Going through the Dairy Industry Awards process helped Waikato Dairy Manager of the Year Leyton Evans to focus further on farm operation expenses and make better management decisions.
The awards make entrants look harder at the business and question the daily decisions they make, he says.
“Initially I did it to compare myself with peers and to meet people in the industry, but it’s made me look at what I do every day, the things you don’t always think about.”
Leyton, 31, is a farm manager on one of the three Moeraki Farms owned by Graeme and Rebecca Davison.
The 685-cow farm at Newstead, on the outskirts of Hamilton, is a System 2 operation growing 21ha maize silage.
Leyton manages two full-time staff, with an extra person shared between the three farms.
The flat peat farm had an early dry spell in November and December so Leyton scrutinised supplement costs and decided to destock rather than buy any more than palm kernel at 33c/kg drymatter (DM).
The farm has also increased its nitrogen fertiliser this season rather than buying extra supplement, with a return of pasture grown working out a more economical 14c/kg DM with a 12kg DM response.
Growing grass and managing grazing is the backbone of a low-input system. They monitor grass growth and residuals through weekly farm walks and identify surplus grass early.
The farm has a 10% annual regrassing policy, with Leyton selecting the poorest-performing paddocks to be planted in maize.
The farm has also had 3.3 tonnes/ha of lime applied this year. The peat soils are slightly acidic, preventing good root structure growth, and they were having problems with cows pulling grass. Instead of spending more money on undersowing this season, they want to improve the soil pH first, Leyton says.
Leyton has been in the dairy industry for 10 years with experience in varied roles on farms ranging from System 1 to high-input.
Wairarapa-raised, he was introduced to the industry after getting a part-time job on the neighbouring dairy farm during high school.
Leyton loved the outdoor environment and working with animals every day, and he carried on working on the farm for two years. The farm was a basic system so the farm owner encouraged him to study with Primary ITO to increase his knowledge. After two years he moved to another Wairarapa dairy farm for two seasons.
During a holiday to visit his grandparents in Wales in 2006, he got an opportunity to work on a 330-cow farm in Pembrokeshire.
The System 3 operation was modeled on a New Zealand dairy farm with spring calving and a focus on pasture.
That experience was key to teaching Leyton how to allocate feed, both in the paddock and supplements.
Since returning to NZ he has managed a number of farms, gaining experience with managing staff and running different systems.
He entered the Auckland-Hauraki Dairy Industry Awards in 2012 as a farm manager and won the Pride in Property merit award.
His goal is to get a 50:50 sharemilking job milking 250 cows in 2017 and within three years progress to a larger sharemilking position and then on to farm ownership.
His partner, early child care teacher Sarah Hitchings, is from Orini in the Waikato.
“I’d like to stay in Waikato,” Leyton says.
“I want to create a system that can withstand the payout. I enjoy working with a System 1 or 2 farm. It’s cost-effective and I believe it’s more efficient.”
Leyton won the DeLaval Livestock Management, Primary ITO Power Play, Fonterra Farm Source Farm Management and Westpac Financial Management and Planning awards.
Cambridge farm managers Brett Bradshaw, 29, and Aaron Collins, 27, placed second and third.
