NZ Dairy spring issue

Spring 2013

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The realm of undercover milkers: page 19 INSIDE

Fescue to the rescue - PAGE 2

It’s early days, but no regrets - PAGE 15

One ‘Just Cool’ science project - PAGE 23

The ‘cheerful controversialist’ - PAGE 40

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Brian & Julie Pirie

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Fescue to the rescue as drought bites Karen Phelps After last season’s drought many farmers are starting to take a closer look at what Waikato farmers Brian and Julie Pirie are doing on the Hauraki Plains.

Milking 850 crossbred cows on a 234-hectare platform, the Piries’ production last season was their second best. In spite of the drought, their grass remained in good condition while farms around them suffered.

Last season the Pirie farm achieved an impressive 1500 kilograms of milksolids per hectare despite the drought.

They concede it was partly luck – they have a good layer of peat over their marine clay-based soil, which holds moisture well. But a large part of their success lay in their experimentation with grass species, a process that started after problems with black beetle.

To solve the black-beetle problem, the Piries made changes to their drainage, which helped prevent the peat soil from over-drying. They made their two-metre-deep drains shallower, and, as a

result, have been able to grow a lot more grass.

They also started looking for deep-rooting grass species that would be more tolerant to black-beetle attack and would hold moisture in the soil better.

This led them to experiment with fescue, a species many farmers shy away from because they think it is inferior to the traditional ryegrass. Around a quarter of the Pirie farm is now in fescue – and in April this year, in the height of the drought and without water irrigation, they still had paddocks with more than 3000 cover when nearby farms were brown.

Brian Pirie favours eastern fescue and base AR37 tetraploid perennial ryegrass. He says base AR37 is a hardy variety if well managed and will continue to grow well in dry conditions. Other deeprooted species, such as plantain and chicory, are oversown with a bit of lime in September/October to help fill in feed deficits over summer. He also used maize silage to prevent overgrazing pastures during the drought.

The Piries, who have been planting fescue on their farm for more than 20 years after taking part in Agricom trials, say the newer varieties are outstanding.

Brian and Julie Pirie’s 850 crossbred enjoy Hauraki Plains fescue (above/lower left). The herd is milked through a 70-bail, DeLaval shed with an Alpro management system (below).

“There are old stories of fescue being hard to manage. but it’s not,” says Brian. “We now have more tools at our disposal. For example, we use urea and gibberellic acid during winter to help increase pasture growth during this period.

“New species are not as hard to manage and are more palatable. From September to late May, fescues grow better than ryegrasses here on the Hauraki Plains. With fescue, we can get more dry matter over summer than we would with chicory.”

Quite a few farmers are trialling fescue after the Piries’ results. He has some tips: “You can’t do fescue grass to grass. Paddocks need to be planted first in a crop such as chicory, turnips or maize. This avoids weeds and ryegrass coming through. Do not undersow – roll, seed, roll.

Try and get it planted before late March because the soil temperature is still up and the plants will get well established before the winter.”

The Piries, both from Waikato rural families, have built their business without family financial assistance. Brian did a Diploma in Agriculture at Massey University, then a farm cadetship. Julie has a Bachelor of AgriScience and worked as a farm consultant for Livestock Improvement.

They employ a farm manager, but Brian is very involved day to day. Julie takes care of financials and calf rearing.

The herd is milked through a DeLaval, 70-bail rotary shed with Alpro herd management system. A a 78ha support unit nine kilometres away is used to graze heifers and calves, and to grow maize.

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Spring 2013

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The realm of undercover milkers: page 19 INSIDE

Fescue to the rescue - PAGE 2

It’s early days, but no regrets - PAGE 15

One ‘Just Cool’ science project - PAGE 23

The ‘cheerful controversialist’ - PAGE 40

www.waterfordpress.co.nz

DAIRY PEOPLE: Justin & Kim Dunlop

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

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Farm turns in right direction Kelly Deeks Justin and Kim Dunlop put in some hard yards last season on the Farm Venture King Country farm where they lower-order-sharemilk 650 cows.

They were making improvements in areas that had prevented previous sharemilkers from hitting their production target l Production on the King Country farm had been sitting between 192,000 and 197,000 kilograms of milksolids – around 15% short of the target 230,000kg.

The 2012-13 season was the Dunlops’ first on the farm, in the Mahoenui area between Piopio and Te Kuiti. The couple and their five children – Sophie, 12, Keegan, 10, Corban, 6, and twin girls Kynze and Bree, just turned 4 – came north from the Manawatu where they had been sharemilking on two neighbouring farms.

Justin Dunlop says taking on the new farm and striving to reach the production target was a big job.

“When we came here, we found we had 54 cows empty, so we had 54 fewer in the herd. We ended up culling them. Farm Venture King Country Ltd, which owns the farm, bought some more, but wasn’t in a position to buy many, so gave us the opportunity to buy cows and lease them back.”

The Dunlops took the opportunity to buy 22 spring-calvers and start building their own herd.

Farm Venture King Country then asked them if they

A bit of King Country mist shrouds the farm where Jason and Kim Dunlop are sharemiking.

However, after sorting out plenty of issues in their first year there, they now see plenty of signs of progress.

wanted to winter-milk to make up for the lack of cows, “At first I said no, then the drought came and there were some good prices for cows,” Justin Dunlop says. “We ended up owning 88 cows and

we winter-milked 123. We’re going to lease them here for three years, then sell them, or start looking for a 50:50 sharemilking job on top of this one.”

The Dunlops got to work on improving the calving spread, pulling the bull out early to avoid calving right into November as happened in their first season.

As well as milking over winter, they improved some tracks and races, relaying the lime-fines covering and reducing the number of lame cows from 15 to 20 last season to none so far this season.

And, even with the drought and lack of cow numbers against them, the Dunlops still improved production to 223,000kgs milksolids. They are aiming for 238,000kg milksolids this season, and are already well above target, having produced 10,000kg milksolids over winter, and around 60% ahead for August.

They are also entering the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Sharemilker of the Year, contest.

They finished a close second when they entered the Manager of the Year some years ago.

“The competition was what got us into sharemilking,” says Justin. “It got our name out there and

Westpac backed us following the competition.”

He finds the hardest part of the competition – and, indeed, of dairy farming itself – is the paperwork and procedures.

“We’re good at growing grass and feeding cows, but the hard part is getting the procedures and paperwork right. We got a lot of help in the last competition with budgeting, which is a big help when you own your own business.

“The procedures for the day-to-day running of the farm have to be right for our staff and our farming operation.

“Essentially, anyone should be able to come on to the farm and know what’s happening, because we’re following procedures.”

One area of improvement where following procedures has played a vital role is in the reduction of the farm’s average somatic cell count. The Dunlops have managed to bring it down from 300,000 to 160,000 by culling recurring problemcows, fixing the teat sprayer, and following procedures in the shed.

The couple employ two full-time staff. One staff member is doing AgITO courses, and the other is looking to do so soon.

We’re good at growing grass and feeding cows, but the hard part is getting the procedures and paperwork right.

The Dunlops: From left, back, Sophie, Kim and Justin; front, twins Bree and Kynze, Corban and Keegan.

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Michael & Raewyn Hills

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Michael and Raewyn Hills with their children, Lucy and Mitchell. The couple say they want to build a viable operation through their farming business to give them the lifestyle, and retirement they desire. In the process, they want to share their passion for the industry by being involved with the local community.

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Award-winners step up to family equity role Karen Phelps Manawatu/Rangitikei/Horowhenua Farm Managers of the Year Michael and Raewyn Hills say the competition was an important factor in their preparation to go into their first equity partnership this season.

“The competition gave us a lot of useful feedback and helped us to really focus on the financial side of our business,” says Raewyn Hills.

“This was great as we prepared to enter this family equity partnership on the farm we had been managing.”

The competition gave us a lot of useful feedback and helped us to focus on the financial side of the business.

The Hills managed the 250-hectare (effective) farm – at Colyton, between Feilding and Ashurst – for five seasons. The property was bought by Michael’s grandparents, Larry and June, who began with 40 milking cows and 200 sheep.

Since 1973 the farm has been operated as a family partnership. It now milks a herd of 700 predominantly friesian cows through two sheds (36-a-side and 20-a-side herringbones).

A nearby 300ha run-off is used for raising bull beef and export heifers. The Hills have reared around 600 calves a year for this side of the business, which has been largely operated by the farm-owners.

Michel and Raewyn Hills are firm believers in continuing to upskill. This was an area noted by the award judges. After finishing second in the competition the year before, the couple sought to improve their business and fill in gaps in their knowledge that had been highlighted by the feedback.

This year the Hills also won the special financial planning and management, and human resource management awards,

“We believe in identifying areas in our business that might be of future importance and upskilling where necessary,” says Raewyn.

“For example, we have good staff retention with one of our two full-timers having been here for eight years. This has meant we haven’t really had to focus much on this side of the business. Michael felt the need to do an AgITO rural staff-management course to build up our expertise in this area.”

Raewyn has completed a Certificate in Agriculture (level 4) at the Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, and an AgITO National Diploma in Agribusiness Management.

Because grass growth in the area tends to be unpredictable, the couple operate a level-four feed system made up of around 28% supplement. They came through last season’s drought by monitoring residual levels carefully and protecting grass with on-off grazing. This placed them in a favourable position for grass growth when the rain finally arrived.

Despite the drought they achieved 225,000

• To page 5

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Bob & Val Rigter

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

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Desert perspective handy Karen Phelps Hamilton-based Bob Rigter admits it was an unusual experience after farming in green New Zealand pastures to find himself looking at stock standing in the sandy desert in Saudi Arabia. But it taught him a good lesson about the values of different feeds, which become even more important in a harsh environment.

It’s something he has put to good use on the 195-hectare farm he manages at Rukuhia, on the outskirts of Hamilton. He milks 680 kiwicross cows through a 42-a-side herringbone shed with the assistance of two full-time staff.

It can be dry and harsh in summer, but they run a low-cost system, buying in feed only when strictly necessary – around 200 tonnes of maize silage a year.

The Rigters keep farm costs low, with dairy operating expenses of $3.57 per kilogram of milksolids.

The summer dry last season meant that Bob and wife Val had to switch their cows to once-a-day milking at the beginning of February – earlier than usual.

The Rigters bought the farm in 2009 as part of an equity partnership that owns 100ha and leases 95ha.

Bob got his start in the dairy industry from a young age when his parents, Arie and Thea, came to New Zealand from Holland and based themselves in Hamilton. Arie worked at the Matangi dairy factory, then went into dairy farming with his brothers.

Bob grew up on the family farm at Te Aroha, and working there while still at school. He studied for a Bachelor of Agriculture at Massey University,

then worked on an AgResearch sheep-and-beef unit at Tokanui for two years before heading to Saudi Arabia. He returned to New Zealand after two years and worked on his uncle’s 60ha farm, milking 180 cows, at Waitoa.

He and Val then entered the equity partnership, which bought and sold farms at Matamata and Te Awamutu before buying the Rukuhia property.

The Rigters have tidied gullies on the boundary, replanted natives and fenced off waterways, significantly upgraded the effluent system.

Their aim has been twofold – to help them ensure environmental compliance, and to increase the amount of grass they can grow. They can now irrigate 40ha and have a new 30-day storage pond, which gives them further control.

“By not wasting effluent, we will grow more grass,” says Ron Rigter. “ We will also have a lot more control over where we distribute.”

Last season they produced around 200,000 kilograms of milksolids, compared with 173,000kg from 635 cows the previous year. Their cows got a bit thin because of the drought last season and they had to buy in a bit of extra feed.

Family influence is strong as Bob’s parents are still farming.

“We see how they operate and we operate a similar system – low cost and low input,” he says.

“They are good sources of knowledge.”

Bob and Val Rigter, who have one daughter, sixyear-old Evie, have already bought out one of their equity partners. Their aim is farm ownership.

PHOTOS Above, left: Bob and Val Rigter, with their sixyear-old daughter, Evie.

Above/lower, right: The Rigters’ 680 kiwicross cows are back in business after the drought Lower, left: The Rigters have done a lot of work to meet environmental compliance and improve grass-growing capacity.

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Autumn growth spring-like in nature • From page 4 kilograms of milksolids, which they considered healthy when compared with the 252,000kg of the season before.

“We recovered quite well compared with much of the Manawatu,” says Raewyn. “We saw growth rates in autumn as if it were spring. We definitely had a lot more grass than we normally would at that time of year, which helped us to put condition back on the cows.

The Hills – who have two children, Lucy, 2 and Mitchell, four months – are actively involved in the

local community. Raewyn is secretary treasurer for the Manawatu/Oroua Boys and Girls Agricultural Lamb and Calf Club and Michael is a member of the Lions Club.

They say they are aiming to build a viable operation through their farming business to give them the lifestyle, and (one day) retirement they desire.

“It’s about sharing our passion for the industry by being involved with the local community,” says Raewyn. “We aim to farm in a sustainable way, maximising our infrastructure to give better land utilisation.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Josh Rowlands & Gemma Anderson

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

PHOTOS Left: You can see why Josh Rowland ‘takes pride in and honours’ this land and was keen to return to the family farm.

Below: Josh Rowlands with some of the 2013 crop of calves.

Opposite page: The herd gathers for a bovine version of a union meeting.

Those hills do make a real difference Karen Phelps Hilly topography can make quite a difference to production, as Jock Rowlands and partner Gemma Anderson are discovering in their first dairying job together.

The pair are working together on the 175-hectare (effective) farm Rowlands’ parents own at Lake Mangamahoe, in between Inglewood and New Plymouth.

Rowlands says he has noticed a real difference returning to the family farm after working on farms in he South Island.

“The topography on this farm is quite hilly. In the South Island, cows were doing 105-110% of their liveweight whereas here, we’ve found they can achieve only more like 70%.”

To achieve their peak target of 160,000

kilograms of milksolids from a herd of 460 friesian-cross cows, they will have to increase herd numbers and buy in more feed, or lower numbers and feed each cow better.

But Jock Rowlands says the system they have going is pretty tight as the family has been farming the land for so many years.

He is the fourth generation to run the farm. The land was originally gifted to his great grandfather after World War 1 and has been in the family ever since. Although he acknowledges there was never any pressure to return to the farm, he says it’s in the blood.

“I take pride in this land and honour it,” he says.

He grew up on the farm and, after finishing school, headed overseas and worked on a 70-cow farm in Ireland. He returned to New Zealand and

• To page 7

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NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

DAIRY PEOPLE: Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre

7

‘It’s not just about milking cows’ Karen Phelps Dairy needs to be pitched as a skilled industry in which to be involved, says Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre farm business manager Tony Dowman.

“There is a misunderstanding about the complexity and value of the businesses farmers operate,” he says. “The huge range of opportunities available in the industry hasn’t really been sold to school leavers.

“We’re taking a collaborative approach, enthusing young people about the agricultural industry and opening our doors so that they can come and take a look. We’re also trying to get career advisers and industry professionals on board so that they know how diverse our industry is – it’s not just about milking cows.”

While plenty of people might be applying for positions in the rural industry, lack of skills is apparent, says Dowman. He puts this down to not enough emphasis on professional training.

He says students need to be offered the full range of options in the industry, including opportunities in rural-supply industries. Graduates can also work abroad, perhaps completing their OE while continuing to gain experience, he adds.

Taratahi has been working with the Eastern Institute of Technology, in Hawke’s Bay, and NorthTech, in Whangarei, to set up agricultural programmes targeted at school leavers.

The emphasis is on training on real farms and integrating students into real commercial operations, he says.

Taratahi farm business manager Tony Dowman says not enough emphasis is being placed on professional training for dairy farming.

