| 49 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Kenmure Ayrshires: Daphne Gordon Russell Fredric Major upgrades to Kenmure Ayrshire’s milking shed and its infrastructure have made a massive difference to 100% sharemilker Daphne Gordon. Daphne milks her herd of 230 cows on 84 hectares that she has leased since 2006, with the help of her adult children Hamish, Alastair and Robyn as they are available and is looking to retire in the next few years. Just 30 of the herd are not purebred Ayrshire. The cows are milked through a 22 bail rotary platform, and prior to last season the old concrete block structure that housed the platform and the other equipment was required by Fonterra to be upgraded. “We demolished the old structure and had a new structure built to enable us to keep supplying milk,” Daphne says. Despite the upgrade being mandated, both Daphne and her cows are pleased with the new shed which was funded entirely from sharemilking cashflow. As well as having greater height, it has a larger overall footprint and considerably better airflow which pays dividends in hot weather, while cow flow has also been enhanced. “The cows are a lot happier, we’ve got low [somatic cell] counts, we haven’t got the heat stress on the cows because the last shed was really low, whereas this shed has a really high roof and the cows are happier and more relaxed.” The new milking machines are not part of the rotary platform but are now housed in a separate room, plus the new shed has a separate office. “It’s just great to work in.” The previous shed had automatic cup removers and the cows have had collars for the past three seasons, plus an automatic drafting system was added to the new shed while the calf shed already had automatic feeders. With Daphne being the single full-time labour unit, there are multiple advantages created by the technology and all the labour saving equipment, including eliminating the need for a permanent part time worker. “We did it more or less to make life easier for me. 027 446 0443 19a King Edward St, Eltham o ce@gernhoefercontracting.co.nz At Lloyd Gernhoefer agricultural contracting, we o er you a wide range of Agricultural services. Call Lloyd now for your 2024 season requirements. Proud to Support Kenmure Ayrshires WESTOWN AGRICULTURE 06 753 6611 Chris 027 220 9007 180 Cowling Rd | New Plymouth www.westownagriculture.co.nz Home: 06 756 6167 Email: wbusbycontracting@gmail.com · Digger mounted Tree Shears Building Supplies Clearspan options with steel rafters, poles and timber. Visit our website for further details. Give us a call to get an estimate and plans! 1 KATERE RD, NEW PLYMOUTH PHONE: 06 759 7435 JAMES ST, INGLEWOOD PHONE: 0800 245 535 Value Farm Sheds www.valuebuilding.co.nz By automating we’ve manage to get away with just one person running it.” The information provided by the collar system is not only excellent for the cows’ management and health, but also creates a lot of peace of mind for Daphne. Something else that eliminates stress is the amazing temperament of the Ayrshire’s, which for someone who is just 1.5 metres tall, is especially relevant, she says. “They are lovely animals to have and work with. They are just so quiet and gentle.” Her grandfather started breeding Ayrshire’s in New Zealand in 1938 when he registered three cows after emigrating from Scotland. Because Kenmure’s cows are medium-framed, they are well suited to the farm’s soils, challenging contour and the climate and are also very good grazers in adverse conditions. A flat to undulating farm with a few hills, rivers and creeks, the farm is set in a very pretty landscape with plentiful plantings around the waterways. “I’ve done lots of riparian planting around the creeks and rivers.” The farm’s annual production is based on a grass-only system supplemented with 30 tonnes of molasses. “We rear all the AB heifer calves that are born on the farm and if we end up with a surplus we sell them.” Happy cows, happy owner after upgrade Before and after: The old milking shed was demolished to make way for an automated new milking shed.
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