm’s repertoire. “Four years ago we added a Pozi track machine we use for clearing calf sheds and wintering sheds to our gear. While we are small, we have very reliable contractors we bring in when extra hands are needed.” He says he is keen to expand the business as long as the demand warrants it. “There are advantages to being a small

business, and it is only in the last couple of years that we have evolved into constructing effluenttreatment infrastructure.” His staff have combined building experience of more than 20 years, and he describes the business as very much a family type of operation. “We have evolved into a kind of family unit,” he says. In the quieter times when farming projects are not keeping the firm busy, the company has built transportable houses for farms, three or four each year. “We also usually have two sheds on the go, at different stages of construction. However, I’ve noticed this year that there has been increased demand and we have work set to take us well into next year.” He puts the business’s success down to producing consistently good work in an industry where a reputation is only as good as the last build, and new business most often comes by word of mouth. “Good customer relations are crucial when servicing the rural sector. No matter what you need we are here to help. We will listen to what you want and make it a reality.” Being involved and part of the local community is important to Nathan who puts aside time to coach his son’s rugby team. “I’ve retired my boots, so coaching is a way I can give back to the sport. I also enjoy a spot of fishing.” Big barns to concrete bunkers, Wyndham-based Nathan McDermott Building has the bases covered.

All the hard yards done, Taranaki couple turn to Karen Phelps Leo and Patria Quintus have done the hard yards to get to where they are today. The couple have worked long hours and often more than one job to develop their farming business. Originally from a farm in South Taranakai, Leo

had a varied career – spending time working in a dairy factory, construction and oil and gas – before returning to farming. In fact, he was working for Shell BP Todd on the construction of an offshore oil rig when he acquired a three-year lease on a 50-hectare farm at Pihama. Leo and Patria milked a herd of 120 cows while Leo continued to do shift work for Shell BP Todd.

They did this for three years until they had enough capital to buy a farm at Waverley. They milked a herd of 140 cows on the 48ha unit for nine years while Leo and Patria also worked in a pea and corn factory – and had their first child. They tried to buy a neighbouring farm to expand, but the bank wouldn’t play ball. So, they sold their unit to the neighbour, then leased back the now larger farm for two years before buying a 60ha unit at Kakaramea where they milked 200 cows. Over the next 13 years, they acquired neighbouring properties, bought a farm near New Plymouth and took an interest in a farm at Te Kuiti. Their farming business increased in area to a total of 440ha.

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An issue with a sharemilker on their Kakaramea property prompted the couple re-evaluate what was important in life. In 2013, they sold everything apart from the New Plymouth property, which is where they now farm. And rather than expand their farming interests, they have chosen to diversify into offfarm investments – shares and building houses to rent in New Plymouth. The New Plymouth farm has a milking platform of 75ha, and 89ha total, and a 13ha run-off. Leo and Patria also lease an additional 45ha next door, which they also use as a run-off. They milk 195 friesian-cross cows through a 22-bail rotary shed. The shed was one of the earliest rotarys in region. Leo has added a few features such as automatic cup removers, but it remains a simple set-up. Like most farmers the biggest challenge this season is cutting costs to fit the payout. The Quintuses would like to reduce their working costs to under $3 per kilogram and keep them there, regardless of payout. They have a high genetic herd (it was ranked number two in New Zealand for production worth a couple of years ago), which has helped. “They eat grass and turn it efficiently into milk. It’s that simple,” says Leo. “We’re running a fairly good operation. It’s a reasonably low-cost, system 2 farm. We aim for 95 per cent of the herd’s diet to be grass.” To cut coststhis season, they will give up their lease land where they were raising empty cows and cut the replacement rate. They employ a farm manager. Leo’s role is looking after the run-offs and Patria handles the farm accounts. Leo, 61, says he believes they sold the other farms at the right time. “You’ve got to evaluate what’s important in life. We have a lot more leisure time now. We have no regrets at all.”

NZ Dairy

DAIRY PEOPLE » Wim & Maria Makker

| 29

Recommendation on palm kernel use a concern Karen Phelps We’d have to purchase

PHOTOS Top: Kiwitahi farmers Maria and Wim Maker (stand, centre) with their extended family. Above: Cows feeding on supplement .

off-farm investments

Waikato-based Wim and Maria Makker have concerns about Fonterra’s recent recommendation that dairy farmers use less palm kernel in their operations because milk from grass-fed cows fetches a premium on world markets. Fonterra is recommending that farmers feed a maximum of three kilograms of palm kernel per cow per day. Although this would not be problematic for the Makkers for most of the year, during an especially dry year it would prove challenging as they have no water irrigation on their farm – very few Waikato farmers have. “We’d then have to purchase other, more expensive foodstuffs such as maize to get us through the type of feed deficit that has occurred in summer here over the past three years,” says Wim. Growing up in Holland on a small family farm that milked 16 cows gave him early exposure to the dairy industry. After completing a Bachelor of Agriculture degree in Holland, he moved to New Zealand at the age of 19. “I’d always wanted to go farming and had seven other siblings, so that meant no opportunity to go farming in Holland,” he says. Family friends had moved to New Zealand in the 1950s to go farming, which is what led him to the other side of the world. In 1976 he started off as a farmhand on a 200cow dairy and dry-stock unit at Te Aroha. The New Zealand system, so different to what he was used to in Holland, was a bit of a shock, he says. “I thought I’d wasted my time going to university,” he says with a smile. “In New Zealand, cows were outside year round and herds were much larger than in Holland.” He worked his way up the dairy ladder and, in his third year, went contract-milking on a 300cow farm with his future brother-in-law, David van Bysterveldt, who introduced him to Maria. Wim and Maria married a year later and started sharemilking for Maria’s parents, Martin and Toni van Bysterveldt, on a 200-cow unit at Waihou. They remained there for four years before buying their

more expensive, foodstuffs to get us through the food deficit... farm at Kiwitahi in 1983. The 40-hectare unit was a rehab farm, and by adding land, the Makkers now farm 108ha (98ha effective) and milk 300 friesian cows through a 20-a-side herringbone shed. With the lower payout, every expense counts. The Makkers have dropped their stocking rate slightly by culling earlier. They also stopped feeding out September 19, compared with November the previous season. Last season the farm produced 114,000 kilograms of milk solids; they are targeted 120,000kg this season, and with earlier calving and a better summer, they hope to achieve that. Three years ago their daughter, Heidi and her husband, Blair, returned to the farm and Wim and Blair now milk the herd together. Maria relief milks, rears calves and does the accounts, while Heidi is a mum to Ryan, 6, Grace, 4 and Toby, 2. The plan is for Heidi and Blair to eventually take over more and more of the family farm management. Wim says that being an active part of the local community is important to him as a farmer. He has been convener of the local Dairy New Zealand discussion group for nearly 20 years and was on the board of trustees for the Kiwitahi School for 17 years. Maria has also served on the Parent Teachers Association for the Kiwitahi School and for Morrinsville College. Both Wim and Maria are on the Kiwitahi Hall Committee. “Farming can be isolating sometimes,” says Wim. “You might hardly even see your neighbours, so it’s good to get involved in the local community. “ Kiwitahi is a strong community and being involved makes our lives more pleasant.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Grant & Karley Thomson/Cameron Henderson

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NZ Dairy

Couple chalk up list of achievements Tony Orman Waikato couple Grant and Karley Thomson are sharemilkers who have recently become full owners of a 395-cow herd. On the way they’ve chalked up some notable achievements, such as winning the 2015 Bay of Plenty Equity Sharemilker Farmers award of the Year when milking 420 cows at Opotiki for Tom and Tony Trafford. Before that they won three dairy industry merits – for recording and productivity, risk management, and hygiene. The experience was invaluable, they say.. “Entering those awards helped us focus on our business and view all our costs and look at where we’re spending the money and why,” says Grant. They did three seasons at Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty before moving last June to a 50:50 sharemilking in the Waikato on Paul and Margaret Rowe’s farm at Kiwitahi, 10 minutes drive out of Morrinsville,. At the same time they bought out their “silent partner” in the sharemilking operation. They are now milking 395 cows through a 30-a-side herringbone shed. The herd is in the top 10 per cent on LIC scoring. “The challenge is to keep this high standard up as, at the end of the day, it’s our equity and asset,” says Grant. His farming career began on a sheep and beef farm: “But then I decided to learn about dairying because of the pathway it offered to farm ownership.” So, 12 years ago, aged 19, he went to Telford

