Contest rich source of ideas - Waterford Press

42 ON FARM
NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012
Contest rich source of ideas
Karen Phelps
First-time entrants in this year’s Dairy NZ
Sharemilker of the Year Jonathon and Jo
McCluskie have come away with encouraging
feedback from the judges and a strategy for
improvements in their farming.
The McCluskies are now in their second
season of lower-order sharemilking 230 cows at
Opunake, in Taranaki, after moving from a similar
position on a 500-cow farm at Mokoia, south of
Hawera.
They moved to the smaller farm as a lifestyle
choice,because at Opunake they don’t need to
hire staff, and have more time to spend with their
children, aged 10 and 7.
The couple have planned to go 50:50
sharemilking in 2016, when their children are a bit
older.
“When we mentioned that to the judges, they
told us we are actually a lot closer to our goal
of 50:50 sharemilking than we realised, ” Jo
We weren’t too worried
we got knocked out
becuause we entered
for a learning experience
and to meet other
successful people
McCluskie says. “They said we should start to
think about sitting down with the bank manager.
“However, we still want to hold off on making
that move until 2016 for the kids’ sakes. We will
just continue saving and investing wisely so that
when we do decide to go, we will have some
funds.”
Although the McCluskies were knocked out
of the competition in the first round, they say
receiving four pages of feedback, complete with
judges’ comments on what they’ve done well and
what they can improve on, has been valuable.
“We know where we’re going wrong and where
we can improve,” Jonathon McLuskie says.
“We weren’t too worried we got knocked out
because we entered for a learning experience, and
to meet other successful people in the industry.
“We’ve achieved that, and if we decide to enter
next year, we hope can make it through to the
second round.”
In their first season on the Opunake farm, they
discovered they had a lot to learn because the
farm is much higher than the coastal farm they
came from at Mokoia.
“Grass growth is later here, and we make
supplements later,” McLuskie says. “We can’t
have high stocking rates because of how wet it is.
“We need to implement good conservation of
grass and we need to respect the land. You do
appreciate what grass you can get.”
The farm-owner asked the McLuskies to grow
a paddock of turnips for supplement in their first
season, which they did, but this season have
replaced that with meal fed in the shed.
“We did a study on the cost of putting the
money from turnips into meal in the shed or into
grass,” Jo McLuskie says. “We’ve decided to feed
more palm kernel and kibble maize in the shed,
and that has saved a lot of time, and it has also
The four pages of comments on their work that Jo and Jonathon McCluskie got back from the
Sharemilker of theYear judges have formed the basis for their improvement programme.
saved cows from mastitis and lameness, which
were problems we had while feeding turnips.”
Those problems in their first season didn’t
slow the McCluskies down though, as the couple
achieved farm record production of 89,000
kilograms of milksolids.
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Succession planning looms large in many farmers’
lives, and especially those who have made dramatic
changes to the land they live on.
David and Raewyn Bennett have a dairy farm
near Matamata, in the Waikato, which they acquired
after having started off with the typical small block.
Over the years they bought neighbouring
properties, boosting their milking platform to 255
hectares (effective), and milking 1280 cows last
spring.
What sets the Bennetts apart was their decision
to farm so intensively they could achieve the output
of a property perhaps twice the size.
This required planning to ensure economic
viability, and the base for the system is bringing in
large quantities of supplementary feed in addition to
the lucerne and maize they grow for themselves.
Having made their decision, the Bennetts moved
through a series of small steps to achieve their goal.
They weathered the storms of suddenly reduced
Fonterra payouts or unexpectedly increased feed
prices, and found that, on balance, things have
worked out well.
“It all depends on the balance of feed prices
and Fonterra payout,” David Bennett says. “We
grow 26ha of lucerne which we cut and carry to the
stock – that’s a daily chore from October to May.
“We cut between 0.7ha and 1ha per day,
depending on how fast it’s growing. We also grow
14 to 16ha of maize on the farm, and 70ha down
the road on a support block.”
Supplementary feeding needs to be balanced
against maintaining good pasture quality because,
Bennett says, if cows get too much supplement,
they eat less grass, and this can adversely affect
pasture quality. He is happy with both the quality
and quantity of his pasture at the moment.
Holding large supplies of supplementary feed
has advantages for animal health too, Bennett says.
Where previously, dry spells or wet and cold
weather would affect stock condition, now they can
ride out such events and keep their stock in good
health and production.
The Bennetts milk all year round, calving in
spring and autumn.
“It’s pretty full-on. There are no slack periods,”
he says. “We built a new rotary shed in 2004, and it
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“It takes a bit of maintenance, though.”
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NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012 ON FARM 43
Gen 4 steers
family farm
Karen Phelps
On an average day at the Sulzberger farm it’s not
unusual to see Brad Sulzberger out on the tractor,
son Andrew in the milking shed, and Andrew’s wife,
Sibyllle, taking care of the farm wages.
The 121-hectare (effective) family farm at
Urenui, in northern Taranaki, now has a fourth
generation of Sulzberger working the land.
The family, whose ancestors came from
Germany, are shareholders – along with Andrew’s
mother, Chris, and grandmother, Eileen – in
Sulzberger Farms Ltd, which owns the land.
The company owns the herd and machinery,
and each family member leases the land owned
back to the company.
“It’s more flexible than sharemilking,” Andrew
Sulzberger says. “For example, we all have the
same focus in mind: to create more profit.”
The farm employs one full-time staff member
and a relief milker, peak-milking 330 predominantly
friesian and crossbred cows through a 32-a-side
herringbone shed.
Sulzberger, who oversees the day-to-day
operation of the farm, says he has personally had
a change of focus in recent years to create a better
work-life balance.
“When I was younger, I was more focused on
chasing production. Now I am focusing more on
sustainable profitability. It’s about working smarter,
not harder, and getting more efficient.”
Part of this, he says, is trying to make the cows
work harder for them. He places emphasis on
grasping on-going learning opportunities.
Although he grew up on the family farm
Sulzberger studied at Taratahi, completing a trade
certificate in dairying, as well as a Diploma in
Agriculture at Massey University and a Bachelor
of Applied Science. He has since completed many
courses, including Pasture Plus and the InCalf
programme offered by DairyNZ.
His present focus is improving pasture
management with skills learned from the Pasture
Plus course. He aims to keep residuals to 1600,
having found this level results in better-quality
pasture. The farm has no irrigation and is prone to
summer and autumn-dry periods. He mitigates this
by growing or buying in 120 tonnes of maize a year.
A travelling irrigator disperses effluent across
the 12 to 14ha on which the maize is grown.
Sulzberger is also a keen participant in the
local DairyNZ discussion group: “It’s invaluable for
tougher times of the year when you feel like you are
the only one having problems, and discover that
others are having issues as well. It’s a great way to
bounce ideas off people and pick their brains.”
Two years ago the farm produced 119,000
kilograms of milksolids on 130ha, which included
some lease land. This season the targetis
130,000kg on 121ha through better management
and thanks to a kinder growing season.
Andrew Sulzberger says the family is constantly
comparing its farm with the best out there, and
aiming to close any gap.
Andrew and Sibylle have three children: Maia, 6
Andrew Sulzberger with his daughters, twins Sophia and Olivia, in front, and Maia
Brad Sulzberger (left) with son Andrew
and his wife, Sibylle.
and twins Sophia and Olivia, 5. They say they would
consider investing in another farming operation,
but for now are content to work the flat to rolling
farmland that has been in the family for so long.
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of nine days on and three days off. A permanent
tractor-driver deals with feeding and maintenance.
One Bennett son, Jeremy, is the operations
manager, and has recently become a quartershareholder
in the business. ,
His brother, Jonathon, looks after calf rearing,
machinery maintenance and, effluent speading, and
does some of the milking.
“Employing more people means you have to
set up roles to keep them busy all day,” says David
Bennett.
“But it does have a good side: it has freed us up
so we get some free time too.”
He and a neighbour get away occasionally to go
David Bennett...
thinking about the
succession-planning
thing for a number of
years.
fishing up the Thames coast, and he and Raewyn
get time at their beach bach.
Having worked their way up to a sustainable and
economically practical intensive farm, the Bennetts
now take pleasure in seeing the results of their work
being taken up by the next generation.
“We’ve been thinking about the successionplanning
thing for a number of years now, and it’s
really cool to see Jeremy locked in and driving the
place.
“It’s really all we could have wished for. You
build the business up and want to see it run on after
you pull out of it. We think we are leaving it in really
good hands.”
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44 ON FARM
NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012
The Hauraki Plains’ first focus farm brains trust, from left: DairyNZ’s Wayne Berry, AgFirst consultant Dave Millar and DairyNZ’s Murray Perks with Mathew Macinnes addressing a fielday.
Focus farm status a boon
Jo Bailey
A major on-farm development by Angus and Karen
MacInnes and their son, Mathew, has coincided
with their role as DairyNZ’s first focus farm on the
Hauraki Plains.
Next season the MacInneses will increase
their milking platform from 112 hectares to 180ha
effective after incorporating a smaller adjacent block
they bought two years ago.
Peak-milking numbers will rise significantly from
320 to around 510.
“We probably would have joined the two farms
together anyway, but it has been great to have the
expertise of DairyNZ’s two local consulting officers
and the farm consultant they appointed as we’ve
made the decision,” Mathew MacInnes says.
The MacInneses are nearing the end of their first
season as a focus farm and have been collecting
data since last March.
“We felt the farm was drifting along without
really pushing the boundaries, so Dad decided to
become part of the programme to intensify things
a bit.”
He says the family is happy with the decision
and the progress they are making.
“We meet once a fortnight with the consultants
who are really easy to deal with.
“We’ve introduced several new things this year
with pretty good results.”
These include cutting the rate of supplements,
mainly meal, and better utilising the grass in a bid to
increase profits.
“Our nitrogen use has increased to promote the
growth and quality of the grass.
“We’re concentrating more on the residuals, and
it looks as though we’ll get a good result, although
we won’t know for sure until the end of the season.”
Their herd of mainly kiwi-cross cows with a few
friesians is milked in a 36-a-side herringbone shed.
MacInnes says production is tracking around
We felt the farm was drifting along without realling
pushing the boundaries, so Dad decided to become
part of the programme to intensify things a bit,”
says Mathew.
He says the family is happy with the decision
and progress: “We meet once a fortnight with the
consultants, who are really easy to deal with. We’ve
introduced several new things this year with pretty
good results.”
These include cutting the rate of supplements
(mainly meal) and a better use of grass in a bid to
increase profits.
“Our nitrogen use has increased to promote
the growth and quality of the grass. We’re
concentrating more on residuals and it looks as
through we’ll get a good result although we won’t
know for sure until the end of the season.”
Their herd of mainly kiwi-cross cows with a
“few friesians” is milked in a 36-a-side herringbone
cowshed. Production is tracking around 2% ahead
of the budgeted 103,000 kilograms of milksolids.
“It is in the high 800s kilograms per hectare,
which is a big jump. We hope to maintain it at that
mark after we join the farms together.”
The effluent system has been upgraded with a
new pond and an extension of the application area,
in anticipation of next season’s larger herd and to
ensure compliance, he says.
Mathew MacInnes is the third generation of his
family to farm the Ngatea dairy unit, which was
• To page 45
We’ll consolidate...and continue to tweak and develop
our operation under the focus farm umbrella for the
three-year term.
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NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012 ON FARM 45
Last-chance entry yields award win
Karen Phelps
The 2012 Waikato Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the
Year winners, Barry and Nicky McTamney, entered
the competition only because it was their last chance
before taking on their first equity partnership.
So nobody was more surprised than they were
when they won.
“I guess the judges saw that we really know why
we are farming. The reason is we really enjoy it, and
also because of family,” Barry McTamney says.
“Our kids are our real driver in the business, and
dairying provides everything you could want in terms
of providing a good environment for kids to grow up
in.”
They have two children, Evan, 2, and Jade,three
months.
The McTamneys, who were runner-up in
2002 in the Farm Manager of the Year Award, are
50:50 sharemilking 275 cows for the MacLennan
Family Trust on an 82 hectare (effective) farm near
Otorohanga.
They employ help as needed to ensure Nicky has
the freedom to be a full-time mum.
