More farm and livestock management tasks and heaps of measuring and recording chew up her time. Consequently farm working expenses have to be adjusted to make them comparable with other west coast Northland dairy farms.
But they don’t curb her enthusiasm for the work and she is looking forward to implementing a new three-year trial on NARF beginning in the 2015-16 season.
Nearing the end of her second season as manager Karla has been awarded Farm Manager of the Year for Northland in 2015. She was third in 2014.
She also won three merit awards – the Bell Booth Livestock Award, the Fonterra Best Practice Award and the New Zealand Farm Source Farm Management Award.
Aged 24, the Dargaville research farm management role is her first extended employment period in the dairy industry.
She has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science majoring in agriculture from Massey University and after graduation lived and worked for short periods in outback Australia and in part-time positions in NZ dairying before applying for and getting the 2IC position at Dargaville.
Two months later the farm manager left and Karla’s favourable impression on the high-powered local governance group saw her promoted.
A third-generation dairy farmer, she was born and raised on an Ayrshire stud farm at Towai, north of Whangarei, until age 12 when the family moved into town.
With the reduced payout and a need to cut costs the NARF job is now sole-charge with two part-time assistants – Kelvin Horton and Herbert Dahl.
Farm working expenses ($/kg MS) are budgeted at $4.85 in total for the current season, and $4.15 without including the cost of research requirements. Last season the figures were $5.20 and $4.50.
The herd is 250 cows, about 75% Kiwi-cross and the rest Friesian, targeted with Kiwi-cross semen. A move to once-a-day milking was expected towards the end of March and drying off when the turnips run out on April 10.
Karla says she needs to lift the condition of cows before calving begins on July 10.
Her first two seasons were at the tail end of the extended ryegrass versus kikuyu pastures trial programme when first three, then two herds were run on smaller farmlets and their performance compared. The new trial will build on those findings while trying to reduce dependence on imported feed.
“We want to see if smart use of cropping will replace those supplements while maintaining production and profitability,” NARF committee member Peter Flood explained to the annual Northland Dairy Development Trust meeting recently.
Three herds of about 80 cows each will be randomly selected and the paddocks divided into three farmlets again.
System one will continue with the existing 20-30% imported feed.
System two will have no imported feed but additional cropping – maize, turnips, chicory, plantain and possibly fodder beet.
System three will have no imported feed and no cropping but a lower stocking rate.
Karla says she was consulted on the practicalities of setting up and running the trial and she was keen to stick around at least one or two more seasons before trying to climb further up the industry ladder.
“The next move is dependent on having finance suitable to start sharemilking. I am also interested in farm consultancy work.
“Round the board table here I get a very good hearing and that is a great boost to my confidence.
“The work here involves incredible amounts of monitoring and recording and it is essential that everything is done accurately and in line with best practice.
“I believe that this is a key strength as high standards are expected in every aspect of the farming system.”
The farm management, livestock and best practice merit awards flowed on from the situation in which she works.
“This in a demonstration farm located on a state highway so there is no cutting corners.”
She placed third in last year’s competition but found it to be a useful exercise through the feedback she received and people she met.
“Through the competition I had the chance to meet a huge range of farmers and industry specialists. These contacts have become extremely valuable and helpful over the past year.”