Rural Polytechnic to learn more about dairying. Graduating from Telford with dairy and farm management certificates, he went to Mike Davey’s farm near Cambridge and began training as a farm manager. During three seasons as a lower-order sharemilker there, he met Karley, a beautician who had grown up on a farm and was no stranger to rural life. “He needed help in the shed when his herd went from once-a-day to twice-a-day milking, so I helped out and never went back to beauty therapy,” laughs Karley. The couple decided it was time to go bigger and moved to milking 440 cows at Waitoa, northeast of Hamilton, on Bruce and Pauline Luxton’s farm. They run a low-cost system, harvesting as much grass as possible before the new year when summers can get dry. As party of their planning for possible drought, they bring in 100 tonnes of palm kernel to negate risk, while budgeting on 120,000 kilograms of milk solids off 120 hectares. They rear 20 per cent of their calves for replacements. The calves stay on the farm until early May, then go grazing and the big heifers come home. Karley rears calves. The employ one full-time worker is employed. “We are aiming to do six weeks of AB with a 78 per cent, six-week in-calf rate using short gestation bulls in the last 10 days to compact the calving a bit more,” says Karley. It’s busy times as the couple forge towards their 10-year goal of farm ownership. With two children and a third expected in April, plus Karley running an on-line children’s wear business (Cherry Blossom Kids Boutique) from

07 315 6469 [24 hrs] jayar-opotiki@xtra.co.nz

Waikato sharemilkers Grant and Karley Thomson (left) are milking a herd of 440 cows at Waitoa.

home, spare time is at a premium. Grant loves sea fishing and hunting but that’s more for the future after farm ownership. Nevertheless, they’re mindful of the need to escape

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the farm every now and again. “Our focus is to run lean, low-cost systems which help repay debt quickly so we can make the next move,” says Grant.

North Canterbury farmer Cameron Henderson is assessing the future of his operation, given the low payout and the effect of last summer’s drought. In 2011, with some family help, he almost fully financed the purchase and conversion of a sheep farm and the establishment of a 750-cow herd at Oxford, in North Canterbury. “With hindsight, if I’d known we would soon be experiencing some of the worst payouts in Fonterra history, I wouldn’t have done it. But I made the decision, so will keep moving forward.” Like a lot of people revisiting their long-term options, he says he will find a third year of low payouts unsustainable and is not afraid to explore different options. “I’ve worked hard to build this up and would hate to see it go to waste because I was too stubborn to look at other possibilities. Any decisions on the future will be made on a yearby-year basis.” Before getting into dairy farming, he spent almost three years as a business analyst for Fonterra after graduating from the University of

Auckland with a double degree, in commerce and engineering. Despite the current challenges he believes the market will “definitely improve”. “Looking at the fundamentals and what is happening in international markets, I think we’ll see a correction with the payout creeping back up to average. Although I wouldn’t expect a lot of positive movement over the next few months.” He says there is little value in re-evaluating onfarm decisions based on each GDT dairy auction. “The long-term trend is what we need to focus on.” Cameron grew up on a dairy farm in the Waikato, but had no intention of becoming a dairy farmer.. “I hated the idea of dairy farming as a career, so went to university and then spent some time overseas. When I came back, Fonterra offered me the job. This is when I started to see dairy farming from a different perspective, as a good way to use my business and farming skills and own a business at a young age.” He left Fonterra one Friday in 2009, moved south to Canterbury, and started as a farm the following Monday.

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DAIRY PEOPLE » David & Wendy Schroeder

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Improved outcomes from cost cutting Kelly Deeks Waikato dairy farmers David and Wendy Schroeder have employed some cost-cutting initiatives this season to mitigate the effects of the lower milk payout. Results have been excellent, not only saving money but improving some erlated outcomes. The Schroeders are dairy managers at Hodderville Farms, a 1000-hectare block near Putaruru, which is split into five farms of different sizes. The couple arrived at Hodderville Farms 11 years ago, with David having been dairy farming since leaving school and working his way to farm management. They spent six seasons on a 370-cow unit, and are now into their fifth season on the 236ha

(effective) Hodderville 2, which milks 730 cows. This season the Schroeders have acted on instructions from Hodderville Farms’ overseas owners and the company’s general manager to cut spending in certain areas. They used half as much calf meal as last season, and still managed to achieve the same results from their calves. They used fewer lease bulls, and still had a better response from mating than last season. Schroeder attributes this improvement to a good amount of sunshine that kept the cows nice and comfortable leading up to and during mating. “We achieved an 87 per cent submission rate after three weeks of AB, with no vet interventions,” he says. “With an LIC target of 90%, our fertility is up there with some of the best in the country.” There has been no baled silage at Hodderville

Farms this season. Instead its gone into stacks which, David says, is cheaper, and much easier to manage with less rubbish and recycling to deal with. The couple are growing maize on farm, starting with 3ha three years ago and increasing that to 7ha for the last two seasons. Their next plan is to look at reducing stock numbers and increasing per-cow production to 350 kilograms of milksolids from 345kg last season. David Schroeder says per-cow production is currently sitting 8% behind last season, a direct result of wintering the cows at home for the first time this winter. “That was another cost-cutting measure that saved a lot of money, and it was much easier for me to maintain control of the herd.” “The grass didn’t really want to grow over the

winter, but we managed to hold on to our spring rotation planner and managed our supplement, and we came out the end alright.” The spring weather has not been much better for grass growth, very dry and cold with the driest October in the 11 years the Schroeders have been at Hodderville Farms, and a frost in the middle of November, which has never been seen in the area before. “We’ve also had quite considerable winds that have evaporated quite a bit of moisture out of the ground, and soil temperatures just started to show 15 to 16 degrees in the middle of November,” says David. “Before that they’ve been 12 to 14 degrees.” The Schroeders would like to milk into May as they did last season – it will depend on the summer and the feed budget.

PHOTOS: Dairy shed, farm view and farm lane (below) on the Hodderville 2 Farm near Putaruru, managed by David and Wendy Schroeder.

perfect storm for farmer Jobs as a herd manager and second-incommand followed, before he bought and converted the former sheep farm at Oxford in 2011. “The farm had been leased out for nine years and had poor fertility and acidic soils. We cleared everything off the whole property and started again.” Around 730 friesian-cross cows are being milked through the farm’s 50-bail rotary cowshed this season. “We’ hope to get back up to 750 if the market improves and we don’t have another drought.” The property was heavily affected by dry conditions last summer. Relying on wells for irrigation proved troublesome as groundwater levels dropped to their lowest levels in 30 years. “We had to cull and dry off cows early, which hit production hard. We missed our target by 25 per cent. A new well has just been dug on the property, which will help alleviate similar challenges this summer and should allow almost all of the 238-hectare dairy platform to be irrigated. Cameron has leased a nearby 110ha property from Bob Charles for the last few years, which he uses for wintering cows, carrying young stock and growing supplements.

“We’re pretty much self-contained apart from buying in a bit of palm kernel.” Fodder beet is grown on the dairy platform for conditioning and filling the autumn feed gap, with all cows and rising-two-year heifers fed a fodder beet and grass silage diet through the winter. After carrying out a cost benefit analysis on artificial breeding (AB) versus bulls, Cameron has moved to a full AB programme. “We end up making money out of the AB programme through the use of short gestation semen and extra days in milk, whereas the bull programme cost us. It is also easier workload-wise, We recently installed an LIC EZ-Heat camera and we eliminate the bio-risk from bringing bulls onto the farm.” Cameron is assisted on the farm by two-and-ahalf staff. He experimented with employing a farm manager last season and working off farm as a developer for DairyNZ, but says it didn’t work out. “I decided to come back and reduce costs by not paying a manager’s salary. We’ve also dropped another half a staff member and any non-essential spending has been cut from the budget. It hasn’t been the easiest start to dairy farm ownership, but I remain hopeful things will improve.”

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32 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Rob & Mel van den Brand

PHOTOS Left: Mel van den Brand with children Riley and Sophie. Above: Mt Taranaki provides a glorious backdrop. Above right: A feed crop for their 230 cows. Opposite page: Rob van den Brand walks the pastures.

