NZ Dairy Winter 2021

| 101 nz dairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Jon & Crystal Cranshaw Relationships paramount • from page 100 All the little things add up for couple Richard Loader C ompleting their fourth season contracting milking on a 1000 cow farm in the Wairarapa, Jon and Crystal Cranshaw are justifiably proud of their on-farm achievements and are look- ing forward to their next season. The 308-hectare effective dairy farm sits between Martinborough and Greytown in Morrisons Bush, right on the edge of the Ruamahanga River. Jon and Crystal came from a conversion opera- tion in the Manawatu and were delighted to find the farm of their dreams with a large herd, 60-bale rotary, in-shed feeding, Protrack and auto-draft technology — and Wairapapa’s sunshine. “We’re really proud of how well we have done this season,” says Jon. “We’re 10% ahead of the farm’s best ever recorded milk production, cow condition is good with the lowest cell count and the lowest empty rate. The team is happy. “Everything that we have been nipping at and trying to fine tune is all showing itself now, and it has taken us four years to achieve.” Jon and Crystal say they have learned through their 23 years farming career not to try and reinvent the wheel, but to work with the resources available. “It has been about taking the time to learn the farm, find out what makes it tick and then make improvements based on what you have learned from past experience. When I came here I wanted to get the basics right before I implemented new management plans.” After the first two years Jon implemented a re- grassing plan and planted summer crops. His next task was to remove the passengers from the herd. “They were the cows that weren’t really perform- ing production wise or their cell counts might have been high.” In Jon and crystals first season they calved down 1050 cows, but last season dropped that down to 950, peak milking 914 and achieving 25,000 milk solids more than the farm had ever done. The average somatic cell count reduced from 200 cells/ml to less than 150 cells/ml and the empty rate reduced from 12% to 10%. “So I can finally see the results coming in this season from all the little things I put in place the first couple of years. I’m growing more grass on the farm now, there’s better weight on the heifers and there’s much better minerals for the calves, so I can justify increasing the herd again. Next season we will calve down 970 – 1000, peaking milking around 950.” Supporting Jon and Crystal is farm owner Bryan Tucker, along with their four team members. The couple place great importance on building the team and developing the culture within the team. “We tend to employ staff on personality rather than on their skills so that we can build a team that works well together. If they have the right personal- ity and attitude you can teach them the skills. Everybody on this farm does everything. Every- one brings the cows in, everybody milks, everybody feeds out, everybody calves a cow, everybody sprays thistles. It doesn’t matter if you have only had two months experience; you are learning and you will be put with someone who knows how to do it.” “Everything that we have been nipping at and trying to fine tune is all showing itself now, and it has taken us four years to achieve.” Colin says a key to building relationships with staff on farm is to get alongside the team which includes a 2IC in charge of each shed plus three full time and two part time staff members. Proud to support Tumunui Lands Trust www.piakotractors.co.nz Mike Rogers 021 998 819 | Tony Johnston 021 349 816 Kevin Morey 027 493 1620 | Jamie Gainsford 021 905458 490 Te Ngae Road, Rotorua | 07 345 8560 Jason: 0274446285 Email: jnjbrooksspreading@xtra.co.nz SPREADING FERTILISER AND LIME ACROSS FARMS IN THE SOUTH WAIRARAPA TRACKMAP ENABLED J & J BrooksSPREADING Ltd Kahutara Jon and Crystal Cranshaw are proud of their on-farm achievements. On his phone he has 193 contacts that he can call on to help him run the farm better and get the right advice when he needs it. This trusted team is a key aspect of his success. He also hopes to be able to reciprocate and help others who might be able to learn from his experience. Part of giving back has been putting his hand up with wife Renee, who works as a large animal technician at a local vet clinic, to organise the Central Plateau Dairy Industry Awards. Colin says the experience has been both a learning curve and a challenge. Key skills he’s learned have included delegation, decisiveness (“sometimes you just have to make a call on something”) and committee structure and roles. The 982ha farm milks 1700 crossbred cows through two 50 bail rotary sheds with in-shed feeding systems. The herd is drafted into mixed aged heifers/ bigger framed cows and another herd of smaller mixed age cows. There is a 2IC in charge of each shed plus three full time and two part time staff members. It’s a steep farm and one shed has 44% of its area able to be cultivated, while the other has 70%, and the dry block is about 30%. Colin says significant investment in re-grassing – 110ha per year for the past five years – has paid dividends. Last season the farm produced 521,000 kg/MS from 1800 cows and this season the target is 500,000 kg/MS from 1680 cows.