| 39 nzdairy Mark hasn’t left the place since taking it over eight years ago. DAIRY PEOPLE » Ruahine Range View Proud to support Ruahine Range View Hay, Baleage & Feeds Kevin Hermansen 027 485 5755 Silage & Trucking Paul Glover 027 286 1699 Agricultural Cultivation Kevin Hermansen 027 485 5755 O ce/Workshop: (06) 374 0736 Email: hermycontracting@xtra.co.nz Farmers driving the development behind DTS technology DTS, a leading provider of farm technology solutions, has released the latest version of its drafting and herd management app, Herd-Man. Created exclusively for users of DTS’s drafting solution, Auto Drafter, this update marks a signi icant milestone for DTS. Over the past decade, the Herd-Man app has been a trusted companion for dairy farmers and this new release incorporates the feedback from our farmer customers. DTS CEO Gavin Thwaites commented, “This is just the beginning of our revised digital roadmap. Our dedicated team of programmers will regularly enhance the Herd-Man app based on farmer feedback. We welcome farmer input and aim to create a seamless experience for our users.” Thwaites revealed that the next stage of updates is already planned, aligning with the feedback from farmers, and driven by a desire to create cost-e ective and collaborative solutions on farm. “We strongly believe in collaboration within the dairy industry,” says Gavin. “Rather than reinventing existing solutions, our philosophy is simple: let’s work together to maximise value for our customers. That’s why our Auto-Drafter integrates with leading cow wearables and herd management platforms. These solutions enhance the capabilities of our cow drafting technology.” “Farmers should not have to change their gate when they invest in new cow monitoring technology, why not just have one drafting solution that works with all of them?” “Take Active Tag, for example,” Thwaites added. “We’ve started selling Active Tag because farmers can own it outright, with no per cow subscription. Farmers get all the heat and health monitoring features bundled into one product. It represents good value for farmers and integrates seamlessly with Auto Drafter." DTS invites other farm technology developers to collaborate with them and is in advanced discussions with some larger co-ops “but the ink isn’t on the paper yet”. Active Tag’s heat and health monitoring system delivers real-time herd insights. Accurately identify heats and get alerts for potential health issues before they escalate. With seamless integration to DTS Auto Drafter, ƙĚƥƭƎ Ŀƙ ĚîƙNj îŠē ĚljǛČĿĚŠƥȡ ƙîDŽĿŠij Njūƭ ƥĿŞĚ îŠē labour in the shed. Best of all, you can purchase Active Tag outright with no ongoing subscription costs*. Heat and Health Monitoring without the subscription costs. WWW.DTS.CO.NZ PH: 0800 500 387 *T’s and C’s apply “Mohaka & Tabu+ were my go-to grass last season with cows smoking them this season.” Silage is cut from runoff, which takes around 18 to 22 hours of chopping for the harvester to fill the pit. “On top of that I can cut anywhere between 800 to 2200 of baleage per season, as well as 500 plus of round hay.” “With minimal trucking and doing majority of tractor work, as well as no grazing costs I run a pretty healthy profitable operation here, which it’s get easier and faster by the year now.” While he uses Hermansens Contracting for my cultivation and Kevin Harris for hay, balage and silage making, he does as much himself as possible. “The only thing I don’t do is rake, bale, disc or sow. I do everything else - fert, spraying, mowing, ramming etc.” Effluent irrigation has been introduced and is sprayed over 65ha, and two applications of Urea at 100kgs per hectare are applied - one in September or October, and then again in late March or April to set up feed for the Winter Mark said they spent as much locally as they could, using the local Ravensdown store, Dannevirke Dairy Supplies, Harris and Hermansen Contracting and using fencing posts from Turton farm supplies. “I try to keep everything local to put money back into the town.” The couple’s hard work improving the environmental impact of the operation and investment in biodiversity earned them the DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award in 2020. The operation was a huge commitment, and Mark hasn’t left the place since taking it over eight years ago. “It’s nothing for me to do 100-plus hour weeks sometimes working 18 hours a day. I’ll do 20 or 21-hour days and still milk morning and evening. I’ve done every milking for four lactations. “Being an owner operator, obviously getting 100 per cent of the milk cheque makes the long hours’ worth it at the end of the season.” They normally make a profit between $450k- $650k per year, which Mark said involved 4000 hours per season. “What you put in is what you get out.” They have had the same employee for six seasons now, and look after them well. “When you find a good employee, pay them well and give them plenty of time off.” Looking ahead, there are plenty more superficial improvements to be made, Mark said, such as shelter belts, fencing and taking out rows of Macrocarpa trees.
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