Featured

Owl Farm’s fourth and final Farm Focus Day for the 2016/17 season at the end of May was an opportunity to review the season, and for others in the dairy industry to benefit from the hard lessons learned on farm. Demonstration Manager Doug Dibley says financially it’s been a difficult year with production and payout down. Underweight heifers, staffing changes through the middle of the season, poor performing pastures and eczema are just some of the major challenges faced by Owl Farm. “We’ll look in detail at where we ended up, how and why. Looking towards the future, we’ll share our focus and targets for next year, including the significantly lower cost structure that we need to achieve to ensure financial survival in what all are anticipating to be another tough season.” Owl Farm has shifted its attention to the five P’s – planning and preparation to prevent poor performance. “Last season we didn’t have an entirely effective plan and weren’t prepared for what was to come. This season’s approach is to plan for the worst and hope for the best.” Doug says that although these may sound negative, he is optimistic about the future. “These are the lessons which all farmers learn early in their journey. We are now in a much better place regard our operating knowledge of the farm. Although we have learned the hard way, we will now be able to plan to ensure we manage these issues and others as best as possible.” Owl Farm also want share their investment strategy in preparation for the season ahead. Doug acknowledges that some areas of the farm’s cost structure were unsustainable. “All of our investments now are in areas where a solid return has been identified and where it supports our strategic direction.” Owl Farm gives the […]

Consistent growth in the demand for organic produce over the last four decades is a missed opportunity New Zealand dairy farmers can’t afford to ignore any longer, says organics stalwart Bob Crowder. His comments are a response to a payout forecast of $9.20 for organic milk solids, more than double the price of conventional milk, which he believes has the potential to take New Zealand back to being a world leader in organics. He laments New Zealand letting its status as a frontrunner in organics slide. “At one time we were one of the top certified organic nations in the world. Now we’re almost insignificant in the global picture,” says Mr Crowder. He puts this down to a cheap food mentality with no thought for quality or origin, which means organics have not advanced as far as he thought they would when, as a Senior Horticulture Lecturer at Lincoln University (then College), he established the Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU) in 1976. Although Mr Crowder was looking for `another way of doing things’ he says much of the impetus came from students who wanted a more practical degree with a focus on sustainability and organics. The so-called ‘Sandwich Degree’ introduced to Lincoln in 1978 for horticulture students were critical to the success of the BHU as it allowed students to work on the site as part of their studies. “Students in the 1970’s were very radical. They weren’t forced to be organic. What we were doing had to be integrated into the general teaching. The BHU was for the teaching and demonstration of holistic environmental aspects. It was based on good scientific principles, not muck and mystery.” The BHU is celebrating 40 years of organic status this year. It has grown from an area for teaching and demonstration based on a […]

With the margin narrowing between the Heard Scheme Value and National Standard Cost for dairy cattle, farmers are presented with an opportunity to review their livestock valuation methods and optimise their operations for tax efficiency. With this years continued convergence of values between the Herd Scheme Value and National Standard Cost for dairy cattle, professional services firm Crowe Horwath says farmers are presented with an opportunity to review their livestock valuation methods and optimise their operations for tax efficiency. That’s according to Tony Marshall, agri tax specialist who points out that the IRD’s 2016 Herd Scheme (HS) values have drawn to their closest with the National Standard Cost (NSC) in some time. “Valuation choice is important due to the tax treatment of livestock under each scheme,” he notes. “Once livestock are valued under HS, movements in value are non-taxable, whereas movements in value under the NSC method are always taxable, either as income or a deduction.” The HS value of a Mixed Aged Dairy Cow has fallen to $1,356, while the NSC for a home bred cow currently stands at around $900. At $456, the difference is the smallest for many years. By contrast, when the HS value for Mixed Aged Cows peaked in 2012 at $2,155 the corresponding NSC value was around $488 – a difference of $1,667. In general, most farmers use HS, NSC, or a combination of the two methods to value their livestock for tax purposes. However, switching the valuation method isn’t a decision lightly made, adds Marshall, as it has further implications. “Generally, changing from NSC to HS will incur a tax cost, as the difference between the values under each method would be taxable income. However, with the closing of the gap between the methods, there is now a window of opportunity to make […]

Unexpected and conflicting results from research around irrigation practices and their influence on greenhouse gas emissions have Lincoln University PhD student Jen Owens contemplating a more complex scenario and a few possible explanations. Ms Owens carried out a field experiment on a commercial dairy farm measuring nitrous oxide emissions and soil oxygen concentrations under urine patches subjected to varying rates of irrigation. Her studies are integrated with a three year research programme by Landcare Research into greenhouse gas emissions from intensive dairying. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas linked to climate change. Most of New Zealand’s nitrous oxide emissions come from grazed pastures where soil is affected by nitrogen inputs such as ruminant urine. Nitrous oxide emissions from urine patches are a problem for New Zealand given the intensification of dairying. “While many dairy farms are using irrigation to improve pasture production to meet the nutritional needs of their cows, little is known about what happens to the nitrous oxide emissions from urine patches when they are irrigated,” says Ms Owens. Ms Owen’s field experiment explored the possibility that irrigation may modify soil oxygen concentrations, potentially reducing nitrous oxide emissions from urine patches. She found that soil oxygen concentrations under a more frequently irrigated urine patch were lower when compared to a less frequent irrigation regime. These lower soil oxygen concentrations were expected to lead to lower nitrous oxide emissions. However, this didn’t happen, suggesting a more complex scenario. “Nitrous oxide emissions were not affected by irrigation frequency but we were surprised to find the more frequent irrigation rate lead to potentially greater nitrous oxide uptake by microbes. These two results appear to conflict with each other. “A possible explanation for this is that the potential for the production of nitrous oxide has increased in response to lower soil […]