NZ Dairy Autumn 2021

| 93 nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Bryce & Nicola Fleming New strategies to mitigate dry seasons Ruaroa farmers Nicola and Bryce Fleming are feeling the effects of three dry summers in a row. Karen Phelps R uaroa based dairy farmers Bryce and Nicola Fleming are already feeling the effects after three dry summers in a row and now they are looking at long term strategies to cope with the challenge. “It’s supposed to be summer safe here but that’s definitely not the case any more so we have to be ready to pull a few levers if necessary,” says Bryce. Typically the area has been high rainfall – around 1500mm per year, which has made the land easy to farm. They try not to buy in feed and only purchase around 300 bales per year. Instead they focus on growing grass and ensuring the cows eat it early in the spring. They cut surpluses and carry these through as well as grow extra crops including oats and 11ha of lucerne. Bryce says the lucerne, which is a more recent addition to their cropping policy, has worked well. They spread effluent on 22ha, including the lucerne crop, to accelerate their results. “We grow the lucerne on the stony ground that drains well when it rains. It gets us into the au- tumn a bit better and keeps cows in milk longer,” he says. Extra focus on pasture management has also been important. The cows eat around 11 tonnes of crop and pasture per hectare. Bryce doesn’t measure the grass growth instead preferring to rely on visual cues and his instincts. They re-grass around 10% of the farm each year. Bryce says the Base and Bealey grass species, along with diploids such as AR37, have resulted in good palatability and late seeding and seem to suit the farm well. The Flemings milk a herd of 300 crossbred cows on 120ha effective/140ha total. The farm has a simple 20 aside herringbone shed. For the past few years they have put their heifers on once a day. Bryce says this has resulted in drying them off in better condition with fewer inputs necessary. They have only had one empty out of 60 and an average of 7.5% empty rate over the whole herd. Bryce grew up on a sheep and beef unit in Dannevirke and went shepherding after leaving school. He managed sheep and beef farms in Waipuku- rau and Dannevirke for eight years before the op- portunity arose to share milk on Nicola’s family’s farm at Ruaroa. Although Bryce had no dairy farming experi- ence Nicola had grown up on the unit making the transition easier for the couple who headed straight into a 50:50 position. That was in 2008 and they now own part of the farm and lease the rest from Nicola’s parents, Janet and Bill. The Flemings are big proponents of looking after staff and this has resulted in low turnover. They employ one full time staff member, Mike Winiata, who has been working for the Flemings for six years. Bryce and Mike take on the day-to-day run- ning of the farm. Nicola works for Mid Central District Health Board as a dental therapist and also completes administration and farm records. They have three children: Ella, 17, Samuel, 15 and Charlotte, 11. Bryce says the overall goal is to purchase more land. But that has to fit in with their lifestyle goals, which always come first. At the moment it’s about consolidating debt until they are ready to take the next step. “It’s supposed to be summer safe here but that’s definitely not the case any more so we have to be ready to pull a few levers if necessary.” www.advancedaccounting.co.nz Congratulations Bryce and Nicola on your well - deserved success. So happy to see you accomplishing amazing things. Fleming Groundspray Ltd. • All ground spray work • Excellent equipment GPS computer Navigation David 027 471 4489 Agricultural Cultivation | Hay | Baleage Barley & Feed Requirements Proud to support Bryce Fleming Kevin Hermansen: 027 485 5755 Email: hermycontracting@xtra.co.nz Profile your business with the NZ Dairy Publication