With NIWA’s prediction of an El Nino weather pattern and a high likelihood of a drier summer, how are farmers preparing? In today’s episode, we’re talking to dairy farmer Trevor Hamilton, who has dairy farm operations across the North and South Islands, and Kevin McKinley, DairyNZ regional partner in the Bay of Plenty.  Trevor and Kevin will share their strategies for preparing for a dry summer including how to manage cow condition and pasture quality.

More information:
Summer management
Summer management plan template

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Having more productive dairy workplaces can save hours, shorten the working day, and create more attractive workplaces. But what exactly is workplace productivity and how can we measure it? What practices and technologies are farmers using, and are they effective at improving productivity? DairyNZ’s Senior Scientist, Callum Eastwood and Research Engineer, Brian Dela Rue have been researching practices and technologies used to improve the productivity and efficiency of our dairy farm workplaces. In this episode they will share the findings of two recent studies on workplace productivity and farm tech adoption and give some practical advice on how to make some potential productivity gains in your workplace.

More information:
Workplace Productivity Study
Technology and Workplace Practices Survey 2023
Inside Dairy

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What’s the best way to manage internal parasites in young dairy stock? Find out how worms limit production in calves, when to start drenching, how to choose the right drench – but importantly, why we need to focus on management factors other than drench. Our guests are Ginny Dodunski, Wormwise programme manager and vet, and Emma Poole, Wormwise facilitator, vet, farm owner and 2023 Young Farmer of the Year. 
 
More information:
Wormwise.co.nz
Wormwise Facebook page
Heifer health
Video: Get the low-down from Emma on why it's oral drenches all the way for calves in their first year of life.

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Many farmers are looking for ways to get better value from their pasture, get through NIWA’s predicted El Niño summer, and control on-farm costs. Could deferred grazing provide a solution for some farmers? 

In this episode, you’ll get the low-down on this cheap and flexible form of pasture conservation. Our guests are DairyNZ senior scientist Dr Wendy Griffiths and Waikato farmer Ian Butler, who’s used deferred grazing on his farm. Ian is also a DairyNZ Extension Partner in the Waikato. Wendy and Ian will explain what deferred grazing is and when to use it, its pros and cons, and importantly, what the research tells us about this feed management strategy.

Visit our website to learn more about deferred grazing.

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Canterbury sharemilker Glenn Jones joins us to talk about the options he’s used to reduce nitrogen losses on-farm. He discusses how successful it’s been, the challenges he’s faced along the way, what he’s learned, and his advice for other farmers. Glenn was one of the partner farmers in a DairyNZ project set up to help dairy farmers in the Selwyn catchment reduce their nitrogen losses by 30%, while maintaining profitability.

Notes
Selwyn and Hinds - Meeting a Sustainable Future - DairyNZ 

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To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re sharing the powerful story of Emma Walton, a young Waikato contract milker. Emma not only loves dairy farming, but says it saved her life. Find out why farming has been the key to her recovery, why she’s passionate about lifting mental wellbeing in the rural sector, how she copes with stress on the farm, her ambitions, and more.

Notes

Rural Support Trust: Help and support for rural NZ (rural-support.org.nz)
0800 787 254

Home - Farmstrong - Live Well Farm Well

Need to talk?
Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor.

Lifeline
0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE)

Youthline
0800 376 633, free text 234 or email [email protected] or online chat.

Samaritans
0800 726 666

Farmer wellbeing - DairyNZ

Humankind: A Hopeful History: Amazon.com: Books

Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast 

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What do saloon doors and exosuits have to do with reducing injuries on dairy farms?
They’re among a range of practical ideas DairyNZ is trialling to help farmers avoid sprains and strains, particularly around calving time. Hear about the designs and prototypes, including a new easy-entry calf trailer and a flexible breast rail, from DairyNZ senior scientist Dr Callum Eastwood and Waikato dairy farmer Marcus Graham.


Notes

This project has been made possible through $900,000 of co-funding by ACC’s Workplace Injury Prevention programme, supported by a $150,000 investment by dairy farmers through the DairyNZ levy. 

Learn more at dairynz.co.nz/sprains-strains
 
Other useful links: 

• https://farmwithoutharm.org.nz/
• dairynz.co.nz/healthandsafety
• farmstrong.co.nz/course/preventing-accidents-and-injuries-version
• [email protected] 

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How do we reduce methane emissions from cattle within our pasture-based farming system? And when will farmers have solutions ready to use on-farm?

In this episode, recorded at DairyNZ’s Lye Farm, you’ll hear about the options being tested by our scientists, including feeding methane inhibitors to calves from birth. DairyNZ principal scientist Dr Jane Kay and technical team leader Olivia Jordan take us on a walk around Lye Farm’s world-class research facilities, explain when you might start seeing solutions, and discuss other methane research being done across the sector.

Show notes

Less methane - DairyNZ
Inside Dairy Aug-Sep 2023 - DairyNZ
Lye Farm - DairyNZ

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With farm business viability top of mind and soils still very wet around the country, what are some steps you can take to make sure you’re spending your fertiliser dollar wisely? In this episode, hear solid advice from two legends of the fert industry: Dr Ants Roberts, chief scientist at Ravensdown, and Warwick Catto, science strategy manager at Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd. They discuss trends in fertiliser use, whether you can afford to skip soil testing, the best time to apply nitrogen fertiliser and in what quantity, herbage tests, sulphur and lime use, placement tools, effluent spreading, specific strategies for wet soils, and much more.

Notes

Booklets (fertiliser.org.nz)
Managing nitrogen fertiliser - DairyNZ
Soil Fertility for Pasture - DairyNZ

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What are the main things to consider before approaching the bank for backing to go into herd-owning sharemilking? Sian Mitchell, ANZ agri manager, explains how to get yourself into as strong a position as possible to secure the bank’s support. She also covers the loan approval process, how and why the bank takes security over the cows, GST loans, loan structures, coping with profit ups and downs, and more.

Notes
Sharemilking and contract milking arrangements - DairyNZ
Budgeting tools - DairyNZ
Buy Contracts (fedfarm.org.nz)
Business by the Numbers - Dairy Training
Progression Management - Dairy Training

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