NZ Dairy Spring 2021

| 61 nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Paul Frecklington shows the impossible is possible The big farm milks between 750 and 800 cows through a 70-bale rotary. Pasture is a big part of their daily ration, in addition to a Partial Mixed Ration, fed twice-a-day. Some cows are producing up to 170% of their body weight. To get to the next level of 700kg MS, everything has to align,” Steve said. To that end, they are in the business of control- ling variables to achieve consistent results. On the big farm that involved putting on a centre pivot. On the registered farm it was a compost barn. Both had a similar impact on production. Compost barn alive and working Paul saw the compost barns in North America and he thought the science would work in New Zealand. There has historically been significant industry misconception between a true “compost barn” and a “resting pack”. A compost pack is an active biological mass which has to be sustained at 50-55% moisture. As soon as it reaches the high 50% to low 60%, bed- ding sticks to the cows, which is a sign that there is a heightened bacterial load. It can be a gateway to mastitis which is very hard to manage, and to treat. Kiln-dried sawdust is the ideal product to achieve the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio necessary to make a compost pack generate the heat needed to kill pathogens, evaporate excess moisture, and stay alive. Paul said he likes to try everything, and it’s worked well for them. He’s up at 7am every morn- ing turning the compost. “You have to be careful not to overload the com- post barn with cows though,” he said. “You can put too many in there and the sawdust doesn’t stand up to that. The smaller herd is in it every day from midday, they come and go at night, and it’s doing a great job.” They have installed an automatic rotating brush, which Paul confirms the cows love. Insurance in the protocols When cows calve, it is the most demanding time of the season. Frecklington Farms do three key things to give them some insurance for a solid season. All cows are given slow-release Calcium boluses at calving, fresh cows are collected from the calving paddock twice-a-day to make sure their colostrum is as potent as possible for the calves. Those cows are then milked once-a-day in a colostrum herd until Steve and Hayden decide their gut capacity is at the point where they are ready to join the main herd, and move to twice-a-day milking. They have teat-sealed for many years, including their R2s. Production over show cattle While Paul has begrudgingly taken more of a back seat from the day-to-day physical work in re- cent years, he says he talks with Steve and Hayden every day and he and Christine look after the run- offs, and like to help with the young calves, which are today fed by Donna Bengston (on the bigger farm) and Tamara Bishop on the registered farm. While their breeding decisions begs the question why they have never showed their cattle, Paul says the chase for production overrode everything else. “Because we’re in a large herd situation Christine hasn’t had the support to show. We go to the shows, but it’s the production that’s always counted with me. “I could never find a challenge looking at a pretty cow, but I could find a challenge in one that produced a lot of milk.” “Caring for our grass is the difference between a 610kg MS average per cow and 670kg MS a cow. To get to the next level of 700kg MS, everything has to align.” GRASS MAIZE CEREAL BAGGING BEET HARVESTING MANAWATU Phone Jason Mobile: 0274 524 144 Tel: 06-329 0069 Fax: 06-329 0068 Email: info@forage.co.nz Forage Services is proud to be associated with Paul Frecklington in the production of grass and maize for silage. J.L. PEDLEY TRANSPORT LTD RD3 Palmerston North Ph (06) 324 8401 or (06) 324 8646 FULLY ACCREDITED LIVESTOCK CARRIER We share business journeys. AllanMcNeill has over 50 years of experience partnering with businesses of all shapes and sizes. We’re proud to be supporting the Frecklington family’s business journey. For trusted advice that supports your business growth contact us today. info@allanmcneill.co.nz 06 356 4808 (Palmerston North) 06 323 6114 (Feilding) www.allanmcneill.co.nz Totally Vets, proudly supporting Frecklington Farms by providing all aspects of animal health care admin@totallyvets.co.nz www.totallyvets.co.nz