Friday, March 29, 2024

Biological farming waits in wings

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While organic-certified dairy farmers have seen increased interest and demand for their herds’ milk over the last season, those following biological farming practices are generally not receiving any premiums.
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A number of approaches have been made to Fonterra over the past eight years but it seems prospect of such a payment hasn’t moved any closer. Organic Dairy Hub of New Zealand chairman Bill Quinn said biological farmers who believed such premiums would be available could feel short-changed.

“They are not being rewarded for good, clean milk,” he said.

“They may feel quite cheated because they were told by input salesmen that biological milk was different and there would be a premium.”

He estimated some might have lost $300,000 in premium payments which they could have received over the past three years if they had converted to organic dairying, a much easier step than moving from conventional to biological.

The Hub, which acts as a broker for organic milk, has 40 members and is handling 700,000kg milksolids (MS) this season with expectations volumes will increase by one million kg in both of the next two seasons. Fonterra also recently moved to offer its organic suppliers a more market-related payment which it said was in response to greater demand for those products from overseas markets.

While organic producers need to be certified, biological farming is described as any system of food production with the objectives of incorporating natural processes to ensure profitable, efficient and quality food is the end result. It involves reducing external, harmful and non-renewable inputs and targeted use of the remaining inputs, aiming to reduce costs and empower farmers as experts.

Farmers following these methods believe they can farm economically while benefiting the environment. They contend that low-quality, high-soluble-nitrogen pastures create higher levels of nitrogen in animal urine, which they say is supported by preliminary trials in NZ. They believe a carbon-depleted soil is likely to show more leaching or volatilisation of nitrogen than a carbon-rich one.

Kevin and Andrea Marsh milk 270 cows on 80 hectares at Pongakawa in Bay of Plenty. They grow 7ha of maize and aim to produce close to 100,000kg MS/year. They also have a 25ha runoff, where they winter part of their herd, and harvest maize and grass silage.

After Andrea attended a workshop with biological farming expert Dr Arden Anderson she realised Kevin had always farmed biologically, although they used conventional methods where required.

They also have a small vermicast business, which is in the process of being organically certified, and believe using it on their property has meant improved palatability and evenness of grazing, along with increased microbial activity in the soil, and greater resistance to plant disease.

Andrea wrote to Fonterra in 2008, with the letter being printed in the Farmers’ Weekly, raising a number of issues, including a request for an incentive for quality milk. She also approached the co-op directly, but was told testing would add another layer of cost.

Four years ago they moved to supply Open Country Dairies, which Andrea said was for a variety of reasons. They now receive a premium for low somatic cell count levels in their milk.

“We prefer the carrot to the stick,” she said.

“We should all be looking to produce food that’s good for us. It’s a no-brainer. It would be fantastic if all NZ milk could be tested to prove its superior qualities. NZ is in a prime position to produce food of the highest quality. All primary producers should be striving to produce nutrient-dense food.”

Self-styled econutritionist Phyllis Tichinin believes there are more than 100 dairy farmers following biological principles around the country. She advises a number of them, as well as producing animal remedies able to be used by organic-certified dairy farmers.

She encourages biological farmers to bite the bullet and become organic-certified, saying their soils and cows are in better shape than those of other farmers. By reducing urea use over two to three years they could increase grass production, she said, and through not using antibiotics could progress several years down the path to organic accreditation.

But she is most concerned that there should be increased testing of all milk produced in NZ.

“I’m talking about the aspects of dairy milk that pack the most nutritional value which are included in the butterfat such as vitamins A, D, E and K2.”

Tichinin said humans could get protein from other sources but not conjugated linoleic acid contained in butterfat, which was crucial for human health.

Laboratories approached about carrying out such testing gave wildly expensive quotes, she said, but in the meantime the dairy industry was moving towards more volume without quality.

She said those qualities weren’t present in milk from cows which were housed, because they weren’t exposed to sunshine. Reduced levels were also seen in milk produced by cows fed more than 2-3kg of grain a day.

In the future she believed milk quality testing might be done before tankers left each farm.

“We are missing the boat by not emphasising our grass-fed cows, use of little urea and clean water,” she said.

“That’s the next step to distinguish ourselves in the international market. That’s how we do value-add, not through processing but from the ground up.”

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