Barry spent his early years on a dairy farm but
learned the business by working for neighbouring
farms after his parents sold their cows when he was
just a toddler.
He went on to complete a Bachelor of Applied
Science in Forestry and Agriculture; Nicky has a
Diploma in Veterinary Nursing.
The pair worked their way up the system and are
now completing their fifth season on the MacLennan
Family Trust farm.
They milk the jersey and jersey-cross herd through
a 26-a-side herringbone shed.
And, although the farm was in good shape when
That’s it for a while, says focus family
• From page 44
bought by his grandfather in 1979 to add a block he
had owned since 1960.
IAngus and Karen MacInnes through their
company, MacInnes Farms Ltd, now own the
property, plus a 78ha unit four kilometres away,
where a farm manager milks 200 cows.
“I did a bit of travelling, then managed this
smaller unit for three years before coming back
to the home farm as a lower-order sharemilker,”
Mathew McInnes says.
In addition, MacInnes Farms owns a 20ha
run-off block 25 minutes away; and leases an 80ha
block five minutes from the main farm. These are
looked after by Agus MacInnes, who and rears
replacements from calves to heifers.
Angus and Karen also help with herd records,
and Mathew’s wife, Natasha, a primary school
teacher, helps with relief milking when required.
They have one employee, Wendy Jewell, to
help with milking. Her husband, Trevor, will join the
operation next season as an extra labour unit.
Mathew MacInnes says the upcoming
development will be it for a while.
“We’ll consolidate after that and continue to
tweak and develop our operation under the focus
farm umbrella for the three-year term.
“We don’t anticipate any major changes in the
new season, apart from an increase in our stocking
rate by 0.1 per hectare.”
the they arrived, the McTamneys have managed to
lift production slightly from the farm best of 89,000
kilograms of milksolids.
They’re aiming for a farm production record in
their final season of 98,000kg milksolids when the
average has sat at around the 94,000kg mark during
their contract.
They say a key to their success is running a
simple system and focusing on getting the basics
right.
They have been feeding the herd around 200kg of
silage a year, and using palm kernel to fill in the gaps
during lactation. They make most of their silage on the
farm and buy in extra only if it’s required.
The lines of trees on the farm are being broken
up, and new trees dotted around the property instead.
This is proving visually more appealing and doesn’t
negatively affect grass growth.
Barry McTamney says that, previously, trees were
planted along drain edges, but were upsetting the
farm’s drainage.
The owners also plan to tidy up the willow trees
along the Waipa River, which runs through part of the
property.
In June the McTamneys will take the next step
in their careers and become equity partners and
managers of a 200ha (170ha milking platform), 500-
cow farm at Maihiihi.
They plan to buy the farm outright within 10 years.
Their equity partners in the new venture
were introduced to the McTamneys through their
accountant.
“We feel very comfortable with the farm and the
fact that we have found the right equity partners in
brother and sister Cecelia and Patrick Tarrant.
“That’s what it boils down to – finding the right
people to form a partnership with,” say Barry
McTamney.
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46 DAIRY RESEARCH
NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012
Kikuyu pasture trials show promise
Jo Bailey
A four-year, kikuyu pasture management trial
nearing completion at the Northland Agricultural
Research Farm (NARF) is showing promising
results.
The sub-tropical, drought-hardy kikuyu grass,
introduced from Africa, grows prolifically in
Northland during summer, but hardly at all in winter.
DairyNZ regional science manager Kate Wynn,
who is managing the trial for the Northland Dairy
Development Trust, says the grass is either “loved
or hated” by local farmers.
However the trial has shown that with careful
management and strategic use of supplements, the
profitability of kikuyu pasture systems is “equally as
good as, if not better than” ryegrass systems.
“The profitability we’ve achieved on kikuyu on
our farm at Dargaville falls within the top 10% in the
Northland region, which is a fantastic result,” she
says.
The trial compared the effects of three pasture
management systems on milk production and farm
profitability: ryegrass alone; mechanical control
of kikuyu (mulching and under-sowing Italian
ryegrass); and no mechanical control of kikuyu
(non-mulching and over-sowing Italian ryegrass).
