Our guests Matte Kirk and Kelly Dickey share their thoughts on mental wellness in the rural sector. Are farmers getting better at talking about how they’re feeling? Why is getting off the farm so important? How do Matte (former dairy farmer, Pioneer area manager) and Kelly (sharemilker, Rural Support Trust facilitator) stay in top form? The pair also talk about the great work of Surfing For Farmers, which they both help to run in Raglan, on Waikato's west coast.

Links
Where to get help - DairyNZ
Surfing for Farmers
Farmer wellbeing - DairyNZ
Rural Support Trust: Help and support for rural NZ (rural-support.org.nz)
Home - Farmstrong - Live Well Farm Well

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Waikato farm owners Bryce Anderton and Aleisha Broomfield share how the current period of increased farm costs and high inflation is affecting them and how they’re coping. Speaking live at Fieldays 2023, Bryce and Aleisha talk about the impacts on their businesses, actions they’ve taken to maintain profitability, the role of cost control, advice for other farmers, and their go-to tools and resources.

Useful links
Budget Case Studies
Budgeting when inflation is high
Dairy operating profit
Dairy Training Business by the Numbers course

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In today’s tight labour market, we need to ensure our dairy farm assistant jobs are attractive and competitive – but how? In this episode, find out about DairyNZ’s new tools to help farm employers know if their job role 'meets the market' and what factors could be tweaked to create a bigger pool of applicants. Our guests are DairyNZ’s Geoff Taylor and Pouarua Farms CEO Jenna Smith.

Useful links
Know the Market project - DairyNZ
Job competitiveness calculator - DairyNZ

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Our guests on this episode are Morrinsville farmer Johan van Ras, planting professional Antony Snodgrass, and DairyNZ’s Aslan Wright-Stow, Senior Manager – Environment. 

Hear their perspectives on how to successfully undertake a planting project on the farm, including some common mistakes to avoid, tips on prep and maintenance, what we can learn from science and research, and what benefits (some unexpected) you’re likely to see.

Shownotes

Planting waterways - DairyNZ

DairyNZ Riparian Planner - DairyNZ

Native Planting Services - Koroneiki Developments

Waikato environment award winners, Johan and Kylie van Ras, hope to spur others into environmental action (linkedin.com)

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Overwhelmed by workload pressure, self-doubt and a fear of what others expected of him, fifth generation farmer Sam Spencer-Bower stopped being able to function. It took six months before his wife – and Sir John Kirwan – helped convince him to get help.

In this episode, Sam kindly joins us to share his mental health journey: the underlying causes, learning to talk about it, the road to recovery, and the skills he’s developed to cope with the stresses of the job, so he can keep on enjoying dairy farming. 

Notes
Where to get help - DairyNZ
Farmer wellbeing - DairyNZ
Inside Dairy - DairyNZ (see page 13 of June/July 2023 edition)
Rural Support Trust: Help and support for rural NZ (rural-support.org.nz)
Home - Farmstrong - Live Well Farm Well

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Connect with DairyNZ

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Rotorua farm owner Steve Holdem joins us to share his experience with Ecotain plantain: what’s worked well, what he and wife Paula have learned about maintaining it, and how it’s saving them from reducing their stocking numbers. 

Also on the podcast is DairyNZ’s Kate Fransen, who’ll give a clear overview of what a decade’s research has taught us about plantain. New results show even better than expected leaching reductions can be achieved.

Notes
Plantain - DairyNZ
DairyNZ Podcast: 'Plantain for production and environmental wins | Ep. 20'
Inside Dairy: pages 25-29 of June/July 2023 edition (goes live June 1)

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It’s difficult to see the benefit of genetic gain in a herd from one season to the next. When you see an improvement in farm performance, how do you know that's a result of better genetics? How can you be confident that breeding for genetic gain actually works?

Hear DairyNZ's Bruce Thorrold discuss learnings from the Holstein-Friesian Strain Trial. He also talks through the value of genomics and high-quality data, strengthening the fertility Breeding Worth, keeping up with our overseas competitors, and more.

Notes

Animal Evaluation - DairyNZ

A Comparison of Three Strains of Holstein-Friesian Cows Grazed on Pasture: Growth, Development, and Puberty - ScienceDirect

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For many of the biggest challenges facing Kiwi dairy farmers, the answers lie in solid, farm-tested research. So, what are the big focus areas for DairyNZ’s science team right now? What work is underway to give farmers the tools they need? And how do our scientists ensure new solutions are actually going to work well on-farm? 

DairyNZ’s Bruce Thorrold and Bridget Maclean join us to answer those questions, as well as explaining who’s in the science team at DairyNZ, their proudest research achievements, and what research projects they’re most excited about.

Notes
Farmers’ Forum 2023 - DairyNZ
Research - DairyNZ

Chapters
1.47 – Who are Bridget and Bruce?
4.21 – Hot topics DairyNZ researchers are addressing
9.03 – Who are the scientists working on behalf of dairy farmers?
12.28 – Involving farmers; developing solutions that actually work
14.57 – Bruce’s proudest achievements
18.37 – Bridget’s highlights
19.50 – Changing the dairy job; nailing methane emissions
21.36 – Grill our scientists at Farmers’ Forum

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What’s it like coming into the dairy sector with no experience? How can farm employers make it a softer landing for newbies and increase our chances of them succeeding and remaining in farming? What can we learn from seeing dairy farming through the eyes of a new employee? 

Step on up John Gibson, who’s in his second season and has just taken on a 2IC role in Te Pahu, west of Hamilton. Hear John's story of leaving behind Government and retail work in Wellington for a new career in dairy farming. You’ll hear the good, the bad and the funny, as well as why he decided to make the lifestyle change. He shares his views on how we can make it a smoother transition for other newcomers.

Notes
Recruitment - DairyNZ
GoDairy - DairyNZ

Chapters
1.33 – John’s non-farming background
2.33 – Persuaded to go dairy farming
3.55 – First impressions, early mistakes, ‘farm common sense’
7.37 – Discovering a love for farming
9.03 – Biggest challenges: physical demands, new lifestyle, internet
12.04 – Why he stayed
14.59 – Thoughts on rural internet connectivity
16.53 – Another ‘newbie’ moment
18.18 – Goals, upskilling, working towards herd ownership
20.17 – Advice for farm employers
23.19 – Advice for people starting out in dairy farming 

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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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Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected