Taranaki dairy farmers produce Fonterra's best milk

A Taranaki farming couple have reclaimed their spot at the forefront of New Zealand's dairy industry for the quality of milk produced by their jersey-cross herd.
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Last season they were in second place among Fonterra’s 10,500 herds, after three years in the top spot and eight years in the top two. Since Fonterra was formed in the 2001-02 dairy season, they have received only one demerit for their milk.
Taranaki’s long established dairying industry has provided the platform for six other Fonterra suppliers to be in the top nine New Zealand producers of quality milk. They are JC and FM Henchman, BG and SLA Butler Family Trust, sharemilkers RM O’Sullivan and PJ Jones, sharemilkers AD and LF Stening, the Aylward Puniho Trust, all of Coastal Taranaki, and North Taranaki’s Inland North Holdings Trust.
In the 2014-15 dairy season, Diane and Billy Moir’s herd was grade-free and recorded an average somatic cell count (SCC) of 30,720, the lowest of Fonterra’s 10,500 suppliers and well below its standard of 150,000.
The number of somatic cells – white blood cells that fight infection in the udder – is an indicator of the quality of milk. A rising number of somatic cells prompts farmers to identify cows with high counts in case they are developing mastitis, an infection caused when bacteria -perhaps from muddy paddocks – enter the teat.
«We’re old-school,» said Billy Moir, who acknowledged there was a fine line between getting a grade and not getting one. «No matter how hard you try, you can still get a grade.
«We don’t do anything flash, but we pay attention to detail. We try to do the basics well and we take pride in a job done well.»
The couple won’t be resting on the laurels of last season’s success.
«There’s an element of luck to it. If you’re not vigilant and you let the somatic cell count rise, something will happen,» he said.
He predicts meeting milk quality standards will become ever more difficult as testing methods become more sophisticated and as overseas markets demand ever-higher specifications.
Fonterra shareholders’ councillor Rob Poole, in whose ward the Moirs’ farm is located, is impressed by their achievement. «They and the other top six farmers are waving the flag for Taranaki.»
He said Taranaki’s long history of producing quality milk with a high concentration of solids, with production spread evenly throughout the season, made it an extremely valuable region for Fonterra.
Fonterra Taranaki manager of co-operative affairs Scott Walls said having seven farmers among the nine best in the country was exceptional for Taranaki. High-quality milk allowed the company to supply high-quality product to its international customers. Because Fonterra was a co-operative, all suppliers reaped the benefit of quality milk production.
Fonterra general manager of milk quality Dianne Schumacher said New Zealand farmers had an international reputation for producing high-quality milk.
«It needs to be high quality to meet the food safety and quality standards of Fonterra, New Zealand’s Government, the government authority of each overseas country we export to and our individual customers in those countries,» said Schumacher.
Somatic cell counts were among the 3.5 million tests Fonterra conducted annually on milk and its quality was improving year on year.
«When Fonterra farmers like the Moirs achieve such a low SCC level, it helps cement our reputation as a co-operative that produces world-class dairy products. Successful farmers like the Moirs pay attention to detail and know that dairy (farming) is about always thinking ahead in terms of how to improve on-farm businesses.»
She said Fonterra’s food safety programmes gave farmers access to advice on milk quality and its technical staff worked closely with DairyNZ to ensure farmers had the professional advice and practical solutions they needed.
The Moirs bought their 42-hectare Auroa farm 19 years ago, after sharemilking on the JD Bashford Trust 64ha (effective) farm near Otakeho that’s now operated by 2015 Taranaki Sharemilkers of the Year Rob and Mel van Brand.
Born in Scotland, Billy Moir came to New Zealand with his family when he was four. As a young man, he started work 42 years ago on the Bashford farm where his father, Bill, was a sharemilker.
The Moirs milk 100 cows on a grass-only system on 36ha, feeding their own hay and silage, buying no supplements and raising their own young stock, so their farming operation is completely self-contained. Drenching the animals all year round ensures they’re always in good health.
They both milk the herd, Billy runs the farm and manages Fonterra’s Best On-Farm Practice manual and Fonterra issues, and Diane is responsible for livestock, LIC, and accounts. «Billy’s a bit fussy,» said his wife, who grew up on the upper Glenn Rd of her parents, Robin and Bev Hawkes.
As sharemilkers, they owned a friesian herd but they switched to jersey cross to reduce pugging when they bought their farm, where annual rainfall averages 1700mm.
Although they’re unsure how old their herring-bone cowshed is, it gleams inside with fresh paint ready for the herd when calving begins on August 1. During the season they wash the milking plant night and morning with hot water, Diane brushes the walls and Billy scrubs the railings each day. «It’s part of the daily routine, so it’s just a flick-over,» Billy said. «If you leave it, it becomes a mission because the effluent sticks.»
At the start of each season they replace the milking plant’s rubberware and have the machinery checked. «Then you start on the right note,» he said.
After eight milkings of their colostrum cows, they use a rapid mastitis tester to check the quality of individual quarter milk samples before allowing the animals to enter the milking herd on their 11th milking. «It coagulates if there’s a problem and shows up in one to two turns of the tester, often called the paddle, » Diane Moir said.»The milk should look blue.»
If the sample drags, it’s an indication of an infection so they continue to monitor the animal until she’s clear. Sometimes they can milk a newly-calved cow 14 times before they put her milk in the vat.
They continually monitor the herd, testing any cows they think may have a problem and removing them from the milking herd if necessary. Billy Moir always keeps an eye on the colour of the milk his cows produce. «If it’s watery, I know it’s not right. You can tell visually if there’s something wrong.»
At each milking they check the cows’ udders are soft and in good order and ensure they milk the cow completely. «It’s more about milking out properly than about the speed,» he said.
The teat spray they use contains iodine at a ratio to water of 1:9 to meet Fonterra requirements. Manuka honey in the spray conditions teats.
As well, they always check their Fonterra milk docket. «If the cell count rises in a little herd, it can spike quite quickly. If there’s just one cow with mastitis, the cell count will rocket,» he said.
Ten years ago the couple’s herd had high somatic cell counts, and there’d be a cow with mastitis every month. «So we’d take her out of the herd. After we treat a cow, we don’t put her straight back in the herd. We bring her back gradually.»
They also began culling calves born to cows with a history of high somatic cell counts in an endeavour to reduce the risk to their milk quality.
Billy Moir said he could always detect if one of his cows was out of sorts. For instance, rather than being in one of the front rows for milking, she might hang back. Now if he thinks a cow has a problem, he milks her in the last row to avoid spreading a bacterial infection through the herd from the milking cups.
For the last four years the couple have used dry cow therapy on the entire herd at the end of the season rather than on just a few cows. «It’s just as easy to do the whole herd,» he said. «It’s a terrible chore but you reap the benefits next season.»
Moir said he’d like Fonterra to pay a premium for providing milk with a low somatic cell count. «Some companies do pay that,» he said.
 
 
Source: Stuff
 

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Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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