After the 2004 floods, Robert Ervine decided it was time to tackle the issue head-on. Trying to feed silage on boggy pastures came with major supplement losses, with about 30-40% of feed fed in a paddock being lost, according DairyNZ statistics. There’s pasture damage from pugging around the feed area, and money blowing into the wind. With 15-16% of the farm being re-grassed each year with chicory, maize and, for the first time this year, fodder beet, protecting pastures and soils is paramount.
“At $250 per tonne, you look at it and go, well 30-40% of that 140 tonnes I’ve just turned into expensive bad quality fertiliser and I’m wrecking my paddocks at the same time.”
In an effort to reduce pasture damage and maximise feed utilisation he installed a feedpad. The single laneway concrete feedpad, measuring 120m long and 7m wide, was previously a raceway into the dairy and has enough room to create a second laneway if required. Coming in at about $200 a cow to build 10 years ago, Robert says the large upfront cost is offset by low maintenance costs.
“After it’s built it’s the odd bent rail or gate you’re dealing with, and the corrugated iron fencing at the back of the bins takes a bit of a hammering in the wind.”
The feedpad doubles as a standoff pad in the wet winter months when cows are wintered on the property. Initially buying the feed, they now grow their own maize and feed a combination of grass and maize silage, and some palm kernel. Fodder beet has been planted this year for feeding next autumn. By feeding his own cows over winter, Robert says he has more control over his herd and can guarantee the cows will get to their target body condition score (BCS). If they don’t, they know it’s their own fault.
“It’s hard if not impossible to get a grazier to do that for you. Price-wise it works out better for us to winter the cows on, although there’s a slight increase in labour. We are reaching our BCSs which drives milk production, submission rates and in-calf rates, so it’s a must for us.”
During winter months when weather can be extremely bad, typically June through to August-September, cows can be stood off on the feedpad for 18-20 hours a day, with even the milkers standing off if needed. Robert is vigilant in keeping an eye out for animal health issues, with lameness the main problem.
“If the cows have to be on the pad for this long then you have to watch them closely. If they’re lame then stop standing them off, it’s just normal stockmanship and common sense. You sort of have to get over it a little, you do feel a bit miserable locking the cows on there for the night.”
Because lameness can be such an issue, rubber mats have been strategically placed at the end of one race where the cows come down the stop bank and make a sharp turn to get onto the feedpad.
“I’m sure it’s saved a lot of lame feet. It’s attention to detail with those sorts of aspects that are important, trying to minimise any issues associated with using the pad.”
Rubber matting for the entire feedpad is an option Robert has looked into, to make it more comfortable for the cows when used as a standoff pad, but with the payout the last couple of years, he says spending $70,000 on matting just hasn’t been on the cards.
To reduce time on pasture and on the feedpad, Robert sometimes stands them off during the day and puts them out to pasture in the evenings.
“In the evenings they have a bit of grass and a sit down, so don’t walk around too much.”
When the feedpad was first installed, another big issue Robert had to tackle was cows falling into feed bins.
“You’d be awake at night listening for the ‘thump thump’ of a cow falling into the bin.”
Robert installed guard rails over the bins to stop this, after a handful of cows died.
Keeping the feedpad clean is another issue, although Robert says it’s very rarely ‘sparkling clean’. A scraper is used to clean the pad once a day when it’s used as a standoff pad. Wear and tear on the scraper is the biggest cost of the pad. With Robert’s scraper coming up 10 years old and ‘looking a bit sad’ he says he’s looking at $5000 to replace it.
Other cleaning methods, such as hosing, would increase the amount of effluent and require extra storage.
“The feedpad itself already catches a lot of water, so the pond fills up quickly. With council regulations changing it might become a necessity to roof the effluent pond in the future and divert the clean water out.”
Having built a large effluent pond five years ago and upgrading the system when the feedpad went in, he now has 60 days’ storage. That could be doubled by putting on a roof on the pond, which
will probably be the next improvement made.
Although the property sits near the Manawatu River, it’s not in a catchment area under Horizons One Plan, but Robert says if they were, they would be well under the limits they would be allowed for their soils. He says the latest numbers, based on having more cows, show leaching of 19kg N/ha/year, well under the 25kg N/ha/year allowed for their soil types.
Robert says he’s sat down and done the sums for building a standoff pad, and looked into wintering sheds, but says the data and returns don’t stack up.
Having come from Ireland, Robert is well-versed in housed dairy cows and says looking at infrastructure options like that is trading one set of issues for another.
“You’re going from pasture-based farming with nitrogen leaching issues, and trading that up for indoor farming with animal health issues and concentrated effluent. It’s a difficult debate.”
“We worked with a Massey University student who did a thesis on putting a
shed in for 450 cows on the farm and it worked out that $6.50 was the breakeven price. There are needs and wants and we are better off using what we have.”
Feedpad pros and cons
Pros:
- Doubles as standoff pad if required
- Less nitrogen leaching
- Better pasture protection and management
- Low ongoing maintenance costs
Decrease in supplement wastage
Cons:
- High upfront cost
- Extra vigilance and management to avoid animal health issues such as lameness
- Effluent management needs to be up to scratch