Dowman, 27, is a good illustration of the diverse options the industry offers. He graduated from Taratahi in 2003 and gained a Diploma in Agriculture with distinction from Massey University in 2004. He went sharemilking in Manaia, in South Taranaki, for a season, then managing a 350-cow farm at Inglewood; a back injury led him to take up his present position.

Last year he won the New Zealand Young Farmer of the Year Wairarapa district and East Coast regional final and came sixth in the national final.

His position at Taratahi involves overseeing the physical and financial performance of Taratahi’s dairy farms – in Northland, Taranaki and Wairarapa – which milk a combined total of 3500 cows.

It all starts with healthy cows • From page 6

completed a Diploma of Agriculture at Massey University before heading to Australia for more travel. He returned to New Zealand in 2005 and worked on a farm in Queenstown.

A year later the option to come back to the family farm arose. He managed it for a year, then sharemilking for two seasons before heading to the South Island for two seasons as an assistant manager on a 1000-cow farm.

His desire to be close to friends and family saw him return to the family farm, where he and Gemma took up a lower-order sharemilker position with his parents, Keith and Eve, at the start of the 2012-13 season.

This season Jock and Gemma are looking to improve animal health as they believe everything starts with healthy cows.

They feed around 1000 kilograms of dry matter per cow each season, buy in 270 tonnes of maize and 180 tonnes of palm kernel, and harvest 250300 bales of silage on the farm.

Their aim this season is 155,000 kilograms of milksolids (150,000kg last season). The weather

Nigel King Earthmoving

has been kind to them during calving, they average a 5% empty rate and hope to stay below that this season.

With a number of streams running through the property, taking care of the environment has been a concern for the family long before it became a necessity.

Since the late 1990s they have been fencing off waterways and doing riparian planting (now 90% complete).

“Without the water our industry couldn’t function, so we have to keep the streams healthy,” says Jock.

The family has also planted the hills in pine trees to prevent erosion and provide stock shelter. The farm has a 90-day storage pond, a 22,000-litre holding tank plus sand traps and back-up system.

Effluent is spread via a spray irrigator around 30% of the farm.

Jock works full-time on the farm and employs one full-time farm assistant and a casual. Gemma, who works as a beauty therapist and part-time skincare specialist, looks after calf-rearing and the bookwork. They are saving for a deposit to go 50:50 sharemilking.

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The Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre has increased the number of dairy farms it operates – through a variety of ownership, contract and sharemilking agreements – to seven.

Taratahi farm business manager Tony Dowman says the aim is to help meet industry demand for skilled workers by developing relationships with farms to offer training opportunities for students.

On June 1, Taratahi took on new, lower-order sharemilking agreements on a 175-hectare (effective), 350-cow farm at Titoki, in Northland, and a 163ha (effective), 440-cow farm at Pahiatua. It also took on a contract-milking agreement on a 34ha (effective), 126-cow farm at Manaia, in Taranaki.

It already had agreements on three other farms – a 168ha (effective) farm milking 650

cows at Riverslea, near Masterton; Te Marie, a 102ha (effective) farm milking 270 cows in South Wairarapa; and Grassmere, a 281ha (effective) farm milking 760 cows at Egmont Village, in Taranaki.

The training centre also owns the Taratahi Dairy Unit, centred around its main residential campus in Masterton, and milking 650 cows Established in 1919, Taratahi is the country’s oldest and largest provider of vocational agricultural training. It operates seven dairy farms and five sheep-and-beef units, and, says Dowman, remains on the look-out for other suitable farms.

“Unrestricted access for our students is the key.

We want to be credible and it has to be real-life training. We’re expanding into different regions to provide a quality learning environment.”

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RURAL PEOPLE: Atihau Whanganui Incorporation

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Glenn fulfils dairy dream with Atihau Sue Russell Glenn Fincham always knew he wanted to work on the land, even when he was growing up in Auckland years ago. Those aspirations and a lot of hard work have led him to managing a substantial Atihau Whanganui Incorporation dairy unit, a stone’s throw from the western side of Ohakune township.

“Mum came from a farm and, when I was growing up, I stayed on my relations’ farm whenever I could,” he says.

On leaving school he spent 2002 doing a very hands-on agricultural course through Telford Rural Polytechnic, in South Otago. Then he did a Diploma

When I was interviewed for the job, I could see their commitment to a set of principles linked to sustainability and

in Agriculture at Massey University, which, he says, focused more on the business side of farming.

When he saw his current dairy manager’s position advertised, he did some background reading about AWHI, which owns the farm, along with seven sheep-and-beef stations in the Waimarino region, 33,000-plus hectares in total.

“When I was interviewed for the job, I was really impressed with the quality of the questions and conversations we had. I could see their commitment to a set of principles linked to sustainability and respect for the land.”

AWHI Dairy is the only dairy farm in the incorporation’s arsenal; the rest of the properties farm dry stock. Fincham had worked for four seasons in management on smaller farms (300 to 450 cows) and that experience set him up well for the much larger enterprise.

This season the AWHI unit will milk 750 friesiancross cows, up from 720 last season. Calving around 770 cows began on August 10.

The 2013-14 goal is to produce 220,000 kilograms of milksolids from the 319ha dairy platform, which is on a 550ha property. A 4.6ha ngawhenua rahui (covenanted area of native forest) is on the flats close to the main highway.

AWHI traces its history back to the early 1900s

respect for the land.

• To page 9

PHOTOS Above right: A fenced off waterway (upper) and wetland area (lower) on the Atihau Whanganui Incorporation’s dairy unit near Ohakune. This wetland area is being developed in partnership with the Horizons District Council.

Left: Some of the 770 cows on the unit.

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Grant & Charlotte Bennett

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

9

‘Farm ownership ‘feels very good’ Karen Phelps Good stock has not only helped Grant and Charlotte Bennett get to where they are today, it has also been the key to their success.

The pair started their dairy careers with just 10 cows, which they leased to people they knew. For every two cows the payment was a heifer calf. Their entrepreneurship helped them develop a herd of 140 cows over four years.

“We tried to buy right and buy low,” says Grant.

“We were fairly aggressive with stock trading.”

For example, they used recorded bulls over their heifers and sold the progeny to get a better price.

“We were strenuous on culling and, if we had empty cows, we’d carry them over if they had good records. We strove to achieve a good in-calf rate – our three-year average was under 5% empties.”

Both grew up on farms, Grant at Cambridge and Charlotte at Eketahuna. Grant completed a Diploma in Agriculture and a degree in applied science at Massey University, then worked for four years as a rural manager for the National Bank.

We use any surplus to buy more stock at strategic times, for example, the end of May. We have identified that the market often plateaus going into winter.

Meanwhile Charlotte did a Diploma in Agriculture at Massey University, a season as second-incharge of a 600-cow unit in Canterbury, and then a season on her parents’ 480-cow farm at Eketahuna.

Grant admits their extensive experience has helped them fast-track their business.

“We have plans and we have goals. Our main goal was to own a property in four years of sharemilking, and we’ve done it in three.”

They continue to 50:50 sharemilk a 117-hectare (effective), 240-cow farm at Pirongia, near Te Awamutu, and have this season taken over ownership of their first farm, a 100ha unit at Marima, just south of Palmerston North.

They employ a manager there, and milk 250 crossbred cows through an 18-a-side herringbone shed. While the farm is pretty well set up, they will

do some re-grassing to get pastures performing to peak levels, says Grant.

Good stockmanship continues to be crucial to their system. They are stringent about identifying cows that are cycling, watching them come onto the yard when milking and spending time with them afterwards. They use tail-paint pre-mating.

“Three weeks before we plan to start mating, we do this,” he says. “It shows us the cows that are non-cyclers. We get them checked out by a vet.”

Although they acknowledge budgeting can be difficult when the pay-out is unknown, they plan carefully and use cashflow to develop the business.

“We use any surplus to buy more stock at strategic times of the year, for example, the end of May,” says Grant.

“We have identified that this is the best time to

buy as the market often plateaus going into winter.”

Using the Queen of Calves nutrition programme, a system developed by Palmerston North-based Bell-Booth Ltd, has helped them achieve an in-calf heifer rate of 100% over the past two years. They produced 110,000 kilograms of milksolids at Pirongia last season and are aiming for 140,000kg this season. They plan to target 140,000kg in the first season on their new dairy farm.

“Farm ownership feels very good,” says Grant.

“I guess the key is to surround yourself with people you aspire to be like. This means there’s only one direction you can go – forward.”

Foursome could be sitting on goldmine Karen Phelps Four Northland hill-country, sheep-and-beef farmers believe they might be sitting on a goldmine – literally.

Arthur Rushton, Bruce Morris, Roddy McDonald and John Schepens have formed Waimatenui Exploration Ltd, which has been offered one of five permits issued by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals in the Northland 2012 competitive tender.

The tender, which sought interest from people or businesses in exploring for metallic minerals in the region, began in March last year with consultation with iwi and local authorities. Bids were evaluated by a NZ Petroleum and Minerals panel.

The five-year permits allow exploration in defined areas of Northland. The permit offered to

Waimatenui Exploration is for an area north of Lake Taharoa, most of which is on the farmers’ land.

Morris, a rock collector, has suspected his land is mineral-rich for 20 years – since he found rocks that tested positive for traces of gold, silver, zinc and copper. His findings led him to walk around his neighbours’ farms where he made similar discoveries.

He farms 3000 ewes and 300 cows on 1800 hectares, and says the venture is not just about money. It’s a personal passion: “I’m the most interested person. The others don’t seem to be very good at finding interesting rocks, but I find them. We’ve had a geologist and a geophysicist take surface samples, and they think the signs are great too. We’re not just a bunch of farmers dreaming.

“We have found some individual small areas

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The farmers plan to invest around $300,000 up front to hire or buy a drilling rig to take samples over the next three years for analysis. If their suspicions prove correct, they could be in for a nice windfall.

Even if they don’t choose to complete the mining themselves, they could sell the mineral rights to a mining company or join one in a joint venture.

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Fixed price fees Free initial consultations Proud to support The cows head in for milking on the Atihau Whanganui Incorporation’s dairy unit near Ohakune.

Strong safety policy impresses • From page 8 when Maori landowners vested about 101,000 acres in the Aotea District Maori Land Council. The council leased this land in 21-year cycles. AWHI was formed in 1970 through a Maori Land Court order to take back and resume management of the 42,000ha of vested land.

Fincham is impressed with the importance AWHI places on safety: “It has a very strong policy which we apply stringently day to day. I have direct responsibility for the safety of the staff who are working on the farm, and having the backing of a

strong policy makes that so much easier to fulfil.”

In a partnership with the Horizons Regional Council substantial riparian planting is progressing on the farm’s waterways. Another council-driven initiative involves developing a wetland area on AWHI Dairy. These programmes dovetail and complement the incorporation’s stewardship of the land.

A new idea of using biological fertiliser to beef up soil strength and enhance pasture productivity is being trialled on the dairy farm. It will take five years to fully implement the process. The dairy farm was chosen for the trial because results will be visible and measurable in terms of milksolids production.

Grant Bennett

TE AWAMUTU Phone: 07 871 7055 Fax: 07 871 3055 Email: finnp@xtra.co.nz

10

DAIRY PEOPLE: Chris & Kathy Prankerd

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Focused on the bottom line: Chris and Kathy Prankerd (right) with their grandson, Donovan Kemsley, and Peter Ayles (left), a member of the Dairy New Zealand Farm Focus committee.

Focus sparks learning curve Kelly Deeks Learning new ways of improving their bottom line through their experience as a Dairy New Zealand focus farm has come as something of a surprise to Taranaki couple Chris and Kathy Prankerd.

After 30-odd years of farming, Chris thought there couldn’t be much more to learn.

The three-year, focus-farm project aims to improve use of pasture and supplements, and herd-mating performance, and to raise operating profit.

The Prankerds had completed the Dairy NZ InCalf programme before they became the district’s focus farm in June 2011.

“The focus farm has led on from that programme, which highlighted all the areas I needed to improve on,” Chris Prankerd says. “The focus farm has intensified the programme, but we’re still a couple of years from getting there completely.”

Prankerd started the In-Calf programme about

five years ago when he found himself stuck with an empty rate of 26%.

“That was 65 empties out of 220 cows. It was so expensive we had to do something.”

The climbing empty rate was compounded after the Prankerds bought a neighbouring farm; it didn’t grow the grass they expected, and they had to bring in hold-over cows to top up the herd.

The first issue the programme brought to light was that the Prankerds’ young stock were too light.

“The vets thought they were in good order and they weren’t the problem, but once we got down to weighing them, they weren’t at target weight,” Chris says.

“I was weighing them three-monthly, but two years ago when I weighed them after winter, they had gained only about six kilograms. Once you miss a step with your heifers, it’s so hard to catch up. Since then we’ve weighed them monthly.”

The programme also helped the Prankerds get a better idea of pre-mating heats through more accurate monitoring.

“I didn’t used to do anything about them until three weeks into mating, but now I’m much more proactive,” he says. “I make sure cows that are not cycling are mating at the start and at the end, to get two cracks at them.”

Since completing the programme and making the necessary changes on farm, the Prankerds have improved their six week in-calf rate from 59% to 72%. This year their empty rate is 12%; they have shortened the

The focus farm has intensified the programme but we are still some way from getting there completely.

• To page 11

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Wilfred & Rachel van Beek

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

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Kiwi way suits sharemilker milk production up 6% on last season van Beek is especially pleased with the way his young stock have come through well and in good condition.

“We have a lot of irrigation over the farm and Born in Holland, but very much now a Kiwi dairy we’ve managed to spread the same amount of farmer, Wilfred van Beek fell in love with the water over more area. country and with his wife, Rachel, 13 years ago, “I find that if you just follow the basic farming when he visited New Zealand for a holiday as a system, there is always a bit of room to move, young man in his early 20s. prepare and adjust to unexpected challenges. I just Though he had studied farming at college in see this as part of what basic good farming is all Barneveld, Holland, he did not carry a farming about.” background into his adventures to the southern As a residential farming family, with an urban hemisphere. But meeting Rachel and discovering community around them, he is mindful of his the New Zealand way of farming suited his responsibilities to be seen to be doing the right disposition, and the holiday eventually turned thing. into a more permanent commitment to a lifestyle The best way to do this, he says, is to promote grounded on New Zealand soil. and maintain a good image based on proper Now the couple, along with their four children procedures. aged eight to one, Practising farming are settled in their The best thing about methods based on sharemilking situation, sustainability and a minute’s drive from being a farmer in New repeatability is very Greytown, south of much his mantra, while Masterton, in the Wairarapa.

Zealand for me is that I belonging to local farm The farm carries 490 discussion groups crossbred cows and covers also helps keep him in 155 hectares (effective). like the idea of supply touch with the principles A 100ha run-off is within of modern farm cow-walking distance of the and demand. management. home-base.

About 20 farmers “The best part of being a come to the group meetings, and recent farmer in New Zealand for me is that I like the idea discussions have been centred around 0stock and of supply and demand,” says Wilfred van Beek. calving rates.

“Compared with farming in Europe, there’s a “We tend to spend a lot of time in the discussion definite pattern and structure to the flow of the year, groups talking about and looking into the future in terms of what we’re doing on the farm. It’s one more so than on the day-to-day management side thing at a time mainly – it’s simple.” of things. I’ve gained clear ideas and directions The farm has been going well lately with dry-

Sue Russell

Focus on new ways to farm

Clan van Beek: Rachel and Wilfred van Beek with children Frits, Pieter, Leon and Amaarita. for the next five years for the farm out of these meetings.”

Gathering data on soil condition, temperature and moisture content is something van Beek says underpins his farming practice.