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Rob & Mel Van den Brand www.taranaki-vets.co.nz 32 – 34 Albion Street, Hawera Clinics - Stratford · Manaia · Hawera · Patea · Waverley

NZ Dairy

Judges’ advice `invaluable’ Kim Newth Taranaki’s Rob and Mel van den Brand say the best advice they received ahead of entering this year’s New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards was not to be afraid of the judges’ comments. The couple’s positive attitude has certainly paid off: they were named the 2015 Taranaki Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year at the annual awards and came third in the national event. They also won regional merit awards across four categories. Rob and Mel are in their sixth season, 50:50 sharemilking 230 cows for the J D Bashford Trust at Manaia. “We really took on board what last year’s New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, Charlie McCaig, told us,” says Rob. “His advice was not to take the judges’ comments personally as they are only trying to help by giving their view of your business. That is so true. It can be daunting to enter something like this, but the feedback you get is invaluable.” The couple first entered the awards in 2013, before having a break for a year and then coming back to win this year’s regional contest. They attribute the win to having honed their business presentation style as well as their business

It can be daunting to enter something like this, but the feedback you get is invaluable. practices. Last year, they reviewed production costs and increased their stocking rate by 10 to 15 cows after realising some pasture was being under-used. “It works out cheaper for us if all the grass grown on the farm is being eaten,” says Rob. “If any extra is needed, we can then look at the available options in conjunction with the owner.” He entered the dairy industry in 2005 after graduating with a degree in animal science from Massey University. Before going sharemilking, he worked as a farm manager, overseeing large herds of up to 1000 cows. “It was a big adjustment going from that to

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Fairy View Farm

| 33

Mel weathers baptism of fire Russell Fredric Mel Higgins loves her work as farm manager of Landcorp’s Ferry View and Forest Park farms, despite facing a baptism of fire 12 months after she started her role in June 2014. A former Crafar dairy farm in Bulls, Ferry View is owned by Shanghai Pengxin, with Landcorp the 50:50 sharemilker. The farm is complemented by Forest Park, also in Bulls, a support block for young stock and winter grazing. Ferry View has a 320-hectare (effective) milking platform on flat contour one kilometre from the sea; consequently some of its pastures were previously peppered with sand dunes and it is no surprise what lies beneath. With half of the farm sandy soil and the other half silty loam, achieving good pasture production in some areas has been difficult despite having two pivot irrigators. Plans are afoot to trial the planting of fescue in the sandy areas. Ferry View’s production last season was 394,000 kilograms of milksolids from 1000 cows milked in the farm’s 80-bail rotary shed Part of Mel’s love of the job is the people she works with. “I’ve got a great team. They are very motivated, driven, and we all work very well together. Being part of Landcorp means a huge focus on people and safety.” The farm is strongly focused around the environment with a 17ha wetland project being developed on land unsuitable for farming. The land is being retired to create a habitat for native birds and mud fish, which were found last

A massive flood is one of the setbacks Mel Higgins has had to deal with since becoming manager of Ferry View Farm, near Bulls. year on one of the farm’s wetland areas. “We are hoping to bring in the community to help be a part of planting and making a walkway,” says Mel. “It’s something Shanghai Pengxin, Landcorp and I are all very excited about.’’ The farm hasn’t been without its challenges after it was inundated during a major flood by the Rangitikei River in June when a flood gate was jammed open with ongoing effects. “I had 85 per cent of the farm go under water, and had a good 40ha under water until about two weeks ago. So, it has had its challenges. But I’m very lucky – when the floods receded, I had no

silt.’’ Ferry View lost 60 tonnes of maize, but its stock was able to be moved to the Forest Park. “I had 1700 cows on 200 hectares and I was feeding out 13 hours a day. It was crazy, but you do what you have to do. “ I saw my team pull together and just get stuck in as calving was just around the corner”. Cow numbers have been reduced to 900 this season, not only because of the low and volatile dairy payout, but also because of the costs of supplementary feed. Mel aims for the farm to become more self-

sufficient by growing its own maize rather than buying it in. After the farm received much negative publicity nationally under its former owner, it has been immensely rewarding for Mel told be told by ‘‘the locals’’ from Scott’s Ferry and other farmers, about how clean the property now is, how much better its cows are looking, and how its pastures have improved under her management. “I’ve enjoyed moving to a place, proving myself, being under the Landcorp team. I’ve just enjoyed it all really.’’

Paddy Contracting Ltd

Rob van den Brand checks pasture on the Manaia Farm.

Complementary skills good mix • From page 32 having just 200 cows, and only the two of us having to do everything. There was no income at all for the first three months, but we had planned for that.” Mel studied business at university and worked in banking before going sharemilking. The couple’s complementary skills and backgrounds are a good mix for the business. Rob manages the feed, pasture and day-to-day running of the farm, while Mel is more focused on the financial side of the business. Along with taking care of young stock, she has a strong interest in genetics. Both relish the variety of the lifestyle they have

chosen and are enjoying raising their two children, Riley, 3 and Sophie, 6, in a rural community. Mel chairs the local community pre-school and Rob is an AB technician for LIC, with plans to take on a local apprentice this year. Their award success echoes that of Mel’s parents, Murray and Judy Brown, who won the same title in 1981. “They did not put pressure on us to enter, but were pretty pleased for us,” she says. Mel and Rob are committed to developing their herd to reach the top one per cent in the country for production worth and breeding worth. Their herd is in the top five per cent. “We’re starting to see the gains,” says Mel.

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34 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Grant & Danielle Petterd/Josh Eales & Meghan Rogers

NZ Dairy

City slickers ‘see the light’ and go dairy farming Karen Phelps

We consider the low

Grant and Danielle Petterd like to think of themselves as Jaffas who “saw the light”. Both originally from Auckland but the city was no drawcard for the pair who left the big smoke to start dairy farming. “I always wanted to go farming, but was born and grew up in the wrong place,” says Grant. It helped that they had family farming in Taranaki and could get some experience helping out there before making the big decision to change careers for good. Their first job was as farm assistants on a 345cow farm. They then managed a 250-cow operation for one season before moving to their present position between Kerikeri and Okaihau. The Petterds are lower-order sharemilkers and equity partners in North Star Dairies Ltd with John and Rosemary Oliver, Allan and Glenis Oliver, and Grant’s parents, Ross and Debbie. They are now in their fifth season on the 186-hectare effective (233ha total) unit peakmilking a herd of 462 friesian-cross cows. The herd is milked through a 36-a-side herringbone shed with an in-shed feeding system, which the Petterds are not using this season in an effort to reduce farm working expenses. Instead they are using the farm feedpad more, feeding straight palm kernel rather than blends. The Petterds say that like most dairy farmers this season, they are concentrating on getting as much feed into their cows as cheaply as possible. They are seeking to use their grass fully while keeping quality high. The weather has been on their side even if the payout hasn’t – this was the first spring in five years that they’ve had good consistent grass growth. They were able to stop feeding maize in midSeptember when normally they’d be feeding for an another two months. They are reserving their usual supplement supply for summer, but it looks as though they will save money on their feed bill. No other changes are planned as the farm is up for sale. The equity partnership has decided it

payout a blip in the plan rather than letting it control our business. We’re definitely watching costs, but we’re focused on the long term rather than the short term. is time to look for a larger unit to carry a herd of around 1000 cows. It’s an interesting manoeuvre with the payout low, but the Petterds say they are taking a long-term approach. “We consider the low payout a blip in the plan rather than letting it control our business,” says Grant. “We’re definitely watching costs, but we’re focused on the long term rather than the short term.” The farm employs one full-time and one parttime labour unit. Grant and Danielle are both fully involved on the farm. They have a daughter Sarah, three and a half. Last season the unit produced 171,000 kilograms of milksolids; the Petterds are targeting 180,000kg this season and they are way ahead. Their best production was 190,990kg two years ago. The Petterds were runners-up in the Northland Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year competition (the second time they’ve run second) and still have their sights set on farm ownership. “The equity partnership has been fantastic and we’d never have got to where we are today without it,” says Grant.

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Farm girl: Sarah Petterd, aged three and a half, helps out with feeding the calves.

