Talking Dairy

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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Covid-19, the Ukraine War and extreme weather events have created ongoing disruption globally and locally, with knock-on effects for New Zealand’s dairy sector. So, what can we expect in the coming seasons with farm costs, interest rates, labour supply and demand for dairy? What are the challenges and opportunities for farmers to be thinking about? And what are some emerging trends that could affect dairy farming? 

Our guests in this episode are DairyNZ head of economics Mark Storey and foresight practitioner Melissa Clark-Reynolds, who bring some great insights and food for thought. Melissa is one of the speakers at DairyNZ’s 2023 Farmers’ Forum events, which will have a strong focus on science and research. Visit Farmers’ Forum 2023 - DairyNZ for details.   

Notes

• Farmers’ Forum 2023 - DairyNZ
• Melissa Clark-Reynolds – Signals from the Future (BOMA webinar, 14.2.23) 
• Melissa Clark-Reynolds – learning from NZ Primary Sector Unicorns (BOMA conference, 2020) 
• Mark Storey – Managing cost pressures in an uncertain environment (Fieldays interview) 
• Managing a profit squeeze (Talking Dairy podcast Eps. 41 and 42) 
• DairyNZ cyclone response: advice, tools and resources 
• DairyNZ decision tree for flood-affected farms 

Chapters

01:40 – Melissa's role as a foresight practitioner and her skill in recognising patterns
04:00 – Spotting trends before they emerge
08:09 – ‘Pandemic century’, our post-Covid situation, Russo-Ukraine War’s impact, demand for protein
14:05 – How much dairy farmers should be thinking about these global changes, and what can they do on-farm
16:02 – Cost pressures, rising interest rates, forecast farm working expenses 
17:18 – Fertiliser prices being pushed up by Russo-Ukraine War
17:55 – A mixed picture: rising interest rates, but lower dairy debt levels
19:55 – Post-Covid-19 challenges, recovery and reasons for optimism
25:40 – A long way to go until we’re out of ‘Post-Covid recovery’ phase
28:20 – Cyclone Gabrielle’s impact on NZ’s total dairy production, infrastructure, wellbeing
29:54 – Building our resilience to extreme weather events
35:37 – Reasons for farmers to be excited; good news stories; challenges of other products; opportunities to improve total return to farm (not just milk)

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It’s been an incredibly tough time for farmers affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. For many, the recovery will be long and challenging.  We thought it would be helpful to hear from one farmer who’s been through something similar and can talk about what the recovery looked like.

Dean Bailey was sharemilking in Manawatu when, in February 2004, a devastating flooding event left his farm submerged beneath two metres of water. It was six months before they were milking cows again on the farm. Dean will talk about how the recovery unfolded, the importance of good communication, rallying together as a community, and taking it one day at a time.
 
Michelle Greaves, a Regional Partner in DairyNZ’s Lower North Island Team, also joins us to talk about DairyNZ’s role in the response and recovery, and provide advice on how farmers can prepare for the seasons ahead.

Notes

• Cyclone response - DairyNZ
  
  
• Decision tree for flood damaged farms: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/media/5787035/flood-damaged-farm-decision-tree.pdf 
  
  
• Government grants and funds: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/55630-Cyclone-Gabrielle-farmer-and-grower-recovery-grants 
  
  
• Completing a feed budget: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/feed/improving-pasture-performance/assessing-farm-performance/feed-budgets/

Chapters

1:18 - Intro to Dean
1:41 - How Dean’s been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle
3:30 - Dean's been speaking with Hawke’s Bay farmers hit by the cyclone
3:48 - ‘Taken out of farming’ in the Manawatu floods of 2004, and how they recovered: what worked well, keeping morale up
9:14 - Dean discusses support organisations, talking to mates, getting through it as a community, and keeping the cows in lactation
12:05 - Deciding what to prioritise in each day of the recovery
15:30 - Dean’s advice for Cyclone Gabrielle-affected farmers
17:45 - Ways to make a farm and business resilient to the effects of extreme weather events, e.g. positioning fencing to run with the water
20:00 - Michelle discusses key support avenues and tools to help farmers recovering from an adverse event
22:15 - What Michelle’s hearing from farmers in affected regions: power, fuel and water supply, roading access, cows dried off, stock movement, infrastructure 
25:25 - Dealing with the silt
26:33 - What’s DairyNZ’s role in the response and recovery?
29:30 - Resilience of dairy farmers, and advice for farmers on preparing for future extreme weather events (contingency plans, generators, means of communication, fuel storage) 

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

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There’s a lot of conversation circling about milk alternatives and their potential impact on global dairy consumption and NZ dairy farming. But what do we mean by ‘milk alternatives’? What are the differences between plant alternatives and precision fermentation? Also, where are milk alternatives at and what are the facts – and the myths – about new and existing products? 

Here to shed some light on the matter is Warren McNabb, Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the Riddet Institute, Massey University. Warren will discuss how milk alternatives have developed to date and what the future is looking like.

Notes
Frontier Farms - DairyNZ
Inside Dairy Feb-March 2023 - DairyNZ

Chapters

01:31 – Who is Warren?

03:46 – Warren explains the different milk alternatives and where they’re at on their journey

11:40 – Nutritional differences between milk alternatives and traditional dairy, and what that means for global nutritional requirements

14:21 – What is a plant-based and animal-optimised food system?

17:57 – How does traditional dairy sustainability compare with milk alternatives?

20:45 – Precision fermentation’s future

24:00 – Key messages for NZ farmers, traditional dairy’s role in future food systems, and what alternative milks mean for dairy farmers

26:50 – Warren’s brunch chat with friends

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How are Kiwi dairy farmers managing their way through the current economic climate to maintain their profitability? In Part 2 of this series, you’ll hear from Waikato owner operator John Bluett, and Canterbury herd-owning lower-order sharemilker Kylie Marriott. John and Kylie share their approach to coping with cost increases, how they calculate profit from various inputs, how they budget when things are changing so quickly, and what they’ve learned from previous tough times.

Notes
DairyNZ budgeting templates
Mark and Measure course
Budget Case Studies
Budgeting when inflation is high
Dairy operating profit
Dairy Training's Business by the Numbers course

Chapters
1:50 – Who are John and Kylie?
3:40 – Kylie’s journey from contract milking to lower-order sharemilking 
5:05 – John and Kylie explain their farm production systems
8:30 – How they’re dealing with rising farm costs
12:40 – Kylie’s farm business principles 
14:40 – Kylie’s debt aversion
15:40 – John’s farm business principles
20:05 – Calculating profit made on various inputs 
22:11 – John’s budgeting approach 
25:10 – Kylie’s budgeting approach 
26:33 – Lessons learnt from previous downturns 

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

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 

How are farmers managing their way through the current economic climate to maintain profitability? Over the next two episodes, you’ll hear from a group of farmers who have kindly agreed to talk about their approach. We’ll ask them how they’re coping, how they calculate their profit from various inputs, like supplements, and how they go about budgeting when things are changing so quickly. In this first episode, we’re joined by farmers Dan King and Marc Jones. Dan and his wife Kate are owner/operators on the West Coast; and Marc and wife Nia are 50/50 sharemilking 700 cows at Mamaku, Bay of Plenty, and contract milking 500 cows in Tirau, Waikato.

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

Chapters
0:00 – Intro
4:15 – Dan’s and Marc’s farm production systems
7:46 – Approach to rising farm costs 
11:33 – Their farm business principles
15:00 – How they calculate profit on various inputs
16:09 – Budgeting process for next season
19:58 – Previous experiences and lessons learnt

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

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