Wynn says the key to success has been the
right stock management and use of mechanical
mulching, particularly at times of peak growth from
February to April when the region is wet and warm.
“Trying to manage the pasture with stock alone
is difficult as it requires heaps of stock in summer,
but in winter, when there is only minimal growth,
you end up feeding out lots of supplements.”
The trial is due to finish in May, and Wynn says
Northland farmers can expect good results from
kikuyu pastures when they are well managed.
Above: Participants at one of the Northland Dairy Development Trust’s four annual field days. Below: Management’s the key to optimising kikuyu.
“This is great news for local dairy farmers and
is equally applicable to the beef industry in the
region,” she says.
The Northland Dairy Development Trust was set
up in 2005 as a joint venture between the Northland
Agricultural Research Farm and Fonterra, to secure
dairying research for Northland. It now has a large
group of supporters and funders.
The trust undertakes research at a 260-hectare
(230ha effective) Fonterra property in the Jordan
Valley, milking 700 cows, and an 84ha (effective)
unit at Dargaville, milking 270 cows.
“The formation of the trust provided some
surety for the Northland Agricultural Research Farm
that had been around since 1920, but had been
operating as a commercial farm recently because it
couldn’t get [research] funding.
“The new funding under the trust allowed some
capital work to happen and for the farm to get back
to what it was originally set up for.”
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NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012 DAIRY RESEARCH 47
New trial looks
at persistence
• From page 46
Wynn has managed the research proposals and
trials on the two farms since the trust’s formation.
She says the pasture management trial has been
the flagship project over the last four years, but
other trials are also under way.
These include a small-plot trial investigating
establishment methods for plantain in existing
pasture; and trying to breed kikuyu adapted to New
Zealand conditions, and with better forage quality.
A DairyNZ-funded pasture persistence study has
also been in progress at Jordan Valley for almost a
year, and will run to May 2015.
“Poor persistence of pastures based on modern
ryegrass cultivars is an important issue for dairy
farmers,” says Wynn.
“Many have low confidence in the ability of new
pastures to produce high-quality dry matter for
cows to graze over a long period.”.
The pasture-persistence trial is gathering
information on the interaction between various
cultivars, the seeding rate in different environments,
and the effect on plant survival and pasture
persistence.
“It is quite a big project,” she says.
In addition to trials, the trust runs four field days
a year, including two science field days where it
presents an update on the trials and other industry
information.
“We get good support from local farmers
The trust’s trials are looking at the interaction between a range of cultivars, and associated factors such as plant survival and persistence.
and usually have up to 200 turn up to our annual
conference, held each November in Whangarei.”
With the pasture management trial about to
finish, Wynn says the trust’s attention is now
turning to future trials.
Poor persistence of modern ryegrass pasture cultivars
is an important issue for dairy farmers, with many having
low confidence in the ability of new pastures to produce
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Primary cooling not switched on
Milk refrigeration unit not switched on
Refrigeration unit failure
Temperature probe failure
Solution -
DTS TempPro
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Home or office must be in line of sight of the dairy shed
Extra charges will occur if
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As certain conditions may not be
suitable, a DTS representative will
visit on farm for confirmation
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An insulation wrap will reduce the cost of your
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Stops heat transfer coming
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vat does not increase.
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CIP wash, maximising the
cleaning of the vat.
Also eliminates crusting of
individual milking levels—
stopping a source of bacteria.
Trials show a 25% reduction in
the cost of running the chiller
when the vat is insulated.
Note: This saving is likely to be a
higher when there is “skip a day
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Silo with side-wall cooling
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48 DAIRY PEOPLE
NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012
‘A hell of a culture shock’
Jo Bailey
Richard Pirrit admits it was a “hell of a culture
shock” to leave Auckland city and return to the
family dairy farm just south of Morrinsville.
But 10 years on, he and wife Ariana have no
regrets and reckon there’s no better place to bring
up their two young sons, Lewis,6, and Lachlan, 4.
“The boys love getting out on the tractors and
motorbikes and helping with feeding out.
“It’s a great place for kids,” Pirrit says.
He came back to the farm in 2001 – just after
his father had put it on the market and a contract
milker decided to leave.
