| 3 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Aaron and Fiona Campbell Rising costs force rethink for couple Kelly Deeks Aaron and Fiona Campbell are making sound financial decisions with a long-term focus as rising costs and a falling milk payout bring challenges to their Production System 5 Manawatu farm. The Campbells are now in their ninth season of ownership of their 110ha farm at Bunnythorpe near Palmerston North. Their 370 cows milk all year round for Open Country Dairy, with 270 spring calvers and about 70 autumn calvers plus carry overs. They are fed with approximately two tons of maize per cow on top of palm kernel with molasses combined. As their interest payment has almost doubled then their milk payout dropped to the lowest they had seen for some years ($10.05 to $7.30) halfway through last year, for the first time the Campbells had to pay interest only on their mortgage. Not ideal, but also good to have the option. Going into the current season, the payout wasn’t improving very quickly. “We needed a plan to get through,” Fiona says. “The payout still hasn’t reached $8, and knowing our costs are around that $8 mark, we had to cut our expenses but be careful not to cut anything that would end up hurting production.” The Campbells’ System 5 means up to 50% of the cows’ feed is imported and therefore costs, so lower-cost feed was a great place to start. The Campbells have secured a palm kernel price some 35% lower, making a huge difference to their budget. Then as the price of urea started to come down, they have utilised it regularly well within the cap and achieved excellent returns. “We’ve tried to grow as much as we can and reduce everything we’re buying in,” Aaron says. Minimising waste with the proper utilisation of grass has also made a difference to the budget. “The rotation length must be perfect. It must be 2.5 leaves and residuals hitting 1600 to 1650, because I struggle to get 1500kgDM/ha on this wet farm. We’re making sure our grass, which is our cheapest form of feed, is our absolute priority.” Aaron and Fiona are in Bunnythorpe for the longterm and they will make sure their farm is being looked after at all costs. After a very wet 2022/23 season, the Campbell’s focus on soil management saw them deep ripping 70% of the farm last season and this to open up Forage Services is proud to be associated with Aaron & Fiona Campbell Proud to be Associated with Aaron & Fiona Campbell LAKEV I EW FARM Courtesy Motorcycles are proud to be associated with Aaron & Fiona Campbell supplying then with Suzuki Motorcycles, ATV’s and Farm Service Check out our farm specials! facebook.com/BarenbrugNZ barenbrug.co.nz Supercharge your pasture for a great autumn! The rockstar hybrid, upgraded to NEA12 endophyte. Shogun is renowned in NZ farming, setting the standard for 1-3 year pasture. The benchmark in tetraploid perennial ryegrass, with superior year-round growth, persistence, easy grazing and excellent animal performance. Our hybrid ryegrass is the phenomenal 3-5 year pasture bred to deliver performance your neighbours will envy, with GPXKTQPOGPVCN DGPGƂVU VQQ Shogun NEA12 Our new superstar, bred for the good of your animals, and the environment. Delivering high intake, yield, nitrogen uptake and persistence, this is the diploid of the future. The next generation perennial ryegrass with superior persistence, improved summer growth and colour, and a great endophyte. Maxsyn NEA4 Array NEA2 4front NEA2 Forge NEA their silty loam soil and increase drainage. To conserve cost, they did the job themselves and it made a huge difference to grass growth. They plan to continue deep ripping every three years. Meanwhile Aaron and Fiona are making some time savings at home with their two of their three cricket-mad sons now licensed and driving themselves around. Their youngest is sitting his restricted license in May, and it’s going to be a game-changer. All three work part-time on the farm. Aaron and Fiona are really thankful for the support of their staff and their wider team including their accountant Keith Earl, their bank manager Brigit Boon, and farm advisor Simon Redmond. The Campbells’ System 5 means up to 50% of the cows’ feed is imported, so lower-cost feed was secured.
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