Friday, March 29, 2024

Reflecting on ten years of service

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Tafi Manjala finished as DairyNZ’s Northland regional leader at the end of last month. Here he reflects on his time working with dairy farmers.
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As the DairyNZ regional leader for Northland, I thoroughly enjoyed the past 10 years of service to New Zealand dairy farming and Northland in particular.

There were many highlights for me over the last decade, but one that stands out is the Northland Focus Farm project.

The progress Alister and Lyn Candy made as the focus farmers in the past three years has provided the region with some valuable lessons. Last season the Candys produced 112,000kg milksolids (MS) and their profit was up $200,000, assuming a $6/kg MS milk price, from when their property became a focus farm more than three years ago.

With advice from DairyNZ staff and a committee of local farmers, the Candys set about improving all areas of their business.

They lifted production without changing their farm system and by applying the basics of dairy farming. They grazed ryegrass as close to the three leaf stage as possible and utilised it to 1600kg drymatter/ha; achieved industry body condition score targets at calving and target weights; and applied good cost management.

Any farm can achieve the same efficiency lift as the Candys by working closely with their current professionals. This can be enhanced by forming a buddy group with likeminded farmers to help each other succeed.

The Candys’ business is now one of the top performing farms in Northland, which they have achieved through basic management practices. A focus farm field day last year was attended by 172 people, proving just how popular the farm became.

Another highlight was the way Northland farmers pulled together during tough times, such as during the Northland floods last year. In the immediate aftermath farmers were supporting each other by offering their time, equipment and feed.

Farmers also shared information to help others recover, which included case study farms recording their decisions to be included in regular emails. 

One of the strengths of our industry, which we seldom discuss, is the willingness of our farmers to open up their businesses for peer learning through discussion groups and other extension forums. Peer learning is a powerful process and one I encourage farmers to continue to take part in.

I also challenge farmers to implement improvement practices on their own farms to capture the benefits, like the Candys did, and to use the many resources available to them through DairyNZ. These resources are paid for by farmers through their levy and they are there to be used. 

I leave you with this statement: ‘Every single farm in the region can grow and harvest more pasture. What are you doing today and tomorrow to capture this potential?’

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