Dairy

The release of the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord this week highlights the important role of talented people in delivering improvements in the environmental performance of dairy farming. The report notes that the training and certification of nutrient management advisers hit a major milestone in the 2014/15 year with a total of 100 rural professionals completing the requirements for and achieving certification in the Nutrient Management Adviser Certification Programme (NMACP). This was accomplished with the ongoing support and commitment of the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand and its member companies, Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd and Ravensdown Ltd.  One of the Accord targets was that 50% of Fertiliser Association member company advisers would be certified by 31 May 2014, which was comfortably achieved. Chief Executive of the Fertiliser Association, Philip Mladenov, commented that attracting, developing and retaining highly skilled and motivated nutrient advisers into the primary sector was a vital part of helping dairy farmers manage nitrogen and phosphorus losses from their farming systems, meet nutrient loss limits and pursue continuous improvement in nutrient use efficiency. “We are pleased that the certification programme continues to attract more and more qualified people.  We now have over 130 certified advisers working throughout the country, from Northland to Southland, with an additional 50+ people in the process of working towards certification,” he said. The NMACP provides ongoing educational and training opportunities for certified advisers through its programme of continuing professional development. This allows certified advisers to improve their knowledge and skills and remain on top of new developments within the sector as they relate to providing nutrient management advice. “For farmers, obtaining nationally consistent nutrient management advice of the highest standard is an important part of farming within environmental limits. With a certified adviser, farmers have the certainty of knowing that their adviser is professionally trained, […]

New Zealand dairy farmers must act now and use the right targeted genetics to breed cattle that are more resilient to facial eczema. That’s the message from CRV Ambreed’s research and development manager Phil Beatson who believes the dairy industry could learn a great deal from the sheep industry to successfully prevent this debilitating disease long-term. Facial eczema (FE) is not only harmful for animals, but also incredibly stressful for farmers when their stock is affected. It is caused by a toxin (sporisdesim) produced by the spores of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum growing on pasture. The fungus grows in the dead litter at the base of pasture in warm moist conditions, and when ingested by cattle or sheep, damages the liver and bile ducts. Higher humidity has increased the number of toxic spores in pastures this year, resulting in a spike in the number of FE cases in the North Island and parts of the South Island. Beatson says the fact that the Grey Valley has experienced some severe outbreaks for the first time, and this seems the worst for several years throughout the North Island, indicates what the future may hold with global warming. “For every three in 100 cows with clinical FE, it is estimated up to 70 per cent of the herd may have subclinical symptoms. You won’t necessarily see the disease in cows with subclinical symptoms, but it will be damaging the liver and negatively impacting milk production,” Beatson explains. “With climate change, this problem is only going to get worse. As an industry we can’t rely on short-term measures to treat FE any longer.  This is already a huge economic and animal welfare issue and genetics provides a long-term solution to the problem.”  

The cost and benefits of planting trees to help mitigate environmental effects of dairy farming need to be shared by us all for it to succeed, a new study says. Evaluation of an agri-environmental program for developing woody green infrastructure within pastoral dairy landscapes: A New Zealand case study says Government incentive programs are ineffective in overcoming barriers to planting such as the higher cost and slow growth of native plants, and the perception of planting being of little direct benefit to farmers’ operations. Lead author, Lincoln University Landscape Ecology Senior Lecturer, Dr Wendy McWilliam, says the Government and the dairy industry need to work closely together to develop and maintain a landscape-scaled woody vegetation network on both private and public land. Such networks would build sustainability and resilience into New Zealand dairy farming and lead to a more equitable sharing of the benefits and costs of their, primarily, public ecosystem services. The study’s results show few farmers take advantage of Government incentive programs, largely because they don’t cover enough of the costs. Many farmers are increasing woody vegetation, particularly around waterways and wetlands, to provide public ecosystem services, such as water cleansing and nature conservation. However, many are also removing or replanting their shelterbelts and hedges. In addition, a significant number of farmers are not planting due to a perceived lack of sufficient private ecosystem services— the benefits the woody vegetation provides to farmers and their farm operations. The study states a targeted environmental stewardship scheme, including more Government funding, is required to overcome the “considerable barriers to the voluntary retention and restoration of woody vegetation.” The study found plantings are small, limited to unproductive areas, and many continue to be dominated by exotics and monocultures, even though natives, broadleaf, and mixed species plantings are preferred. Aesthetic services (or […]

The Commerce Commission has released its draft report on its statutory review of Fonterra’s Milk Price Manual for the 2015/16 dairy season. The Manual sets out how Fonterra will calculate how much it will pay dairy farmers for raw milk. The Commission is required to report annually on the extent to which the Manual promotes the setting of a base milk price that provides incentives for Fonterra to operate efficiently, while providing for contestability in the market for the purchase of milk from farmers. Deputy Chair Sue Begg said the Commission’s draft finding is that the 2015/16 Manual is largely consistent with the purpose of the milk price monitoring regime under the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 (the Act). “While much of the Manual remains unchanged from last year, the amendments Fonterra has made this year improve the Manual’s consistency with the overall purpose of the regime. We are pleased with the steady progress being made year on year,” Ms Begg said. “Our draft report encourages Fonterra to continue improving the clarity of the rules in the Manual and its disclosures on their use so interested parties can better see how Fonterra would interpret and apply them.” Additionally, the draft report recommends that Fonterra consider some further issues, such as how the financing costs of interest-free loans made to farmers should be treated in calculating the base milk price and whether winter milk premiums should be explicitly provided for in the Manual. The Commission will further review how Fonterra applies the Manual when it assesses the 2015/16 base milk price calculation at the end of the current dairy season. The Commission welcomes comments on the draft report by 16 November 2015. The final report will be published by 15 December 2015.