36 | Amie & Karl at the helm of change Karl Dean and Kelvin Coe’s Cow numbers haven’t increased; the farm is still milking the same 400 cows, mainly crossbred Jersey-Friesians. Karen Phelps DAIRY » Karl Dean and Kelvin Coe 50:50 sharemilkers Amie and Karl Dean have been at the helm of a big change to the farming system of Kelvin Coe’s 195ha effective dairy unit sited on the edge of Lake Ellesmere in Canterbury. The farm has shifted from a system three to one in the past two years as more land was brought into the system via a cropping block Kelvin owned next door that was previously used for contract grazing the farm’s cows. The change has meant the dairy unit is now self-contained while still keeping within the nutrient limits set previously. Cow numbers haven’t increased; the farm is still milking the same 400 cows, mainly crossbred Jersey-Friesians. The new direction has been supported with more automation put in the shed - ACRs and automatic drafting – and halter collars on the herd. This has reduced the labour input needed to milk, which can now be utilised on the rest of the property. There is also more control over feed. They are growing 20ha of kale and 10ha of rape for winter and have just harvested 20ha of barley and peas for cereal silage as a trial to see if the cows milk better on this mix. “Instead of importing feed or grazing animals off they are now on the platform. This has made it a bit easier to manage and we know we always have feed, as we are the ones responsible for growing it. It should help limit costs,” says Karl. Karl and Amie have also leased 110ha of land from Kelvin and diversified their business into arable cropping and sheep. This year they grew 7ha of peas for Wattie’s, 10ha of wheat, 8ha of annual ryegrass for seed, 18ha of barley and 13ha of maize to sell to dairy farms. Karl says the biggest challenges have been the bigger impact inclement weather can have and getting their heads around cashflow on a cropping unit, where significant investment is made and payback might not occur for 12 months plus, compared with the more rapid returns in dairy. “For example we were really wet late spring/early summer, which stressed a lot of the crops and we couldn’t really do much. It meant lower yields and the pea and maize crops failed. Obviously we learnt lessons from the first year and hopefully there will be improvement this year.” We specialise in farm management services incl. baling, hay, straw, silage & cartage, all cultivation work, harvesting crops and much more! Jeff - 027 434 2455 Rod - 027 544 0646 • Concrete • Fertiliser Spreading - Farm Mapping - GPS Tracking - Variable Rate Spreading • Livestock Cartage • Grain Cartage • Shingle Supplies • Daily Freight Leeston: 03 3248 070 Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz Celebrating over 100 years in business Karl Dean and Kelvin Coe’s farm has shifted from a system three to one in the past two years. They are also finishing around 400 ewes, a mix of Romney and Wiltshire and leasing a 20ha block from Aimie’s parents with a centre pivot at Burnham – 10-15 minutes from Kelvin’s farm. This is a small scale beef finishing unit where they take 50 calves through from the dairy farm to 18-24 months. The couple employ 1.5 labour units and both work actively on the farm. They are parents to Isabelle, 3, with their second child due in May. “We’ve grown and diversified our business quite a bit. It will take a wee while to pay off but our income stream is around 40% non dairy now. It’s about trying to weather the storms a bit more and also gives staff a bit of diversity in their work as well.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=