NZ Dairy Autumn 2021

| 79 nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Limestone Downs Water scarcity drives changes Karen Phelps S carcity of water and warmer temperatures are impacting Limestone Downs, leading general manager Paul Mahoney to find solutions. Limestone Downs is a large sheep, beef and dairy property owned by the C. Alma Baker Trust. The 520ha dairy farm is comprised of a milking platform of 320ha along with a support block, about 70% of which is flat land with the rest gentle to rolling. The farm used to have an annual rainfall of around 1200mm. In 2019 this dropped to 977mm and in 2020 to 782mm. Paul’s strategy has been to try putting the 700 kiwi-cross cows on once a day to preserve cow condition if the weather is dry. He is even consid- ering once a day year round as winter weather forecasts are predicting a dry winter also. This year LIC nominated semen was used tar- geting bulls that had the genetics to handle once a day milking. Ultimately the farm’s once-a-day policy will fluctuate depending on where the weather is at, so being flexible and responsive will be key, he says. Paul is also looking at other potential sources of water on the farm. Currently water take is from underground springs but Paul says these have been under pressure due to the lower rainfall. Effluent disposal has been extended from 64ha to 103ha with the addition of two travelling irriga- tors to make best use of nutrients and moisture. Paul says the soil type on the dairy unit varies from peaty ground and sandy soils to a lot of clay mud soils. This means the farm can get not only very dry over summer but also very wet in the winter/ spring months. A 500 cow feed pad adjacent to the dairy shed makes a big difference for standing off and feeding out, taking pressure off the pasture and ensuring it’s not over-grazed. Profitability is the target rather than milk solids. Paul would like to eventually achieve 360kgsMS per cow but that must be balanced against profit. This year 150 tonnes of palm kernel was bought in. The rest of the feed is grown on the farm and run off: 30ha of maize and 11ha of rape. Silage is made when there is surplus. All calves are reared on Limestone Downs and anything not kept on the dairy farm heads to the drystock units resulting in no bobby calves and a closed system. Paul says this helps to safeguard the farm against risk such as mycoplasma bovis. Located near the picturesque seaside village of Port Waikato on the West Coast of the North Island Limestone Downs covers a total area of 3200ha. With a good mix of hills, flats and a few basins, the sheep and beef platform takes up about 1800 hectares. The Trust that operates Limestone Downs aims to further the science of agriculture, providing grants to organisations and individuals from funds generated through the farm’s commercial activities. With a strong affiliation to Massey University, many research trials have been conducted at Limestone Downs. At the moment it is in-between trials but Paul says further research projects are planned. Limestone Downs is a large sheep, beef and dairy property owned by the C. Alma Baker Trust. The 520ha dairy farm comprised of a milking platform of 320ha along with a support block. TE AKAU TRANSPORT LTD 07 825 4805 / 07 826 3666 office@teakautransport.nz LIVESTOCK-FERTILISER AGLIME & METAL SUPPLIED & DELIVERED SILAGE | HAY | PASTURE SPRAYING | CARTAGE | CULTIVATION REGRASSING | MAIZE | FERTILIZER SPREADING PH 0800 4 VINING Micheal 027 441 1153 For all your stacked silage requirements