Pasture management Karen Phelps Josh Eales has had a long relationship with his current employers, farm-owners Graeme and Karen Bonnar. He started working for them at ther age of 17, not long after leaving school. A decade later, he returned to manage their 130-hectare effective (140ha total) farm at Gordonton, on the north-east fringe of Hamilton. In between he was on a variety of farms at Walton, Waihi, Tokoroa and Matamata, working his way up from second-in-charge to management positions. Josh and partner Meghan Rogers – who looks after the couple’s two children, rears calves, and pitches in as relief milker – are now in their third season managing the Bonnar farm, which peak-milks 375 kiwicross cows through a basic 22-a-side herringbone shed. Josh says the main challenge is the five-metredeep peat soil on about half of the farm. “Keeping paddock contour and protecting pastures is a challenge,” he says. “After three years, the grass starts to pull out of the soil as it’s wetter and oilier than other soil types. Peat is a

hungry soil and needs a lot of sulphur and urea. We need to apply around 170 units of sulphur and urea each year.” When dry weather hits, around half the farm suffers and growth shuts down several weeks earlier than the other half. Josh brings in supplement to fill in the feed gap, typically around 100 kilograms from the middle to the end of February. He says changes he has made to the system have improved the farm hugely. These include planting 17.3ha of chicory for summer feed last season, increasing palm kernel from 200 to 300 tonnes, and grazing the calves off farm. The chicory has made a huge difference in terms of making the farm summer-safe, he says. The previous season there was no summer crop and the farm relied solely on grass silage. This has been aided by better contracts on palm kernel this year, whereas last year they were spot pricing. Josh says the Bonnars operate a tight ship, so he has had to justify every change as it would affect the bottom line of their business. Last season farm working expenses were $3.08/hectare, while production has risen from 132,000 kilograms of milksolids (the farm’s highest

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DAIRY PEOPLE » Brian & Jackie Clearwater

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Head-banging ‘all very worthwhile’ Tony Orman A vertically integrated organic dairy business – from the farm milk through to yoghurt. That, in a nutshell, is what Bryan and Jackie Clearwater’s Clearwater Organics is about. Peel View Farm, at Peel Forest not far from Geraldine, in South Canterbury, was once a conventional beef and sheep farm. The Clearwaters, started with a conventional sheep and beef farm in the 1990s, but felt there was an essential element missing. “I’ve always been of the view that we must work within the limits of our natural resources and seek to enhance and sustain them,” Bryan says. “So we’ve become an organic dairy company because it’s a more sustainable way of producing food for future generations.” He says “soil-foodweb science” – as he terms it – is about comprehensive nutrition to soil fungi and bacteria, which creates better water-holding capacity, carbon sequestration and enhanced soil health. “ Fundamental is soil management,” he says. Yes, it’s a radical shift from the conventional land production ways and philosophy. But he does not see it as an attack on traditional ways, more a statement of fact. “There has to be a change both for the environment and human health outcomes, particularly as regards escalating incidence of cancer,” he says. “If we can remove the causitive agents from the food supply, that has to be for the good of all.” And, he adds, the cows give the richest, creamiest milk he has tasted. From that philosophy Clearwater Organic Dairy Ltd was born. Ad Sintenie, a Dutch immigrant and yoghurt maker, and Bryan sat down and put their

philosophy into practice. Bryan felt Fonterra was not giving a fair deal and there was no organic premium. Besides, yoghurts on shop shelves were either full of sugar or sour. The “banging heads together” led to Clearwater’s cream-top natural yoghurt. – “just organic milk and pro-biotic cultures, a 2000-year-old recipe revisited.” The 110-hectare (effective) Peel View Farm milks 45 cows over winter and 250 at peak and has an organic run-off nearby. Being organic is integral not only to the stewardship of the land but the quality of product to increasingly health and environmentally conscious consumers. But no consumer should buy food simply because it is organically produced, says Bryan. “They should buy it because it tastes great and forms part of a balanced diet.” The Clearwaters have had steady growth since 2001, punctuated with strong surges particularly since 2010. In effect, the yoghurts sell themselves with “word of mouth” the best advertising for their cream top natural, honey, apple, cinnamon, topless (a fat free yoghurt), creamed rice pudding and English-style clotted cream products. Bryan agrees that it’s a David and Goliath situation being a small player competing with the likes of Fonterra. “But we have the advantage of being faster, leaner and an ability to respond quickly to market trends.” says Bryan. Certainly, there have been challenges such as tight cashflows, not enough and too much milk, competition for supermarket shelf-space, and ensuring on-farm organic production has integrity and full credibility. But it’s all very worthwhile with the teamwork in production and marketing – and especially when people say that Clearwater makes great food, smiles Bryan.

‘the main challenge’ The chicory has made a huge difference in terms of making the farm summer-safe. production before Josh and Meghan arrived) to 176,000kg last season. They are aiming for 170,000kg this season, a decision based on the current dairy payout. As for most farmers, cost cutting has been a major focus ahead of increasing production. Josh has cut his calf-grazing costs by a third and will cut back the 9.2ha of maize the farm grows to 6.5ha, replacing it with 4.5ha of triticale, which is cheaper to grow. Josh expects the farm will produce less than the usual 400 silage bales and 30-tonne stack – a view based on weather conditions. He has planted sorghum to cover the shortfall.

He is a big believer in keeping cow condition right all the way through the year – he says it’s cheaper to maintain the cows’ body condition than to put it on. This practice has worked as the farm ended up with a 10 per cent empty rate while the area is averaging 14%. The bull was also removed three weeks early and calving moved forward by four to five days. This increases the number of days in milk and extends the mating period, giving the cows a better chance of getting in calf, says Josh. His relationship with the Bonnars, who farm next door on a 158ha effective (164ha total) unit milking 480 cows, remains strong. Although they leave Josh to pretty much run the farm, there are often casual meetings over the fence to share ideas. Josh and Meghan have two children: Hannah, 7 and Connor, two and a half. The couple say they would like to move to contract milking as their next step on the dairy ladder and have not let the dairy price fluctuations put them off. “Contract milking is more secure than sharemilking because it’s a locked-in price per milk solid,” says Josh. “So we feel comfortable moving forward when the time is right.”

Bryan Clearwater with a sample of his organic yoghurts.

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36 |

DAIRY PEOPLE » Aad & Wilma van Leeuwen

NZ Dairy

Pioneers bring in 24 robots Jo Bailey Aad and Wilma van Leeuwen have continued to invest in robotic technology after building one of the world’s largest robotic dairies at Makikihi, in South Canterbury, last year. In addition to the 24 DeLaval robots being used to milk around 1500 cows in their 13,000-squaremetre cowbarn, the van Leeuwens have invested in 24 new Lely Astronaut A4 milking robots for two of their other farms. The pioneering couple were the first dairy farmers in New Zealand to introduce large-scale robotic farming. They developed their first robotic shed back in 2008-09 to enable them to milk year round and prevent cows getting “knocked around” during the winter months, says Aad van Leeuwen. “We thought that if we’re going to build a barn, we may as well put robots in. It worked well, so we built a second robotic dairy in 2010 before converting the 600-hectare farm at Makikihi and starting the big shed two years ago.” Sixteen of the new robots will go into another development on the van Leeuwens’ home farm, with the other eight going into a dairy shed being upgraded across the road. Around 500 cows will eventually be milked through each of the three smaller robotic farms, in addition to the “big shed”. The van Leeuwens’ entire large-scale operation encompasses 12 farms and 12,000 cows. Aad van Leeuwen is philosophical about making another big investment during the dairy downturn – there were similar market conditions back in 2008 when the couple first introduced the technology on their property. “We’ve done it before, so it’s nothing new. Once we get the robots going, things will pick up again.” The Lely technology is imported from Holland, and the couple decided it was worth “taking a punt” and buying the equipment while the New Zealand dollar was high. “When we installed the first robots, the dollar was worth around 37 cents, but it was around 65 cents when we bought the latest machines, which makes a whole lot of difference.” After seven years using the technology, he says both his staff and the cows have adapted well. “We quietly break the cows in and only have to push them into the milking stalls a few times before they get the idea. There are usually only a few lazy

Wilma and Aad van Leeuwen (right) with their son, Rodney, who manages the home farm, which has 16 Lely robots. girls we have to persevere with.” The cows decide when they eat, sleep, and are milked by the robots with hydraulic arms guided by optical cameras and dual lasers. They are enticed into the stalls by feed, which slowly trickles in. He says the biggest advantage of the robotic system is the huge production gains, which are almost double at certain times of the year.

