44 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » John Tanner Confidence up but interest rates a concern Russell Fredric Leeston dairy farmer John Tanner cautiously believes there is greater confidence in the farming sector heading into 2024, with the change of government being a factor. However the matrix of elements that affects a farm business will always create challenges, he says. “Confidence is quite good, it’s just interest rates that is the main concern. There’s always costs you can drop out, but you can’t drop interest rates too easily.” Last season’s production of 300,000 kilograms of milk solids was on par with previous years, but the high cost of inputs and other costs such as fuel was very challenging. “Increased costs were definitely a factor that affected the bottom line; contractors, chemical costs, fertiliser, everything affected the payout, but the most that affected the payout was the increased interest rate which you didn’t have much control of.” Despite the season starting with a “hiss and a roar”,by early February the hot windy El Niño conditions were starting to bite. John is an equity farm manager with his wife Jackie on 190 hectares at Leeston, Canterbury, near Lake Ellesmere. The farm peak milks 680 cross-bred cows and has a 70ha support block. About 12 tonnes of urea is applied annually, supplemented by Magnify, a blend of enzymes and organic acids from soil microbes that promote plant growth and stronger regrowth which is applied in liquid form through irrigators. John uses the product in conjunction with chicken litter and, for him, these inputs have certainly worked. Leeston farmer John Tanner says the high cost of inputs is a challenging. Lake Ellesmere is recognised as one of the most polluted water bodies in New Zealand. The property is within the sensitive Selwyn Waihora water management zone which stretches from the upper Waimakariri basin and the high country around Lake Coleridge down to Lake Ellesmere. “We’ve got to keep our nitrogen levels at 190kg a hectare, but we try to be well underneath it.” “In the last three years we’ve used 96kg [per hectare] of artificial fertiliser and we’ve gone from 97kg’s nitrogen leaching to 35kg’s leaching.” With this system, grass growth has been significantly improved, enabling the reduction of supplements while also improving profitability. The support block grows seasonal feed comprising fodder beet, silage, maize and straw,with the cows also receiving a blend of in-shed feed during milking, depending on what the early season weather is like, to increase their energy intake. Feeding straw creates good gut health, John says. “It’s good to keep the cows’ rumen strong, it keeps them healthy, the fibre keeps the gut working well, that’s the reason why we feed a bit of straw.” Part of the environmental focus is to breed a lighter framed cow. “We don’t breed a big cow, our average weight is probably about 480kg.” John finds this size of cow good to manage and easier to provide good feed levels to than a larger cow,in addition to being less susceptible to lameness. Most importantly, the fertility of the herd is excellent, with an empty rate of 5% to 9%. The farm supplies Westland Dairy Products which, in December last year, committed to pay a 10 cent premium above Fonterra’s farm gate milk price for the 2024 to 2026 seasons. FERTILISER SPREADING | FARM MAPPING GPS TRACKING | VARIABLE RATE SPREADING LIVESTOCK CARTAGE | DAILY FREIGHT CONCRETE SUPPLIES | GRAIN CARTAGE SHINGLE SUPPLIES | FERTILISER SUPPLIES Leeston: 03 3248 070 | Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz sales@happershonda.co.nz John Tanner
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