70 | nzdairy Rotary shed helps to Hugh de Lacy “If she’s a bit slow in one quarter the system will adjust, and through it the staff can monitor the performance of each component of the shed’s operation, with each bale analysed separately and the cow’s performance recorded.” Pouarua Farm’s new $2 million 54-bale rotary shed will milk 800 cows in two-and-a-half hours and make two of the iwi-based business’ existing sheds redundant, all the while delivering better milking and working conditions for both cows and staff. The shed, expected to be completed early this year, will have automatic cup-removers and the cows will be fitted with collars for automatic drafting. Using the DelPro system with its cockpit scenario, each visit to the shed by the cows will increase the accumulated data the system retains on the cow’s milking performance. “As it gathers more information, the system will get to know the individual cow’s milking style and how she prefers to be milked,” Pouarua Farms chief executive Jenna Smith says. “If she’s a bit slow in one quarter the system will adjust, and through it the staff can monitor the performance of each component of the shed’s operation, with each bale analysed separately and the cow’s performance recorded.” The new shed, one of eight after two on the property were shut down, is being built by Don Chapman Builders of Morrinsville. Pouarua Farms, 35km south of the Bombay Hills, is at 2200ha the biggest dairying platform on the Hauraki Plains, milking about 5000 cows, and is owned by five of the 12 iwi comprising the Hauraki Collective. The iwi owners - Ngati Maru, Ngati Paoa, Ngati Tamatera, Ngati Tara Tokanui and Te Patukirikiri – bought the farm as part of their Treaty of Waitangi Sorghum on Farm J – a low cost feed stitched in following Summer Turnips and persists during the drought conditions. DAIRY PEOPLE » Pouarua Dairy Unit settlement nine years ago, and have been rationalising its operation ever since. The two sheds being shut down are both in the herring-bone configuration, one a 20-a-side serving a 200-cow farm, and the other a 40-a-side on a 600-cow farm. Of the two, one will be reconfigured as a feed pad, while the other will have the plant and machinery removed but the concrete base left in place to serve as storage bunkers. “Taking those two sheds out of commission will deliver an increase in overall efficiency in labour, animal health and welfare, and will contribute to a productive lift.” This will allow more versatile use of the farm’s 45 permanent staff and assist in a gradual and long-term diversification from dairying “to other forms of sustainable and profitable food production,” Jenna says. The process has begun with a move into beef production by mating low Breeding Value crossbred animals to Angus and Wagyu bulls through artificial insemination, with 600 dairy beef calves being reared and finished on a 210ha block, lowering the farm’s overall bobby calf numbers. Another 250ha is being set aside to grow maize and barley, the former as a supplementary feed for the cows, and the latter contracted to various foodbased products. Pouarua Farms is also putting 20ha into blueberry production, including a 9ha canopy that produced its first fruit last December. “Our approach to diversification is that where we do dairying well we’ll continue with it, but where there is a better and higher use of land we’ll look at other options,” Jenna says. POUARUA DAIRY UNIT 0274 741 105 Hauraki Plains office@nicholsoncontracting.co.nz For all your Ag Contracting needs farm dairy? Call us today for a FREE on-site design consultation. Authorised licensee www.chapmandairy.com Herringbone or rotary Silage bunkers Feed pads 021 780 477 shanan@dcw.net.nz www.donchapmanwaikato.co.nz 07 889 6168 Don Chapman Waikato Ltd is your local specialist in farm design and construction.
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