“I saw an opportunity and felt a real pull to go
back to my roots,” he says. We started back on
a contract-milking basis before going 50:50 in
2007.”
Pirrit had gone farming for three years after
leaving school and completed a technical course.
He then decided on a gap year, and didn’t return.
“I was young and a bit sick of having no
weekends off to catch up with my mates. I ended
up working in the ski industry at Mount Ruapehu
for several years, combined with an OE, then had
a stint in excavation and earthworks before getting
into sales in Auckland.”
That’s where he met Ariana, “a real Queen
Street girl” who had her own career as operations
manager for a New Zealand women’s-wear
company.
“We were only together a few months when we
moved back to the farm in June 2001.
“It was a huge shock for both of us to begin
with, but dairying felt like a good thing to be
involved in and I had a strong urge to come back to
my roots.”
Richard’s parents, Tim and Sue Pirrit, still live
Richard and Ariana Pirrit with their sons Laclan (second from right) and Lewis.
on the 84-hectare home block that has been in the
family for more than 100 years.
Around 260 cows were peak-milked this season
on a 93-hectare (effective) platform that includes
an 8ha lease block.
Calves are grazed on a 12ha run-off just down
the road, and the heifers are grazed out.
Four years ago a new 30-a-side herringbone
cowshed with 24 cups was built on the property.
Labour-saving devices include cup-removers and a
backing gate dung-buster.
“The shed is fantastic – one-man milking is
easy. I still get the same thrill out of it that I would
from a brand-new car.”
Pirrit says he tries to milk as late in the season
as possible: “If the weather allows, we try to milk
right through till the end of May.”
From mid-December the Pirrits drop to oncea-day
milking, a regime they started around seven
years ago.
• To page 49
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NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012 DAIRY PEOPLE 49
Pickfords keep
their farming
all in the family
The Pirrit family in the 30-a-side cowshed that, four years after it was built, still delights Richard with
its labour-saving features and efficiency.
Once-a-day milking decision
‘mainly a lifestyle choice’
• From page 48
“It was mainly a lifestyle choice as I was 40
when our first child was born, and there is only
20 months between the two boys. Home life
was pretty hectic, and milking once a day during
those few months makes it a lot easier.”
Production is tracking around 16% up on
last year after a cooler, wetter summer, and
should reach the targeted 95,000 kilograms of
milksolids.
Supplements include 9ha of maize grown
on-farm, up 2ha on last year: “Maize is great for
putting weight on the cows, and we also feed
it through tight patches in spring. This season
we’ve also fed around 60 tonnes of palm kernel.”
Richard Pirrit is usually the sole labour unit,
with extra staff taken on during calving and
mating and his father, Tim, sticking around
“on a daily basis”.
Solid panel housing
The shed is fantastic...
I still get the same thrill
out of it that I would from
a brand-new car.
Ariana does all the office work and, together
with Tim, rears the calves.
The farm is landlocked by a railway line,
roads and Maori land, which restricts them from
increasing the size of the operation,
Richard Pirrit says.
“Although we can’t get any bigger on
this property, we are looking at a few other
opportunities in the region that will allow us
to eventually increase cow numbers.”
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Dairy farming is a family affair for the Pickfords,
with Jeff and Marie Pickford’s son and daughter
both sharemilking on the two family farms, on State
Highway 1 and Mellington Rd, in the Rangitikei.
The original family farm at Rata has an
82-hectare milking platform, where daughter Lydia
Pickford and partner Scott Dickson 50:50 sharemilk
200 cows.
The 49ha farm at Mellington Rd, bought by
Jeff and Marie Pickford in 1984, was added to in
1989 when the neighbouring property of 38ha was
bought. This property milks 250 cows and is lowerorder
sharemilked by son Garth.
A further 50ha is owned by the family at the
back of the Rata property, and 46ha is leased off a
neighbour, with both used as support blocks for the
two dairy farms.
The Rata farm was converted to dairying in
1976 by Jeff Pickford’s father, and was 50:50
sharemilked by Jeff and Marie until 1984 when
they bought the Mellington Rd property. The farm
continued to be 50:50 sharemilked by Jeff’s father
until his death in 1986.