Four on-farm stations (supplied by Harvest Electronics) – the farm has four soil types, hence four probes – capture data constantly, and this helps him in making his decisions for irrigation management. This information is monitored closely during spring and again at the end of the irrigation season.

“We have a good life. We’re approaching our

third season on this farm, which is owned by James and Jane Smallwood, and we enjoy a good working relationship with them. That’s important to us.”

Wilfred and Rachel van Beek have investments in property under way and have set goals for the next five and 10 years. And, on the home front, they are clear about one thing.

“The children can choose to do whatever they want to do when they grow up,”says Wilfred. “It was that way with my parents. Just as long as they’re doing something they are keen on, that’s all that really matters to us at the end of the day.”

• From page 10 mating period and didn’t put the heifers on once-aday milking as they did last year right through the mating period until nearly Christmas.

“Only one or two of the heifers were empty, but their spread won’t be quite as good,” says Prankerd.

“But we’ve managed to get back to an area where we’re getting our young stock in calf and making production.”

The calving pattern this year is becoming more consistent with the best calving pattern the couple have had.

Eighty people, from all around Taranaki, turned up to talk about mating at the focus-farm’s first field day, during a very wet spring in October 2011 “I didn’t anticipate that big a crowd, or that I would have to do public speaking in front of that many people,” Chris says.

“I also had 80 people pugging my best paddock.”

Prankerd maintains the focus farm has been great for him and Kathy. If he hadn’t done it, he would still be farming the same way he was.

“It has taken me out of my comfort zone. Dairy NZ comes out every second Friday and does a report, which goes out to everyone that’s got an interest.

“When my calves didn’t put on any weight, I kept it to myself for a while because I didn’t want to have to tell anyone.”

But with the tools on board from Dairy NZ,

he says he feels much more in control of his business, and is completing a cashflow course to take charge of areas he feels he can improve.

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12

Dairy People: Bruce & Judy Woods

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Disaster – ‘Just deal with it’ Sue Russell Earthquakes and other natural disasters seem to have followed Edgecumbe dairy farmer Bruce Woods through the course of his life. As a result, he has developed a ‘just deal with it’ attitude.

While we are made very aware of the impact of these natural occurrences in urban areas, the effect of a major rumble on a farm can be just as devastating, he says.

“In urban areas you have civil defence, but in the rural areas you are basically on your own, along with other farmers who are dealing with the same sort of issues,” says Woods, who owns a farm six kilometres from the Bay of Plenty coast.

When the big quake of 1987 hit, his farm dropped 1.5 metres, breaking water-pipes and power supply. He remembers just having to shake off the moment, pick himself up, and get on with the business of farming through all the mess.

Bruce and Judy Woods have expanded their farm to its current size of about 160 hectares, on which they milk 470 jersey cows.

He says one of the major factors in their progress was the decision 12 years ago to introduce centre-pivot and long-lateral irrigation systems; the cost of doing that has been more than matched by the additional gross income from increased milk production.

“The irrigation paid for itself over a 13 to 14-month period. I’m very big on irrigation and it is increasing in our area.

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It is hard to get the cows to go outside. We have to chase them out sometimes using motorbikes.

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to 500 cows. The nine-month build was completed last December, using Waiotahi Contractors and Aztec Construction.

“Opus Consultant Engineers ran the whole process. I had the certainty of a fixed price, so there were no surprises, though the cows had to get used to 20 truck-and-trailer movements going past the shed each day.

“It was wet and muddy work. but the project went off without a hitch.”

Bruce Woods has seen first-hand the many benefits that come from housing stock inside at weather-challenging times in the farming cycle.

He says his cows are no longer miserable in winter, or coping with cold and rain, or sweltering in the summer sun.

They have, in fact, become so appreciative of the ‘housed’ experience that, at times, it is hard to get them to go outside.

“We have to chase them out sometimes using motorbikes.”

It has been a good year as well for key staff on the farm.

The operations manager, 22-year-old Chris Mexted, won the the Bay of Plenty Farm Manager of the Year title, while Thomas Chatfield (in just his second season of farming and his first on the Woods farm) was runner-up in the New Zealand Farm Trainee of the Year competition.

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“These guys make it work” is Woods’s way of saying just how much he values their work and the benefits it has brought to his farm.

These days he is able to withdraw from the hands-on side of farming, though he still looks after the calves.

“Yes, it’s good to keep your hand in. That’s the great thing about being a farmer at my time of life.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Tim & Cynthia Wilson

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

13

Tim sets record, pushes bar higher Kelly Deeks Kapiti Coast farmer Tim Wilson adopted a new strategy on his family farm near Otaki last season.

Going from winter milking to seasonal milking, he used Dairy New Zealand’s Body Condition Scoring (BCS) initiative to improve production and mating results.

Tim Wilson is now into his second season of sharemilking on his parents’ (Peter and Heather Wilson) 347-cow Te Horo farm. He worked for wages on the farm for several years.

When Peter decided to step back from the running of the farm last season, Tim’s responsibility increased.

It included managing the pastures through the drought last summer.

The Wilson farm is one of the lowest-lying on the the North Island’s west coast; while the summer was dry, the drought was not as severe as in the central North Island.

“Every morning when I got up to milk, there was quite heavy dew on the grass, so it was always wet

first thing in the morning,” Tim Wilson says.

“We’ve got 100 hectares of peat flats that are pretty resilient to droughts. I fed silage out on the peat and left the other parts of the farm alone. The rain started in April and the pastures rebounded quite rapidly. We didn’t put any urea on.”

With a leased block of 85ha of grazing land 300 metres from the home farm, 10ha of ex-market garden land where the Wilsons grow maize silage, and silage made on the farm, he was able to pump silage into the cows during the dry and protect the marginal land that was suffering.

“The plants weren’t damaged from over-grazing and the soil wasn’t over-baked because the cover was there to protect it.

“When it did rain, the plant was there. At our discussion group at the end of May we had an average pasture cover of 2600 kilograms of dry matter, whereas a lot of other farmers in the drought-affected areas would have had substantially less than that.”

When it came to drying off the herd, Wilson started with 60 three-year-old cows in February, which he sent to the grazing block; he then dried off

PHOTOS Top left: Tim Wilson in front of the ProTrack drafting system, which ‘really came into its own’.

Top right: The vista across the Wilsons’ Te Horo farm.

Left: The farm is one of the lowestlying on the North Island’s west coast.

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the remainder of the herd based on their condition score until the end of May. “I did the Dairy New Zealand Body Condition Scoring Initiative, because we had been wintermilking and were moving to seasonal, and wouldn’t be able to carry over empty cows, so I took the offer to up-skill on condition scoring.

“For successful mating outcomes the following year, we need to assure that the cows are dried off at an appropriate time so that they reach the target weight at calving. I was quite happy to sacrifice a bit of milk if I might get it back in the spring.”

The Protrack drafting system the Wilsons had installed in the shed two years ago really came into its own “as any health event in the pit can be recorded via protrack directly into MINDA”.

“There’s no limit to the information that can be recorded. With our vet involved in the DairyNZ Incalf, I’ve been told that the more information the better. Protrack saves on extra staff, and I wanted to reduce the time Dad spent in the shed. I mean that in a nice way.”

Wilson finished the season on a high, beating last season’s record production of 126,000kg milksolids with 130,000kg, and no winter milking.

This season his target is 150,000kg milksolids.

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14

DAIRY PEOPLE: Euan & Claire Reeve

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Stud owner stands behind his cows Karen Phelps Norlands Stud owner Euan Reeve says there is nothing particularly special about his pedigree jersey cows – they are simply the type of good solid stock every farmer seeks, “They are a very good commercial herd. Every animal I sell I stand behind. I won’t sell anything that I’m not prepared to keep and farm myself.”

Norlands Stud dates back to 1936 when Reeve’s grandfather started the stud. The herd now has an average breeding worth (BW) of 139 and some of the cows’ histories can be traced back to the original stock.

The breeding aims are high BW, high protein, udders, and capacity.

Euan and wife Claire are the third generation to work the 120-hectare farm, near Otorohanga, in an equity partnership with Euan’s parents, Glenville and Anne.

They milk 360 fully recorded pedigree jersey cows through a 40-bail rotary dairy with automatic cup removers. They have an 80ha support block.

Euan, who has a Bachelor of Applied Science endorsed in agriculture, has worked on other New Zealand dairy farms and in Ireland.

For the last six years, the Reeves have concentrated on pushing the stock sale side of the operation to increase their equity.

They now sell 30-40 yearling jersey bulls a year, along with 15-20 of each of surplus in-calf heifers, surplus second-tier cows, and in-calf carry-over cows. The stud also sells 40-50 four-day-old jersey bull calves.

Euan – a finalist in the 2005 Young Farmer of the Year competition and now heavily involved in organising the event – is determined to protect the good name Norlands Stud has established.

“It’s hard to get a good name but it’s easy to get a bad name. I want people to know that if they are buying Norlands stock, they are buying a good animal that will transfer well to their farm.”

He says he is always seeking to improve the herd, and is a fan of local genetics, using mainly LIC and CRV AmBreed semen.

“I don’t believe overseas stuff is currently better than what we are producing in New Zealand.”

It’s hard to get a good name but it’s easy to get a bad name.

PHOTOS Above: Euan Reeves, of Norlands stud, with one of his pedigree jersey cows. Right: The cows just before calving began.

The Reeves family has built a covered feedpad and is fine-tuning how to use it best to improve cow nutrition for higher productivity and profitability.

The couple have two children: Lauren, 3 and Renae,1. They are involved in the local community – Claire chairs the Otorohanga Parents’ Centre, and Euan has been nominated to be a director of local veterinary club practice, Vetfocus, which has a board of directors who are farmers from the region.

Euan says that during calving this year he could see improvements on the udders of this season’s cows.

“With this crop of heifers I can see improvements on four to five years ago, so I’m seeing the returns of the breeding I’m doing.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Bill & Tricia Hare

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

15

It’s early days, but no regrets on conversion Karen Phelps They come from three generations of sheep and beef farmers, but Bill and Tricia Hare, now in their third season of dairying, have no regrets about converting.

Disillusioned with the ups and downs of the sheep and beef industry, they now run 600 predominantly friesian cows on 400 hectares at Cheltenham, 15 kilometres north-west of Feilding.

Bill is the third generation to farm this land. His grandfather came to work here in the 1890s, bought the property in 1904, and named it Sandyford Farm.

Bill and Tricia decided to convert just before taking a one-year OE in Europe. The conversion was project-managed for them, but they returned to find the sharemilker they had set up was unsuitable and switched to a contract-manager structure.

This meant they had to buy their herd in a hurry – and the cows were largely carry-overs. Herd improvement is a major thrust for them this season.

They have 130 of heifers they have bred in the herd this year and aim to improve conception rates.

They have improved nutrition of dried-off cows over winter to get them in peak condition for calving.

They want to cut their 15-20% empty rate to 10%.

Although the original intention was to convert just 200ha of the farm to a dairy platform, leaving the remainder as sheep and beef land and dairy support, they say it quickly become apparent they would need to convert more of the farm.

This season they have a milking platform of 260ha, with 140ha in commercial crops and maize silage (for the dairy farm).

Cows are milked through a 60-bail rotary shed.

First-season production of 207,000 kilograms of milksolids from 200ha fell to 203,000kg in season two because of the drought. They are targeting 220,000kg this season, largely because of the additional 60ha brought into the milking platform.

Bill Hare says he has learned the importance of good nutrition. They were milking 550 cows on May 1 in their first season, but did 5% more production with 310 at the same time last season.

They plan to be self-sufficient. All the heifers are run on the farm and the cows are wintered there as well. They plan to grow all feed on farm. make around 100 tonnes of grass silage and 180 tonnes of maize silage, and grow 16ha of summer turnips and 12ha of kale for winter feed.

Contract manager Dave Scott employs three staff. Bill and Tricia rear the calves and help with young stock.

Bill Hare estimates they need to target around 300,000kg milksolids to make the farm viable as a

dairy unit. This will require increasing cow numbers to 700-720, still well short of the 1200 cows for which they have consent. The milking platform will likewise have to be increased to around 300ha and more investment made in infrastructure.

But there’s plenty of time and the Hares are in no hurry: “We’ve had a lot of fun since we converted,” says Bill. “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the change; it has been very stimulating. Dairy farming is a satisfying system because you can really see results in the vat every day.”

PHOTOS Below: What the birds saw as the conversion took shape.

Right: The spectators rise to supervise (upper) as the first conversion blows are struck, and the inevitable committee meets (lower) to gauge progress.

Bolton-Riley Ground Spread We are privileged to work on the new Dairy Conversion at Sandyford

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16

DAIRY SERVICES: Kesty Manning Contracting

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

PHOTOS Left: Kesty Manning Contracting Ltd’s line-up of equipment. ‘I haven’t sold a tractor for quite some time,’ says Kesty.

Below: The silage harvest in progress.

Harvest Centre

Hard work earns payback in loyal clients Sue Russell

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Kesty Manning describes himself as definitely not a nine-to-five person, who has always enjoyed tinkering around with farm machinery.

Now a dairy farmer and agricultural contractor with businesses at Apiti, north of Feilding in the Manawatu, he is also a qualified mechanic, and he dabbled in shearing sheep for a year or two before establishing the contracting business in the early 1990s.

“I used to go back to working as a mechanic in winter when I wasn’t shearing, then I just decided to buy myself a second-hand tractor and hay-baler,” he says. That’s how the contracting side began.”

Kesty Manning Contracting employs up to 10 people and, when work gets busy, Manning takes on casuals to fill the gap. He even contracts some of the mechanics he used to work with, along with local farmers, during the really busy times.

On the dairying side, he’s a lower-order sharemilker of 250 cows, and jointly oversees another dairy farm carrying around 450 cows.

He also leases a few farms around the district for cropping and wintering dairy stock.

“In the contracting business, you have to take weather into account and you have to be able to cope with it, responding as quickly as possible when conditions are right. It’s a very dynamic situation. I do all the behind-the-scenes organising to make sure things run as smoothly as possible.”

Wife Julie works part-time in Feilding and does the contracting company’s administration at home.

The couple have a three-year-old daughter, Abbey (their second child was due in August as New Zealand Dairy went to print).

The couple lease land in the district to grow maize and triticale, but the main business is the contracting.

“We are always growing and, as we do, we require extra tractors and implements,” says Kesty Manning. “I haven’t sold a tractor for quite some time. We recently bought our tenth Case CVX. I‘m loyal to Merv, at Transag, our local Case supplier, who helped me out a lot when I started out.”

Manning has been in the contracting business long enough to know the attributes he’s looking for in employees.

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Kesty Manning

I just don’t want to be in a tractor seven days a week, with the only days off being wet days.

“Someone quite casual and easy going with a bit of knowledge in the tractor industry and some engineering background is a really good blend as we do a lot of the maintenance work ourselves.”

Demand for his services continues to grow, but Manning is careful to make sure he puts aside time to run the business.

He doesn’t mind it gettting bigger, but is aware of his responsibilities to keep a balance between being hands-on and stepping back to steer the company’s broader direction.

“I don’t mind growing bigger, I just don’t want to be in a tractor seven days a week, with the only days off being wet days.”

It takes a lot of determination and hard work to develop a business, he says, but believes it does pay off as he now has a loyal client base.

Most of his staff have been with the company for several years and know the business well.

“Our main suppliers play an important role in the business, especially in the peak of the season when we need something yesterday. They are a great support.”

DAIRY SERVICES: Crozier Refrigeration

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

17

Bit of invention spices up dairy refrigeration Kelly Deeks Crozier Refrigeration has added a massive dose of innovation to its reputation of supplying and supporting farm refrigeration.

