Sitting in a paddock on his farm, Phil Everest earnestly asked a group of other local farmers what they thought he and his farm team could do to boost feed quality and really crank up productivity.
It’s not an unusual thing to do at a DairyNZ discussion group – to get feedback from your peers – but in this case the host farmer was also a farm consultant and a man who is as eager to keep on learning as he is to impart advice.
Phil and wife Jos have owned the farm near Willowby, southeast of Ashburton, for 28 years but had leased it out for 23 years while Phil built a successful farm consultancy practice.
It was run as a drystock and cropping farm through that time but five years ago the couple decided to convert it and become more actively involved in its operation.
They employ a manager, Matt Earl, and their son Paul is 2IC. They have one other full-time staff member, Luke Russell, and also employ casual labour as needed through the season.
One of the reasons they converted the farm was to give them a chance to develop young people, not least of all their own children.
Their other son Mark is also a farm consultant and is part of the Macfarlane Rural Business team in Ashburton. Their daughter Anna is a chiropractor.
This season’s three-week submission rate was 85% so it’s still a work in progress to get to the industry target of 90%, Phil says.
This season’s results show the effect of calving date and the importance of condensing it, with very late calving cows recording a 33% six-week submission rate while the early calving cows had a 91% three-week submission.
Another investment to create efficiencies on farm has been the installation of variable rate irrigation (VRI) on one of the three centre pivots on the farm and a plan to install it on a second one.
Soils are varied but there’s a significant proportion of heavy soil, as well as fenced-off drains.
The farm’s been surveyed using electromagnetic technology (see page 18) and sprinklers will pulse on and off to ensure the correct application rate for the soil type.
They’re also shut off completely as the pivot approaches waterways, troughs, lanes and gateways as well as immediately adjacent to the wheels.
Wheel ruts can be a big problem on the heavy soils and as well as the ability to shut water off, Phil has installed dual tyres that are wrapped in a rubber track.
The solution is a lot cheaper than other options he looked at.
The investment in VRI is saving them about 10% of their water each year and with annual volumes now attached to the consent that extra water can be essential in a dry year.
The effluent is put through a weeping wall system with green water re-used for yard wash and applied through two pivots.
Phil says when compared to the two-pond system without yard wash, their effluent has more than twice the concentration.
A 1mm application depth will provide 5kg N/ha, 0.5kg phosphorus and 6kg of potassium.
Phil and Jos are also shareholders in a large-scale support block along with four other farming businesses.
Close to 2500 cows are wintered on fodder beet and to avoid any health risks with acidosis the rule is cows must be transitioned to the crop on their home farm.
The plan works well and the crop is both grazed and lifted. It acts as a very cost-effective autumn supplement and can also be used when cows return in spring.
There are plenty of other projects on the go at Flemington farm too.
Phil’s analytical mind and desire to see research taken to a farm scale will make sure of that.
