But converting a small 187ha sheep, beef and forestry operation to dairying was still a better prospect in the 1990s for Benjamin and Sylvia Lee.
They had taken over running the family farm in 1983 which then ran Romney ewes, finished Angus cattle and had 40ha of diverse forestry. They bought the farm seven years later, leasing the neighbour’s farm dairy for the first two seasons to raise more capital to build a 40-aside herringbone and drill a 200 metre water bore.
They now milk 400 cows on a 147ha platform and have another 4ha divided into paddocks and set aside for rearing 500 dairy and dairy/beef calves every year.
With the rising cost of grazing the Lees decided they were better off buying their own runoff which they did in 2000, at Akitio in Wairarapa where Benjamin’s brother Jonathan is a sheep and beef farmer.
Benjamin continues to use Angus bulls at the end of AI, selecting them every year from Hillcroft Stud at Ohinewai, including eight two-year bulls to put over most of the herd. Five yearling bulls are also purchased to run with the rising two-year heifers.
As well as the 100 dairy replacements he rears Friesian bulls and Angus/Friesian steers, buys more than 100 whiteface calves locally and sends them all to Akitio to be finished.
The Lees hope to lift cow numbers to 420 next season, running a DairyNZ System 3 operation. The herd produces an average of 470kg milksolids (MS)/cow or 1300kg MS/ha. They’re fed 3kg/cow of 50:50 palm kernel and kibbled maize throughout the season. Previously up to 600 tonnes of palm kernel a year could be fed but Benjamin says they’re trying to wean themselves off it and move to a higher energy, higher quality feed.
While they’ve paid up to $300/tonne for palm kernel delivered to the gate they now want a better return on supplements, which their feeding system in the dairy allows them to use in a controlled environment. The kibbled maize they used during calving has been carried on through the season.
Their son Hamish is managing a dairy farm down the road and his parents value his input into management. He believes the future is about feeding cows better and is aiming to increase milk production to 95% of the cow’s weight by stretching lactation by another 30 days.
Calving usually starts on August 6 but they plan to bring it forward a week next season and better feeding should keep the herd in milk longer.
A key focus for Benjamin has always been pasture. About 12% of the farm is planted in brassica crops every year as part of the regrassing programme. New pasture seed is typically a 30-32kg mix of perennial diploid ryegrass, tetraploid, two white clovers, and a kilogram each of cocksfoot and plantain.
This year there are 3.5ha of swedes and 13.5ha of turnips planted. While the climate is too cold to grow maize, Benjamin has also moved away from buying in maize silage, saying that without a feedpad there was too much wastage to justify the cost.
Key points
Owners: Benjamin and Sylvia Lee
Location: Kaingaroa Plateau, Reporoa
Area: 187ha (143ha milking platform)
Herd: 400 Holstein-Friesians
Production: 187,000kg milksolids (MS).
