4 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Adrian and Pauline Ball The beef operation operates with a low stocking rate of three animals per hectare with pasture surpluses supporting the winter milk dairy operation. Karen Phelps The big opportunity sitting in front of dairy farmers is not simply higher milk price and volume but the ability to maximise revenue within the existing farm system, says Adrian Ball of Dennley Farms in Tirau. The 196ha farm, run with wife Pauline, comprises a dairy operation milking 270-280 Holstein Friesian cows and a beef finishing unit fattening approximately 150 animals annually from their own dairy herd in a closed system for Silverfern Farms. Over the past three to four years the Balls have focused heavily on lifting efficiency across both dairy and beef. The strategy is simple: maximise the intake of every animal, maintain and improve the quality of home-grown feed and ensure it is converted as efficiently as possible through superior genetics and agronomy. Production currently sits at 670kg of milksolids per cow placing it near the top end of efficiency across Fonterra suppliers. “In my view the big opportunities for farmers are in genetics and the ability to accelerate with genomics both in the bulls used but also in the dam selection on farm. The tools already exist to help farmers improve their efficiency,” says Adrian has directorships at SilverFern Farms Co-operative and SFF operating company boards and Woolworks NZ and also has spent time on the Fonterra sustainability advisory panel. For example Adrian says beef on dairy is a big global trend that can net farmers big results. “With the meat price going up significantly in the past two years and demand for beef globally being high and not going away, the opportunity for dairy farmers to play in that market is really clear. Our revenue line for stock sales has gone up 300 per cent in the last two seasons. That’s a combination of market returns, better breeding decisions and genetics and smarter positioning and timing in the market.” Technology has underpinned the progress. “Every cow is mated with a straw now and the quality in those straws is way superior because of the progress in genomics,” says Adrian. Lifting efficiency across dairy and beef “Being able to access the trait improvements in young bulls because of genomics is massive. The use of wearable technology has also accelerated across the industry opening up this opportunity and given more accuracy. The result is better cows, better beef, more profit and more efficiency in the farm system.” Sexed semen technology has been central to the shift. “In the dairy we are able to get heifer replacement calves out of a smaller number of elite cows which accelerates our genetic gain and efficiency,” explains Adrian. “In the beef breeding programme we are able to get sexed male calves which potentially grow out at $500 per head better in their lifetime, and that’s due to using sexed male semen. We have gained about another $600 per calf through the use of elite genetic beef sires, which result in improvements in growth rates and IMF traits. We are effectively doubling the profitability in the beef system through the use of genetics.” Environmental performance remains integral to the model for the past Ballance Farm Environment Award winners. The beef operation operates with a low stocking rate of three animals per hectare with pasture surpluses supporting the winter milk dairy operation. It is completely off-grid, using solar power, a deep well water supply and solar electric fencing. The property, which runs alongside the Waihou River, features fencing setbacks of over 20 metres to allow for revegetation of the riverbanks. Recent ability to measure on-farm sequestration through Fonterra and Prism has highlighted the value of extensive tree planting along the Waihou River and selectively on the dairy farm. “A lot of the trees we have planted in the past ten years we are now able to use them to inset our farm’s emissions,” says Adrian. “They are reducing emissions by about four per cent.” For Adrian and Pauline, whose business philosophy centres on creating value inside the farm gate, the focus is on steady gains. “It’s about steady progress and continuing to have an eye on the detail,” says Adrian. A PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS Dennley Farms award winning ef uent system is another example of a system being successful as a direct result of the collaboration between the farmer and the Yardmaster Design Team to match the right pumps & equipment for the job. Visit the Yardmaster System Design page to view the Dennley Farms System Case Study CS:BAL01 2019 Supreme National Award Winner www.yardmaster.co.nz 1 Waihou St, Matamata 3440 | Phone: 07 888 8224 Y O U R D A I R Y S P E C I A L I S T S Milking Systems | Machine Testing | Water & Effluent | Farm Consumables Maintenance Engineering | Drafting & Automation | Pool & Spa Care 0275 394 555 for 24/7 Service info@betamilking.co.nz 10 Waharoa Road West, Matamata www.betamilking.co.nz Proudly supporting Dennley Farms PHONE. 07 885 1022 EMAIL. info@grahambrown.co.nz WEBSITE. www.grahambrown.co.nz Your business. Is our business. Proud to be associated with Adrian & Pauline Ball. Helping to grow rural business throughout New Zealand. “Making small improvements across a lot of areas is contributing to something quite significant. It is positioning us well to take advantage of new price incentives from customers in the market while also setting the business up thrive and adapt in a changing environment.” Proudly supporting Adrian and Pauline Ball GLENCLOTHIER 07 8888 158 (ext 225) | 027 702 5462 glen@wtcl.co.nz
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