Friday, 17 November 2017 12:55

Don’t adapt to once-a-day on a whim

Written by  Peter Burke
Leo Hendrikse. Leo Hendrikse.

Once-a-day (OAD) milking farm consultant Leo Hendrikse says planning is a key element in succeeding with a conversion to OAD.

It may take a few years to get the right cows and infrastructure on the farm but this time and effort pays off in the long term.

“Don’t go into OAD on a whim,” he says.

The loss in production when farmers first convert to OAD can be as high as 25% or as low as 3%, depending heavily on planning and good professional advice.

The key thing is to balance income and expenditure, he says. “So if your production is down by 11% you need to reduce your farm working expenses by 11%.”

Hendrikse says most farmers who move to OAD stay with it because it is working for them.

Meanwhile Ed Jackson, who milks 190 cows OAD at Ashurst agrees with Hendrikse’s advice about the need for planning. His good planning enabled him to avoid a loss when he converted to OAD.

He was great friends with the late Professor Colin Holmes, one of NZ’s greatest supporters of OAD. Holmes gave Jackson many tips, especially planning to get the genetics right and getting cows that suited OAD.

“We have a variety of cows, most of them cross-breeds leaning more towards Jersey. The Jersey cow has the ability to hold the milk in her udder without the decrease in production you see in Friesian cows,” he says.

Jackson also rears extra beef calves, something they have always done. Now in his 5th OAD season, he says he’d never go back to TAD. OAD offers more lifestyle choices, providing time for family, hobbies and sport.

More like this

'No downsides to OAD milking'

Matamata farmer Cam Houghton is an enthusiastic once a day milking advocate and is always looking to add to his farming knowledge, partly through attending SMASH events.

OAD arrives early in Southland

Some dairy farmers in Southland are already moving to once a day (OAD) milking because they don’t have sufficient good pasture on which to graze their stock.

The ideal cow for OAD milking

There was a large turnout on a recent DairyNZ webinar discussing once-a-day (OAD) milking, with participants joining in from Northland and Southland and all places in between.

Boomer year for OAD farmers

A leading once a day (OAD) farmer says her farm is set to have a record year thanks to a combination of favourable circumstances – especially the weather.

Featured

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as possible.

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Alliance's Pure South cuts win gold

Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.

Dairy demand on the rise

There is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing, according to Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins.

Fert use tumbles as prices spike

Fertiliser use in New Zealand over the 18 months is about 25% down from what it consistently was for the previous decade or more, says Ravensdown chief operating officer Mike Whitty.

National

PGW's challenging half-year

The second half of 2023 gave rural retailer PGG Wrightson a challenging result, but there’s still room for positivity on…

Machinery & Products

Samasz sets its sights high

Since its arrival in New Zealand, Polish mower manufacturer Samasz, currently celebrating 40 years in business, has carved a niche…

Trojan keeps on going

The DR200 Trojan farm two-wheeler motorcycle was introduced over 28 years ago, when the engineering team at Suzuki New Zealand…

Still going strong!

The saying goes ‘if it ain’t broke -don’t fix it’, so it’s no surprise to see an old favourite in…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

'A complete dog

OPINION: It's not just a rural banking inquiry that farmers want. Freshwater farm plans are another major headache for farmers.

Action, not words

OPINION: The new Government may be farmer friendly, but it's not love, rather action that farmers want.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter