26 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Dr Ian Scott ( Oraka Deer Park ) Farming operation has continuously evolved Sue Russell It’s not at all unexpected that veterinarian and farmer Dr Ian Scott, always had an affinity with animals. The son of ”10 bob” Irish immigrant parents, who transferred farming skills to NZ on arrival, Ian stepped foot on NZ soil at the age of 4 and remembers, as a youngster growing up, always reading books about animals and enjoying life on the farm in a real working situation. Ian owns and operates several well-established farms near Okoroire, between Tirau and Matamata. These farms operate as dairy, deer and cropping businesses, also rearing beef calves, but now that cows have access to the more recently purchased property, the beef finishing is left to a Hawkes Bay veterinary colleague. The entire farming operation has continuously evolved into an intensive, diverse and vertically integrated model. Careful, science-based analysis regarding best use of each parcel of land has driven the diversity and farming practices, along with a passion for cows and deer. “Because of my vet science background, I have always considered farm management systems using this perspective. There has to be very sound reasons behind each farming decision and a willingness to take risks that have potential to increase productivity. I assess each decision with a view to creating positive environmental, animal health, productivity, people and financial outcomes. But none of this is easy and I don’t experience much of the lifestyle benefits I see quoted so often’’. The dairy herd is Friesian, with 420 milked at peak and of this, approximately 25% are winter milked. 600kgMS/cow with 300+ calves reared. The decision for a split herd system 7yrs ago led to investment in a herd shelter, where cows enjoy quality time in a clear plastic, composting / wood chip base system. Ian says the shelter has significantly helped maintain pasture and soil conditions, especially in the very wet winter / spring of 2023 when heavy rain-fall was mentally challenging. At a stocking rate around 6 cows/ha on the milking platform a nutrient recycling system is practised where nutrients adhered to the chip are transferred to cropping and lower fertility farms recently purchased. “Operating within these parameters means that everything changes quickly when weather goes very wet or dry. It is not a case of tomorrow will do. The continuous cropping maize growing farm initially received much of the recycled nutrients Veterinarian and farmer Dr Ian Scott, always had an affinity with animals. but now we have a situation where soil organic matter is up around 10% with unconverted carbon existing. For each 9 kilograms of carbon added we need to add 1kg nitrogen to help it turn into organic material. It’s a balancing act, too much free carbon can compete with young maize plants for available N, but it has certainly had a positive impact and justifies my decision to use woodchips to capture nutrients in the shelter for inter farm transfer” Proof of these gains has been evidenced when Ian undertook his annual Fonterra surplus N balance report. Surplus N was well under 100kg N /ha while production exceeded 3000Kg MS/ha. He is now managing effluent aerobically to reduce GHG losses. “I can grow 60ha of crops on support farms which allows me to structure my dairy farm management in a particular way. We’re achieving over 30 tonne dry matter/ha grown and harvested, (24-27t/ha maize + 5-7t annual ryegrass). This drives cow and deer productivity. Greenhouses + /# - )#*0. .լ )$( ' .# '/ -. ) # #*0. . 0$'/ 4 4 - # - # '/ -.հ $-4.# '/ -. 222ի- + /#ի *ի)5 . ' . -ד + /#ի *ի)5 # ԵԺԵԽ ԼԸԸ ԼԷԽ Shadehouses for Oraka Deer Park 07 8888 158 (ext 225) | 027 702 5462 glen@wtcl.co.nz GLENCLOTHIER Proudly supporting OrakaDeer Park
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