Jeff and Marie have since leased the property
with lower-order sharemilkers running it. In 2005
it was run as a bull farm, but, when beef prices
declined, the family returned the farm to dairying.
In 2009 daughter Lydia Pickford and Scott
Dickson, who were training thoroughbreds and
trotters in Ashburton, headed north to run the farm.
They brought their horses with them and train them
on a purpose-built track on the farm.
“Scott has come from the horse-breeding and
training industry and had never milked a cow in
his life,” Jeff Pickford says. “Nutrition is one of the
main aspects of the horse industry, so he has taken
to grass management and herd management like a
duck to water.”
Lydia initially did most of the milking. But when
the couple had a baby, Scott stepped up. They also
employ a staff member to milk the cows and help
with the horses.
Jeff Pickford says that his dairy farming
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“I prefer to look after the cows, rather than stick
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the end of it. It’s much easier to be able to go out
on to the farm and be happy with your cows.”
The Mellington Rd farm has an in-shed meal
feeding system, and, last season, a feed race was
upgraded to consent standards with all effluent
piped to ponds. The effluent is then dispatched via a
tractor-driven pump and travelling irrigator to almost
half the farm.
This farm is currently feeding 2 kilograms a day
of crushed barley, while at the Rata farm, Dickson
has picked up a second-hand, meal-feeding system
complete with grain crusher for his dairy shed,
though at this stage only palm kernel is being fed.
Both farms also grow maize silage, with 8ha on
the farm at Mellington Rd farm and 2ha at Rata.
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50
DAIRY PEOPLE
NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012
Calves path to one-man unit
Kelly Deeks
With his first season of contract-milking on
his family farm nearly under his belt, Hamish
Rabarts, of Otorohanga, is one step closer to his
sharemilking dream.
Rabarts had been managing the 300-cow farm
for the year before he started contract milking,
having previously managed his parents’ 140-cow
farm in the Coromandel, which they sold to buy the
larger Otorohanga farm.
Rabarts and his family – wife Rachel and
kids Claire, 7, and Jake, 5 – aim to go 50:50
sharemilking in three or four years.
“We’ll buy calves to start with and graze them
off farm,” he says.
“We tried to buy some this year, but prices are
quite dear at the moment. So, next year we will start
buying calves, and saving as best we can.”
He would like to start with a herd of about 280;
that way he could run the farm without employees.
He says he has always run the farm as if it was
his own, and is now more determined to get more
milksolids out of the cows.
He split the cows into younger and older herds
this season, having had two half-and-half herds last
season.
He has been feeding meal to the younger herd
(which also includes the lighter cows) twice a day
from the start of the season through to February,
while the older girls were getting chicory once a day
from December.
Rabarts finds that having the herd separated
in this way helps him maximise the grazing in the
paddocks.
It also enables him to pick up problems by
comparing one herd with the other.
Furthermore, the younger and lighter cows are
benefiting from being in their own herd, and not
getting pushed around by the old girls.
The 166-hectare farm comprises flat, to rolling,
to steep country.
When Rabarts’s parents bought it, it was a
130ha property forming a V with a neighbouring
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dairy farm, with a sheep-and-beef farm in the
middle.
The Rabartses bought 30ha of the front half
of the sheep-and-beef farm, and the neighbouring
dairy farmer bought the back half. They then built a
track through the middle to get access to the new
land.
The farm has a 100ha milking platform and
about 5ha of native bush divided off; the calves and
heifers are on the remainder.
Rabarts says this season has been better than
the last two in terms of weather: “It’s been brilliant:
we’ve had rain every week to help that grass
growth.”
“Production is 12% up on last year, which has a
lot to do with the weather, but also the management
as I’m making sure I utilise the paddocks properly.”
Last season the farm produced a total of
95,000 kilograms of milksolids, and this year
Rabarts is on target to raise that to 105,000kg.
PHOTOS
Top: Splitting the
herd into older and
younger animals has
allowed Hamish and
Rachel; Rabarts to
make performance
comparisons.
Above: The Rabarts’s
166-hectare farm near
Otorohanga has a bit
of everything...flat, to
rolling, to steep country.