• To page 37

We thought if we’re going to build a barn we may as well put robots in. It worked well so we built a second robotic dairy in 2010, before converting the 600ha farm at Makikihi and starting the big shed two years ago.

The “big shed” (left) is 200 metres long, covers 13,000 square metres and houses 24 DeLaval robotic milkers. The jersey barn (right) has eight Lely robots

NZ Dairy

DAIRY SERVICES » BJ Bishop Transport

| 37

One-man band but a two-trick pony Karen Phelps Being a dairy farmer as well as owning B J Bishop Transport means Barry Bishop not only talks the talk, he walks the walk when it comes to taking care of the needs of local dairy farmers. A major part of the transport business is carting palm kernel for firms in Taranaki, including RD1, Viterra and Swap Stockfoods, to deliver to dairy farms. The firm also carts fertiliser to farmers from Ravensdown and Ballance Agri-Nutrients. “I have very high standards and I know what farmers need and expect,” says Barry Bishop. He started his transport career driving part-time for Lester Transport in Inglewood, doing cattle and bulk work. When Lester Transport was sold in 1998, he bought one of the units and started his own business. The company sticks solely to bulk cartage as Barry feels that by specialising, he can offer a more professional service. Nearly all of his customers are farmers, with dairy farmers making up around 80 per cent of his clientele. Growth in the chicken farming industry in Inglewood is also keeping B J Bishop Transport busy carting metal for roads and foundations as new chicken sheds are being constructed as Tegel has sought to centralise its operations in the area. Farm expansion also generates significant work for the Bishop business – the company has just completed a job for Leake Contracting, which involved carting 4000-5000 cubic metres of metal. Barry says business is thriving despite the drop in dairy payout. This year’s spring was tougher and has seen an increased need for palm kernel in the region. Now farmers are busy spreading fertiliser. And he picked up customers when another local transport company was sold. The company also specialises in laying down metal races, with metal sourced from a number of local quarries. Quarries have also been contracting the company’s services direct to deliver and

BJ Bishop Transport operates a 450-horsepower, four-axle truck and trailer unit capable of carting 28 tonnes. spread metal for their own clients. Carting metal to cater for growth in cow barns has been another important source of work. Barry has a contract milker on his own 250cow farm, leaving him free to concentrate on his contracting business. His partner, Lynise, helps with the company bookwork. Barry says he tries to keep his service simple and efficient. He operates a 450-horsepower,

four-axle truck-and-trailer unit capable of carting 28 tonnes at a time. BJ Bishop Transport is a member of the Road Transport Association. Barry is proud of remaining a one-man band, dedicated to servicing his customers. “My reputation and service is 110%. Service has always been the number-one priority. If you can provide your clients with a good service you’ll always be busy. Most jobs come in at 8am and

people expect it done that day. We’ve always provided that quick type of service. “It’s about honesty, good pricing, being on time and reliable, and doing what you say you’re going to do. Farmers know I will do the job and do it properly. There’s a lot of trust there now. I get a lot of satisfaction out of the job, especially the communication between myself, clients and the firms I deal with.”

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Cows housed 10 months a year • From page 36 “The cows come to the robot an average of 2.7 to three times a day, with fresh cows up to four times a day and late-lactation cows between 1.8 and two times.” Information collected about each cow includes milk volumes, conductivity and weight. Cows that approach the robot but are not ready to be milked are rejected. Rubber-floored stalls and lanes in the robotic dairy sheds make it more comfortable for the cows, which are housed 10 months of the year, going outside only during calving.

“Fresh concrete can do a lot of damage to the cows and it gets quite slippery after a while,” says Aad van Leeuwen. “Rubber is a lot kinder to them.” The operation was on a premium with Fonterra, but this has come to an end, he says. “With a bit of luck Oceania will progress its $400 million development project at Glenavy, and start paying a premium in years to come.’ Van Leeuwen has farmed through many ups and downs but believes the latest downturn is more severe than most. “ At the moment our focus is on sticking with what we’ve got and keeping costs down.”

B.J. Bishop Transport For Metal, Fert and Palm Kernel Contact:

Barry Bishop Owner / Operator

64 Durham Rd, Inglewood P. 06 756 7354 | M. 027 479 232

38 |

DAIRY SERVICES » McFall Fuel

NZ Dairy

The recent merger between McFall Fuel and Direct Fuel has increased the McFall fuel fleet to 33 trucks and 10 trailers.

Merger ‘enhances service’ Karen Phelps A merger between McFall Fuel and sister company Direct Fuels aims to bring customers an enhanced service, says McFall Fuel chief executive officer Sheryl Dawson. “Our byline is ‘one easy solution’, so the merger will increase the company’s efficiencies and enable us to offer a more complete service,” he says. “For example, the merger means services offered by Direct Fuels, such as an inter-machine service, will now be offered by McFall Fuel. One invoice for clients will make their lives easier.” McFall Fuel, which has been working in the farming sector for about 29 years, is a fuel and lubricant logistics specialist offering fuel, lubricants, storage solutions, fuel cards and a customer loyalty programme. The company serves a diverse range of industries, including farming, forestry, marine, construction, commercial sites and transport. Sheryl says the aim is to make all fuel deliveries as easy as possible: “Our team keeps an eye on customer fuel usage patterns, including remote monitoring of fuel levels, and plans delivery cycles accordingly. When customers unexpectedly run low

on fuel, McFall Fuel works to reach them as quickly as possible, giving estimated times of arrival to help avoid unnecessary interruptions.” This is complemented by a fleet that is well maintained and equipped with GPS tracking and automated delivery receipts to ensure accuracy, she says. The merger means that McFall Fuel now has 33 trucks and 10 trailers. The company also offers customers a fuel card that gives them access to a nationwide network of BP Retail sites – 205 service stations, 65 truck stops and 120 GAS sites where the same discount pricing is available. “In addition, the card helps our customers to consolidate fuel purchases through one account as well as control business vehicle expenditure by nominating a purchase limit on individual cards. “Odometer readings, when recorded with each fuel purchase, will provide accurate consumption analysis to be included on monthly reports. Exception reporting can also be set up and sent to a nominated email address.” As farms are often in remote locations, fuel storage is also important, she says. McFall Fuel works with supplier Fuel Storage Ltd to set up

• To page 39

Fuelling the Dairy Sector throughout New Zealand The BP regional distributor network offers you high quality fuels with the added benefit of a local relationship and uncompromised service. Call 0800 800 027 or visit www.bp.co.nz/distributors for further information.

McFall Fuel 0800 623 255 | www.mcfallfuel.co.nz From Quads, farm bikes, Tourers to Superbikes, Weekend Rider to full on Racer - FUCHS Silkolene is the leading brand of motorcycle lubricants, cleaning and maintenance products.

McFall Fuel works with Fuel Storage Ltd to set up tailor made bulk storgae tanks for farmers.

NZ Dairy

DAIRY SERVICES » McFall Fuel

The entire McFall Fuel fleet is equipped with GPS tracking and automated delivery receipts to ensure accuracy.

Zero-harm philosophy drives recycling initiative • From page 38 tailor-made bulk storage and dispensing facilities with tanks from 600-litre to 40,000-litre capacity, plus trailer tanks. The company will work with customers to choose the best fuel storage system for their farm, she says. “For example, with the dairy payout where it is at the moment, we have been working with our customers on the periods of their lease to own tanks to make life easier for farmers. “Especially with the new health and safety regulations coming into effect on April 1, 2016, it is more important than ever that their fuel-storage system is safe and complies with the standards. We will work with them to achieve this.” McFall Fuel backs up this service by offering customers an annual maintenance programme on the larger tanks, she says. The company also carries an “extensive range” of lubricants for all types of vehicles and machinery. McFall Fuel’s major supplier is Fuchs, and Castrol products are also offered. Sheryl says McFall Fuel is a family-owned business that prides itself on its zero-harm value – no harm to people, no harm to the environment. and no accidents. This has driven a proactive approach to setting up a recycle and re-use facility on site. Used 20-litre oil containers are collected from customers and cleaned; a waste-management company takes those that cannot be used and the others are reused. Waste oil is recycled to a tomato grower.

