New Farm Dairies 2023

Dairy goat industry stalwart Allan Empson with farm manager Rudolph Van Suydan, standing inside Orient Europharma’s new 80-bail rotary goat diary near Hamilton. Read more on page 14.

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Still standing

Twenty years ago farming printed media was prolific. Most weeks there would be a magazine in our letterboxes providing insight to the latest research with welcome stories about how leading farmers were applying their expertise and knowledge to create and sustain a vibrant agricultural industry.

How times have changed. Most readers will be able to identify magazines or newspapers which they used to value, and which no longer exist.

For many sectors, social media fills a vital gap but for farmers whose reality is mostly outdoors, physical newspapers and magazines still provide a welcome incentive to relax and browse. The immediacy of social media cannot replace the tactile value of a magazine you can pick up, read a few pages and put aside for another quiet moment.

It has, at times, been a challenge but I am proud to say that Brian (who sadly passed away in the last year) held firm to this belief with the publication of New Farm Dairies.

The magazine was conceived with a simple premise, to provide farmers with insight to the experiences and reflections of fellow farmers on their investments in

new or modified dairies. We have lasted the distance and I am proud to say that, today, we are the only magazine in New Zealand that provides you with objective, informed perspectives on many of the systems and processes which underpin our dairy industry.

In the early days, cow dairy sheds were our focus but, as the value of small ruminant milk was recognised, we extended coverage to new or remodelled dairies and infrastructure. And as the regulatory framework widened to include effluent systems and feed pads, we have accordingly spoken with farmers and organisations about the innovative systems which are delivering exceptional results on New Zealand farms. It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating – New Farm Dairies’ longevity and popularity comes down to the fact that it talks to farmers about farmers. In saying that, I want to again express thanks and appreciation to the hundreds of farmers and supply organisations who have, during 19 years, given their time and energy to inform other farmers about the wonderful innovations ‘out there’ which make dairy farming more efficient, profitable and enjoyable.

I hope you enjoy this year’s profiles. If you know of someone who should be profiled in next year’s edition, please contact the doyen of New Farm Dairies, Lois Natta.

Claire Rogers, publisher

The long tail of Covid

The reduced number of profiles in this edition of New Farm Dairies is a chapter in, and one example of, the long tail of Covid-19.

The Covid pandemic put a full-stop on the lives of all New Zealanders starting with the first lockdown in March 2020 and ‘ending’ when the country returned to ‘the new normal’ in December 2021.

Those two years changed New Zealand and New Zealanders. The effects of Covid did not, however, end when the alert levels were lifted. Sure, most sectors of the business had – to one degree or another – managed to stutter through the pandemic but those interruptions left a long tail, which did not simply end when the alert levels were lifted. Where once we had confidence in supply and the economic strength of the country and our industries, we were now faced with a new reality that materially affected our ability to plan ahead.

These impacts were never more evident than on-farm.

Farming is a long game, especially when it comes to planning changes or improvements to infrastructure –and this edition of New Farm Dairies provides tangible evidence of that! The 2023 edition is probably the lightest – in terms of numbers of profiles – in nearly two decades of publishing. However, while the numbers might be reduced, the quality and weight of the profiles is as significant, and insightful, as ever.

The lead-time to planning a new build, renovation of a dairy or construction of a feed pad or effluent system is generally years long. And selecting the best option often depends on conversations with fellow farmers and suppliers in relation to design, technology, service and price. All of these aspects now came under the shadow of a factor that probably had not been a factor for generations – availability of supplies and labour. Every sector of the economy grappled with this uncertainty of supply and labour. The success of many of the profiles featured in the 2022 and 2023 editions of New Farm Dairies came down to suppliers and service providers who went above

and beyond to have critical components on the farm or, at least, in the country and skilled teams who often worked around the clock to deliver the project.

In contrast, the farm profiles which feature in the 2023 New Farm Dairies confirm the difficulty of forward planning and confidence in the post-Covid era.

The pandemic may be over but the tail remains with the majority of legacy impacts – rising costs, compliance issues, staff shortages etc – beyond individual control and impacting every decision and every action.

The profiles we are proud to feature in this year’s New Farm Dairies speak of the resilience that is associated with Kiwi farmers and the organisations which support them. They speak of a determination to maintain momentum on the farm and in the relevant industries for the good of their families, their communities, their industries and the country. The builds and upgrades are testament to the ‘can do’ attitude which has always defined the Kiwi ethos.

They also speak of the importance, during tough times, of relationships and the trust which ensues from working with and alongside people who deliver, no matter the odds. Each of the farmers profiled say they could not have accomplished what they have without the support, friendship, expertise and trust of an amazing network of dairy support partners – builders, electricians, plumbers, dairy system manufacturers and suppliers, along with a varied range of rural contractors.

Planning is already underway for a bumper 2024 edition of New Farm Dairies with early indications of a return of confidence and optimism for the future in the bovine and small ruminant dairy industries.

New Farm Dairies is the only magazine in the country providing an objective, farmer-led, overview of the steps and decisions they made when undertaking significant infrastructure upgrades. If you, or someone you know, is underway with or contemplating a project, add that voice and experience to benefit fellow farmers.

The Waikato is home to the country’s largest dairy goat farm. Milking 6600 goats, the planning for New Zealand Dairy Goats’ Wardville farm began four years ago with the purchase of 159 effective hectares in dairy heartland – midway between Matamata, Morrinsville and Te Aroha.

