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DAIRY PEOPLE » Hilhorst Farms
NZ Dairy
Hayden says this season the couple used chicory for the first time as well as the usual 13ha of turnips , in preparation for the strong drought predicted for summer.
Good summer and autumn pays dividends for Waikato farmers • From page 52 fertiliser spreading to maintain greater control, while allowing Hayden to also indulge his love of machinery. Hayden says this season the couple used chicory for the first time as well as the usual 13ha of turnips , in preparation for the strong drought predicted for summer. “We were prepared for that but it didn’t happen,” he says. “We ended up making more silage in January, February, and even the start of March, and we only started feeding it out in June.” The extra feed has allowed the Hilhorsts to milk a few extra cows from last season, about 15 to 20, just because they had them and were able to feed them. Hayden says grass-wise the farm is looking a lot better for winter than last year, and the usual 190 cows wintered off farm he is able to cut to
150 cows this year. He also has kale in the winter crops, but the wet summer has caused stem rot and has hindered the yields, losing about a ton of dry matter to the hectare. Next season the Hilhorsts will have a go with fodder beet for the first time, in case of another dry, and will probably drop out one summer feed paddock to put into fodder beet. They have heard some rave reviews about its ability to put weight on cows from other farmers in the area who are getting reasonably good results from it. Production was down 3% this season, which Hayden attributes to a changeable climate, with the cold spring followed by a hot summer causing the cows some discomfort. Hayden and Narelle are trying to keep positive through this low milk pay out, and want to increase production next season with plenty of feed on hand, while keeping costs down.
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