6 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Nick Gold & Sarah Vincent Wintering barn proves it worth Kim Newth Waikato dairy couple Nick Gold and Sarah Vincent are thankful they had a nice warm barn for their dry cows to go into when it was raining day after day through a very wet winter. The couple are in their third season contract milking 550 cows on a high input system ve farm at Kio Kio, near Otorohanga. They cannot speak highly enough of the farm’s clear-roofed Redpath shelter barn, saying it has been hugely bene cial for animal welfare and the farm environment. “We mainly use it as a wintering barn for up to 300 dry cows. We had a really wet winter. It has been tough, but we’re one per cent ahead on production and pretty happy with that as everyone else seems to be down a bit. If we didn’t have that barn, it would be a whole different story. Walking through there when it was pouring with rain outside, we were so thankful to have it.” The barn has a wood chip oor, with fresh sawdust regularly added through winter. When the barn is in use, the ooring material is regularly turned over to facilitate the composting process and to keep the top layer dry. The compost is cleaned out every few years and used on cropping paddocks. Cows in the barn are fed a mixed ration of grass and maize silage with some palm kernel and soybean hull, comparable to a percentage mix of the usual lactation diet to ensure they maintain rumen capacity at a high level and are ready to go come calving. “We keep them in the barn for 28 days, on average, until they calve. Having this barn is magic for calving down. A big positive for us is having full control over their diet. We know they are getting the right amount of magnesium, calcium and other minerals that really help animal metabolism. We don’t get much milk fever and, if they do get it, they bounce back quickly and are good as gold.” For this winter milking, split-calving operation, having the barn takes the off a lot of pressure at calving time. “Compared to calving in the paddock, outside in the wet and cold, calves born in the shed are so much healthier. They don’t get sick – they’ve got that head start for life. It makes calving a breeze – once you’ve mixed the feed, it only takes 15 minutes for two people to do the cows and calves every day and, if push comes to shove, you can do it with one person.” The barn has been a boon for pasture management too, as only the lactating cows are out in the paddocks in winter. “It gives them a bigger area – we don’t have pugging; it means the farm environment is in much better shape.” Nick Gold checks on the cows in the wintering barn. When the barn is in use, the ooring material is regularly turned over to facilitate the composting process and to keep the top layer dry. The compost is cleaned out and used on cropping paddocks. 83 Kio Kio Station Rd, RD4, Otorohanga Ph: 07 873 1800 Mob: 029 833 0011 Email: johnclarkcontracting@xtra.co.nz Meat work processing plants www.actionelectrical.co.nz Lactating cows use the feed pad off the cow shed, with less pressure than if the barn was not available. Nick and Sarah foster a positive work culture, shared by their 2IC Daniel Land. Their former farm assistant Ethan Thorpe has taken up a 2IC role on a neighbouring farm and the couple are proud to have supported his progression. Cage Wynd is now learning the ropes as their new farm assistant.
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