16 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Greg and Hannah Topless Once a day suits Greg and Hannah Topless Richard Loader When Greg and Hannah Topless bought their Strathmore dairy farm more than a decade ago, they already knew how they wanted to run it. The couple shifted to the 150-hectare East Taranaki property with a once-a-day milking system in mind, balancing family life with a farm where only about 80 hectares is milking platform and the remainder is steep hill country. “We find it’s a system that suits us,” Greg says. “When we first started, we had four young kids all at home, doing school activities and sport, and all those things happen after school, at three o’clock, which is bang on afternoon milking time.” The family has now spent 12 seasons refining a system that works for their 200 Jersey-Friesian cross cows. Greg admits it comes with a compromise. “We don’t do major production. We’re not going to discussion groups and boasting about what we do per cow or across a season.” Instead, he focuses on the efficiencies elsewhere in the business. The herd consistently records empty rates of about six to seven percent, calves in a tight spring block and has never required CIDRs. An automatic drafting system has also enabled the couple to rely on nine weeks of artificial breeding without running bulls. Greg believes once-a-day milking continues to make sense as dairy farms become larger and finding good staff remains challenging. “If you can save a labour unit by just milking once a day, or even have a working environment where people spend less time in the shed, that may be more appealing for some employees,” he says. The couple run the farm themselves, with Hannah joining Greg in the milking shed each morning and taking a bigger role through spring calf rearing. Two hundred self-shedding Wiltshire sheep graze the hill country, mainly keeping weeds under control, while the steeper land has created opportunities to further fine-tune the dairy system. Approximately 20 cows now winter on the hills, easing pressure on the milking platform and helping build grass cover ahead of spring. “It might only be 20 cows for eight weeks, but it makes a difference. It’s another paddock or two you don’t have to go through,” Greg says. Those incremental changes have also helped maximise days in milk by allowing the couple to milk slightly later into autumn and calve a little earlier in spring. With strong milk payouts over the past two or three seasons, Greg says the business has enjoyed some welcome breathing space. The extra income has allowed them to reduce debt while tackling long-delayed infrastructure projects, including upgrading about half a kilometre of farm race. “It has provided a bit of wriggle room. We’ve been able to throw a bit of money at the mortgage, The family has now spent 12 seasons refining a system that works for their 200 Jersey-Friesian cross cows. but also some of those bigger jobs,” he says. Looking further ahead, Greg hopes the family’s journey in dairying is not over. Three of the couple’s four children have shown “Ongoing research & development results in superior products & performance advantages including; more yield, faster milking, no slip and no teat end damage.” www.taranaki-vets.co.nz Clinics - Stratford ▪ Manaia ▪ Hawera ▪ Patea ▪ Waverley Proud supporters of Greg and Hannah Topless an interest in farming, with two already working on dairy farms. “If one of the kids wanted to come home, we’d hope we could create a path for that to happen,” he says. “It’s been such a good career and lifestyle for us. It’d be neat if one of the kids could enjoy that as well.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=