8 | DAIRY PEOPLE » Cam and Anna Edgecombe Cam is looking at the bigger picture Cam is also employed by Worldwide Sires and is very much interested in genetics. Randall Johnston Share milking 640 cows on 190ha at Momona, just south of Dunedin, Cam and Anna Edgecombe along with their team started calving at the end of July and are confident in hitting their targets this season. Since Cam and Anna spent most of June in the United States, there was plenty to be done on farm in a fairly short space of time pre-calving. “We were on a Worldwide Sires tour in Ohio and New York, it was pretty cool to see the herds where some of our latest genetics have originated from and seeing how they run their systems in the states. Cam was impressed that the overall stature of the herds was trending down on the farms we looked at. They have access to breeding technologies at a much cheaper price than we do here, so that makes genetic gain a whole lot quicker and cheaper. Cam is also employed by Worldwide Sires and is very much interested in genetics and what is available worldwide, rather than just being focused on what is happening and currently popular in New Zealand alone. “We were looking for an outcross about five years ago and were just blown away by the production we were getting out of the American animals, once we started down that path. Now we are seeing significant gains in health traits including mastitis and lameness resistance that the NZ index doesn’t measure with as much accuracy. We are fairly limited in terms of the data that we have available to us when genomic testing here in New Zealand and I believe that is holding the industry back to a degree. We aren’t making the gains that we should be.” “We are still now moving from a typical high BW Kiwi Cross into north American genetics, the American genetics are performing a lot more efficiently for us. In today’s farming systems we are needing more production from less cows.” The stocking rate on-farm is currently quite high at 3.5 cows/ha, so ideally Cam would like to reduce the herd size in the years ahead. With half the farm being on the flood plain (by the Dunedin airport) and half leading up towards the foothills of the Maungatua and a clay-type soil, the location and the land posed both benefits and challenges.“It does give us options. It dries out in the summer, but if there is a flood, it gives us somewhere to run to – thankfully that hasn’t happened in the five seasons since we’ve been on the property,” Cam explains. The economics of farming have shifted significantly in those five years. “When we started on this farm we were buying grass silage at 21c a kilo. It’s now 28c a kilo and we aren’t getting any more money for our milk, so that’s taken quite a bit of maneuvering to make that work - without changing our whole system.” There is a creek that runs through the property that provides stock water, as well as a few bores on the farm. They grow fodder beet, along with silage which is fed out when the land gets dry in summer. They are twice a day milking, except for at the end of each season when we switch to 3 in 2, using a 40-aside herringbone. Two full-time staff members along with milk Outram Contracting RegisteredWeed Sprayer BoomSpraying, Automatic Hose Reel, Broom& Gorse Spraying, Liquid Fertilizer Ken & Barbara Cuthill Cell 027 486 1738 A/H 03 486 1730 Based on the Taieri, we offer our valuable clients the following services: • Baling (net wrap & film-on-film) • Cultivation • Direct Drilling • Cartage • Hedge Cutting EwanAllan HondaMosgiel 119 Dukes Road North, Mosgiel 03 486 1222 | 027 250 7512 dave@ewanallan.co.nz www.ewanallan.nz harvesters and weekend relief help keep things running smoothly. They are looking to install wearable cow collar technology – which will also help give them a better insight into herd behavior and data on specific animals within it. With our herd genetics heading in the right direction and technology being utilised, the years ahead are looking bright for Cam and Anna Edgecombe along with the team. Outram | hysloprural@xtra.co.nz | 03 4861777 Proud members of We’re proud to support Cam Edgecombe We’re p oud to support Cam & Anna Edg combe
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=