Milking longer with maize silage
This season's dry conditions have made one thing clear: not having enough feed on hand can bring your season to an early close.
Singaporean conglomerate, Olam International has succeeded in a full takeover of New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay.
Olam purchased 85.93% of NZFSU shares in July last year. However, the shareholding fell short of the 90% stake it needed to acquire to trigger a compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares.
On October 18 this year, the company made a full cash takeover offer for 75c/share for shares it did not own. The offer was accepted.
NZS was established in late 2006 with the objective of applying New Zealand's expertise in pastoral dairy farming to high quality, low cost and under-utilised farmland in Uruguay.
The company is the largest single producer of milk in Uruguay, accounting for approximately 6% of national production. The company's medium term plan projects it to be milking 48,000 cows and producing approximately 17% of the total milk currently produced in Uruguay by the 2013-14 season
It has completed the construction or upgrading of 30 dairy sheds, 62 farm workers' houses, 11 irrigation dams, 470km of roading, and reticulation of 65km of high tension wiring for electricity supply required for dairy shed and irrigation pump.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
OPINION: The world is bracing for a trade war between the two biggest economies.