74 | nzdairy ON FARM » Dairy Production Systems Bespoke solutions tailored to each farm Waikato based DPSL is a farm consultancy predominantly focused on dairy farms. Karen Phelps When people ask Bryan McKay, the Managing Director of Dairy Production Systems (DPSL), what his business does, he says it is simply about helping his clients achieve their farm goals by offering bespoke solutions tailored to each farm, each location and each farmer. “We look after dairy farms from Northland to Southland with a diverse range of systems within our client base, and each region has its own areas of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.” Established in 2000 by Bryan and his partner Elizabeth Dillon, both veterinarians, Waikato based DPSL is a farm consultancy predominantly focused on dairy farms. “What we actually do is help our farmers to achieve their goals and that’s really in the efficiency space. Our first visit to a farm is quite involved. We have to work out why we’re there, what it is that the farmer is trying to achieve, what the farmer actually wants, and sometimes they have to really think about that. Sometimes it’s succession, sometimes they want more family time, other times the farmer might not think they are getting the best out of the cows. They might feel out of their depth managing a more complicated farming system; and farming is getting more complicated. We spend time working out where they are currently at, and that takes a lot of observation, talking and information gathering. Then it’s identifying the pathway to get the farmer to where they want to be.” While DPSL’s spotlight is focused on cow efficiency, Bryan acknowledges that DPSL is really a multidisciplinary business that looks at everything effecting the performance of the cow - which encompasses the whole farming system. “It’s infrastructure design, farm management, stockmanship, staff, how well they treat the cow, how to manage and feed the cows to produce at an optimum level. We provide a lot of coaching.” Bryan makes the point that all farms are on a journey, even the ones that DPSL has been working with over many years. “Often, farmers don’t realise just how efficient their cows can become and what can be achieved, so goal posts can shift. We call the cow the ‘CPU’ — she’s the heart of the system, and we try to get her ‘cow fit’ performing at an ‘Olympic Level’. In cow terms, that’s her ability to eat and consume food and turn that into product efficiently. Wastage, whether that’s feed use or cow survivability, involving reproduction, health and longevity are areas we focus on.” Complementing its consulting services, DPSL run a range of educational courses, attracting a wide range of attendees from within the industry including farm owners, managers, veterinarians, farm consultants, people from the feed and the industry’s service sector. One farmer recently spoken to attributes her passion for farming being reignited by a DPSL course she attended several years ago. Now in his mid 60s, Bryan has recently engaged two associates to carry on his legacy. “They are Waikato based, both astute dairy farmers and very good operators. The idea is that they will move into the business as their time allows.” The DPSL team is fully equipped to provide farm speci c advice to improve the ef ciency of your farm system. We work with farm systems from Kaitaia to Bluff, covering pasture management through to full TMR systems. We have experience in Cow Management including Cow Signs, Preventative Veterinary Medicine, Ruminant Nutrition, Infrastructure Design and utilisation of new technologies. 07 858 2224 027 492 8212 dps@dairypro.co.nz www.dairypro.co.nz
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