32 | Good start to 12th year back on the farm Come early April, the early calving cows will begin to dry off and Josh says the herd is sitting with a 72% six-week in-calf rate. Sue Russell RURAL PEOPLE » Whakatohea It’s been about a year since Rural North had the opportunity to speak with long-time Whakatohea farm manager, Josh Collier, so the conversation begins with the question of any changes or new developments on the dairy farm, located inland from Opotiki. “Things are pretty much ticking along as they have been. This is my 12th year back on the farm, so we have our systems well established. The only difference this year is that we put in a summer crop of chicory, having sprayed out 21ha in October and that worked very well,” Josh says. Chicory was chosen for its growing ability, establishing well from cultivation to grazing in about 42 days and Josh says he’s noticed the herd seem more content and production has tracked above last year despite the dry conditions. Whakatohea uses WELFARM, a web-based veterinary programme that measures, manages and monitors the health of the herd. “We work with our vet who gathers the data to analyse the condition score of each cow. It means, with this information we’re in the best position to make plans to get the best from our herd. Our current condition score is 4.” Throughout the season, from calving on, various herd health and welfare metrics are collected and added into the WELFARM portal. This information in turn produces benchmarks and helps Josh to see, at arm’s length what is going well and where improvement could happen. Come early April, the early calving cows will begin to dry off and Josh says the herd is sitting with a 72% six-week in-calf rate. Whakatohea is a self-contained dairy farm with 24ha of the farm devoted to growing Maize silage. The Maize is due to be harvested around the 20th March. Following this, the paddocks will be planted back into annual grass to be grazed over winter. Josh was also about to undertake the farm’s Overseer modelling. The computer modelling software system estimates nutrient use, transfers and losses within the whole farm system. It also estimates greenhouse gas emissions. This season Josh and the team peak milked 720, however after culling some lower producing cows the milk from 690 cows was currently in the vat. Asked about other possible developments, Josh says there’s some thought being given to investing in a purpose built calf shed. “Because we have a no bobby calf policy and our current infrastructure is a little bit less than what we ideally should have to function well. We have an old area where we used to store our silage about 70+ metres from the cowshed that would be a good spot for the new shed.” Working for a Maori trust board means that Josh liaises with a farm committee, however because the Iwi is now post-settlement, there are structural changes ahead. “They have elected a new board, slightly larger than the previous board, as well as independent directors to oversee the commercial and social arm of the board.” www.rmt.co.nz E. dispatch@rmt.co.nz P: 07 575 2006 (Mt. Maunganui Depot) P: 07 315 6454 (Opotiki Depot) P: 06 867 7899 (Gisborne Depot) Proudly supporting Whakatohea Carriers of bulk and bagged fertiliser – PKE and animal supplements Agent for Ballance Agri Nutrients Limited and Graymont Lime Agricultural Spreaders available (Opotiki / East Coast / Matawai) MPI Approved Transitional Facility (27901) – AS/NZS ISO 9001:2015 OUR SERVICES ∙ Baling Hay & Silage ∙ Cultivation & Planting ∙ Crops & Pasture Renewal ∙ Tractor & Trailer Cartage ∙ On-farm Engineering Work PROUDTOSUPPORTWHAKATOHEA 027 476 9670 watcon@xtra.co.nz
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