Friday, March 29, 2024

It’s all in the planning

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While most New Zealanders soaked up the warm weather, Dairy Exporter Associate Editor Anne Lee spent the summer shivering in a UK winter investigating wintering options developed in a cold climate.  Anne Lee Planning, planning, planning – it’s absolutely key if you are considering housing cows through the winter. This was the advice we received time and time again from farmers visited as part of the FarmWise Dairy Exporter UK and Ireland wintering tour. The tour was initiated by FarmWise consultants George Reveley, Geoff Campbell and Jon Nicholls, with much of the work in getting on-farm carried out by LIC UK-based farm consultant Michael Bailey. They’d become concerned people were increasingly making huge capital investments into wintering systems here without a lot of independent advice and research. They wanted to gather some intelligence from farmers who’ve been using the systems for years but have an understanding of grazing systems, so a group headed to Ireland and when in the UK most of the farmers we saw used New Zealand-style grazing management. The study tour set off just as the UK was gripped by an icy blast in January that blanketed many parts of the country in snow. It meant the NZers got to see cows and people functioning in conditions the northern hemisphere winter can commonly throw at them.
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For the few that wintered cows outdoors the conditions, although unpleasant to be out in, weren’t noticeably bothering the cows because they were well fed.

And when we visited Ireland’s Agriculture Food and Development Authority (Teagasc) Moorepark Research centre we were put straight on just how well cows will do outdoors in a climate close to that of Southland.

Eyebrows were raised at why NZers, as the champions of grazing systems, would be interested in housing cows and while a number shook their heads in disappointment they could see how environmental concerns given our rapid expansion in cow numbers could be driving the shift.

UK dairy farmer Johnny Alvis, far right, gives NZ farmers Geoff Baker, left and Will Clarke a hand to get our car back on the lane in the January snow storm.

Remember cows can’t be allowed to calve in a cubicle shed – they need to go outdoors or into calving pens with enough room and bedding. If you’ve split calving and cows indoors will be bulling then extra space is needed in the shed and more attention has to be paid to feet.

Cows have to be able to lie down for eight hours over a 24-hour period and any discomfort they have in getting up or down to a lying position, any lack of space or cold wet lying surface will limit that lying time. The consequences of that will be seen in condition, feet disorders and could carry further into the milking season.

Remember not all cows will suit the indoor system so be prepared to move them out. Cows require some training to adapt to lying in cubicles but some cows won’t ever be happy to – they need an alternative or be prepared to get rid of them.

In looking at all the systems we certainly didn’t conclude one was the ideal fit for all.

There are pros and cons to each of them and individuals may even find one person’s pro is another’s con. There’s still debate among those on the trip over the true value of a roof for instance. It offers benefits but can also throw up a whole new set of challenges in animal performance, dealing with rainfall collected on it and paying for its cost.
Done well, housing animals can reduce environmental impact but done not so well it could create environmental problems as well as limit productive performance.

While we’ve packaged up the main points of what we learned here there’s still plenty more thinking going on over how some hurdles could be crossed and we’ll continue to bring analysis.

Sand, for instance is an excellent bedding for cow comfort and animal health but dealing with it in the slurry needs some outside the square thinking and further investigation. Closer looks are being taken at whole system changes too and what they could mean in terms of benefits.

We’ve found there’s a mass of research and information already completed on some of the issues NZ farmers are grappling with and we’ll be sharing that with you too.

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