A combination of the Palmerston North-based company’s 35 years of experience and the technical expertise of managing director Matt Parkinson has seen the development of new controls and motors.

The company is in the process of releasing a milk monitor, which farmers can text into and receive a return message with the current temperature in the vat.

“I saw the application of the hardware and I adapted it with a GSM unit (sim card) set up with a timer,” says Parkinson.

“If the milk takes too long to cool, or it’s too cold, or the power goes off, the monitor sends the farmer a text. If farmers are off the farm and wish to

check the temperature, they can text into it.”

Crozier Refrigeration has also had success with dairy control panels. Having had trouble with control panels that had been bought in, Parkinson decided to build his own, and the company now sells them to other suppliers.

“I built them a bit more bullet-proof with a nice blue arctic display that really stands out,” he says.“But a great feature is the delayed start.

“This allows the milker to turn on the refrigeration before milking, and then go into the shed to milk, allowing an amount of milk into the vat so that refrigeration is not running on an empty vat.”

Parkinson has also developed his own design of agitator motor, which has been a “resounding success” with Crozier Refrigeration clients who own their own vats.

“It is also being looked at by Fonterra as an alternative to its present model,” he says.

“As a by-product of this development, we were also being asked to supply motors for colostrum tanks. Again, we developed a smaller motor for this application and can supply this when requested.”

Crozer Refrigeration has also been working with a local sheetmetal company and has developed its own solid refrigerated vat.

And it has design projects for pre-loading and heat recovery in the pipeline.

The company is the local support agent and installer for iConverter thermal energy systems.

The snap-chilling unit completes the critical job of cooling milk to 4-6 degrees celsius into the vat during milking, and limiting bacterial growth to 50% of what it would otherwise be.

The unit uses night-rate power and, as a byproduct, will generate plenty of hot water for the wash system, in some instances allowing two hot washes a day.

Crozier Refrigeration can supply the package – refrigeration units, refrigerated vats, vat controllers and agitators.

Established in 1978 by Grant Crozier, the company supplied refrigeration support to the Tui

Crozier Refrigeration can supply and service complete chilling and refrigeration packages.... refrigeration units, refrigerated vats, vat controllers and agitators, and around-the-clock service and support.

Dairy Company through the southern half of the North Island.

It then advanced to supply the Kiwi Dairy Company through a contract to the National Dairy Association (NDA). Crozier Refrigeration finished with NDA in 2008 and began supplying farmrefrigeration support direct to dairy farmers.

“Our consultative, proactive approach has seen our market share grow as dairy farmers respond to our service and support,” says Parkinson, who joined the company in 1998 and bought it in 2001.

He believes Crozier Refrigeration now dominates the local market through its customer service.

“Farmers can ring me at any time, and often I can talk them through a fault or diagnose it over the phone. If they can fix a problem with me on the phone, it can be quite cost effective for both of us.”

This differs from companies that operate call centres and turn their phones of at 7pm, he says, Crozier Refrigeration breakdown support is available seven days a week, during business hours and after hours on the 0800 COLD MILK number.

The company has recently taken on an additional refrigeration service technician – Dave Luke has joined Matt Parkinson and his wife, Jackie, in the business.

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DAIRY SERVICES: AgWorx Ltd

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Effluent-to-water filter within year Jo Bailey Within the next year Ag-Worx expects to become the only New Zealand company to offer a system capable of filtering dairy effluent down to water that meets New Zealand drinking standards.

“Our associated company, Forsi Innovations, has been working on this new filtration technology for around seven years and should have a prototype finished by Christmas,” says Ag-Worx general manager Craig Hawes.

“The system will enable dairy farmers to process effluent straight off the yard back to water that could be re-used for things such as washing down the yard or irrigating pasture, or even be put back into the stream.”

Given the increased regulations facing the dairy industry and the need to provide cows with good quality, clean drinking water, water treatment and filtration is a growing business for the two companies, he says.

“Dairy cows need to drink up to 60 litres of water at one time, but may drink much less if the water isn’t clean. This can impact directly on milk production and profits.”

Ag-Worx has been able to filter iron and manganese as well as other elements from farm water supplies using the patented Aquafier IM filtration systems, developed by Forsi Innovations, which is also owned by the Hawes family.

Hawes agrees that the $40,000-50,000 price tag is a “significant investment”, but says farmers are seeing the payback from increased milk production in just one or two years.

The technology is also used successfully for “any water filtration demand”, from chicken sheds, factories and processing plants; to houses, horse swimming pools, and even small towns, he says.

An example of an Ag-Worx customised dairy...before (left) and after (below).

Left: Forsi Innovations has been working on its new filtration technology for seven years.

Milking equipment and water Jo Bailey Bins Drums Water tanks Septic tanks Molasses tanks Industrial tanks Wastewater treatment

Milking equipment and water pumps continue to account for about half of Ag-Worx’s annual turnover after 46 years of servicing the dairy industry.

“Farmers can come to us for a full turnkey milking and water package, or whatever services they require,” says Craig Hawes, general manager of the Matamata firm.

“We do everything from brand-new sheds to

It’s all about taking the customer’s idea and putting together a package that is going to work best. This could even mean incorporating www.devan.co.nz

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shed upgrades, machine servicing and testing, water pumps and filtration, right down to supplying spare parts and new rubberware,” The family company, started in 1967 by Craig’s grandfather, Jim Jobe, is now owned and operated

by Craig’s parents, Sylvia and Terry Hawes.

Ag-Worx is the local agent for Delaval milking systems, dairy detergents and teatsprays, and Grundfos, Davey, Dab and Lowara pumps.

Craig Hawes says his uncle, Alan Jobe, is the company’s “milking machine guru” who customdesigns milking systems to fit needs and budgets.

“We are extremely flexible and we tend to do quite a bit of customisation, either around the Delaval product, or a mix of different brands.

“It’s all about taking the customer’s idea and putting together a package that is going to work best. This could even mean incorporating some second-hand gear they’ve bought off Trade Me.” At the other end of the scale, Ag-Worx keeps up to date with the latest technology, he says. “A lot of people are talking about robotic milking machines now, which is something else we can offer.”

The company’s services have developed and have grown in response to needs, he says.

Such as the swimming pool and spa pool business Ag-Worx has run for 40 years. Current agencies include Trueform spa pools, Filtermaster

DAIRY SERVICES: Aztech Buildings Ltd

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

19

Realm of under-cover milkers Karen Phelps New Zealand’s growing dairy-goat farming industry has given rise to a number of associated and service businesses. Such as Hamilton-based Aztech Buildings Ltd. For some time Aztech has been catering to the growing need for goat-dairy barns. While the sheds are similar to those required for cows, there are key differences, according to Aztech Buildings marketing manager Matthew Hoyle.

“The design of dairy-goat barns is a specialised process. We have a specialist division focusing on dairy-goat barns and with years of industry experience with numerous barn systems.”

Hoyle says international demand for goat-milk product is increasingly prompting Kiwi farmers to consider the economics of converting all or part of their farm to milking goats.

“Goat milk is suitable for infants and the demand for goat milk, particularly from Asia, outreaches the current shortfall of goat farmers.”

He says the company’s aim is to help goatfarmers increase their return on investment by providing cost-effective protection from the elements. Aztech Buildings products extend across kid-rearing sheds, covered dairy yards and laneways, buck sheds, feed-commodity sheds and covered feed bunkers.

Unlike dairy-cow farmers, goat farmers practise a zero-graze technique to get the most production out of their herds. The goats are housed in dairygoat barns full-time and do not graze directly on pasture, although they do have outside access for sun and fresh air.

Fresh grass is cut and carried to the goats. along with other nutrients and supplements through one of the feeding system methods.

Hoyle says Aztech Buildings’ timber-structure design provides warmth and safety for the herd.

with air-flow and temperature optimised to enable maximum fresh air and productive conditions.

He says that typically, a standard building coverage area for goats is 2.5 square metres for each kid and 3 square metres for each doe – although some goat farmers make their own adjustments to the building size to suit their specific situations and requirements.

Obviously, the herringbone or rotary milking shed is an important asset for the goat barn to ensure the goats can be milked twice a day in a safe and efficient manner, he says.

Aztech Buildings provides the roof structure for the milking shed and is in close contact with milking system companies for the milking platform.

Benefits of the zero-graze technique and an Aztech Buildings goat dairy include the elimination of the worm issues that are a major problem in large herds that graze on pasture, he says.

“Goats don’t develop a natural resistance to worms and require regular drenching, resulting in milk being withheld from the vat and loss of production. The barn also reduces foot problems, scald and footrot, meaning fewer foot treatments are required.

pool equipment, and Pool & Spa factory equipment.

“There;s no one else with our level of pool and spa experience in the region, and we still have the only spa shop in Matamata. A lot of our farmerclients also have swimming pools and spas, which gives us another reason to go in the gate.”

Ag-Worx provides a valet service for those needing extra help with pool maintenance.

The company staff includes welders who can do precision stainless-steel work and general engineering. They have built everything from gas

tanks, handrails, exhaust systems, pool ladders and flag poles, to hand rails, car-bumper rails and bull-bars.

As Ag-Worx approaches 50 years in business, Craig Hawes says the company has built longstanding relationships with numerous clients.

“Some of our guys have been here close to 25 or 30 years and have a great rapport with our customers, who often ask for them personally. As a family-owned company, we are extremely proud of our history.”

These goats look happy enough in this Aztec Buildings shed specially made for them.

“The goats’ diet can be managed better when they are indoors, and as dairy goats can’t stand the rain and cold, they can be kept warm in a goat dairy with no risk of a drop in production in bad conditions.”

Aztech Buildings has been in businesses for more than 20 years, and Hoyle says its growth has been based largely on word of mouth.

The company’s rural buildings include animal and dairy housing, implement and storage sheds, stables, secure workshops, lifestyle and commercial buildings, workshops, garages and warehousing.

Aztech’s options run from kitset to fully customdesigned construction, and it supplies North Island-wide.

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20

DAIRY SERVICES: Blackley Construction

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Experience makes all the Karen Phelps The value of experience and the difference it makes was evident in an underpass project completed recently by Manawatu contracting firm Blackley Construction.

Significant groundwater issues were predicted, and Blackley Construction countered by moving a sandhill and putting in drainage pipes to remove groundwater and effluent. The sandhill was then put back again to provide shelter and privacy. The effluent from the underpass could also be gravity-fed back to the farmer’s effluent pond.

Although the upfront investment was more than expected, the farmer benefited in the long term because this technique saved him the cost of two pumps and the cost of getting electricity to them.

“Our experience means we have a sound understanding of ground, soils and the issues that may arise,” says Blackley Construction rural contract manager James Christensen.

“We provide our customers with professional advice and answers that will work for them long term.”

The company has been providing rural infrastructure provider for more than 50 years, and has amassed a wealth of experience, says Christensen.

“Farmers are investing a lot of money in their infrastructure and it’s essential their contractor understands the requirements of the job to offer them best value.

“Our staff has both the experience and the tools to get the job done.”

It’s the Blackley Construction staff and their skills that make the difference, says Christensen. Staff regularly attend a wide range of conferences, workshops and factory training days with the aim of keeping them and the company in touch with new trends in techniques and procedures, as well as developments in technology, materials and equipment.

This knowhow – coupled with its wide range of plant

and equipment – allows the company to complete projects cost efficiently and to a high standard, says Christensen.

He says Blackley Construction continues to invest heavily in buying and developing specialist equipment to meet the type of requirements of projects in which the company gets involved.

It owns a range of diggers and trucks, as well as rock and chain trenchers. Full RTK GPS systems, with accuracy down to 10mm are used for all drainage survey work.

“This gives us lifetime information on a client’s property,” says Christensen. “The accuracy of the

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21

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

difference Blackley Construction has been providing rural infrastructure for more than 50 years. It work includes digging and trenching (far left), farm effluent ponds (left) and stock underpasses (below).

ves our clients time and money.” ices offered to the rural community include crete installations, effluent ponds, farm-race n, tree felling and clearing, stump removal, pen-drain cleaning, dam construction, and cleaning, weir construction, and cable

onstruction was founded more than 50 years eme Blackley began doing rural drainage work The Blackley Group is now headquartered North; while the bulk of its work involves

contracts in the lower North Island, it does go further afield.

The company is a member of the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation and the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology.

Blackley Construction employs around 66 staff, and Christensen says its size is its point of difference: “It gives us the ability to do many things on a farm for our clients as we have both the back-up and the equipment to get any job done. We can come up with a range of options, and we have the experience to select the best option and make it happen.”

Farmers get chance to have a say in environment policy More than 300 dairy farmers are working to improve the health of the Waikato River as part of New Zealand dairying’s largest catchment-based environmental project. The aims is to improve the river’s water quality so that farmers will be ahead of policy-makers.

The Upper Waikato Sustainable Milk Project aims to reduce the nutrient and sediment loads in the upper Karapiro catchment of the Waikato River, as well as encourage more efficient water use on farms.

The three-year project is co-funded by Dairy New Zealand, the government and the Waikato River Authority, and has the support of the Fonterra, Miraka and Open Country dairy companies.

Information from the project will be used in discussions on the development of Waikato Regional Council’s Healthy Rivers: Plan for Change document, which is required by the national policy statement for freshwater management.

DairyNZ wants to ensure that farmer commitments to minimising environmental impacts are recognised by those writing the regional plan. Adrian Brocksopp, manager of the Upper Waikato Sustainable Milk Project, sees it as key to gathering information on good-practice environment initiatives farmers have undertaken and what they plan to do.

“If every farmer does one or two things, it’s a significant change that we’re able to measure the effect of. One farmer increasing the effluent area by one hectare doesn’t sound very much. But if we can get an area of 1500ha collectively across the whole catchment, they’re some really good figures.”

The figures can then be modelled and estimates made of the reduction in nutrients and sediments going into the river, and the effect on water quality.

“A lot has been made of what’s happened with the Horizons One plan, and we don’t want that to happen here – or anywhere really. We’ve got a brilliant opportunity to go out and encourage some change and be ahead of the eight-ball.”

DairyNZ environment policy manager Mike Scarsbrook says the dairy industry has to do a better job of quantifying the great work farmers have done and are doing.

“In three years time, the Waikato Regional Council will have a good picture of where it wants policy to be going, and with all the information we are collecting, we will be able to contribute to the policy debate.”

DairyNZ, which is managing the Upper Waikato project, has contracted 35 consultants to visit all 700 farmers between the Huka Falls and the Karapiro dam, seeking their involvement in the project.

Farmers who choose to become involved work with the consultant on producing a free, auditable “sustainable milk plan” tailored to their farms and

The Dairy New Zealand force behind the Upper Waikato Sustainable Milk project...Mike Scarsbrook (left) and Adrian Brocksopp. outlining steps to improve on-farm, environmental performance.

A year into the project’s three-year time-frame, more than 300 farmers have completed plans and a further 220 are waiting to start – a very pleasing uptake, says Scarsbrook.

“Involvement is not compulsory, but farmers know that being involved will pay dividends for their farm, the river and the wider catchment. They also know that being involved will give them a head-start in terms of coping with changing regulations.”

The consultants’ role is to record changes farmers have already made in nutrient, effluent, water and land management as well as water use. They are then available to give free advice on voluntary actions and initiatives farmers can take to further improve their environmental performance.

No individual farm data will be published. It will be used collectively to show what changes are being made in the catchment.

Farmers involved have promised to take specific environmental actions. Many exceed what is required under the recently launched Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord” or by milk-supply companies.

