64 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Pinta Dairy Unit Pinta’s open day a great success Russell Fredric The open day was a lot of fun for all. An open day held at Pinta Dairy Unit on March 9 was both an incredible success and an eye opener for the mainly urban visitors. Farm manager Shane Cooper says that upon leaving the farm after enjoying many insights into the day-to-day operation of the farm, visitors had nothing but praise. “Their appreciation was palpable; they just couldn’t express enough how much they and their kids had loved it. We had a few different activities, but by far milking cows and looking at and [bottle] feeding calves was the two most exciting things that these people did.” The event was part of an initiative organised by Open Farms, with 25 farms of various types opening their gates throughout New Zealand, with the aim of connecting rural and urban people. The Pinta tour received 200 registrations, with people coming from a wide area including Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton. It was booked out very quickly and for some, seeing a dairy farm operating was a bucket-list item. Pinta employs nine permanent staff and milks 2100 cows on 877 hectares. It is one of 19 Pamu farms in Waikato that form the largest contiguous dairy operation in New Zealand. Many people in large urban centres such as Auckland are simply not exposed to rural areas or any connection to farming in their daily lives, whereas being in a place where there is farm land for miles was so unusual to them, Shane says. “That’s a huge drawcard for them, to experience something that they just don’t get to see.” The day was also a lot of fun for the staff who equally enjoyed connecting with the visitors. “It allowed the team to see what they’re doing through eyes others than your own. We take it for granted that we get to get up in the morning and milk some cows and get to do this every day.” Both adults and children were fascinated to see simple tasks such as cupping cows, through to the technology in a milking shed and having where and how they are fed explained. While there may be a perception of a ruralurban divide, Pamu engagement and programmes manager Terri Anderson says studies have shown that most New Zealanders have a positive attitude towards farmers. “It’s just that where there is an adversarial or negative situation, it gets lots of media attention. It’s more that there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the great work our farmers do. That’s why days like this are so valuable, to build that connection.” Pinta supplies Synlait and has an 80 bale rotary milking shed with automatic cup removers, individual teat spray, automatic drafting and in-line milk sensors which provides daily milk production and somatic cell count data. Of the 877 hectare platform, 370 hectares is irrigated with dairy effluent from three travelling irrigators. Pinta’s staff and management utilises the expertise and support of AgFirst in relation to the technical aspects and maintenance of its effluentSPECIALISTS IN DESIGN/SUPPLY/BUILD WATER & EFFLUENT Proud to be Pinta Dairy Unit’s preferred effluent system supplier AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTORS Miers Contractors(1995) Ltd • Harvesting • Cultivation • Supplements for sale & supply • Undersowing (all pastures & crops) • Earth moving • Truck cartage • Balage & Hay • Effluent Management 198 Butcher Road, RD2, Reporoa Gordy 021 593 163 | Reece 021 240 5090 | Mark 021 948 472 E mierscontractors@farmside.co.nz related infrastructure and systems and this is just one example of their key focus of achieving operational excellence across the entire operation, Shane says. “For us it’s always about moving the bar in terms of our key KPI’s (key productivity indicators) around six week in-calf rate, EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) per hectare, somatic cell count, feed efficiency; those are some key metrics that we look at all the time because that’s going to drive profitability.” “It allowed the team to see what they’re doing through eyes others than your own.”
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