Left: The farm is on
target to produce
105,000 kilograms of
milksolids this season.
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NZ Dairy / Autumn 2012 DAIRY PEOPLE 51
Two sons, two
farms ensure
succession
Jo Bailey
Shannon farmers John and Nellie McKenzie have
bought a second dairy farm with family succession
specifically in mind.
“When you have two sons interested in milking
and only one farm, you do have to consider your
options,” John McKenzie says.
On February 1st he and Nellie took possession of
a 210-hectare dairy unit at Marton that had been the
subject of a receivership sale.
“After having a look around the property we
decided to have a crack at tendering for the land and
buildings.
“Our tender ended up being successful and we
also agreed to buy the stock at valuation and the
farm machinery from the receiver,” McKenzie says.
There were some “minor issues” to overcome
during the purchase process, but the McKenzies built
a good relationship with the previous owner’s dairy
manager and assistant.
They have stayed on and will be joined next
season by one of the McKenzies’ sons, Jeremy, a
qualified builder who two years ago decided to make
a return to farming.
“It’s always pleasing when a child wants to come
home to the farm, but we’ve never forced it on any of
our four children,” McKenzie says.
Jeremy has spent the last two years working at
the home farm, this season under the lower-order
sharemilker.
“He’s been doing some ITO courses, and
basically learning how to run a dairy farm.
“We’re pleased with his progress – he’s very
keen on the industry and enjoying the lifestyle.”
Another son, Andrew, is also moving back to
farming, and also from a building career.
“Andrew and his wife, Sheree, have been running
their own construction company in Palmerston
North, but next season he’ll be working for his uncle,
Michael McAloon, who owns one of the larger dairy
farming operations in Manawatu.”
The McKenzies’ other children, Anna and Peter,
work for accounting firm KPMG in London, and have
no immediate plans to return to New Zealand.
McKenzie says the new property is reasonably
well set up, but will be enhanced by improvements to
the shed, water supply and effluent system.
“The shed has all the bells and whistles, with
cup removers and full automation, but needs some
tweaking to make it run more efficiently.
“Until now, water has been sourced from a spring
that’s known to run dry during the summer, so we
are drilling a well to supply the property instead.”
The 190ha (effective) platform was being farmed
intensively under the previous ownership, running
700-800 cows on year-round supply.
“We think it is really only a 600-cow property
and will calve and milk 500 the first season with the
intention of increasing numbers gradually within the
next two or three years.
“We will also cut out winter milking,” he says.
Back at the Shannon farm, which the McKenzies
operate under a company, Kintail Properties, their
lower-order sharemilker milks 480 cows on a 165ha
(effective) platform.
The McKenzies formed another company,
Mackindad Ltd, to farm the Marton block.
When John Mckenzie and his father first bought
the original 100ha Shannon block in 1971, it was
a sheep farm which they immediately converted to
It has been a good time to buy. Land prices are fair and
probably at the bottom of their cycle, interest rates are
low, and even though the world economy is a bit shaky,
we should be able to ride that out in New Zealand.
John McKenzie (left) and son Jeremy with Buck the dog.
dairying.
The Mckenzies have bought several other blocks
of neighbouring land, including an 88ha run-off near
the home farm, where they grow supplements for
both properties and raise young stock for Kintail.
John is currently budgeting on production of
170,000 kilograms of milksolids for the home farm,
and 180,000kg milksolids for the Marton property.
“Eventually we’d like to get to 400,000kg between
the two properties, but that will require a bit of
tweaking and better springs than we’ve had the last
couple of season.
“It’s good to have targets that are challenging, but
they also need to be achievable.
“We think we’ve got good staff that are capable of
getting there.”
John McKenzie has no regrets about the timing of
the new property acquisition, and is looking forward
to getting the first full milking season there under
way.
“In my opinion it has been a good time to buy,”
he says.
“Land prices are fair and probably at the bottom
of their cycle, interest rates are low, and even though
the world economy is a bit shaky, we should be able
to ride that out in New Zealand.”.
SHANNON
ENGINEERING
Bryce Street Shannon
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Palmerston North 4440
Phone: 06 952 8656
Fax: 06 952 8659
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