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Tech-savvy Huntly farmer Rhys Darby says technology is a big drawcard for young workers.
Tech savvy Huntly farmer Rhys Darby believes technology could help solve one of the dairy industry's pressing problems - how to attract more young people into farming.
Darby says younger people love new technology and are better adopters than most farmers.
"So, the more technology we have on farm, the more young people we can bring into the industry where they not only enjoy themselves but can farm with it," he told Dairy News.
Darby and his partner Liz Lawrence operate a 380ha business - made up of three farms. There's Kauri Moor, a 230ha eff autumn calving dairy farm, Kingbury, a 50ha eff sheep milking unit and a 100ha eff support block to rear replacement calves and lambs. Darby has six staff. DairyNZ recently hosted a 'Technology for future-fit farming' field day on the farm.
Efficiency is the number one priority for Darby. He also believes it is using good data to make good decisions.
On Kauri Moor, Darby's love for technology is on full display. The firm has Pasture.io for pasture monitoring and Allflex collars on cows for mating plans and heat detection. The collars are also used for animal health observation and group rumination plans.
An Allflex drafting gate, which runs off vacuum rather than a compressor, integrates with LIC's MINDA.
The farm also has solar power, consisting of 96 panels and 48kw inverter. It cost $72,000 and saves about $1000/month in power bills.
Milk, water and effluent are monitored on the farm by Halo sensors.
Darby says having a string of technologies helps him and the team utilise information to make better decisions on farm.
"So, we are essentially trying to collate all that data together, so we aren't just guessing, but using real-time data to make decisions," he says.
Darby says the technology has enabled him to hire young people who are now using real-time data to make decisions," he says.
"So, I'm not making all the decisions. I've been able to encourage people into our business rather than me just trying to make things up.
"It's not essentially me doing all the work and not sort of offering any support for the younger generation coming through."
He says Pasture.io is a great guide for young people.
"It's about looking at information and utilising that data to make decisions rather than picking a paddock or using your eye and that stuff.
"It's just got good information there that people get to utilise and us."
Darby isn't planning on introducing any new technology in the coming months, although from last month, he's started trialling Halter collars on some heifers.
"It's probably just crunching down and getting the best information out of the software we have," he says.
Looking After Good People
Good people need to be looked after, says Rhys Darby.
He believes in keeping interested and making the role work for them.
"Good staffing numbers allow for flexibility and reduce pressure on me," he says.
"I believe in being on the right track with staff management; flexibility with time off and a good roster are key."
Darby is pedantic about costs, which he reviews every two months.
A recent DairyNZ field day on his farm heard that Kauri Moor is on track to produce 362,000 kgMS this season from 630 cows.
The farm performs well above the DairyBase average: 1600kgMS/ha last season compared to 1325 kgMS/ha for DairyBase, 584 kgMS/cow compared to 424 kgMS as the DairyBase average.
Last season's operating profit was $8,136/ha, compared to the DairyBase average of $2,984.
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