8 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Capil Grove Limited Consent process ‘completely defies logic’ Sue Russell Twelve months have passed since NZ Dairy spoke with Carl Lindsay, of Capil Grove Ltd, a two-farm dairying operation situated 15km east of Winton, Southland. In that earlier conversation the focus was the often challenging process Carl and his family experienced in gaining consent to grow the milking platform and extend the herd. “Thankfully that first hurdle is behind us, but the cost and toll it took on us to get to this stage is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” Carl says the fight to be allowed to farm is always ongoing. “We are only ever a couple of years away from consent renewals. There is talk of improvements in the process to gain consents but we aren’t holding our breath as we haven’t seen significant change yet. It is the strong anti-dairying attitude prevalent in almost all aspects of the consenting process that we find the most frustrating, an attitude so strong that it often completely defies logic.” Today, across the two farms, just over 1500 cows form the herd and when the conversation occurred in February, 1400 were being milked. A small portion of the herd are on an autumn calving cycle, allowing the farms to maintain high quality winter milk for Fonterra. In total 24 people are engaged to keep the operation ticking over. That number includes Carl and brother Blake, who looks after the machinery and cropping activities. The original farm is home to a 64 Delaval rotary plant, while the more recently converted second block has a new 30 aside twin-pit Waikato plant, retrofitted into a shed originally used for milking sheep. Construction of a substantial ‘flood wash’ wintering barn has eliminated winter grazing from the operation, creating an environmentally friendly overall dairy management system that Carl knows will bring lasting benefits. “It was all about building to a scale that would deliver long-term sustainability into our farming business, create better environmental and animal welfare outcomes and positively impact our staff.” Of the total team, about half are dedicated to looking after the herd and milk production. Carl says the herd is in good stead, though improvement is ongoing. “We are milking the best cows we have ever milked.” Carl says the farm has enjoyed its best season so far, spurred on by the summer rain which has been steadily falling. In total 24 people are engaged to keep the operation ticking over. The dairy operation is mainly grass-based with grass silage added to the mix. “We’ve got a new support block which we just bought last year and we have 180ha of wheat which is all palletised to feed year round. We have also been feeding fresh grass from the support blocks directly into the barn when running short of feed.” Asked about the genetics on board, Carl says they buy in a bit of everything though the tendency is to buy in more overseas Friesian genetics. “We definitely want to buy late spring calvers as replacements and I’d be keen to talk to anyone with surplus sound cows to sell. Please phone me on 02102788033.” Carl says the priority now is to get all the infrastructure work completed but otherwise the farm is looking good. The two farms are 8km apart but viewed very much as one farming business, with machinery shared between the two sites. The focus, Carl says, as well as finishing the big developments, is to concentrate on the ‘1%’ differences to management practices that each bring small but sustainable benefits. (03) 236-6077 or (027) 411-2805 53 Great North Road, Winton “Cow barn design and building specialists with 31,000 cows comfortably housed” • Turn key packages for complete design & build of shed • Hot-dip galvanised structural steel • Chain effluent scrapers • Full concrete placement • Full range of latex and rubber bedding • Stall dividers • Cow brushes Suppliers of: • Kitset Fabricated Structural Steel • Ready to bolt Together • Hot Dip Galvanised Finish • Meets all NZ Standards “It’s about getting the feed perfect, the silage perfect. It’s all those small details that long-term make a difference in production outcomes and the bottom line.” He’s also pleased with the quality and consistent volume of the milk produced from now milking each cow 12 hours apart. “With the huge consenting process of the new farming system behind us, everyone is looking forward to reaping the benefits the larger scale business will bring.” Specialising in slurry with precision injector drill & muck spreading, full baling services, full cultivation service & silage Proudly supporting Capil Grove Ltd
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