34 | Young stock delivering a strong start Around four staff manage the day-to-day running of the dairy platform. Russell Fredric RURAL PEOPLE » Pouarua Dairy Unit Replacing a mature herd with rising two-yearold heifers is an unusual move, but the young stock now milking at Pouarua A are delivering a strong start. Farm manager Aaron Frazer oversees a 213- hectare effective dairy unit within the wider Pouarua Farms platform on the Hauraki Plains, where a large-scale system combines pasture management, technology and careful herd development. Pouarua Farms sit about 35 kilometres southeast of the Bombay Hills and form the largest single dairy platform in the Hauraki region. The 2,200-hectare operation includes nine dairy units and one dry stock farm, milking around 4,600 cows across 1,775 hectares and producing about 1.65 million kilograms of milk solids each season. The farms are jointly owned by Ngati Maru, Ngati Paoa, Ngati Tamatera, Ngati Tara Tokanui and Te Patukirikiri. The farms were initially operated in a 50/50 sharemilking arrangement with Landcorp between 2013 and 2019 but Pouarua Farms are now fully run by the iwi owners under a limited partnership structure. Pouarua A milks through a 54-bail rotary shed fitted with Waikato Milking Systems technology, including automatic cup removers and Protrack automatic drafting. Around four staff manage the day-to-day running of the dairy platform. A major shift came when the existing herd of 600 cows was replaced for the current season, Aaron says. “Instead of bringing in a full herd of mature cows, we brought in around 540 rising two-year-old heifers,” Aaron says. The decision effectively rebuilt the herd. Establishing a predominantly young herd required careful feed planning and pasture management as heifers have different nutritional requirements compared with older cows, but there is the advantage that they all have essentially the same requirements. “We’re still running roughly the same stocking level, but the big difference is that most of the herd are heifers rather than mature cows.” A strong focus has gone into ensuring the quantity and quality of feed, including 10 day pasture walks. “A lot of the focus was making sure pasture supply and feed planning could support a young herd.” Consequently strategic grazing management plays a key role in maintaining pasture quality and practices such as round-speed topping and silage production help ensure consistent feed quality across the season. Technology also supports day-to-day management across the farm. Allflex collars monitor cow rumination, while Halo systems track water, milk and effluent flows, providing real-time insight into herd performance and infrastructure across the platform. Production has tracked well during the 2025–26 season to date, with the young herd performing strongly.The farm budgeted for around 200 kilograms of milk solids per cow for the full season, but current performance suggests the herd should comfortably exceed that and around 250 kilograms of milk solids per cow now looks achievable, with the potential to push closer to 270 if conditions remain favourable through the remainder of the season. “It’s been a really good season so far.” The long-term goal is to shape a herd that performs well within the farm’s pasture-based system 2 to 3 operation, while incrementally lifting reproductive performance and overall consistency. PROUDLY SUPPORTING POUARUA DAIRY UNIT M: 0274 954 037 | E: barksdigs@xtra.co.nz Steve Barker LtdDigger Contractor - Ngatea 0274 741 105 Hauraki Plains of ce@nicholsoncontracting.co.nz For all your Ag Contracting needs “A big part of it is building a herd that fits the system we want to run here,” Aaron says. “We’re essentially building the herd from the ground up, which gives us the chance to shape the herd and the system so it works for the farm long term.”
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