NZ Dairy Summer 2020

44 | nz dairy BILL NEWTON CONTRACTOR LTD C R O P & G R A S S S P E C I A L I S T M O B I L E : 0 2 7 4 4 7 4 5 4 9 A / H : 0 6 7 5 2 3 4 0 0 P r o u d t o s u p p o r t C r a i g & T a n i a R o w e ower scs • nder NZ Groundspread Fertilisers Assn Inc Ground spread ROAD TRANSPORT ASSOCIATIONS PETER SOLE TRANSPORT Phone 027 443 1807 A/H 06 754 8454 Fax 06 754 6271 Call Peter NOW! He’ll get the job done. • General Farm Cartage • Fertiliser & Lime Spreading & Cartage • Pit & Crushed Metal Supply • Truck & Low Loader Hire • Rock & Demolition Cartage • Round Haybaling & Wrapping • Maize & Grass Silage Cartage • Automat trucks for low shed deliveries • Palm Kernal deliveries • Lime Supply • Digger • 4 x 4 Tipper • Hiab • Hay, Straw & Silage Supply • Auger Trucks for Silos Payne Electrical 2014 LTD PROUD TO OFFER OUR SERVICES TARANAKI WIDE Electrical installations & servicing, plus repairs on a wide range of appliances & equipment. • Full Electrical Designs • Electrical Installation & Servicing • Network Installations, ICP’s & Connections • Electrical Inspections • Phone / Data Installation & Servicing • Air Conditioning Installations & Servicing • TV Installation & Servicing • Aerial & Dish, Freeview Installations • Appliance Testing On & Off Site • 24/7 After Hours Emergency Call Out Service phone. (06) 754 8341 email. office@payneelectrical.org.nz www. payneelectrical.org.nz ON FARM » Craig & Tania Rowe Pasture and stocking rate key – so is Virginia Wright C raig Rowe has been farming since 1992 when he left Fitzroy Engineering in New Plymouth to go home to milk 125 cows on the farm next door to the dairy farm he grew up on in Tikorangi, North Taranaki. He was helped into that farm by his parents Graeme and Lesley, and in the 28 years since the farms have amalgamated and expanded to become a whole family enterprise with a 150 effective hectare platform, milking 422 Friesian/ Friesian cross cows. For Craig the strength of their farming business comes from the strength of the family. “Dad’s get- ting on but he still helps out with the young stock, and my youngest boy Brad has just started on the farm too.” Older son Dylan is working off farm and Craig’s wife Tania helps in the spring and when needed with milking and so on. As far as Craig is concerned, while they may be a dairy farm, the key to it all is managing their pasture and stocking rate. “A few years ago I was milking 390 cows on 127 hectares. We had good production but there was no room for error that’s for sure. We took on an extra block and now we have 150 hectares effective dairy platform. We’re milking 422 cows and that gives us a bit more room to deal with whatever the weather brings.” This spring they calved out 430 and the lower stocking rate has given the Rowe family more sus- tainability so that Craig is confident in their ability to get through, even if they get a tough season. “The key is to maximize milking days,” says Craig. “I believe in planning – always have a back- up plan ready before the problem happens.” For him that back-up takes the form of some of last year’s maize ready to go and the chicory crop that for the last five years has replaced the turnips he used to grow, and which is now a vital part of the farm’s rotation. Behind all the decisions made about crops and rotation and stock numbers is an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of their specific location. They’re three kilometres from the coast and only 50 minutes drive to the iconic Mount Taranaki, which makes them what the locals call “early country”. “We’ve probably got some of the best winter growth rates in Taranaki and the grass grows early in the spring because we’re not too close to the mountain,”Craig explains. “But the trade off for us, and there’s always a trade off in Taranaki, is really low growth rates in February/March. It’s about picking up on your advantages and fixing up your disadvantages, so Chicory is a vital part of Craig and Tania Rowe’s farm rotation.