Of the farmers involved in the project: • A third have agreed to reduce nutrient losses coming from stock and fertiliser; • A third have committed to planting waterways or to other types of riparian management; • A quarter have promised actions to improve management of effluent storage; • More than a third are investigating ways to reduce water use or improve water efficiency on their farms.

As well as environmental gains, the project will help dairy farmers increase their knowledge of nutrient cycling and nutrient budgeting, says Scarsbrook. It is also building capability within the Waikato farm consultant network by enhancing the environmental knowledge and experience of farm advisers.

Other Dairy NZ also has catchment-based projects in progress in Northland, Canterbury and Southland.

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Is your farm’s immediate succession plan sorted?

Succession planning is something every farm enterprise needs to think about but it can be easier said than done. Farm business owners have to navigate not just significant capital sums but also the interpersonal dynamics. But the results if the unexpected happened and succession planning has not been considered can be disastrous. Kerry Forde, general manager from Triplejump says that while the focus generally is on long term planned outcomes often little thought is given to the possibility that the succession may need to be executed in the near future due to unforeseen events such as illness, injury or death. Forde says that there are a number of critical questions farmers need to consider to ensure current and the next generation’s wealth and land ownership is retained.

Questions farmers should consider

At a peak production period how will your farm operate without you and what will be the short and long term impacts?

What contractual obligations does the business have that it is required to meet and how will they be honoured such as share/contact milker agreements?

What capital is required to enable succession to the desired party and on what basis is it to be provided?

What personal income will be available to retain your/your family’s future lifestyle post event?

What is required to remove you/your estate from obligations such as guarantees?

Where will you/your family reside post farm?

For tailored professional risk planning advice contact your local Triplejump office at www.triplejump. co.nz Proud sponsors of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.

22

DAIRY SERVICES: Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Buyout opens new doors for for local dealer Sue Russell

Daniel Gorton: ‘Effluent is a massive market, It’s a hot subject and we see quite a large future, both in effluent and water systems.

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The recent purchase of Milfos by European giant GEA Farm Technologies will place Taupo-based Mainland Engineering and Dairy Systems in an even stronger position to provide farmers with services and options, says owner Daniel Gorton.

The GEA connection will allow his business to access the effluent-processing technologies developed by Canadian company Houle – something he says is timely given the dairying industry’s focus on effluent management to meet compliance standards.

“Effluent is a massive market. It’s a hot subject and we see quite a large future, both in effluent and water systems.”

In this area, Mainland can provide green-water, wash-down systems that separate the solids out of the effluent produced in the shed and yard. The

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green water from the separation process is then used to wash down the yard and feedpad with pioneering nozzles (GEA Houle flush valves) that operate at low pressure, but with high output.

Gorton has taken the opportunity of the rebranding of Milfos to GEA Milfos to establish a website for Mainland Engineering and Dairy Systems.

The site (www.mainlandengineering.co.nz) provides information on what the company can offer farmers and the general public.

Becoming a Milfos dealer in 2006 was a huge step in the development of his company, says Gorton.

“We’re dealing with top-quality products and a sophisticated level of research and development that sits behind the Milfos brand.”

He says one of the benefits from his networking and experience is that his company can recommend contractors for all parts of a project.

Mainland offers farmers a whole package when it comes to building a new shed.

“My company has been around long enough to know who are the best suppliers and subcontractors. This is an industry where your reputation stands on the last job you’ve completed.

We are serious about being here for the long haul.”

Daniel Gorton always wanted to own his own business, so when the opportunity came up nine years ago to take over Taupo engineering firm Mainland Engineering (as it was then), he didn’t hesitate.

The business has grown to now employing six

• To page 23

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DAIRY SERVICES: Johnston Drainage & Contracting

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

23

Civil experience good for farmers too Kelly Deeks An extension of its services into civil work during the global recession has brought benefits for Te Awamutu-based Johnston Drainage & Contracting’s longtime rural customers. Company director Richard Johnston says he picked up new skills in the civil area and has transferred them into his rural work.

The business started out as a one-man band aimed mainly at farm-drainage work and subdivision infrastructure.

When the level of work took a dive about six years ago, Johnston restructured and moved into civil work and major roading projects, working alongside the likes of Fulton Hogan and HEB Construction.

The company grew to employ eight staff. And it has completed some large contracts, including the Te Rapa bypass in the Waikato expressway, and the pit lane on the Hamilton street circuit for the V8 Supercars championship race in 2008.

Johnston has upgraded his machinery with the purchase lastv year of a 16-tonne Komatsu digger with a three-dimensional GPS levelling system. The GPS system improves the precision and efficiency on projects.

“We use it every day,” he says. “Whether we’re working on oxidation ponds or drains on farms, or constructing house pads, the computer tells you how much you need to fill or how far you’ve got to cut down to make it level.”

The company has also bought a 13-tonne Komatsu digger, a mid-sized machine used for farm work, drainage projects and house pads.

The expanding fleet now includes four truckand-trailer combinations of varied types, from fertiliser cartage through to carting and spreading race and track metals from stores and quarries.

Current civil projects include the new Cambridge bypass, and the southernmost part of the Waikato expressway (a HEB Construction project) where Johnston Drainage & Contracting has done the earthworks for the main site offices and site entranceways.

Working on civil projects has improved the company’s approach to environmental and health and safety controls, says Johnston. This also helps with agricultural projects as standards and regulations for the rural sector continue to intensify.

“The environmental stuff is a really big thing for agricultural work, and with these roading jobs we’ve been doing, its massive.

“When we’re working on farms, we can put in a decanting or settling pond for silt. That keeps you

Johnston Drainage & Dairy Systems machinery rips i nto a dairy conversion,

Buyout broadens dealer’s options • From page 22 dairy technicians and seven engineers. He has also changed the company’s name slightly to reflect the work it does.

Mainland Engineering & Dairy Systems provides varied services for the dairy industry, from dairy-shed structural steel, yard construction to specialised AP automated, in-shed, meal-feeding systems.

Services include 24-hour, dairy-shed milkingplant and water-system maintenance, he says In the central North Island area, a lot of the work is on large corporate-owned farms. Mainland is working on a 60-bail shed near Taupo and is installing an 80-bail rotary with Milfos milking equipment in the Rangitaiki area.

March to July is the company’s busy time, building new sheds, and upgrading or servicing sheds.

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Health and safety has also improved thanks to civil-work experience.

“You’ve got to make sure your guys get home safely,” Johnston says. “By working with Fulton

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Hogan, we’ve learned a lot about health and safety policies. Fulton Hogan has spent millions of dollars on making sure its work sites are safe; that has been passed on to me and other subcontractors.

It’s a big help.”

Johnston Drainage & Contracting has also bought and is developing a 38-hectare farm. Half of it will go into maize, and half will be let for grazing.

24

DAIRY SERVICES: Caldow Builders

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Builder bases foundation on passion, skill Karen Phelps He has worked in the industry for 36 years, but Foxton-based builder Rodney Caldow says he still wakes up every day passionate about the job.

And, even though he runs one of the area’s largest building companies and employs 17 fulltime staff, he still carries his tools in his ute and enjoys the opportunity to get involved in a build.

“After working as a carpenter for 36 years, I still love what I do. It’s great to look forward to going to work each day.”

Caldow Builders, which he started 30 years ago, now contains nearly 300 years of combined construction industry experience. A number of staff have been with the company for 15 years or more.

Unlike many building companies, he employs all of his own builders, which, he says, rural clients

particularly appreciate because it gives the firm full control of each job.

“We have our own staff and our own gear, which means we can turn up to a job and get it done quickly and efficiently,” says Caldow. “There’s no waiting around for contractors to show up.

Employing my own staff gives them real ownership of each job, and that shows in the quality outcome.”

A recent 50-bail rotary cowshed at Colyton, near Feilding, was constructed right on schedule despite additional work being required during the contract.

To give an idea of the scale of this job, Caldow Builders laid 380 cubic metres of concrete.

This project was a good example of the project management systems the company has in place, says Caldow.

Apart from a labourer, a full-time concrete

• To page 25 PHOTOS Caldow Builders completed this 50-bail cowshed and feedpad project at Colyton, near Feilding, on time despite additional work being required during the contract

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ON FARM: Craig & Anne Boydon

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

25

Boydons share calving tips at field day Karen Phelps Craig and Anne Boyden’s calving pattern is so tight Dairy New Zealand is using their farm for a heatdetection field day on September 18.

“The cows get in calf pretty easily,” says Craig Boyden. “We start calving on August 10 and within six weeks, more than 90% have calved.”

The Boydens use all AI to get the cows in calf, and metro-check the cows They don’t use bulls, don’t induce, and don’t use any CIDRs. The Boydens milk 518 kiwicross cows through a 36-a-side herringbone shed on a 187-hectare (effective) farm at Maharahara West, 12 kilometres north of Woodville.

The farm is supported by two run-offs they own: 23 hectares at Woodville where they cut silage and winter cows, and a newly purchased 97ha block east of Dannevirke, which they will use for grazing, wintering and silage.

The support blocks provide the farm with autonomy, protecting it against feed availability and rising prices, says Craig.

For the past four years the herd has been on once-a-day milking.

The big benefit has been a reduction in the

lameness of cows (they used to get up to 60 lame cows each season, now only around 20).

Yet production is within 5% of what they were previously achieving. Production last season was 920 kilograms of milksolids per hectare; the target this season is 1000kg.

The couple use the DairyBase accounting system, which has shown them that their profit is pretty much the same as when they were on twicea-day milking.

“We have more lifestyle now as we don’t have to rush to milk the cows twice a day,” says Craig Boyden.

“The herd took about three years to make the full transition before they really started performing to their peak. We had to cull out a few cows that didn’t suit once-a-day and we also had to learn to milk a bit differently.”

They say that because the herd presents to them just once a day, they have to be more vigilant about fully milking cows out, about teat spraying, and about picking up mastitis.

They are also working on getting their new run-off up to standard by installing more fencing, a central race, and a new water system. They have already put in a solar-powered, electric fence.

Both the Boydens are active on the farm: Craig

Craig Boydon with the farm bulldozer he uses to shift out of the calf sheds. milks every day and Anne does the calf rearing, bookwork and the cow records, and relief-milks.

They have four children: Sam, 20, Ngaire, 18, Joel, 15 and Alyse, 13.

Craig, who is trained as an AI technician and has worked for Livestock Improvement Corporation, does all the artificial insemination of the herd, which will make him a valuable source of knowledge for

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TRUCKING Anne Boydon in the calf-rearing shed with the first heifer replacements of the season. She also looks after the bookwook and cow records, and relief-milks in the dairy shed.

Passion, skill base for builder • From page 34 placer, and three apprentices, the on-the-job workers are all qualified carpenters – a huge point of difference for Caldow because many building companies use mostly labourers on site, he says. They are supported by two full-time office administrators, one of them Rodney’s wife, Brenda.

“I completed a three-year business course some time ago and the main thing I learned was that if you want to succeed at anything, you have to surround yourself with very skilled professional people. Our staff are the real secret to our success.”

He believes in regularly investing back into the business, both in terms of upgrading equipment and training for staff.

“The level of equipment we have means we can be self-sufficient. It also makes us more cost effective. For example, if a digger is on site for three days but used for just four hours total over those days, then we just charge the client for the hours actually used.”

All staff hold Site Safe passports and some have completed courses such as heights and harness, Building Research Association of New Zealand and specific product seminars.

The company tackles a wide variety of work

– including residential houses, commercial building, renovations, alterations, maintenance and earthquake strengthening. In the rural market, it gets involved in cowsheds, milking sheds, dairy alterations, feedpads, silage bins, fertiliser bins, general concrete precasting, insurance work, and concrete and cowshed grooving.

“We also manufacture our own pre-cast concrete panels in our dedicated facility. We can manage an entire project from start to finish.”

Caldow Builders is a member of the Certified Builders’ Association of New Zealand and of Hazardco, which supplies and supports companies with health-and-safety training and products.

The company works mainly in the Manawatu/ Horowhenua region and further afield if required.

Rodney Caldow, who is a Queen’s Service Medal recipient and past-president of the Manawatu branch of Certified Builders’ Association of New Zealand, hopes his business reflects his personal focus on integrity and the importance of giving back to the local region through volunteer work and support for local organisations.

“The first customer I worked for after starting the company, I still work for regularly. And we have others like this as well. This means we are not only doing a good job, but we are also competitive.”

farmers who come to the September field day.

He was raised on the Woodville farm, and started milking there straight after leaving school.

He admits he was always keen on cows: “I always used to get Dad to wake me up and go and help in the shed...right from six or seven years old.

I could milk the whole 160-cow herd alone by the time I was 11.”

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26

DAIRY PEOPLE: David & Ben van Bysterveldt/Joe & Karyn Gwerder

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

One ‘Just Cool’ science project produced from bits and pieces soldered together.

It worked, so the next model was made on a “breadboard”, a solderless electronics base.

It was better, so was refined again until David van Bysterveldt was satisfied it would work on his four farms.

Rather than just make four, he had a hundred produced, enough for himself, and some to sell to others.

“I think it’s a marvellous product,” he says. “It will sell, no problem. We’ve sold a few already to people who have lost a vat-load of milk.

“It’s too late then. A farm with 250 cows could lose more than $3000 if the chiller isn’t on. People should buy it before they have an accident. It’s cheap insurance.”

A number of the alarms have been sent to Australia, and have started selling there.

The device is a little box mounted near the main electrical switchboard. Two clamp leads are clipped around the milking plant’s and the chiller’s electrical leads. The microprocessor in the monitor records current passing through the leads.

Neil Grant The threat of losing a whole vat of milk because someone forgot to turn the chiller on should send a chill of its own up the back of any dairy farmer.

Even worse, if the worker responsible did later turn it on, but the milk was already spoilt, it could ruin the whole tanker-load and cost even more As a result of just such an experience, Morrinsville dairy farmer David van Bysterveldt had been mulling over how to prevent a recurrence. As luck would have it, his 15-year-old son, Ben, came home from school with a problem of his own. He had to prepare a project for a science fair, and did not know what to do.

The two of them talked it over, then went to see an electrician friend, and started learning about solenoids and switches, and later, when they got in touch with the Novel Ways electronics company, about microprocessors and current monitors.

Ben spent time with the company finding out about electronic stuff, and the first prototype was

It has got complicated electronics in it, but it’s brilliantly simple.

At the end of milking when the machines are turned off, the alarm sounds if the chiller has not been running. There is a buzzer on the monitor, and another waterproof one near the milking-platform operators.

The monitor’s job is to ensure that once the milking plant starts, the chiller turns on. If the chiller is not turned on within 20 minutes of the start of milking, the alarm sounds for 30 seconds as a prompt. If, at the end of milking, the chiller is not turned on, the alarm sounds for 30 minutes.

If the plant has a secondary chilling system, such as a snap chill or an ice bank, and the milk comes down to temperature during milking, the system microprocessor picks up that the chiller has

been working for more than 20 minutes during milking, and does not trigger the alarm. The alarm is given only if a certain sequence of events does, or does not, happen.

A new model also has the ability to send alarm text messages to cell phones.

“It has got complicated electronics in it, but it’s brilliantly simple,” says David van Bysterveldt.

“There’s nothing else on the market at our price that can do what this one does.”

He wanted to call the system ‘Just Chill’, but someone already had the 0800 number for that, so he settled on ‘Just Cool’. 0800justcool is easy enough to remember. It stands for 0800 58782665. Information: davidvanbysterveldt@ xtra.co.nz Ben has moved on from the project, which came second in the school’s science fair. Like most teenager, he has found other interests..

“It was a means to an end for us both,” says David. “I wanted him to see that you can take an idea, run with it, have it come out successful, and bring something in for you.”