With the new health and safety regulations coming into effect on April 1, 2016, it is more important than ever that farmers’ fuelstorage system is safe and complies with the standards. McFall Fuel recognises that the communities in which it works are a vital part of the business, says Sheryl, and supports the regions in which it operates. This support includes a variety of community groups and activities, including calf-club days, by providing product and vouchers for raffles and sending staff along to help at community fundraisers. The business also supports the Waipa King Country Life Education Trust, supplying fuel for a mobile classroom and the teacher’s vehicle, and supplies the food and cooks meals three times a year at Ronald McDonald in Auckland. “Te Awamutu is where McFall Fuel originated, so supporting the local community in this way is seen as a really positive connection,” says Sheryl.

Used 20-litre oil containers are recycled at a new on-site facility.

Used 20-litre oil containers are collected from customers and cleaned; a waste-management company takes those that cannot be used and the others are reused. Waste oil is recycled to a tomato grower.

Proud suppliers to Mcfall Fuel

www.tankersolutions.co.nz

| 39

DAIRY SERVICES » Everfresh Transport

40 |

NZ Dairy

Hastings based Everfresh Transport is now one of the biggest produce carrying operations in Hawke’s Bay. The company transports fruit and vegetables, sileage, stock feed and fertiliser and covers the North Island and the East Coast.

Truckies offer cockies a hand Belinda Carter Everfresh Transport Ltd has made a concerted effort to keep its prices down for struggling dairy farmers this year. “The dairy industry is in tough times, ” manager Bevan Hall says. “We have seen the industry struggle, so we are trying to do our best to support farmers. “With rising costs we face, we have taken these and become more efficient and kept rates the same for a number of seasons.” John Agnew set up the Hawke’s Bay company 15 years ago to help transport fruit and vegetable crops at harvest time. He has added silage, stock feed and fertiliser to the list of freight, and the business is now one of the biggest producecarrying operations in the Bay. In fact, Everfresh now transports all farming needs and goods, apart from stock, Bevan Hall believes there are enough experienced operators around to handle the stock market: “We stick to what we know.” John Agnew is still the director and runs the company. Bevan, who began with Everfresh as a

15-year-old truck washer 10 years ago, manages the day-to-day operation. Since the company was formed in November 2000, transportation has become more efficient and technology has improved, partly because of customer demand, he says. “We aim to give the best efficient service every job we do. We use state-of-the-art systems and fuel-efficient trucks to make sure we remain competitive at all times.” Drivers are also better trained these days: “We invest in our staff as they are the key to a successful business,” he says. The company has a reputation for consistency

and reliability, and works with other carriers to provide a high level of service. “Without giving a high level of service with a good team, a business like ours is nothing.” From its base near Hastings, Everfresh can provide transport services across the region and beyond. Its 15 trucks can cover the North Island. When things get busy more trucks are hired – up to 40 can be operating during the peak season. “Getting staff in peak season can be tough, but we always make it happen,” says Bevan The company offers full cartage and logistic services: “There is nothing Everfresh won’t make happen if a customer needs work done.”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY SERVICES » Wairarapa Livestock Transport

| 41

Wairarapa Livestock Transport’s truck-and-trailer fleet has grown from from five to seven, including this dedicated bulk-tip unit.

Fleet grows to meet dairy demand Kim Newth A Wairarapa rural transport company has strengthened its market position over the past five years through strategic investment and an ongoing commitment to service. Co-owners Stu Taylor and Henry Bunny launched Wairarapa Livestock Transport Ltd after buying David Pope Transport in 2010. In the intervening period, they have expanded the trucking fleet and employed more drivers. The fleet of truck-and-trailer units has grown from five to seven, and staff numbers have risen to 10. A dedicated bulk-tip unit is a new addition, amd the company also has two smaller trucks. The company is well equipped to not only transport sheep, cattle and deer, but also bulk loads of fertiliser, lime, wool and other general cartage goods, says Henry Bunny. “The dairy side of the business has really grown for us over the past couple of years. Obviously we are very competitive with our price and the service we provide. We have gone into the tip-and-bulk side of it so that we can provide an overall service to our farmer clients.” Back-loading of livestock has also boosted business growth. While it can tie up trucks for an extra day or so, loads are maximised. Most of the company’s work is in the lower

Left: Wairarapa Livestock Transport owners Stu Taylor and Henry Bunny both have farming and trucking backgrounds and take turns at the wheel, sharing a truck on a two-weeks-on/two-weeks-off basis.

North Island...Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua and Taupo, New Plymouth. “However, we can go to Northland or Invercargill, depending on how demand is at the time,” says Henry Both of the owners have local farming and trucking backgrounds. Henry also spent four years working as a livestock agent. “We both grew up around livestock and that has been very helpful to us in the business,” he says. “We’ve got an understanding of what animals are going to do at certain times and how they need to be handled.”

Phone 06 323 0202

They share a common philosophy of wanting to provide good service. “That is the key to it all – having good drivers doing a good job in good time, using good gear that is well maintained, plus having a friendly voice on the phone.” Rather than being tied to the depot in Waingawa Rd, south of Masterton, Stu and Henry still take

turns on the road, sharing a truck on a two-weekson/two-weeks-off basis. “When we’re not on the phones, we’re out there meeting our farmers and getting our hands dirty,” says Henry. “Farmers like being able to have a yarn with us.” Paperwork has been minimised thanks to a computerised transport management system, My Trucking. Developed by close friends, the system allows jobs to be tracked and has slashed time once spent on manual processing. The company also uses GPS tracking and EID scanning. Wairarapa Livestock Transport gives back to its community through sponsorship and fundraising for local schools and events such as the Wairarapa Sheep and Beef Farm Business of the Year.

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42 |

DAIRY SERVICES » Chris Perrett Electrical

NZ Dairy

Chris completes 10th new dairy shed Kim Newth

   

 

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      

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PHOTOS: Hawera-based electrician Chris Perrett gets involved in a diverse range of work, from quarry machinery (above) to effluent booms (below).

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Proud to work alongside Chris Perrett Electrical Solutions

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Hawera-based electrician Chris Perrett is never quite sure whether the next job will be an early morning call out to fix a breakdown at a dairy shed or to help install a farmer’s effluent system. Having the flexibility to take on almost any job comes with the territory, he says. Chris Perrett Electrical Solutions services a big area of South Taranaki – from Hawera to Opunake and Stratford. The work is ever changing, in line with the evolving demands of their diverse clientele. “We can turn our hand to almost anything but the majority of our work is in dairying, light commercial and domestic,” says Chris Perrett, who along with wife Sara, set up the company in late 2011 after entering the industry 18 years ago. In their four years in business, Chris and his staff have established a strong track record in the dairy sector. They have just completed their tenth new dairy shed. “We have pride and satisfaction in being an integral part of each of these jobs,” he says. A recent project involved installing trial measuring units on feed silos for a farmer. Perrett tracked down a company importing the equipment, negotiated a deal, and wired the units in place. The result is an automated process for adding minerals and a precise measuring system. “It saves the farmer time and also means they can buy minerals in bulk, so saving money. I really enjoy working on innovative jobs like this where we bounce ideas off each other to get an effective outcome.” Working with him are electrician Ian Whittington, apprentice Jamie Baylis and electrical assistant Steven Hoyes who is about to start his adult apprenticeship. Sara covers accounts and administration. The couple are also have a threeyear-old daughter, Stevie-Rose. “Surprisingly perhaps, with the slowdown in dairying, we have still kept busy,” says Chris. Repairing and maintaining dairy sheds remains core to the business, though improved parts and processes mean they are getting fewer call-outs than they once did. “From our perspective, that is good news,” says Chris. “Our philosophy is we would rather fix things properly so that they won’t break down again.” Farmers needing assistance with effluent systems, quick-chill units, water pumps, dairy-shed equipment and associated electrical issues also keep the phones ringing. Chris often gives advice across a wide range of electrical matters. “We like to have a good working relationship

with our customers and help them out, even if we do not necessarily get a job from it.” He says the firm’s personal touch, honesty and reliability are what set it apart. Chris has always been interested in the agricultural industry. He

grew up on a South Taranaki dairy farm and has remained involved with the industry ever since. “I’ve always been based in Hawera – people know they can call me any time and ask for my advice on all sorts of things. Nothing is a problem.”

