A famous frog once mused ‘it’s not easy being green’. But the New Zealand dairy industry and central government is doing its damndest to make sure it’s profitable.
Generating high levels of milksolids (MS) production per cow per hectare (ha) is the first requirement of having an efficient and economically viable dairy farming system.
But with much of New Zealand’s $13.7 billion dairy export industry riding on the country’s ‘clean, green reputation’, it is clear dairy farmers need to do their bit to help cement the country’s environmental credentials.
Last year dairy farm groups across the country launched a strategy aimed at enabling farmers to build economically sustainable businesses as well as meet expectations for on-farm environmental practices.
With the industry heavily criticised over the effects dairy farming has on water quality, the release of the white paper coincided with a launch of a water accord which set national environmental benchmarks for dairy farming. The accord covered stock exclusion from waterways and riparian, effluent, nutrient and water use management, while setting out new industry standards for conversions of land to dairying.
It is hoped the two initiatives will help the industry meet its target of assisting farmers to increase profit by $110 per hectare per year while reducing dairying’s environmental footprint by as much as 30 per cent.
2014 New Zealand Dairy Woman of the Year winner Charmaine O’Shea, an equity partner in a Maungatapere dairy farm, is something of a poster child for profitable sustainable farming.
The chartered accountant, who together with brother Shayne runs a 233ha property with 380 Jersey cows milked on a dairy platform of 93ha, won the Northland Supreme Ballance Farm Environment Award in 2013.
To increase profitability, the O’Sheas now grow their maize and grass silage off-farm and bring in palm kernel to support production. Seventy-five per cent of stock water is supplied by a volcanic spring.
These and other changes to farm management practices have led to a noticeable lift in production with the farm averaging 1565kgMS/ha over the past three seasons – up from 860kgMS/ha in 1998/99 and nearly double that of the local long term area average.
Charmaine admits adopting more sustainable farm management methods wasn’t cheap (at an average cost of $1075 per hectare), but the farm now runs more efficiently.
«We made the conscious decision to spend more than we had to because that’s where we believe the future is heading.
«In addition to the increase in milk production, where we are seeing the cost savings is through a reduced fertiliser input and improved grass quality.»
DairyNZ strategy and investment leader for sustainability Rick Pridmore says a clear national policy has made it far easier for farmers like the O’Sheas to adopt sustainable farming practices while remaining profitable.
He says while so-called corporate farms have borne the brunt of much of the negative campaigning around ‘dirty dairying’, in reality large farms were far better equipped to respond to the demand for cleaner farming practices.
«It’s certainly not harder for large farms. In fact in many ways it may be easier because they have better governance, they have better infrastructure and they have larger staffing resources meaning they can usually effect change faster.»
Source: Stuff