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Joe Gwerder is thinking seriously about a herd shelter for his 260 cows. He says waterlogged ground and pugging is the biggest hassle he and wife Karyn face on their property, which sits on the slopes of Mt Taranaki/Egmont. ‘There are six farmers around here who have herd shelters, and they can’t all be wrong,” he reasons.

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Kelly Deeks Nearly 30 years after buying their dairy farm at Inglewood, in Taranaki, Joe and Karyn Gwerder have just finished developing water courses on the property and have increased the farm’s effective area by seven hectares.

The Gwerders bought the first 60 hectares of the farm, which sits on the slopes of Mt Egmont (now Taranaki), back in 1985 and started milking 140 cows.

In 1992 they effectively doubled the size of the farm through the purchase of a 57ha neighbouring block. The Gwerders increased cow numbers to

260; they continued to milk this number until 2002, when they employed a 21% sharemilker.

“We’ve gradually built up the farm and tried to improve it,” says Joe Gwedrer.

“We’ve got quite a few water courses on the place and, over time, we’ve worked on cleaning them up.

“We’ve straightened them up a bit, riparianplanted, and fenced them off to make managing the land easier.

“We’ve just got a bit of riparian planting to finish – we’ve gone from 100ha effective to 107ha effective.”

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Brian & Kate Underwood

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

27

Man with a plan: Brian and Kate Underwood are aiming at 80,000 kilograms of milksolids from their 215 cws this season. They people asked if it was daunting going straight into 50:50 sharemilking – ‘But it wasn’t really,’ says Brian.

Planning key for couple Karen Phelps Looking for a career that would give them the freedom to start a family led Brian and Kate Underwood to the dairy industry.

Brian grew up on a dairy farm, did a Bachelor of Applied Acience at Massey University and joined Landcorp, becoming senior business manager of South Island livestock. This involved a lot of travel, so when the opportunity arose for a sharemilking contract on his parents’ (Derek and Kathleen) farm, the younger couple jumped at it.

They are into their third season on the property at Linton, just south of Palmerston North. The 130-hectare (90ha effective) farm milks 215 friesian, jersey and crossbred cows through an 18-a-side herringbone shed. It had been sharemilked for 14 years.

Despite not having come through the traditional path, they have risen to the challenge, says Brian.

“People asked if it was daunting going straight into 50:50 sharemilking, but it wasn’t really. I’d worked on farms before and I do things differently here because of that off-farm experience. It has been a steep learning curve. I remember saying to Kate before calving that the next eight weeks would probably be the hardest of our lives; they probably were, but we got through it.”

When the Underwoods arrived, production was averaging about 61,000 kilograms of milksolids a year. In their first season they achieved 67,800kg despite a problem with lame cows. That was sorted out by track maintenance and putting cows on once-a-day milking November 10.

This improved the cows’ pre-calving condition from 4.6 in their first season to 4.9 last season, and allowed them to increase production. Having

boosts effective area farm. They secured the position ahead of 22 other applicants.

Joe and Karyn Gwerdrer say their ongoing development of the farm has brought it to the position where they have a sharemilker there to milk, feed cows, and maintain the property.

Dan and Georgina manage the pasture, which is probably the biggest challenge in what is a very wet area that gets between 3.8m and 4.2m of rainfall every year.

“We get affected by too much rain more than anything,” Joe says. “Because we’re on the side of Mt Egmont, the whole farm is sloping and the ground can get waterlogged and pugged. We have slow pasture growth when it gets too wet. All our

cows are wintered on farm, so pugging is our biggest problem. It can really affect our production.”

The Gwerders bring in about 200 tonnes of maize, which they feed on the 300-cow feedpad whenever there is a shortage of pasture.

He is now thinking seriously about putting up a herd shelter to protect his pastures during wet times.

“There are six farmers around here who have herd shelters, and they can’t all be wrong,” he says.

Pasture damage during a wet spring in the 201112 season resulted in the farm’s worst production season since 1997-98 –a total of 89,000 kilograms of milksolids. This season’s projected production is 101,000kg.

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some cows in too good a condition actually worked against them through some milk-fever issues, so they have put a mineral-dosing pump into the feeding system to improve control of mineral dispersal, and have bought a magnesium duster.

They aim to tighten the cow condition score as the range last season was from four to six.

They have also started feeding palm kernel, using 50 tonnes last season when they were on target for 77,000kg milksolids until drought intervened and limited them to 73,000kg. Their 2013-14 target is 80,000kg.

Having a plan was been one of the keys to their success, they say. They regularly review their for every aspect of the farm.

The Underwoods, who have an 18-month-old daughter, Sienna, also have a plan for their future: farm ownership by 2020. As well as owning the herd, they have bought 18ha of the farm. They are working to raise their equity through debt repayment and to raise the value of their herd through breeding worth.”

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28

ON FARM: Daniel McAree & Duncan Wilson

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Waverley local Daniel McAree is working on converting this beef and sheep farm at Waitotora to dairy,.

The plan is to milk 750 cows.

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Kelly Deeks Just back from three years working and travelling in Europe, the United States and Canada, Daniel McAree has jumped straight in the deep end with a contract milking job on Duncan Wilson’s farm.

The property, at Waitotara near Waverley, is under conversion from sheep and beef to dairy.

McAree spent a bit of his time overseas milking cows in Wales, harvesting in Europe, and working on an angus beef ranch in Canada.

A Waverley local, he is now assisting Wilson to complete the conversion before he takes over when the cows arrive on the farm.

He has been helping with installing water systems and building races. Having never been involved in a conversion before, he says it is good to see everything that is going on, and to be able to put his two cents worth in when it comes to the layout of races and paddocks.

He will milk 750 cows through a 60-bail rotary dairy shed with an in-shed feeding system, on a 260-hectare milking platform. Over the next three or four seasons the herd will increase to 900 to 1000 – depending on how the first season goes, he says.

“There is a lot of sand country here that can be developed, and if we can get water rights, we can pump more water into the sand holes and turn it into dairy land.”

The herd is coming from Manawatu and around Hamilton, and, with last season’s drought now affecting cow condition, McAree is prepared for the possibility they may arrive a bit on the skinny side.

“We might have to pump the feed into them right at the start, although we don’t have much grass at the moment,” he says.

“It was difficult to grow new grass in the drought. Duncan grows a lot of maize; most of the farm has been in maize and it has all been regrassed and roller-drilled. We had to drill it before

It was difficult to grow new grass in the drought. Irrigation was a huge advantage.

the rain came and it has taken a lot longer to germinate.”

Fortunately Wilson owns 400 hectares elsewhere where he fattens cattle and grazes sheep and beef. When the dairy herd arrives, it may be necessary to move some cows off the dairy platform and on to the other property.

The Wilson dairy farm is going to be irrigated, one of about irrigated 10 dairy farms in the area.

“There are a lot more people around here heading towards irrigation. The land we’re on is sandy soil so the soil temperature is high, and when it gets the water on it, that’s when the grass grows,” McAree says.

“Irrigation was a huge advantage during the drought this season. Our next-door neighbour has centre pivots, and he’s soldiering on while others have dried off their herds weeks ago.”

McAree has worked out his target production based on the performance of other local dairy conversions, and the fact the farm is irrigated and has in-shed feeding.

He says local farms report production of 350-500 kilograms of milksolids per cow, and he is targeting 420kg milksolids per cow in the first season.

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NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

ON FARM: Dean & Sharon Peterson/Shaun Brighouse

29

Roof puts a lid on flooding Kelly Deeks With three dairy units under their leadership at Opotiki, in the eastern Bay of Plenty, Dean and Sharyn Petersen made production gains last season and farm development saw roofs established over two feedpads to combat the effects of the flooding.

The Petersens own two farms, one run by a contract milker and one by a manager, and 50:50 sharemilk on the third.

Dean spent about five years driving trucks and diggers before the couple jumped on the dairy industry ladder as farm managers. They moved to contract-milking, then 50:50 sharemilking for seven seasons before buying their first farm 12 years ago.

After milking 250 cows at home for about three years, they took on their present sharemilking job, milking 680 cows. Three years later they bought the third farm, which is now milking 330 cows.

“We got quite a bit of flooding on that farm,” Dean Petersen says. “The first flood was three years after we bought it, the following year it flooded four times, then twice, then last season just once.”

Last summer the Petersens built a feedpad on the farm to hold all 330 cows; it includes a roof to comply with regional-council regulations.

“We’re keeping the rainwater out of the system so that we don’t have to have as big an effluent pond,” says Dean. “We also get the benefit of having the herd sheltered, even on hot days as its cooler in there.”

When the farm floods, they can lose 80% of its land and it takes about 48 hours to get the water off.

The first flood was three years after we bought it, the following year it flooded four times, then twice, then last season just once.

Dean and Sharyn Petersen built a feedpad, complete with roof to comply with regional-council regulations, on their farm last summer to hold all 330 cows.

“Having the roof over the feedpad means that when the farm floods, we are able to feed the cows supplement,” he says.

“The 20% of land left over is hills, and if they have been grazed and we have a flood, we’ve got nothing left to feed.”

The new roof has also cut down on feed wastage, even in really wet conditions; if there is any feed left over, the cows can go back for more a few hours later.

A roof has also been installed over the feedpad on the sharemilking farm, and additional development saw an upgrade to the effluent system with a new lined pond, 50 metres by 50 metres and four metres deep, to allow for 90 days of storage.

Petersen says the next job will be to put a roof over the feedpad on the home farm.

This season the Petersens are intent on improving pasture management across all three farms.

“We want to get the quality pasture into the cows, and use maize silage and palm kernel strategically,” he says.

Last season the home farm grew 6ha of maize, the sharemilking farm 12ha, and the home farm’s run off block 6ha. They used 60 tonnes of palm kernel on each farm as well.

Drought tests debut season been working with the farm for about 16 years.

Before that, he was the Brighouses’ vet.

“I’ve known him all my life, and he knows this farm as well as I do, which is really handy,” Shaun After six years of his working way up the dairying says. ladder, Shaun Brighouse has completed his first “We go through all our diets and do a pasture season of contract-milking on his parents’ 500walk with him, then we figure out where we’re going cow farm at Kaipaki, between Cambridge and Te for the next four weeks.”

Awamutu, in the Waikato.

Brighouse had a good first season despite the He was farm manager for the 2011-12 season drought, with production sitting about 1% below the and, in his new role, has taken over the pasturefarm’s 2011-12 record. management responsibilities from his father, “We spent more money and fed them more Michael, who continues to look after the run-off out of the back of the truck, as opposed to what block and the young stock. came out of the paddocks,” The farm has been Calving is only six he says. “We went through winter-milking for the last a pretty harsh drought, so five years. weeks each time, so weather-wise, this season “Kaipaki is mainly should be better. The way it’s summer dry, so to have one herd dry in January makes it’s no different from going, we’re going to have two seasons in one, one wet sense for us, and calving in and one dry.”

March is a breeze compared seasonal calving.

He continues to work on with calving in August,” the farm’s historically high Shaun Brighouse says. somatic-cell-count problem, and has managed to “The cows are coming to the feedpad every reduce it from 310 to 182 over four years. day in the winter anyway, so we might as well milk “We spend quite a lot on mastitis treatment, some of them. It’s a bit harder on the staff, but we roster year-round and their time-off doesn’t change. we treat it aggressively and double the treatment if we feel the bug warrants it. Sometimes the milk And calving, for us, is only six weeks each time, so may pass the test, but the bug is still sitting in the it’s no different from seasonal calving.”

The two herds receive quite a different diet while background.”

Two and a half years ago, Brighouse changed to they milking, with the winter-milkers getting through square milking-liners from Skellerup. He says they quite a bit of supplement, and the spring-milkers on have a big contribution to lowering the somatic cell a lot less. count.

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30

ON FARM: Trevor & Lisa Jane/Trent & Pip Olliver

Benefits begin to flow from drains and channels Sue Russell In his 35-plus years as a dairy farmer in Taranaki Trevor Jane has experienced herd sizes ranging from 70 to 700 cows.

His approach to farming differs somewhat from the more conventional process of building cow numbers up over successive seasons from within the breeding capability of a herd. He is not at all averse to buying and selling stock to best match the farm’s capacities.

“At times I will sell cows or buy more in. As I approach each season, I make decisions about the

optimum size of the herd for that time,” he says.

The 169-hectare, (130 effective) farm he and wife Lisa own stretches across some challenging terrain and soil types, including peat, clay and metal zones. A river, which runs past the farm, has had a significant impact on the farm structure.

“I just have to go a mile up the road and the land changes,” says Trevor Jane. “The farm is 90% flat and we have heaps of drains, which makes it awkward.”

Major emphasis on draining and channelling water on the farm has occupied his time and financial resources in the last few years, but it’s now completed and the benefits are starting to flow.

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

“Last season milksolids production was 24,000 kilograms up on the year before. I bought a lot of meal in to maintain condition. Our herd is only seven years old and my priority is looking after it.”

He has set himself a goal of increasing his average milk output per cow from 450kg milksolids to what he says is a highly achievable 500kg a year.

With the farm drainage taken care of, he is making much better use of the available space.

Two seasons ago he built a new 54-bail Waikato rotary shed lined with freezer panels that create a warmer-in-winter, cooler-in-summer environment.

He says it has had a positive impact on the herd as well as for him and his full-time, second-incharge, William Candy. Jane once milked 452 cows by himself in just 69 minutes, but the average is

around an hour and a half. The farm previously had a 28-bail rotary dairy shed.

“Five years ago I produced 127,000kg milksolids and every year it has increased substantially. My last increase of 24,000kg was achieved in six weeks less milking time as well, which was even more astonishing.”

His farming philosophy goes well beyond just milking cows. He is aiming to put a substantial amount of his property “in the vat”, and he has always enjoyed developing land, getting it “nice and tidy”, as he puts it.

The farm has been supplying Open Country for four years, which has suited the Janes’ long-term aspirations to complete development of the farm as a priority, rather than sinking money into shares.

PHOTOS Left: Trevor Jane checks on his favourite toy.

Upper right: Feeding out.

Right: Lisa Jane and Pip (the dog) commune with the cows.

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Sharemilkers see model Karen Phelps After five seasons in an equity partnership milking 530 cows on a 130-hectare farm at Manaia, Trent and Pip Olliver have sold up and are in their second season of lower-order sharemilking for Parininihi Ki Waitotara (PKW Farms Ltd Partnership.).

The 248ha (effective) farm, also at Manaia, peak-milks 910 jersey and jersey-cross cows. The 60-bail rotary shed has an in-shed feeding system.

And they have bought a 75ha farm across the road with Kylee and Tammy Symes, where they milk 200 cows through a 20-a-side herringbone.

“We were looking for the next step – an opportunity to milk a large herd,” says Trent Olliver.

“There are not a lot of large herds in Taranaki, so we were lucky to get the PKW position.”

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as much milk as possible.

The Ollivers admit it has been a big step up in cow numbers, and say they spent their first season getting to know the farm as well as learning “how to deal with 4000 feet every morning”. They say the key has been employing good reliable staff. They employ two full-timers and one part-timer, along with an additional part-timer in spring.

Last season drought limited the production to 365,000 kilograms of milksolids. The target this season is 380,000–400,000kg.

The Ollivers say their main aim is to fully feed the cows.

“I work for my cows; they don’t work for me,” says Trent. “While keeping an eye on budget, I do everything I can to make sure the cows have the opportunity to make as much milk as possible.”

Grass is the No.1 priority; they measure it weekly and use Pasture Plus to work out rotations.

If there’s a deficit, they use the in-shed feeding system. Maize and chicory crops are grown strategically on farm and used in times of pasture deficit. Last season they bought 650-700 tonnes of feed. They hope to reduce this to 640 tonnes this season by growing more feed on the farm.

