increase font size
In 2023, 74% of farmers implemented at least five good management practices to support their cows and manage winter conditions.
Results from DairyNZ’s nationwide survey revealed that dairy farmers have continued to focus on wintering well and caring for their animals and land, regardless of the conditions.
DairyNZ lead advisor Justin Kitto says he is pleased to see that the wintering survey showed significant improvements in wintering practice on previous years.
He says that in 2023, 74% of farmers implemented at least five good management practices to support their cows and manage winter conditions.
“Importantly, 96% of farmers also said they had strategies to provide comfortable lying conditions,” Kitto says.
“These findings emphasise what we have seen previously – that farmers use a range of tactics to care for cows over winter,” he says. “These strategies include shifting them to a drier, lower risk paddock, or using crops positioned in drier and more sheltered areas for grazing during bad weather.”
Other strategies used to minimize mud and improve lying conditions include back fencing (temporary fences to protect previously grazed areas), portable troughs, providing extra straw as a dry bedding material and moving the break fence multiple times a day.
The survey also saw a significant increase in the number of farmers with a written wintering plan, increasing to 80% of respondents.
“These are important findings as written plans help to identify environmental risks and encourage thinking around keeping cows comfortable and healthy,” Kitto says.
“It helps ensure that the right decisions are made at critical stages over winter, especially during significant weather events, or during long periods of rain.”
Kitto says farmers with written wintering plans also implemented more good practices to look after cows and the environment compared to those without a written plan.
Farmers have also focused on ensuring calves are born in the best conditions, moving cows off-crop around two weeks before calving date.
“Many farmers put cows in mobs based on calving dates to help them better monitor and manage herds,” Kitto says. “Daily checks then provide the opportunity to identify any issues and those getting ready to calve, so farmers can give them the best outcomes.”
“Winter weather can be cold and unpredictable, so dairy farmers know they need to care for stock right through to the end of winter.”
Additionally, the results showed that 98% of farmers had stock excluded from waterways, while 94% had a buffer around their waterways to filter contaminants before they reach a waterway.
“Farmers should be proud of the work they are doing to improve their winter management for the best outcomes for their animals and the environment. The work is being recognised, with regional councils and MPI complimenting farmers on their dedication and progress,” Kitto concludes.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
OPINION: The dairy sector has been told that it cannot afford to rest on its laurels.
The dairy industry cannot rest on its laurels despite providing one in every four export dollars earned by the country, says DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker.
Increased competition for water means the whole community is looking at how irrigators use water.
Analysis of decades of research has revealed the implementation of good farming practices plays a critical role in reducing nutrient losses to improve freshwater outcomes.
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson says his party – NZ First - isn’t opposed to the “trade element” of a free trade deal with India.
The managing director of a company seeking to build a solar farm in Canterbury says receiving fast-track approval is a “really positive outcome”.
Retiring MP and dairy farmer Mark Cameron is blasting the Green Party for proposing to ban the use of synthetic fertiliser and cutting cow numbers.
A huge reduction in ACC claims from on-farm accidents over the last five years is due to thousands of small, practical decisions being made in sheds, yards, paddocks and around kitchen tables across the country, says Safer Farms ambassador Lindy Nelson.
Wayne and Ange Moxham of Horowhenua have just been named as Fonterra's top organic performer for milksolids. As well as providing organic milk to Fonterra, the couple also sell Udderly Organic milk to more than 100 outlets in the region and are embarking on another exciting venture producing organic gelato. Reporter Peter Burke went along to see their farming operation.
Certainty and a clear understanding of the needs of rural communities is a critical outcome in the series of government reforms that are taking place at present.
