NZ Dairy Winter 2021

| 85 nz dairy Transition to organics driven by demand from consumers Sue Russell N ow in this fourth season managing Egmont Dairy unit, one of a cluster of farms owned by Landcorp NZ, now branded Pamu, Joel Peterson is pleased with how the 190ha effective dairy farm is performing. Working with him are three ‘good blokes’. Recently one of these, subsequently replaced, moved away to pursue his own passion. Joel says there’s a strong thread within Pamu toward internal promotion. “I spent one season on another Landcorp farm before coming over to this property and worked my way up from 3IC, 2IC and now farm manage- ment. It’s very satisfying as a manager to be in a position to assist staff to progress their own farming journey,” says Joel. Having a great team with a similar outlook to- ward farming is critical to the success of the farm. Egmont Dairy hugs the Manawatu River, between Foxton and Shannon and is part of Pamu’s Motua complex, a collective of five farms, bordering each other. With a decision to shift to organic farm practices and ultimately secure organic certification, Joel and the team have learned to adapt some farming practices, moving away from the use of antibiotics. “I still run the farm the same way, in terms of the day to day activity, however there is no spraying. The Motua complex will become an organic hub for the business, as it recognises a swing, by consum- ers, toward buying organic products.” When NZ Dairy spoke with Joel in June, the team DAIRY PEOPLE » Egmont Dairy modern farming Your Animal Health Professionals • Best Prac�ce Accredited • Complete Pet Care • Physio and Rehab • Animal Health Products • Farm Services • Available 7 days by appointment 518 Queen Street Levin Ph: 06 368 2891 www.lhvc.co.nz Proudly part of the Totally Vets group now • Fertiliser spreading • Cultivation • All bulk silage requirements • Round baling & wrapping • Bulk cartage • Square baling & wrapping • Hay - large rounds / large squares • Stockists of Hatuma Lime • Ravensdown consignment store with certified weigh bridge Agricultural Contractors - Levin Contact Garry 027 232 2380 Rowan 027 452 2562 Serving the Horowhenua since 1924 SERVICES OFFERED: Phone (06) 324 8426 F: (06) 324 8427 • E: info@farmsupplies.co.nz • W: www.farmsupplies.co.nz IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH INNOVATIVE DESIGN & ANYTIME SERVICE RONGOTEA • All Brands of Pumps for All Purposes • Irrigation Systems • Bore Pumps • Water Purification • T asman T anks • F arm Effluent Systems • All Brands of Dairy Equipment • Reporoa Backing Gates • Water Meters Milka-Ware Total Dairy Systems IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH INNOVATIVE DESIGN & ANYTIME SERVICE Phone: (06) 324 8426 Fax: (06) 324 8427 • E: info@farmsupplies.co.nz • www.farmsupplies.co.nz Pumps for All Purposes • Irrigation Systems • Bore Pumps • Water Purification • Water Meters Farm Effluent Systems • Dairy Equipment • Reporoa Backing Gates • Tasman Tanks RONGOTEA GEA FarmTechnologies TEAT SPRAYING TECHNOLOGY AN COMPANY EXCELLENCE IN DAIRYING EFFLUENT PUMPS & SYSTEMS TEAT SPRAYING TECHNOLOGY AN COMPANY EXCELLENCE IN DAIRYING CALL US TODAY 0800 118 111 engineering@agfirst.co.nz agfirstengineering.co.nz SPECIALISTS IN DESIGN/SUPPLY/BUILD Proud to be Pamu’s preferred supplier of effluent monitoring solutions WATER & EFFLUENT were preparing for the busy calving season, due to begin on 20 July. Calving extends over a 10 week period and the cross-bred Friesian/Jersey herd per- forms well. The herd size has been reduced from last season’s by 100 to 530, taking any number stresses out of the equation as the farm transitions to organic. An organic certification process takes three years for the land and a year for the herd, however Joel says the decision to start both at Year 1, is the right one. “By the time the farm is completely ready, the staff and the cows are ready too. We still have the option to use antibiotics if cow health is severely compromised, but we’re taking our time through the transition and will be carefully monitoring condition and production throughout.” “This year the plan is to have no summer crops, just maize, with a focus on going back to fescue based pastures. We are surrounded by the river and we find we are still able to get about 25 tonne/ ha over summer. It creates a surplus.” With a growing family and the eldest son about to begin high school next year, Joel and partner Lato- ria intend to remain on the farm for at least the next five years. Longer term, for their farming business Joel says many opportunities are opening up down south and around Taupo. Last season, the herd produced an average of 450+kg/cow, something Joel says is a significant improvement from the first season. “It’s very satisfying to see the results of shift- ing farm management practices results in a big increase in per cow production, while improving animal condition and the farm’s profitability.” Split calving at Ajax Dairy Unit means the winter season sees 380 cows grazing on another farm until their calving starts on August 1 “All those safety switches save us from getting ponding or huge puddles on the paddock without us having to go out and check the irrigator all the time. I just get a text alert on my phone with what’s happened and why.” Effluent monitoring solutions AgFirst Engineering are proud to be the supplier of effluent monitoring solutions to Pamu farms nation- ally. Ajax Dairy Unit was the first farm to receive their effluent monitoring system over four years ago. The purpose of the monitoring system is to provide fail-safe control and proof of placement of their dairy effluent. This is achieved by a range of sensors monitoring different aspects of the effluent system and farm environment to ensure maximum utilisation of effluent as a fertiliser and to prevent over application of effluent to land. The system also provides remote control from mobile device, computer, or switch on the irrigator itself. There are multiple facets to achieve the required results starting with pond level monitoring. Davieth Verheij, Managing Director of AgFirst Engineering Waikato originally designed the effluent system in 2014. This included designing the dairy effluent storage pond and irrigation system. A pond level sensor is installed in the effluent pond. This data, together with the pond dimensions demonstrates how much storage is available (m3), how many days storage is available at any one time and how many irrigation hours are left to empty the pond (all based on original system design data). This information is displayed on the dashboard/app and can assist with irrigation scheduling and remote monitoring by the farm’s stakeholders. Ajax have two low rate travelling irrigators which both have solar powered monitoring units. These units measure irrigator travel speed, irrigator nozzle pressure and GPS tracking. In addition to these units there is an effluent flow meter at the pump, weather station and soil moisture/temperature sen- sors. With this solution the actual soil water deficit and irrigator application depth is calculated and displayed on the user’s mobile app and main dash- board. A colour coded table with live data shows when the soil is saturated, at optimum growth, stress point or wilting. This enables the operator to ensure that effluent is not over applied and thus the nutrient value is capitalised (whilst ensuring compli- ance with Waikato Regional Council rules). The GPS tracking units are continuously mapping each irri- gator’s location which is then displayed on an aerial map. The irrigator pressure and speed sensors ensure the system is shut off and the operator is notified if there is an irrigator stoppage, blockage or leak. This is all achieved using Harvest.com moni- toring technology. It is extremely important to have quality hardware in the field to capture the data. It is equally as important to have a good understand- ing of the effluent irrigation system design and what to do with that data. This is where the partnership between AgFirst Engineering and Harvest.com on this project provides exceptional value.