Buttery prize
OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…
Iron contamination in dairy farm water supplies causes turbidity problems that lead to water restrictions, says Waikato milking technology company Longveld.
Irrigation NZ has welcome progress on the Wairarapa Water Storage project. However, INZ chief executive Andrew Curtis says the momentum must be maintained and outstanding issue resolved within 18 months.
Safety around effluent ponds is essential. In general the Health and Safety in Employment Act (1992) rules bear on ponds’ operation rather than their design and construction, so they affect the pond owner more than the designer or builder.
Effluent has become a big topic over the last few years, with major pressure being put on farmers by their regional authorities to clean up their act.
Canterbury cropping farmers now have access to a Farm Environment Plan (FEP) template developed especially for their farm system.
Good management practices for water quality in Canterbury are detailed in a new document published last month.
Diary farmers in the Waipa River catchment are being offered free consultancy to develop environmental plans as part of a project to improve the health of the Waikato River.
Toplink Machinery exhibited at National Fieldays the Tramspread contractor unit, a self-contained system that enables one-man operation and the ability to arrive on farm, set up quickly and spread effluent, then pack up and move to the next job.
DeLaval says it has updated its line of submersible pumps, making them more robust and long-lasting.
LIC is joining forces with Precision Farming Ltd, supplier of GIS-based systems that manage the application of farm nutrients to optimise pasture growth including fertiliser and effluent.
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An app which sends out a daily text message to dairy farmers can completely eliminate the risk of them receiving a hefty fine for spreading too much effluent on their farms but can also save them money of fertiliser.
Good effluent management requires having a well-designed system and processes for workers to ensure the effluent collected is applied to pasture in the right quantity at the right time, says DairyNZ.
Last month saw the release of the 2013-14 DairyNZ Economic Survey, which contains a wealth of data on the average physical and financial performance of 301 randomly selected owner-operator herds during the 2013-14 season.
Calves that suckle on Peach Teats have higher growth rates than those which don’t, according to trials commissioned by its maker Skellerup.
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