“Call me today”

027 669 9779

A/H 06 278 1207

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY SERVICES » Webb Electrical

| 43

Training links important for rural electrical specialist Sue Russell Manawatu rural electrical firm Webb Electrical services a large farming district. Owner Carol Webb says the company’s location at Rongotea, 20 minutes west of Palmerston North, is ideal. “We cover an area from Linton and Shannon through to Foxton, Sanson, Bulls, Feilding, Ashhurst and Palmerston North, and we have built up a substantial rural client base.” The company handles electrical installation and servicing needs in dairy milking parlours, and does residential farm work, workshops and new houses. “We always have a lot on doing new dairy farming installations and back-up maintenance.” Carol describes the company as close-knit, with a real family feel. Project manager, Carolyn (Catt) Koloto, did part of her electrical apprenticeship training at Webb Electrical some years ago, then returned in 2010 after time overseas She oversees pricing and major projects. Finn Benham has been with the firm for four years, while James Owen, who started at the beginning of the year to complete is apprenticeship, is now qualified. Watt says the key is prompt service to farmers. “When something fails in a milking shed, it’s essential it’s fixed as soon as possible. One of us is on call 24/7 to respond when the call comes in.” The firm was recently involved with setting up electrical systems for a 60-bail goat milking parlour. “Just like a standard rotary, except smaller,” says Catt. “We also have work ahead on planned upgrades.” Carol is happy with the size of the company she and her late husband, Murray, started in 1989. “We rely on one another to contribute and I’m very proud of the quality of work we produce. We have carved out a solid reputation. It can be full-on at times.

”New dairy installations or conversions usually mean several visits to the farm, working in around the physical construction processes. For instance, it’s important we do the wiring and get all the lights in as soon as possible so that construction workers have good lighting and can put in the long hours as necessary to complete the shed on time.” The business has a strong working relationship with Electrical Training Company (ETCO), a branch of the Electrical Contractors Association responsible for training electricians. Carol describes the ETCO training structure as very comprehensive. “Trainee-electricians are employed by ETCO and seconded to the electrical firm. They attend block courses over their four-year apprenticeship, and this gives a really good grounding.” Because Webb Electrical’s work is specialised and often involves diagnostic processes that can be complicated and demanding in terms of meeting time-schedules, apprentices are usually halfway through their training before spending time with the company. When not busy overseeing the company Carol can often be found on her bike, putting in the weekly kilometres. At the end of September, she rode a three-day, 450-kilometre event from Palmerston North through Taihape, then over Gentle Annie to Hawke’s Bay and back to Palmerston North.

Webb Electrical technicians at work in a dairy parlour.

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44 |

DAIRY SERVICES » Kiwitahi Maize Growers

NZ Dairy

Payout drives shift to grain growing Karen Phelps When, after 18 years of dairy farming, Mark Fausett got tired of cows and early-morning starts and decided to pursue his second love – crop growing. He began supplying maize and crop silage in 2004 for the dairy industry – and says the transition from dairy farmer to grower was easy. He’d grown maize on his dairy farm for feed, so it was simply a case of increasing quantities. Assistance from grain reps also helped in those early years. In his first year Mark Fausett’s business, Kiwitahi Maize Growers, planted 35 hectares of maize. Now, more than a decade on, the company grows 450ha. The plantings are spread around the Greater Waikato region...a mix of leased blocks, those he owns outright, and a portion in an equity partnership. This year will be a little more challenging because of the dairy pay-out, which is creating inconsistency of demand from dairy farmers. Mark has responded by adjusting his business slightly to put more emphasis on grain growing and has secured a significant contract. A third of the maize he is growing will be destined for grain this year. Mark says that normally, 80 per cent of the maize would already be under contract with dairy-farming clients by September/ October, but this year that dropped to 10% as farmers held off making decisions. “We’ve always dabbled in growing grain, but never to this extent. But that’s the benefit of being an owner/operator – you can make the decisions as you go along,” he says. “Our fixed costs on the lease land are high, so it is costing more to grow the grain than dairy farmers are willing to pay at the moment. We’re hoping the payout will lift a little in the near future.” Kiwitahi Maize Growers owns all its own machinery, which has given greater control over timing, costs and quality of finished product, says Mark. Equipment includes a 12-row maize planter (set up to apply both base fertiliser and urea), a New Holland harvester, three tractors for stacking maize, and seven truck-and-trailer units for deliveries. Product is delivered to customers around the Waikato, Hauraki and Central Plateau areas. The company also uses its equipment for a small amount of contracting work, such as cultivation, disc ripping, power harrowing, planting, harvesting, chopping, carting, stacking and grass silage.

PHOTOS – Abnove: The a maizin’staff at Kiwitahi Maize Growers. Below: Silage making and cultivation. This work will play a larger part this year to assist cash flow, says Mark. “We call ourselves self-sufficient large-scale growers,” he says. “It gives us control over the quality of our product, which is vital so that we can offer our customers the very best.” Kiwitahi Maize Growers employs four full-time staff and can have up to 18 in the harvest season. Mark credits his staff as the main reason for the success of the business. “We’re nothing without our staff. They keep the place running and are the reason we’ve had such long-term customers. Some we’ve been supplying to for 10 years.” The biggest hindrance to company growth is availability of good growing land. “If we can find land, we will continue to develop the company. We may look at going further afield to find land if need be. Whether we grow grain or product for the dairy industry will obviously depend on the payout.”

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NZ Dairy

DAIRY SERVICES » Call a Farmer

| 45

Spraying is a passion of Shane Beets and has become one one of Wellsfordbased Call a Farmer’s core services.

Farm help: Who you gonna call? Sue Russell Call a Farmer is the brainchild of sharemilkers Shane and Angelina Beets, who could not see their dream of land ownership eventuating. After more than 25 years of working in the industry in many roles, the couple with their teenage children, Nick and Mikayla, decided to move in a different direction while still using the skills they had acquired during their years in dairy farming. “We could see little prospect achieving our goals as sharemilkers and it seemed the right time to invest our resources and energy yet remain connected with the land,” Shane Beets says. They spent more than six months planning how the business would operate, the range of services it would offer, and how it could provide those services. “Imagine the ability to ring and hire someone to help on farm for one milking, one day, one week – someone who knew what they were doing, who was able to arrive on time, ready to go with the task at hand. It would be a dream come true for farmers.” Call a Farmer offers a broad range of services including milking, fencing, spraying, rearing calves, tractor operation, supply of short-term labour units when emergencies happen, overseeing beef blocks – the list goes on! Providing labour at short notice on farms in the greater Wellsford district makes for a dynamic working environment.

Left: Mikayla about to start a milking in a dairy shed belonging to one of Call a Farmer’s regular clients.

Balancing ability to respond with the economic reality of operating a profitable business means the couple set some rules about how far any of their staff will drive to work. “If it is a relief-milking job for instance, I don’t expect our staff to have to drive more than half an hour to get there.”

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Relief milking has provided a step in the door with most clients, but spraying and fencing is the backbone of the company. Spraying is a passion for Shane, and developing this side of the business was priority right from the start. The spraying operation is built around smart

technologies. including on-board GPS mapping. “We often spray at night when the wind has died down, so we are set up with LED lighting,” he says. “Spraying is very time-critical as well. It is important to get pre-emergent spray on five to seven days after planting.” Shane has also observed that dedicated fencers were scarce in the district. There was growing demand for skilled workers to take on quick repair work, such as replacing a post or two or restraining some wires, and this work has become a significant core activity for Call A Farmer, extending to fencing lifestyle properties and the like. “Lifestyle blocks are a big thing in our district. A lot of Aucklanders have sold up and invested in land and they want to spend money on the quality of their site,” says Shane. “I am often asked to produce high-end fencing in these situations.” Every two or three months Call a Farmer produces a newsletter for clients. It reminds them about farming tasks coming up so that they can plan an advance booking. “We try as much as possible to be proactive in communicating with our clients,” says Shane. “It means we can work as effectively as possible delivering the services they demand.”

46 |

HEALTH & SAFETY » Rangiora Veterinary Centre

NZ Dairy

The Rangiora Veterinary Centre (above left) operates in New Zealand’s fastest growing township. Ben Davidson (above right) is the Rangiora Veterinary Centre’s large animal director.

