Episode 128 – Southern Dairy Hub: More from less
The Southern Dairy Hub is exploring what the future of dairy farming could look like through a side-by-side comparison of high genetic merit cows run at a 0.5 cows per hectare lower stocking rate than a more traditional herd. Anne Lee speaks with Southern Dairy Hub Acting General Manager Greg Delaney and DairyNZ Senior Scientist Dr Dawn Dalley about the latest results from the demonstration farm, including higher milk solids production per cow with significantly less supplementary feed.
Host:
- Anne Lee, Senior Journalist, Dairy Country
Guests:
- Greg Delaney, General Manager, Southern Dairy Hub
- Dr Dawn Dalley, Scientist, DairyNZ
Dawn explains how the future herd produced more than 520kg of milksolids per cow compared with 470kg for the standard herd, while using close to 40% of the supplementary feed last season. In terms of total production, on a per hectare basis, production in the lower stocked, future herd is getting close to that of the standard herd. The future herd production was less than 100kg MS/ha lower than the standard herd. They also discuss grass-based wintering, body condition score changes and the wider potential benefits of running a lower-stocked, high genetic merit system. Greg and Dawn talk about the Hub’s new 1000-square-metre standoff pad, its design and how it’s being used to improve animal welfare during calving. The farm’s HubWatch weekly farm data updates are now available for the new season. Dawn and Greg also give an update on the process underway to determine the Southern Dairy Hub’s future strategic direction.
