NZ Dairy Autumn 2021

60 | nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Grasslands Soil types are predominantly Lismore and Ruapuna silt loam containing river stones. Situated at approximately 300m above sea level, average rainfall is 1050mm per annum. This contrasts with the Mossburn operation, which also sits at ap- proximately 300m above sea level but has a slightly lower average rainfall of 950mm per annum. The huge growth of Grasslands can be bench- marked against the fact that when Grasslands was formed by Gary and Barb Townshend with a group of dairy farmers from New Zealand and Ireland in 2000, it originally comprised 1608ha in Hororata, Canterbury, running 19500 stock units, which were mainly merino sheep.The first dairy platform was commissioned in 2003. Across Grasslands’ business in Southland and Canterbury the breed of cows is an efficient jersey crossbred that is 10/16 jersey and 6/16 friesian. The farms, under a mix of management and con- tract milkers, mainly supply Fonterra with two farms in Canterbury supplying Synlait. This year’s total production target is 5.3 million kgMS up from 5.1 million kgMS achieved the previous season. Simon says Covid-19 did not have a huge impact on Grasslands’ operation – if anything it resulted in more stability as staff sought secure employment. It was also a lesson in ensuring that teams could work more independently. He says that Grasslands continues to seek more acquisition opportunities if the right properties present themselves to the market: “It’s about continuing to develop our people, do- ing the basics of farming right and also still looking for opportunities to expand and grow the business for our shareholders.” • from page 58 Huge growth for company since 2003 Across Grasslands’ business in Southland and Canterbury the breed of cows is an efficient jersey crossbred that is 10/16 jersey and 6/16 friesian. HORORATA E N G I N E E R I N G Phone 03 3180 745 • GENERAL & AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING • DAIRY SUPPORT & YARD WORK • MACHINING • MOBILE WELDING • HYDRAULIC HOSE & FITTING SERVICE Proud to associated with Grasslands CULTIVATION, DRILLING AND PLANTING NEIL COSTELLO M: 027 922 3843 E: neil@tepirita.co.nz • 2 Vaderstad 7m Topdown Primary Cultivators • 2 Vaderstad Tempo 12 row precision planters • 8 Furrow Gregoire Besson Reversible plough • Leveller and Roller Combination • Bednar 10m Swifterdisc shallow disc cultivator • Sumo Quatro • Case Quadtrac • 8m Vaderstad Rapid Drill • 2 John Deere 750a 6m Direct Drills • Sunflower Cultivator Proud to support Grasslands Pivots - Book in for Winter Pivot Services - all types and brands Phone Irrigation Logistics 03 318 8371 Sales/Design Manager John Quirk 027 574 3723 Proudly partnering with Canterbury Grasslands Irrigation Project www.irrigationlogistics.co.nz “Supporting Grasslands Farms with Robust & Reliable Read Milking Systems” Call: 03 313 8606 f: @ReadIndustrial