NZ Dairy Autumn 2021

98 | nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Southern Dairy Hub Hub research trials Karen Phelps O pportunities to partner with local farmers are helping Southern Dairy Hub to find rapid real life practical solutions for com- mon industry problems. The Southern Dairy Hub was established in 2016 and allows farmer-led and local issues to be researched on Southland soils and in southern conditions. It is currently engaged in half a dozen formal research trials. Southern Dairy Hub general manager Louise Cook says that with the average research project four years in duration, and an additional year to assess and then release the data to farmers, shorter-term studies have become important. For example a winter grazing research project undertaken in 2020 saw the Southern Dairy Hub put monitoring devices on cows to measure how long they chose to lie down in the paddock. Combined with data on soil conditions, the project discovered that on average cows achieved 9 ¼ hours lying down each day. It also discovered that when the weather was inclement this figure reduced but interestingly over subsequent days cows made up the time by lying down for longer. The Southern Dairy Hub also partnered with local farmers in the region to observe techniques they used when the weather was not great. “By partnering with local farmers and shar- ing their stories the Southern Dairy Hub is able provide more information and have more impact than we could achieve from our four farmlets alone. “So we now know that in a well-managed cropping system without sodden ground condi- tions cows can meet or exceed animal welfare minimums but it’s more challenging when the weather is not so good. We also have some tools Southern Dairy Hub staff enjoy a day off the farm jetboating. SDH was established in 2016 and allows farmer-led and local issues to be researched on Southland soils and in southern conditions. Y O U R S E E D & F E E D S P E C I A L I S T S 0800 621 431 www.clarkes.net.nz PHONE NOW Imported Feed Blends & Contracts Dairy Meal / Pellets • Calf Feeds PKE Blends & Contracts Bulk Molasses Personalised Mixes to Suit PROUD SUPPLIERS TO SOUTHERN DAIRY HUB Ewan Allan Honda Gore 25 Ordsal Street, Gore 03 208 0174 | sales@ewanallan.co.nz www.ewanallan.co.nz Proud to be supporting Southern Dairy Hub For the best deal on your new or used Honda Motorcycle call the team at Ewan Allan Honda Gore. On farm servicing available in your area throughout Otago & Southland. for farmers to use to assist them when this hap- pens,” she says. Louise says that this winter’s demonstra- tion has farmers even more excited. Combined with the Makarewa Hedgehope Catchment group, the Thriving Southland funded demonstration pro- ject will be carried out this year at the hub and on six to eight other southern farms wintering sheep, beef and dairy to compare different crop establishment methods. At the Southern Dairy Hub both kale and fodderbeet crops will be planted under conventional and minimum tillage methods to compare the two. Cows will graze on both establishment methods in all weather condi- tions and comparative observations taken to see if there are any observable differences in animal behaviour and in the paddock after grazing. “It’s really exciting to see farmers experi- menting ahead of the curve and being able to participate in this innovation with them. Farmers are really excited about some of our projects. The feedback we’ve received is that it’s exactly the type of information they’ve been looking for,” says Louise. The Southern Dairy Hub has a milking platform of 309ha and a 39ha support block. The 750 cows are divided into four herds, each operating a different farm system with different nitrogen and feed inputs. Louise says this makes it an ex- tremely complicated farm and she takes her hat off to her farm team who must juggle challenging data and decisions on a daily basis. “The farm performance is a reflection of our team of six fantastic farm staff and our DairyNZ research techs and scientists who do a great job of running this very complex system. Watching farm performance lift by 30,000kgMS and empty rates drop to 8.5% with 10.5 weeks mating has been a rewarding result that adds further credibil- ity to the core research we do.”