They are also working to improve their in-calf rate. They are hitting Dairy New Zealand targets in the first six weeks, but would like to reduce the calving spread to nine or nine-and-a-half weeks with no inductions. Last season the empty rate was

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ON FARM: Dave & Barbara Hands

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

31

Hands enjoy farming balance What is not understood

Sue Russell Bigger is not necessarily better – nor more desirable – for Dave and Barbara Hands. Their 320 corssbred cows, 100 effective hectares, and 32ha run-off in southern Hawke’s Bay is not a large operation. But they say it suits them just fine.

Aspirations towards owning a bigger farm are not important at this couple’s time in life, says Dave Hands. What is, though, is an affinity with the land and a strategy to see its potential fulfilled over time.

“We’re not believers in large herds and a multitude of farms with one owner. How big do you need to be, after all, to have a good life and enjoy it?” says Dave Hands.

There’s also plenty to do outside the dairying cycle which gives them a good balance of interests, while remaining connected with their land.

The farm is punctuated by some very sharp and deep gullies that are not suitable for stock; one of Dave Hands’s plans is to plant these areas back into a mixture of pine and native bush.

“I wouldn’t call myself a ‘greenie’, but I’m keen to see native birds like tuis, bellbirds and wood pigeons return. We’ll be starting to replant next winter.”

To help with this venture the Hands are in discussions with the local young farmers’ club to plant 1000 native trees as a fundraiser for the club.

When Barbara went full-time as a customer relationship manager for Livestock Improvement, it made sense for Dave, who is now in his early 50s, to withdraw from the hands-on, daily farming tasks to a degree and take on some of the administration work that Barbara had always done.

It also meant he could spend more time with their youngest child, 13-year-old Tim, who goes to Dannevirke High School.

“We’ve bought a small boat,” says Dave. “Tim

often by those in the towns is that the majority of farmers care about their patch, including the environmental impacts of their operations

Dave and Barbara Hands don’t rate themselves as ‘greenies’, but they do intend to launch into replanting and would like to see native birds return. has some special needs, so going out and fishing is something he will really enjoy. I’m building up my confidence with the boat and we’re looking forward to fishing trips.”

He describes last season’s drought as a “real shocker”. Its impact on their production was profound – down to 87,000 kilograms of milksolids from 117,000kg the previous season. To add to the challenges, kale that was being grown for use as

for their own property 7%, calving took 10 and a half weeks, and they used 3% inductions.

All young stock are grazed off farm at a drystock block owned by PKW. The Ollivers say the PKW farm they are sharemilking is well set up, with all waterways fenced and riparian planting well under way. They see this farm as inspiration for what is possible on their own farm across the road.

“It shows exactly how a farm should look,” says Trent. “It’s a real credit to them and we will be aiming to use some of these ideas to preserve the

environment on our own farm.”

They see great potential in their place: “I really enjoy the challenge of milking so many cows.

There’s a lot of thinking involved and always things to learn and improve.”

He’s from Opunake, while Pip has a dairyfarming background at Rahotu, a bit further north.

Trent studied sports and science, and got into dairying because he wanted to stay in Opunake to play rugby and a local farmer offered him a job.

The Ollivers have three children: Caro, 7, Georgie, 4 and Harpa, 15 months.

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stockfeed became toxic through sulphur poisoning cauxsed by the extreme weather conditions at the time.

The decided to dry off earlier to preserve cow condition, rather than buy in substantial amounts of additional feed.

“I’m not going to pay over $300 per tonne for it.,” says Dave Hands. “It really angers me to see prices elevated because of market conditions when

farmers are suffering. I’m not going to buy into supporting that.”

He also blames mainstream media for their often hard, sensationalised and negative approach to reporting on farming matters.

“What is not understood often by those in the towns is that the majority of farmers care about their patch, including the environmental impacts of their operation.

“Barbara and I have brought up our children to make their own decisions based on good information and this is where the media could really come into play, providing balanced viewpoints, based on objective information.”

Meanwhile, for the next few years, the Hands’s priority is to reduce debt and eventually take on a 50:50 sharemilker.

While Dave Hands says he would welcome one of their four children taking over the farm, he knows they will find their own course in life, and that’s how it should be: “I think a bit of my stubbornness has rubbed off on the kids. You need this to see things through. That’s something farming has taught me.”

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32

DAIRY PEOPLE: Paul & Andrea Jenkins/John & Bev Hickey

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Flood, drought Kelly Deeks Paul and Andrea Jenkins are facing the biggest challenge of their 12-year, contract-milking careers.

The Te Kauwhata couple are on a mission to match or better the best production on what is rated one of the wettest farms in the area.

Not only do they have to cope with flooding each year, but in their second season, they faced a major cricket infestation.

The Jenkins are running two farms, 1.5 kilometres apart, as one operation in the northern Waikato. They are into their fourth season of contract-milking about 600 cows between the two farms, owned by Chris Ellison who lives 95% of the time overseas.

They normally have a second-in-command/herd manager running the smaller (70 hectares) farm.

They also usually have one or two Agriculture New

Zealand students learning the practical, hands-on side of everyday farming to support their class theory assignments. The Jenkins says Agriculture NZ tutor David Lea has been very helpful in an advisory capacity with ideas to try.

Paul Jenkins says that over the last three years, the couple have worked on improving the pastures.

“When we came here, Andrea thought I was nuts when she saw the state of the farm. This farm should be able to do 120,000 to 130,000 kilograms of milksolids, but there was no grass anywhere because of a drought the previous season, and a lot of the wetter areas were covered in rushes. I said to Chris there would be a lot of work to do before we got to 120,000kg milksolids.”

But they are well and truly heading in the right direction of that goal. Production rose by 50% from 56,000kg milksolids in their first season three years ago to 84,000kg milksolids the their second season.

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Success built on taking Karen Phelps The secret to John and Bev Hickey’s farming business – which they have expanded from 80 hectares to nearly 500ha, plus nearly 630ha of runoff land – is simple.

“You have to take opportunities,” says John Hickey. “We’ve taken risks and it has paid dividends.”

The couple farm three dairy units at Waverley, milking a total of 1500 kiwicross cows.

Both John and Bev Hickey were raised on farms, and part of one of their present units originally belonged to John’s parents. In fact, it’s where he grew up.

He started farming straight after school when the 80ha unit was milking 150 cows and ran 200 sheep. When he and Bev married, they progressed to lower-order sharemilking on that property, and bought half of it in the 1980s.

They have since acquired adjoining drystock

farms and lease 40ha of the original family farm from John’s mother.

Their eldest son, Callum, has a lower-order sharemilking contract on a 262ha farm with a 60bail rotary shed.

Their younger son Jared, is a lower-order sharemilker on a 108ha farm with 33-a-side herringbone shed.

Another lower-order sharemilker is on a 120ha farm with a 40-a-side herringbone shed.

The farms are supported by two run-offs of 60ha and 569ha. The larger property was bought just two years ago, and the Hickeys haven’t ruled out converting this sizeable piece of land to dairy.

Pasture renewal has been a major focus on all of the Hickey farms. They have found Ultra suits both the Egmont ash soil type and the climate, which has produce around 1200mm of rainfall a year.

The Hickeys have also worked hard on stock quality. They herd-test every two months, and are presently concentrating on growing their young stock to a better weight. They have found that the

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NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

DAIRY PEOPLE: Paul & Andrea Jenkins/John & Bev Hickey

33

combine to thwart record tilt “We would have done 95,000kg milksolids last season had the drought not got a hold of us,” Paul Jenkins says.

“I’ve redone all the drainage and put floodgate culverts in with the farm’s own digger, and that has had big advantages. We have also helped build a large effluent pond.”

He spent eight solid weeks sitting in the digger building the pond, which had to be above the ground because of the high water tables. Andrea carried on milking the herd and often had to help with driving the tractor and trailer, carting and dumping dirt alongside the local contractor.

“Now we’ve done 30ha of undersowing and we’re focusing on bulking up the paddocks,” Paul says. “With the drainage almost completed and all the regrassing, we’ve got 100,000kg milksolids pegged for this season. The farm is slowly getting better and better.”

The farm’s record production is 111,000kg

milksolids done the year after Ellison bought it.

Paul Jenklins says the smaller farm consistently produces 1000kg milksolids to the hectare, with its peat soils, rotary shed and in-shed feeding helping achieve good figures.

“Here we have a 30-a-side herringbone shed. Inshed feeding would help here, but we’d be better off with a feedpad. We’ve got a 4ha block of bush we use as a stand-off pad. I’m a big fan of splitting the herd so that the younger stock don’t have to worry about bullying.”

Last season Ellison sprayed out 10 hectares of pennyroyal weed to further improve the pastures.

“Chris has been very supportive, and as he’s got to know us and what we’re trying to do for him, he can see everything we’re doing is furthering both the paddocks and the production,” Paul Jenkins says.

The couple realise they are dealing with a difficult challenge and are constantly gathering information to help them along.

“We regularly go to discussion groups to gain local knowledge. We have had Brent Bishop, from RD1, to help us look after the pastures and report back to Chris, and Ben Turner, from Agricom, who is helping with advice on changing from tetraploids to diploids.

“We bring all that information together and keep Chris up to date. It’s very much a partnership; we’re on a farm where we can reap the rewards of our good work between all three of us.”

PHOTOS Far left: Worked hill country on the Te Kauwhata farm where Paul and Andrea Jenkins are contractor milkers.

Left: Floods are a regular visitor each year.

Top right: The Jenkins family and their cows... back, Paul and Andrea; front (from left), Brendon, aged nine, Michael, four and a half, Kaitlyn, 11.

opportunities and risks John Hickey says it is gratifying to see the next generation starting to take over: ‘It’s a really good feeling to see family involved. The plan is to take a step

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back and, over time, give the boys a bigger role.

569ha run-off has given them more control over this process.

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At peak, a total of 18 permanent and casual staff are employed across the farms. Bev Hickey takes care of the financials for all of the farms.

Higher production is the Hickeys’ biggest

goal. Two seasons back, they produced 600,000 kilograms of milksolids, but were down about 3% on that because of the drought last season. They dried off a month early, but managed to preserve cow condition and don’t see any major negative affects carrying over into this season.

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“It’s a really good feeling to see family involved.

The plan is to take a step back and, over time, give the boys a bigger role.”

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34

ON FARM: John & Joce Hoebergen/Hugh Candy & Kerry Lucas-Candy

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Record season despite drought Kelly Deeks John and Joce Hoebergen, of Matamata, had a record season in 2012-13 despite the drought that hit most of the Waikato hard.

With a newly acquired support block growing 24 hectares of maize, feed was abundant and they produced 238,000 kilograms of milksolids from 520 cows (40 more than in the previous season) on their 145 effective hectares.

However, they didn’t escape the drought completely: “Before it kicked in, we were on track to do 250,000kg milksolids, so that is our target for this season,” John Hoebergen says.

“The recovery since the drought has been unbelievable. We didn’t do any under-sowing, and the pastures are looking really good. By the end of April it started to come right.”

He still took the opportunity to have a big cull and got rid of about 20 empties.

The Hoebergens previously owned a smaller dairy farm at Te Poi that backed on to their current farm; they sold it to buy the larger, dry-stock farm seven years ago. They continued to dry-stock for 18 months, then had the opportunity to buy 40ha of neighbouring land.

“To make it viable we had to start milking again,” John Hoebergen says.

In February the Hoebergens bought another 45ha and put about 24ha into maize.

He has been using chicken litter for fertiliser from a neighbouring chicken farm for 10 years, and

PHOTOS: Chicken manure from a neighbouring chicken farm has proved a boon for pastures on John and Joce Hoebergen’s Matamata farm. now doesn’t use any urea at all.

“It’s very economical and it grows the grass, and it means we’re not chasing our tail with the urea. I’m sure we grow more grass than anyone around here, and that’s the reason for it.”

The Hoebergens have winter-milked about 150 cows since they converted the farm: “We try to get 300 to 320 days in milk for our cows. The easiest way to get increased production is to have more days in milk.”

The couple run the farm with three staff, plus John. One staff member, who has been working for them since a year after they converted, now looks after the run-off block and fills the roles of calfrearer and relief-milker.

This season the prime mission is to raise herd fertility, and improve the calving spread.

“Our calving spread is much too long, and it

I’m sure we grow more grass than anyone around here... always has been,” John Hoebergen says. “When we bought our herd, we bought carry-over cows and we probably inherited low fertility. That’s probably half the reason we winter-milk, so that we don’t lose those cows.”

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All Black-Springbok rivalry is pretty well known on the rugby paddock. But when it comes to dairy paddocks, there is much more co-operation.

Hugh Candy and Kerry Lucas-Candy are sharemilkers at Waitoa, in the Waikato. About five years ago, they entered into an equity partnership on another farm nearby. In that time, they have had one South African couple, the Hendriks, on the equity farm.

Another couple, the van den Bergs, who managed the first farm, have now moved on, and they have been replaced by a third South African couple, the Vorsters.

Hugh Candy says these arrangements have been great. All three couples have come to New Zealand farming with a mix of previous vocations, often in agriculture, but not necessarily actual farming.

The experience of Kiwi dairy farmers such as the Candys – who are previous national Sharemilker of the Year winners – in guiding them into the dairying business is a big help towards their success in farming and gaining residency.

Everybody’s a winner.

The Candys are certain the equity-partnership

deal is the best way for them to achieve their goal of farm ownership.

“If you are just sharemilking, it is hard to build up the capital involved,” Hugh says. “The partnership is probably the only way for us to get the capital. You need the income from the sharemilking to help buy a farm.”

So, they are in a period of consolidation before taking that leap to their goal.

The drought had a severe knock-on effect on dairy-farm performance in the Waikato. The Candys had to buy extra maize silage and palm kernel above what they had budgeted for, and production was down 20%.

“We learned from the ‘07 drought that you have got to feed the cows to keep up herd condition,” says Hugh Candy. “You’ve got to think about the flow-on effect for the next season.”

The Fonterra forecast has been welcome news and a boost to morale. Adding to this has been the exceptionally mild winter in the Waikato.

“The pasture is recovering outstandingly well. A lot of farmers are in a good situation for feed. Grass has been growing like it was spring.”

With milking not yet started at the time of the interview, other farm work was being dealt with.

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ON FARM: David & Wendy Schroeder

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

35

Farming couple manage the right balance Neil Grant “I’m pretty much where I want to be,” says David Schroeder. “It’s all about enjoying what you are doing, not worrying about tax and debt repayment.

Finding a balance.”

David and Wendy Schroeder manage one of five farms forming a 1000-hectare block on the Old Taupo Rd, south of Putaruru.

Originally a sheep and beef farm, it was donated by its owners, the Hodders, to the Salvation Army.

They put a boys’ home on part of it; the rest was converted to dairy farms, and a 350ha sheep and beef farm. Twenty-four years ago, the Salvation Army sold it to a Hong Kong company, which converted the sheep and beef farm into dairy units.

The boys’ home building has a council heritage rating, so cannot be demolished, but can be renovated. The company is converting it into staff quarters.

A Cambridge farm consultant is the overall manager of the property for the company, and each of the farms’ managers is responsible to him while

in Waikato dairy paddocks Half a kilometre of race was being widened by two metres. The expense of getting in the digger, the metal, and the rebuilding of the fence alongside is costly.

But Candy reckons the improved speed in getting the cows to and from the shed will make it worthwhile.

While the guys from Manawaru Sandfill and Livestock were there doing that job, it made sense for them to do some work for the council as well.

