NZ Dairy Autumn 2021

56 | nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Johan & Gea Dykshoorn Milksolids, fertility a business focus Cows in the lane and the Friesian herd on the feedpad at Johan and Gea Dykshoorn’s Otorohanga farm. Sue Russell W hen Johan and Gea Dykshoorn were looking at their next move into farm ownership they placed a big ‘egg’ on a map over Te Aroha and Hamilton, hoping to find a property they could afford to buy. However, at that time, in the mid 2000’s the value of farms in that area was out of their reach, prompting them to look further afield. “We heard from a friend that this property we bought near Otorohanga in 2008 was on the market and there was the possibility of acquiring leased land with it, so this is where we settled,” Johan explains. Today their farm is a blend of mainly rolling and some flat with a small area of steep land over 140 hectares, with all but 8 hectares too steep to utilise for milking stock. Their milking shed is an internal rotary which Johan says is not the best design to work in. Johan says that the existing feed-paid, located next to the bunkers, was a valuable infrastructure addition and he could see the farm had ‘good bones’ with a great deal of potential, at the time they moved on to the land. Having the ability to take up additional leased land meant the couple could afford to employ a full-time worker and in 2017 the couple bought the block to complete their land-bank. that went down the gurgler.” These days the focus is not chasing protein through volume, but on milk solids, fertility and a medium sized cow. As much as possible, feed is grown on the farm with 14 hectares put into maize each year. “That fits in well with the feed-pad and we add a tonne of PK per day during the milking season.” In Spring DDG and Molasses is added to the mix to keep the herd well. Asked about goals ahead to improve the farm’s performance Johan says changing the milking shed and minimising mastitis and a more com- pact calving would be the most important. “I do think our summers are quite hard on the stock and we have fed them up to 14kg of dry matter each day to keep them milking.” This season has been positive with plenty of silage produced and by January four stacks had been made. Johan has a philosophical approach to his farming life, maintaining he enjoys everything he does on the farm. His full-time worker, Harpreet Singh, has been with them for three seasons now and came well recommended. “He asked for four weeks off in February to go back to India to see his family which we felt was really important.” Overall he’s happy with the situation of the farm, and any attention to paddocks and fencing tends to happen over winter when it’s quieter. “Actually the hardest thing is to take time off.” When NZ Dairy spoke with Johan in January he and Gea, who has a full-time job in Otorohanga, were looking forward to a trip to Queenstown. The couple have four children, aged 14 to 19, with their eldest Jacob having completed his second year at Waikato University. “I think life on a farm is a great place to raise a family. I enjoy farming because you get a bit of all sorts of work all the time.” Johan Dykshoorn with farm worker Harpreet Singh “This farm has good soil. Better than in Te Aroha where we were prone to a lot of pugging and an iron-pan in the soil. However the flats can be a bit heavy clay. We put our calves out on the land that is less suitable for the cows and it works well.” Johan has always had Holstein Friesian cows and has a current herd of 385. “We really like the black and white look and our goal is always to breed a good healthy cow. We used to breed for protein but two years ago Diggers Bulldozer Trucks Roller Tractors Trailers Scoop M: 0274 821 806 P: 07 873 7087 E: wolvpak@xtra.co.nz 365 Rangiatea Road, R D 2, Otorohanga 3972 for more information contact: Phone: 07 858 2224 Mobile: 027 492 8212 dps@dairypro.co.nz www.dairypro.co.nz/education/dpsl-workshops/ Designed for owners , managers and advisers , a unique, popular and in-depth course that combines classroom and on-farm practical teaching. DPSL Farm Tutorial Workshop Successful farmers understand … 2021-2022 Workshop includes 10 x 1-day tutorial sessions (April 2021 – March 2022) based in the Waikato