What might NZ dairy farming look like in 2030? What strategies and technologies could Kiwi farmers adopt to get ahead of our global competitors, like US mega-dairies? 

DairyNZ researchers are on the case, seeking answers to those questions and more through an exciting project called Frontier Farms. It’s all about identifying the key challenges our farm systems need to address – and coming up with solutions – to remain globally competitive. Our guests in this episode are DairyNZ senior scientist Dr Paul Edwards, Perrin Ag managing director Lee Matheson and Waikato dairy farmer Colin Hickey.

Notes
Frontier Farms - DairyNZ
United States mega-dairies - DairyNZ
Inside Dairy April May edition - Inside Dairy - DairyNZ
Alternative milks podcast (Ep 43) DairyNZ Podcast - DairyNZ

Chapters
01:25 – What Frontier Farms aims to achieve for farmers
02:54 – Intro to Colin 
03:30 – How and why Colin’s involved in the project
04:30 – Lee’s role in Frontier Farms
05:15 – What is a ‘mega-dairy’?
6:05 – What advantages could US mega-dairies have over Kiwi farmers?
07:55 – How NZ dairy farms can better compete with mega-dairies
10:15 – Colin’s thoughts on US mega-dairies
11:10 – Flattening the labour demand: extended lactation, batch robotic milking
14:01 – Next competitors to be assessed; capitalising on our strengths
15:05 – How farmers can keep up with the research
16.26 – What Colin’s kids think the future of farming looks like
18:44 – NZ dairy needs to keep pushing the boundaries
20.07 – Learning from what doesn’t work, as well as what does

 

 

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