A creek’s banks had been caving in after some heavy rain, so the contractors have used rubble from a dismantled cowshed on the farm to build the edges up again to protect the farm’s adjacent race.

And, of course, a trip to the National Fieldays seemed compulsory. The organisers will be disappointed the Candys came home without a new tractor, though.

“We’re making no capital purchases. We focus on cows and pasture,” says Hugh.

dealing with the day-to day running of their farms.

The Schroeders run 793 cows – a mix of jersey, jersey-cross, friesian and friesian-cross – on 240ha.

Because some of the farm is rolling to steepish, it is better to have lighter animals on the pasture, says David Schroeder. They can handle the steeper country better, and their lighter footprint means the farm can carry more cows.

The Schroeders also manage a next-door lease block where they rear jersey bulls to put across all the farms’ jersey heifers, and grow maize as supplement for the units.

The company’s owners have want cows with tidy, good looking udders, and Livestock Improvement Corporation DNA semen is used in the breeding programme to help achieve this.

The DNA technology is claimed to ‘genomically identify and select elite sires’, and to improve the herd’s breeding worth. Schroeder says they are achieving that.

A number of good, straight-jersey bull calves are kept each season to put over the farms’ heifers.

This ensures no in-breeding. The young bulls are

then on-sold, some to the works, and some to other farmers who have learned that this is a good supply of bulls for their own breeding programmes.

Because the farms are all long-established, pasture just needs undersowing. There is no irrigation other than for effluent dispersal.

The Schroeder farm has a 50-bail rotary shed with Waikato Milking Systems’ plant, automatic cup removers and Protrack drafting.

The automation makes life easier for them, their three permanent and other part-time staff. Getting instant information about each cow as it enters the shed is vital for animal health.

A refencing programme is under way to get consistent paddock size, and native trees and shrubs are being planted on steep country and along drains.

“Close to 6000 natives for revegetation have been planted: lemonwoods, kowhais, flax, griselinias, cabbage trees and rewa rewa.”

That’s the thing about farming – you may be comfortable where you are at the moment, like the Schroeders, but there is always something more to chip away at that makes life better.

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Moutoa Farms

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

PHOTOS: Some of Moutoa Dairies’ many faces (clockwise from left): A chicory crop; business manager Brian Wilkinson talks at a field day; workers from two of the nine units. Facing page: silage harvesting.

Cluster records five on the trot Jo Bailey Moutoa Dairies – a cluster of nine Landcorp-owned dairy farms in Horowhenua – hit record production for the fifth year running, and topping two million kilograms of milksolids for the first time as a group Farm business manager Brian Wilkinson says this equates to an average of around 1460kg milksolids per hectare and 440kg per cow across the group, which encompasses 1400 effective hectares.

“These are great numbers when you consider we’re talking an average across nine farms that were impacted by the drought like most others in the region,” he says. “It is a very pleasing result.”

The farms had enough supplements to get them through the dry summer, but were only a few days away from drying off a large number of the herd when the rain finally came, says Wilkinson.

“We were fortunate to come through as we did. Normally it’s the spring that causes the most problems as we are often badly affected by the wet.

Sometimes we go under water and have around 25 pumps running continuously to try and keep it off the ground.”

He has overseen the operation for almost six years, since Landcorp decided to engage farm managers to run each farm, rather than continue to enter partnerships with 50:50 sharemilkers.

• To page 37

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DAIRY PEOPLE: New Generation Farms

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

37

‘Ambitious new approach’ Sue Russell An ambitious new approach to farming investment and farm ownership has been developed by a North Otago company. It’s a model of farm ownership that strives to empower rural investors to become actively involved in farming, says Blair Hamilton, managing director of New Generation Farms Ltd (which is wholly owned by 3D Rural Group).

Those involved in the initiative have come to understand that if New Zealand farming is to remain competitive internationally with larger operations, more intensive farming practices and corporate ownership models aplenty, this is the perfect time to view investment in a new way.

Hamilton says the philosophy is bound around a set of core principles that turn the conventional control-based model of ownership on its head towards systems that empower governance.

“We see, time and time again, that when ownership is coupled with control and power is vested in those not actively involved in the farming experience, there is often an unhealthy and inhibiting disconnect. The farm manager becomes frustrated and the farm under-achieves.”

The driving impulse behind New Generation Farms is developing a new approach to farm ownership by viewing capitalism compassionately, and supporting people and the farm to develop and realise their full potential.

The model is centred around having a core of current farming operators in any pool of investors.

Because investment and operations are separated, the person operating the farm can change, accountability can be created, opportunities open up for young farming talent to be developed, and long-term sustainability is provided, says Hamilton.

He is adamant that for the primary sector to

Left: Hamish and Katy Wade sharemilk on the Island Cliff Dairy Ltd farm, one of New Generation Farms Ltd’s properties.

Below: Blair Hamilton feels the vastness of the view across Island Block reflects the opportunity New Generation Farms seeks to offer. continue to thrive, opportunities need to be created for young, talented, next-generation farmers to come into the investment structure and not be pushed out by the larger and more powerful investment lobby.

“It’s about working within a co-operative model,

valuing it, and knowing that productivity is greater when everyone is working from their strengths, with less emphasis on a power-based hierarchical approach.”

Hamilton says that New Generation Farms is keen to hear from people attracted by the idea of

this new relationship to investing in farming.

3D Rural Group has two other rural-service companies under its umbrella – an agricultural contracting company, Plateau Works, and a farming-machinery support and advice company, Landplan.

The model is centred around having a core of current farming operators in any pool of investors.

Cluster continues to develop • From page 36 “Under the new regime we’ve been able to establish better control over the running of the farms and make some significant production gains,” he says.

“This year alone, we have increased production from 1400 to 1460kg milksolids per hectare, which for this scale is pretty good.”

Keeping the cows at optimal feed levels is a major goal of the group, he says.

“If we focus on the quantity and quality of grass being fed to the cows, then milk production will take care of itself. We are fine-tuning our feeding regime all the time to ensure we use our grass and supplements as efficiently as possible.”

The Moutoa Dairies farms range in size from 200-cow to 1000-cow units.

Over the last three years most sheds and yards have been upgraded with the introduction of new Milk Hub technology.

“It is a good tool, but is still dependent on the information going in,” says Wilkinson. “Some of the farms are using it more than others. But I think that in the long term, it will be very useful.”

Landcorp employs 27 staff across the nine properties, including a “good, stable team” of farm managers who have monthly meetings as a group and receive regular on-farm visits from Wilkinson.

Each manager is clearly responsible for the performance on that farm, with the best-performing farm setting the benchmark.

Information on stocking rates and feed

consumption, milk-flow statistics, production-cost ratios, projected profit figures and other critical variables are shared through Dairy Production Reporting (DPR).

“Our managers operate relatively autonomously.

I used to drive things a bit more, but I’m more hands-off now, providing an overall management perspective, and monitoring and reviewing budgets.”

One of the biggest challenges facing the group is when a good farm manager leaves, says Wilkinson..

“We don’t have a huge staff turnover, but when we do, it can leave a gap. If we throw a younger, more inexperienced farm manager into a farm, it could hit a bit of a dip. The challenge is how we transition these young people into farms, but still achieve the same financial results.”

Before he took up the role with Landcorp, Brian Wilkinson was a Waikato dairy farmer who had gone through the sharemilking system and owned a dairy unit north of Hamilton.

“It was a big move, but a good one,” he says.

“I really enjoy being able to give something back.

Helping the young guys progress through the system is probably the most rewarding aspect of the job.”

With ongoing improvement in herd and feed management, there is no reason why Moutoa Dairies can’t continue to make gains, he says.

“We have some good systems in place, but will continue to look at ways we can refine them to maximise profit.”

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38

DAIRY PEOPLE: Tauhara Moana Trust

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Maori trust again centre Karen Phelps The Tauhara Moana Trust hopes its recent decision to once again become a Dairy New Zealand focus farm will not only benefit other Maori-operated dairy farms, but also help Central Plateau farmers in general.

Certainly, that’s the hope of Clinton Hemana, chairman of Tauhara Farms Ltd Partnership, which operates the Tauhara Moana Trust farms.

“Maori are good at governance, but we need to be more conversant with cows and grass,” he says.

“If those involved in the governance [of Maori trust-operated farms] had a greater understanding of dairy farming, they would be able to drive their dairy farms better. It’s really important for Maori to be able to see how other Maori entities are doing things.”

Hemana has been employed by Tauhara Moana Trust for precisely this reason – to provide his expertise in the dairy industry to the board so that it can make informed decisions.

It seems to be working: In 2010 the trust took over the hands-on operation of an 880-hectare (effective) property it owns from a previous lease/ receivership settlement. Trustees believed more value could be delivered to shareholders by direct management.

For DairyNZ it was timely that the Tauhara Moana Trust was reclaiming the property as it provided DairyNZ with a blank canvas to work with in conjunction with 50:50 sharemilkers Olly and Kim Gibberd, farm adviser Mark Johnston, and the Tauhara Moana trustees.

The property is being split into two dairy units, a move the trustees believe will bring operational efficiencies and result in financial advantage for shareholders.

The property, which is split by a road, consists of a 400ha (effective) dairy farm on which a new 60-bail rotary dairy has just been built, and a 370ha (effective) farm which has a 60-a-side herringbone dairy.

Two managers, and around 15 full-time and

three casual staff will be employed over the farms.

The trust also leases a 1000ha support block, which it uses for running young stock, wintering cows and growing silage.

The land can’t be sold, so we are not farming for capital gains; we’re farming for profit. For the Tauhara Moana Trust, it’s not a case of trading off the environment or the economy; it’s a case of both working hand in hand.

The Tauhara Moana Trust, which has more than 2000 shareholders, was one of the foundation shareholders in Miraka Ltd, the milk-powder plant at Mokai to which the farms supply their milk.

Hemana says a major thrust for the trust is per-hectare profit coupled with kaitiakitanga, guardianship and conservation of the land. This can be an interesting balance to manage.

“The land can’t be sold, so we are not farming for capital gains; we’re farming for profit. For the Tauhara Moana Trust, it’s not a case of trading off the environment or the economy; it’s a case of both working hand in hand.”

For example, one of the key considerations in

the decision to put two dairy sheds on the property was the desire to reduce the cows’ average walk to get to the dairy shed. Some cows had to walk up to 10 kilometres to get there. The average walk of five kilometres has been trimmed to two kilometres, which should markedly improve feed conversion rates.

The new shed has automatic teat spraying, which was also important because one of the farm’s big issues was mastitis, says Hemana.

Every bail now has a sprayer, and when the automatic cups drop, the cows’ udders can be sprayed within 3-5 seconds.

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DAIRY PEOPLE: Tony & Sandra Rogers

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

39

of attention per millilitre and having a lot of clinical cases, which means days out of milk costing the farm money.

“Part of the reason for this was the size of the operation. By splitting the herd and land into two farms, it will mean better management will be possible.”

The Massey University storage calculator was used to determine effluent storage needs for the farms.

As the farms are on pumice soil, irrigation is possible most days – little and often is the motto when it comes to effluent spraying.

With the new system, dairy effluent goes through an eight-foot, passive, screen separator,

PHOTOS Facing page: Reducing the average walk to and from milking was a key consideration in putting two sheds on the Tauahara Moana Trust’s dairy farms.

Below: As the farms are on pumice soil, irrigation is possible most days – little and often is the motto when it comes to effluent spraying. The Massey University storage calculator was used to determine effluent storage needs for the farms.

which distils the solids down to 20% dry matter and liquid, with fines of less than one millimetre. Green water will be used for flood washing.

LIC Protrack on both sheds allows for automatic drafting.

The two farms will peak-milk a combined total of 2400 kiwicross cows. The herd, which was bought at the start of last season, has average breedingworth and production-worth figures – which makes this another key area of improvement for Tauhara Moana to target.

The ReGen system on the farm uses Aquaflex soil-moisture meters and historical data to predict likely weather patterns. These tools combine to provide staff with information on what levels of irrigation levels are the most appropriate on any given day.

The farms do strict nutrient-management plans, which include the rider of never going over 150 units of nitrogen per hectare.

Hemana says the decision to become a DairyNZ focus farm was also financial: “We will be on a very aggressive growth curve, and partnering with DairyNZ was an essential part of helping us achieve this.”

Tony Rogers finds an ideal spot to do a bit of thinking.

Cheerful controversialist • From page 40 This appealed to Rogers because he has a farm at Inangahua as well as the home farm at Turakina.

“They were talking about the co-operatives working together and not competing in the same overseas markets.

“Then there was talk about Synlait, which tried to get local support but eventually got backing from China, now having shareholders from FrieslandCampina, Fonterra’s major competitor.

Now that would really set the cat among the pigeons.

“Whether it comes to much, only time will tell, but FrieslandCamina does want to get its foot into

the New Zealand liquid-milk market.”

Where many commentators see change as something to be resisted, or at the very least, grizzled about, Rogers is more inclined to accept the inevitable, and look for ways to make use of the new environment.

“The trend is for farms to be owned by by massive investors. Dairying is becoming increasingly corporate, with lots of investors owning a bit of the farm while someone else does all the work.”

Tony Rogers may come from perhaps the smallest dairy section of the Federation in the country, but he keeps an eye on whichever way the World’s winds are blowing.

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40

DAIRY PEOPLE: Tony & Sandra Rogers

NZ Dairy / Spring 2013

Tony Rogers...a man with a few opinions, and not afraid to express them, he keeps the general readership informed about the dairy/ agricultural sector, and lets his constituents know they have a voice in the industry.

Cheerful controversialist Neil Grant Being the Federated Farmers dairy section chair in a region where there are only 16 dairy farms could be seen as a bit of a drag. Tony Rogers has held this Wanganui district position for more years than he cares to think about. He was asked to stand by the branch chair, and no-one has stood against him. So he just carries on.

“It’s rather bizarre,” he says. “It’s not a very active branch. Federated Farmers is a very worthwhile organisation, but it’s expensive to belong to.

They employ a lot of staff, who don’t come for nothing. It is expensive for farmers who are on the bones of their bums. The reality is, the only ones

belonging are getting long in the tooth and are not doing day-to-day farming, so have got more time.”

The section may be small, and there never seems to be enough cash for his honorarium, but Rogers still takes the job seriously.

“I go to a lot of conferences and I listen. It’s time consuming, but it’s interesting. Branches like Waikato and Canterbury get all the attention, but that’s where all the action is.”

Rogers reckons Wanganui has still probably got as many cows as it has ever had, but far fewer farmers. It has never been a big dairy area, probably because of its climate. It’s a bit too dry, by and large, but not dry enough to make irrigation worthwhile, as in Canterbury.

Amalgamating with another branch is a possibility, if a neighbouring branch wanted them.

So, it could all be a bit of a doddle. But Rogers is a man with a few opinions, and not afraid to express them. He gets articles in the local papers, and is cheerfully controversial in them. This keeps the general readership informed about what is happening in the dairy or general agricultural sector, and lets his constituents know they have a voice in the industry.

The easy thing to do is have a good winge, but Rogers’s articles show a pretty healthy balance.

Sure, he claimed that the Green Party’s Russell Norman was almost “treasonous” in a recent piece, but other articles have dealt with increased Fonterra payouts and how these will affect the local

economy, and being innovative on the farm in the face of the drought.

“I try to make things topical, and try not to go off on a tangent. It’s easy to grandstand, and make a twit of yourself. But I don’t go out and about pushing the barrow.

“One chap in the federation said to me he had learned the best way to deal with things [at meetings] is to keep your mouth shut. If you just do your job, you get respect from the directors.”

A recent meeting had a discussion between bosses of Fonterra and Westland Milk Products.

• To page 39

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