increase font size
MORE THAN 30 farmers turned out for a field day to see and hear how automation in the milking shed is helping one Canterbury dairy farmer cut cell counts and combat mastitis.
Martin Early, Mayfield, had an Automatic Dipping and Flushing (ADF) milking system installed in his 54 bail, Waikato rotary platform in August last year. He says it's one of the "best things" he has done on the highly productive spray irrigated farm.
An ongoing problem with mastitis in the 920-cow herd had driven him to look for an effective method of controlling it, something he believes he has now achieved thanks to the system.
At the field day Martin showed visitors the system in operation and answered questions, saying his experience with it has been "excellent."
ADF says Early's experiences and opinion of the success of the system echo those of other farmers throughout the country.
While most farmers follow traditional best practice methods to control mastitis, such as dry cow therapy, proper maintenance of milking equipment and treating clinical lactation, the firm says the cornerstone has always been teat spraying which can be both time consuming and prone to human error if staff are less than thorough in what they are doing.
Developed in the UK, ADF Milking has been operating since 2004. The system, designed to disinfect the teat immediately after milking and sanitise the cluster between cows, has already proven popular overseas and is being used on farms in Europe, the US and Canada. It was introduced in New Zealand and Australia two years ago.
The open day at the Early's farm allowed farmers to talk with and question ADF Milking founder, James Duke, visiting New Zealand.
"New Zealand dairy farmers are a bit more cautious than farmers overseas and are looking at results," says Duke.
"Mastitis is the biggest cost dairy farmers have and until now it was not easy to control, but looking at the figures they were generally happy with the results they saw for ADF.
"New Zealand is an exciting market and farmers here can benefit greatly from the ADF system. It was made for people like New Zealand dairy farmers."
The iconic services building at National Fieldays' Mystery Creek site will be demolished to make way for a "contemporary replacement that better serves the needs of both the community and event organisers," says board chair Jenni Vernon.
OPINION: The Rural Support Trust ran a dinner and debate at the National Fieldays last month. In tables of 10, over 540 people were wined and dined, including the Prime Minister, supported by ministers from around the country.
OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.
OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.
This season's dry conditions have made one thing clear: not having enough feed on hand can bring your season to an early close.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters is ratcheting up pressure on Fonterra farmers as they vote on divesting the co-operative’s consumer and related businesses.
Alliance Group's Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef has been recognised on the world stage, securing top honours at the World Steak Challenge in the Netherlands.
Meat co-operative, Alliance has met with a group of farmer shareholders, who oppose the sale of a controlling stake in the co-op to Irish company Dawn Meats.
Rollovers of quad bikes or ATVs towing calf milk trailers have typically prompted a Safety Alert from Safer Farms, the industry-led organisation dedicated to fostering a safer farming culture across New Zealand.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
A group of Kiwi farmers are urging Alliance farmer-shareholders to vote against a deal that would see the red meat co-operative sell approximately $270 million in shares to Ireland's Dawn Meats.
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…
