increase font size
Wayne McNee, LIC.
A suggestion that New Zealand farmers should house more cows hasn’t gone down well with one industry leader.
Visiting Dutch agriculture expert Professor Aalt Dijkhuizen suggested New Zealand farmers keep cows indoors to improve production and reduce pollution, as do their Dutch counterparts.
Speaking in Auckland to an audience that included Fonterra chairman John Wilson and Open Country Dairy chairman Laurie Margrain, he said a simple housing system for cows would lift production, safeguard the environment, assure good animal welfare and allow adoption of new technology.
However LIC chief executive Wayne McNee sees a flaw in Dijkhuizen’s argument: profitability and efficiency does not seem to feature highly.
“The two go hand-in-hand here,” McNee says. “Profit is the ultimate goal for New Zealand dairy farmers, regardless of the system or technology utilised.
“The best way to make a profit is by breeding animals that will efficiently, and repeatedly, convert feed into quality, high-value milk.
“The New Zealand cow is renowned for her ability to efficiently produce milk solids, get in-calf each year and keep doing so for an average of five lactations. For the majority, this is on pasture, at the envy of many farmers around the world. “
McNee says the claim that Dutch cows produce twice the volume of milk of New Zealand dairy cows may be true but he questioned how much feed the animals require to achieve those levels of production, and at what cost to the farmer.
“Also, how fertile are they and how long will they last in a herd? Therefore, how efficient are they, really?
“What works in the Netherlands, or any overseas model for that matter, won’t necessarily work here.
“Housing cows in barns is not the only way to increase production. New Zealand dairy farmers have proven the success of this over the last 20 years: average production of milk solids from New Zealand cows has increased from 278kg to 371kg, and 60% of that increase is a result of genetic improvement.”
Dijkhuizen told Dairy News that he accepted the success of the New Zealand system in the past.
“The discussion, however, is about the most attractive system for the future… where environmental regulations may (or will) restrict the growth and profitability of the New Zealand system and hence increase the costs of production.
“The question then is not which cow produces the most per kg of liveweight but what is the most efficient and profitable per kg of milk or milksolids.
“In that equation, it becomes much more attractive to produce the amount of milk with fewer animals or, the other way around, to produce with the same number of cows more milk.”
He cautions that simply rejecting possible adjustments of the NZ dairy system may turn out not to be the wisest option.
Benefits of housing cows
Aalt Dijkhuizen says housing cows:
Safeguards the environment and assures good animal welfare
Offers opportunity for economic growth and income
Does not detract from the pasture-based image when done in a balanced way
Would be good for NZ’s image in 10 years and would fuel greater production to help meet growing demand for dairy.
A world-first public-private joint venture helping farmers cut emissions is set to have the first product from its investment portfolio - a methane-reducing bolus - available for beef farmers early next year.
AgriZeroNZ has entered a new partnership with Britain's national innovation agency, Innovate UK.
A methane inhibiting bolus specifically suited to New Zealand's pastoral farming system is awaiting regulatory approval for a launch late next year.
An extract from the humble daffodil will be put to the test in New Zealand after UK research discovered its potential to cut methane emissions from livestock.
AgriZeroNZ, the joint venture (JV) fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for Kiwi farmers, is looking to speed up delivery of a methane vaccine with a $10m investment in US ag-biotech start-up, ArkeaBio.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…
