Fonterra cements position as the big cheese!
Fonterra has cemented its position as the country’s number one cheesemaker by picking up nine NZ Champion of Cheese trophies this year.
As a strong dairy cooperative, Fonterra understands the importance of providing comprehensive assistance to farmers, including a range of services at no extra cost.
One of the most valuable of these is the coop’s milk quality service. Working with farmers nationwide to support on milk quality, sustainable dairy practices, animal wellbeing and food safety, the milk quality managers can identify opportunities for improvement and share knowledge from what works on other farms.
It’s a service that has reaped benefits for Tokoroa farmer Chris Luxford.
Chris milks 500 cows on 200 hectares south of Tokoroa. He’s been with the co-op for 40 years, starting his farming career in 1984.
Despite “four companies chasing me” Chris is a keen advocate of Fonterra’s Co-operative model.
“Fonterra sets the milk price based on a reliable model, so a strong Fonterra is good for all New Zealand dairy farmers.”
The co-op’s value isn’t just in the returns and long-term security though, but also things like tailored support from the Farm Source milk quality team, according to Chris.
First a bit of background.
The farm’s somatic cell count (SCC) had been a little bit of an issue for Chris and his team.
“It was the only milk quality issue we had. Although it wasn’t serious, we just couldn’t get it below 150,000. Even with a new cow shed, our cell counts went up by more than 30,000. We just couldn’t work out what was going wrong, and we started to get a bit frustrated because nothing we did would seem to change anything.”
It was then that his key Farm Source contact Vicki Wallace put Chris in touch with the milk quality team.
The specialist team met with Chris on the farm, made observations during milking and provided a range of recommendations.
“They just observed a few things and then we discussed improvements. Within a couple of days, we had a written report to confirm what we had talked about.
“We were already taking standard dry cow therapy steps but one of the things the team and our vet suggested was changing to short acting DCT and teat sealing all cows.”
The results were, in Chris’ words, phenomenal, with the farm’s average SCC dropping dramatically from 195,000 one season down to 110,000 the next.
So dramatic in fact that Chris has now reached Te Tihi status under The Co-operative Difference, the top of the mountain.
“It’s been a real winwin for us,” he says. “Not only with the financial incentive but it’s given our team a real morale boost and has become a real source of pride for them.
“It has also saved a lot of time on-farm. For every case of mastitis you get, there’s a lot involved in running a separate mob – so it simplifies management.”
And Chris’ advice for other farmers who may have been in the same boat is to “go for it because it might be worth a few bob.”
“It’s a free service and you don’t have to implement what they suggest if you don’t want to. You’ve got nothing to lose and maybe a lot to gain.”
Fonterra’s general manager on-farm excellence (milk) Chris Appleby says high quality milk is central to the coop’s success.
“Dairy is who we are and what we do best and our farmers are known for producing some of the finest milk in the world.
“Farmers like Chris take great pride in this so it’s important that we continue to support him, and all of our farmers, when it comes to protecting this reputation.
“We also know that lowering SCC for some farms can be an effective way to improve productivity with no additional inputs, helping to reduce emissions intensity.”
Advice At No Extra Cost
Advice on milk quality is just one of the services the co-op offers farmers for no extra cost.
Others include:
Farmer-led charity, Meat the Need is calling for donations to enable it to supply more meals to families in need.
Weaker pricing and demand from China continue to impact New Zealand red meat export earnings.
Fonterra has cemented its position as the country’s number one cheesemaker by picking up nine NZ Champion of Cheese trophies this year.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
OPINION: Canterbury milk processor Synlait is showing no sign of bouncing back from its financial doldrums.
OPINION: It seems every bugger in this country can get an award these days.