32 | Acting when markets and equity aligned Each farm is coded and monitored separately, allowing performance to be benchmarked and helping identify where improvements can be made. Russell Fredric Growth through well-timed opportunities has shaped the evolution of Jackson Farming, with Richard and Danielle Jackson steadily expanding from a single Southland dairy farm. The business now operates three farms supplying Open Country. The 203-hectare home farm at Rakahouka, with 187 effective hectares, sits northeast of Invercargill alongside Browns, a leased dairy unit now in its third season, and the recently acquired Tussock Creek property. Together the farms milk 1950 cows owned by the business, with each property managed as separate business units while contributing to the wider operation. The expansion has been driven by identifying opportunities and acting when market conditions and equity aligned. Browns was leased three seasons ago, while Tussock Creek was secured just before farmland values increased sharply. “We bought the cows cheap and then the following year they had significantly increased in value since we bought them. So it’s given us spare equity in our business to make the next move,” Richard says. Each farm is coded and monitored separately, allowing performance to be benchmarked and helping identify where improvements can be made. Jackson Farming has recently introduced the Mytrev web-based reporting platform to aggregate operational information across its own farms and those of Richard’s wider family, creating a larger pool of comparable data. “It’s great. I just like comparing data and comparing operators and systems and trying to come up with the system that makes the most margin.” Technology is a key part of that analysis. Browns has been equipped with Halter collars, while the other farms use Allflex collars, enabling direct comparisons between systems. “Using Halter collars at Browns, the property with the least existing technology – where we have farmed for a whole season with Halter – we found that we utilised 500kg/dm of pasture extra than the Hedgehope farm using tradition fencing and Allflex collars. Both farms have identical soil types and Hedgehope even has a standoff feed pad.” The overall operation has progressively moved to a higher input system, increasing imported feed and stocking rates as part of its production strategy. “We’ve been slowly going from a System 3 to a System 5 over the years and the more feed we’ve put in, the more margin we’ve made per hectare.” RURAL PEOPLE » Jackson Farming Ltd Richard says his own calculations also highlight the productive capacity of dairy farming. He estimates their 187 effective-hectare home farm produces enough food to feed about 7,500 people each year, compared with about 1,100 people if the same land were farmed as a sheep property. “The conversion is a lot more efficient. Converting pasture into milk is a lot more efficient than converting pasture into meat. Economically that’s great for our country.” Breeding and herd performance are also closely monitored. The business focuses on producing efficient Kiwi-cross cows capable of producing about 580 kg/MS from a 500kg animal, while continually refining mating strategies after introducing the collars last season. Across the three farms, stock can also be moved to make better use of the wintering barn at Tussock Creek, where late-calving and empty cows are managed through winter. Cows winter-milked through the barn averaged 1.6 kg/MS per cow per day last winter. Supplying Open Country has added further GRASS FEED AVAILABLE OUR SERVICES SOUTHLAND WIDE STOCK FEED DELIVERY OPTIONS • Full Cultivation • Strip Tillage • Precision Drill • Grass &Maize Silage • Full Balage Services • Muck Spreading • Carting Campbell 027 786 0082 | cbonnarcontracting@gmail.com CAMPBELL BONNAR CONTRACTING LTD flexibility, particularly through winter milk collection at Tussock Creek, where winter milking has become part of the wider farming system. “It means that we can utilise our cows more efficiently where we are aiming to average 300 days in milk across the herds.” • Feed Pads • Farm Structures • Wintering Sheds • Dairy Sheds
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=