4 | nzdairy Adam’s full 50/50 sharemilker status Adam expects the regular moving of cows around the pastures to result in more even grazing. Virginia Wright Since 1st June 2023 Adam Hands and his wife Zoe have transitioned out of their equity partnership with Adam’s parents to achieve full 50/50 sharemilker status on the property they are farming in Norsewood in the Manawatu. While Adam jokes that it simply means that there’s more interest to pay, he also acknowledges that they’re happy to take ownership of their own business progression and create a track record for themselves to support their goals for the future. “We’re milking 750 cows split calving, so we milk 150 through winter and the others are spring calvers. Total effective area of 500 hectares, fully self-contained in terms of grass silage and we buy in palm kernel or other supplement if it makes sense to,” summarises Adam. Adam runs the farm while Zoe works fulltime as a relationship manager with ANZ and between them they’re bringing up their nearly three-year old twins George and Charlie. With lots to do and not enough hands to do it, wanting to both put a value on their time and acknowledge their priorities, Adam and Zoe worked through some cash flows and made a decision they hope will bring added efficiencies. “One of our team members left at the start of this season which fast-tracked our transition to using Halter collars on our Kiwi-X herd,” says Adam. “I’ll be dropping down to two full time staff from three, with a part-timer to help out as needed. We’ll still be busy but I’m expecting more time efficiency with moving cows and better” says Adam. Happy, well fed stock is always the focus and improving their feed conversion efficiency is something Adam monitors closely. With the halters providing virtual fences Adam can move the cows electronically and hopes to be able to allocate five or six feeds to the cows a day rather than the current one or two. “Shifting them multiple times a day encourages their eating. We’ll go smaller breaks per feed before we shift them so they’re not actually getting more feed but it encourages their regular eating rather than gorging then sitting down. The science behind it shows that you’re growing up to 12% more grass so we’ll be able to see that DAIRY PEOPLE » Adam and Zoe Hands Air Conditioning Factory Trained Mechanics Engineering Workshop & Field Service Total Oil Distributor Hydraulic Hose Service YOUR SPECIALIST SALES & SERVICES TEAM F O R MA C H I N E R Y S U C C E S S U S E L T S 2 0 2 2 Proud to be associated with Adam Hands 8 Makirikiri Road, Dannevirke Ph 06 374 7731 Dave 027 244 1213 Proudly supporting Adam Hands Contact Stu Davies 021 025 74676 fogartyspraying@gmail.com Derek’s Electrical Ltd Derek Massey Kathy Massey For all your electrical needs, wool sheds, dairy sheds, car sheds, Wiring new & old houses, security lighting, Alarms cctv cameras Test & Tag your appliances Registered Electrician Kathy’s corner Shop: 06 374 6787 A/H: 06 374 9325 Mobile Derek: 027 220 6201 Mobile Kathy: 027 256 8880 Email: Dereks_electrical@xtra.co.nz
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