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One of the Rangiora Veterinary Centre’s proudest moments was when the large-animal vet team worked together to save 26 cows bloating on fodder beet. “Cows were going down quickly and it was an emergency situation,” says the Rangiora Veterinary Centre’s large animal director, Ben Davidson. “Five vets rushed to the farm spent the next three hours cleaning and stitching 26 cows which had been stabbed by the farmer in an attempt to save them, “ Things are not usually that dramatic for the seven-strong, large-animal team at Rangiora Vets, but bloat is one of the ongoing problems they deal with – along with mastitis, post calving infections, acidosis and lameness. Ben, who grew up on a North Canterbury sheep and beef property, has been around large

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animals all his life. After completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree and a post-grad Diploma in Applied Science at Lincoln University, he did his vet training at Massey University from 1995-2000. A vet for 15 years now, he also has his own small farm at Fernside, near Rangiora, a fourhectare lifestyle block with sheep, cattle and the odd goat, where he lives with his wife, Sarah, and three children. He is also the current vet for Orana Wildlife Park near Christchurch, a service Rangiora Vets has provided for more than 30 years. The centre, which has been running since the early 1970s, has doubled in size in 45 years – a period during which large parts of Canterbury farmland have been converted to dairy. Ben says there has also been a greater focus on proactive preventative management, for example blanket dry-cow therapy, applying test sealants to heifers to prevent mastitis, early interventions for post-calving infections, and non-cycling cows to achieve optimal in-calf rates. Part of the preventative management includes greater emphasis on education, and seminars the Rangiora vets have run on heifer health have been popular. This year the seminars were supplemented with awards, thanks to vets who brought the idea from the North Island. Cups were awarded for best heifer-rearing, best heifer fertility and milk quality, and awards were also made for most improved milk quality and another for improved fertility. They are likely to be repeated next year following positive feedback. These awards offer farmers a benchmark with which to compare their farms and

encourages them to continuously improve their stock, says Ben The Rangiora Veterinary Centre operates in New Zealand’s fastest growing town, covering both domestic pets and large farm animals, in the area north of the Waimakariri River to Amberley and from Pegasus to Mt Oxford. Half of the 14 vets on staff are employed to look after large animals; the other seven look after smaller animals, such as cats, dogs and rabbits. The centre’s main clinic is at 181 Lehman’s Rd in Rangiora and there is another opposite McDonalds in Williams St, Kaiapoi. A n in-house lab run by technicians provides testing, and the retail side offers animal prescriptions, drenches, rumen modifiers and other products. Technicans organise debudding, vaccinations, selenium injections and the like. Consultancy services range from heifer rearing, to reproduction, to healthy hoof training. and vets can assist with animal-health plans, particularly the timing. As part of their educational role, Rangiora vets help train farm staff in teatseal application, first aid, dealing with mastitis, prevention of lameness and other skills useful for dealing with dairy cows. Vet tech services include debudding, vaccinations, blood test for mineral monitoring, BVD testing, metri checking, animal treatments such as drenching and selenium injections as well as pasture measurement, faecal egg counting and the like. The vets and technicians also advise dairy grazing companies and graziers, designing animal

• To page 47

NZ Dairy

HEALTH & SAFETY

| 47

Good health and safety practices crucial on NZ farms • From page 68 or prosecution. The reality is very different. An inspector isn’t there to tell you how to farm but to help you recognise and manage risks that may cause injury to you, your family, your staff or your visitors. It’s a good idea to have a written list of risks and hazards, and how you’re going to manage them. You’ll need to put a bit of time into setting that up but it doesn’t need to be complex. You simply need to clearly identify where people can be injured on your farm, set out sensible steps to manage these risks and communicate them to your team. Involving the team is crucial to successfully managing risk.” Mark Johnson, farm business manager for Landcorp’s Sweetwater Station, near Kaitaia, reviewed health and safety approaches across the four farm dairy operation after hearing Wiremu Edmonds speak at a Landcorp conference about the loss of his son in a forestry accident. The farm has a practical health and safety policy, including measures around hazard assessment and people working alone. But Mark wanted strong buy-in from his team. “We felt people saw me as the ‘overseer’ imposing health and safety compliance,” says Mark Johnson. “So we called a ‘no blame’ meeting.

“I talked about how we all work together and know each other’s families and everyone has a responsibility to call people out if they see them doing things that aren’t safe. I asked them outright to call out colleagues there and then. “No one said a word. I said I had seen a few things I had up my sleeve but wanted to give them a chance first. Still silence. “So I said ‘This is a free for all.’ I want you to tell your mates if they did something and you are calling them out because you care about their safety. Finally one guy stood up and described some unsafe behaviour he’d seen. Then everyone had something to say. That was the start of change. “We agreed we were going to start calling people out and would take the approach that this wasn’t being a ‘nark’ but about wanting everyone to go home safely.” Another major misconception is that farming is inherently dangerous and that health and safety is ‘just common sense’. One hundred and twenty people have died in farming accidents in New Zealand since 2008 – more than any other industry – and 220,000 work days are lost each year due to farmrelated incidents. Most of those accidents were preventable. If health and safety was really just common sense, and if common sense was really common,

Al McCone, Worksafe New Zealand’s agriculture programme manager then we would not have the accident and death rates that we do. Good health and safety needs to be based on more than just common sense and good farmers manage risk by placing the same priority on health and safety as on other production decisions.

Our job is to help you make good risk management practice a common event on your farm. Many farmers have indicated they know good health and safety is important but don’t know where to start. We want to help with that.” How often have you heard at a farmers’ gathering ‘How could it happen? He’d been driving tractors for 30 years’, or ‘He’d grown up riding quad bikes.’ If we are going to address this unacceptable toll and its impact on the farming industry, there has to be a shift in mind-set from the ‘accidents will happen’ approach to one of ‘accidents don’t have to happen’. This is about looking after yourself, your team and your business. Farmers embrace change all the time: New fertilisers, chemicals, feeds, machinery – all to address practical issues and boost productivity. Good health and safety can be approached in the same way. It’s a critical part of a profitable farm. By managing your farm’s legal health and safety obligations, you’ll also see improvements to your productivity – with fewer accidents and fewer staff sick days.” Everything needed to set up a health and safety plan is available on the Safer Farms website (www. saferfarms.org.nz) or as hard copies from 0800 030 040.

Emergency service open 24/7 • From page 46 health plans for the heifers so they return to their owners in optimal health to reproduce. Staff can also help implement and monitor the plans to minimize stress on stock and managers. As part of Welfarm the accredited vets do regular whole-herd body condition scoring, lameness scoring and Healthy Hoof workshops.

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Three of the veterinarians are trained In-calf advisers. Rangiora Veterinary Centre places great store by standards. It is accredited to best practice/mixed clinic standards and is working towards gaining hospital standards accreditation. This accreditation will make it just the third practice in the country – and the first in Canterbury – to be accredited to this level.

Rangiora Veterinary Clinic large-animal vets Harry Collas (far left) and Emma Smith (left).

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48 |

HEALTH & SAFETY

NZ Dairy

Take care – avoid farm accidents Al McCone

Agriculture programme manager Worksafe New Zealand

It’s a busy time of year for dairy farmers across the country – there are all-hands to the pump for milking and a host of other jobs on the farm to do too. The tougher workload and the longer days also bring a higher risk of an injury or accident on the farm. Milk production is at its highest, older calves are being weaned and drenched, artificial insemination is underway, grass growth is being monitored and farmers are preparing supplementary feed. That means farmers and their employees are going to be flat-out and additional seasonal workers may have been taken on to help. Apart from the tragedy of a serious injury or death, being laid-up with an injury or having staff off work can hit productivity and income. Many people are hurt by cattle each year, mostly by kicking or crushing. While children and inexperienced people are most at risk, experienced farmers can also be injured or killed. Incidents often happen when people are doing the routine tasks they have done many times. Before you or others begin any job on the farm, stop and consider what you need to watch out for and how to complete it safely.” Changing the way you’ve always done things can be daunting, but many of the concerns being raised by farmers are fuelled by myths and misconceptions around health and safety. We do hear concerns that health and safety processes mean more paperwork or a visit from an inspector which will always just result in a fine

• To page 67

Dairy farmers are coming into a busy time of year so the risk of injuries and accidents on farms increases.