Farm manager Shaun Murray recalls the farm had been a cow dairy but, in more recent years, had been used for horticulture and dairy grazing. “The property’s location was ideal given we would eventually need upwards of 20 staff to manage and milk the target stocking rate of

6600 dairy goats,” says Shaun. “The land is flat and extremely fertile – a critical factor for the grass-based cut-and-carry system we use for the goats. The farm was also well positioned for our dairy processor, New Image Group, which is based at Paerata.

“The development had two defined stages. Stage 1, which began in 2020, involved the erection of a kidding barn, 3000 goat housing barn, and an 80-bail rotary dairy and effluent pond.”

Stage 2, which began two years later in July 2022, comprised of a second 3000 goat housing barn, twin rapid exit double-up herringbone dairies and effluent tanks, along with office, staff and utility rooms.

The design rationale for all buildings was to

provide leading edge facilities that would enhance all aspects of animal welfare, which would be pleasant and efficient to work in, and would – as much as was possible – be low maintenance. For that reason all the buildings have steel framing.

Housing barn

The stage 2 housing barn is a replica of the one built in Stage 1, housing 3000 goats in a barn that measures 168m x 70m – 11,760m2. The all-steel barn features a deep litter bedding system of untreated shavings, which is refreshed twice-a-week to ensure the does have a dry, warm and comfortable bed. One quarter of the

roof has clear-lite panels, which promotes a warm, dry interior. Three feeding lanes provide easy tractor access to feed freshlymown grass and silage five times per day. A gap between the walls and the roof of the barns promotes airflow on a hot day but also prevents wind blowing through the barn protecting the goats from wind-chill factor.

Twin herringbones

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“NZ Dairy Goats opted for two herringbone dairies because it’s a simpler operation than a rotary when you are dealing with large numbers of goats and staff. The rapid exit double-up herringbones are specifically designed to have two people in each pit. This enables us to pair an experienced staff member with someone with less experience, which means we are continually growing the skill-base of our people.”

Rapid exit small ruminant herringbones are considered to be one of the fastest milking sheds and this bears out with 4000 does being milked twice-a-day at a rate of 1100 per hour or around five minutes per milking goat.

Each herringbone features self-loading individual indexing gates, which identify each doe and link her to her production records. The farm’s herd management system

renders the farms total stock count down to an individual basis, providing Shaun with an individual perspective of each doe – milk quantity, conductivity, feed quantities, weight and activity.

Automatic cluster removers avoid any potential for over-milking and contribute to good udder health. Once each row is milked the exit gates rise, leaving an open exit area that allows the does to safely and quickly exit the dairy.

Eliminate errors

The twin diaries are equipped with automatic wash systems that eliminate any potential for human error, ensuring the correct wash is carried out every time including the dosing of chemicals. The plant shuts down once the wash system has completed its circuit.

Gibson Construction was the lead contractor overseeing all aspects of both stages of the farm’s development with director Blair Atkinson recalling that, with Stage 2, there could sometimes be 50 sub-contractors working on various aspects. “Our site foreman managed the site and worked closely with NZ Dairy Goats’ project management team.

“The Covid-19 pandemic was a potential issue which could have impeded progress but we developed health protocols, which became mandatory for all sub-contractors, and this enabled the development to proceed smoothly,” says Blair.

Framing in the dairy and housing barns is all steel but the utility rooms are timberframed with trim-clad cladding, so the sheets can be taken off if they need to run

more technology/wiring through in future.

Gibson Construction’s mantra ‘the builders for farmers’ is based on decades of designing and constructing efficient, low maintenance buildings across New Zealand.

Electrical

The herringbones are a mirror of each other – and Josh Kane, project manager for King Electrical, says the fact that you have, virtually, two sheds under one roof “means a double-up in power demand”.

“The switchboard is bigger, but essentially it’s just two sheds alongside each other with a double-up of all the technologies you have in a stand-alone shed. For example, two vacuum pumps.”

The farm’s senior management team – from left: Daniel Hopping, Chereece Gourrege, Jo Buck, Natasha Christini and Shaun Murray.

The farm’s two Hecton Sheep Handlers get weekly use, providing an easy, safe and efficient way to inspect and trim hooves.

The 168m x 70m Stage 2 housing barn (foreground) is a replica of that built in Stage 1.

NumatAGRI Pit Mats provide cushioning in the pits.

King Electrical undertook all the electrical work for both stages of the farm. “We wired all the buildings. The kidding barn, for example, has additional lighting and milk warmers and then [we] did all the pre-wiring and wiring of all three dairies.”

The effluent pond was a component of Stage 1 but King Electrical wired the Stage 2 effluent pumps, supplied and installed by Qubik, which convey effluent from the twin herringbones, to the effluent pond. NZ Dairy Goats imported a generator from Australia that’s proven to be an asset, being utilised several times during the first year of operation.

Qubik director Kyle Osborne says the effluent system for the second milking parlour consists of two transfer pumps at the southern end of the kidding barn, which delivers the effluent

RETRACTING SYSTEMS

into a 25,000L flat-roofed concrete tank buried in the ground by the twin herringbones.

“A Yardmaster extender pump then transfers the effluent to the existing screw press separator, which Qubik installed during the build of the Stage 1 milking shed. The screw press separates solids from the raw effluent and the liquid gravity feeds to the lined storage pond for irrigation to pasture when required,” says Kyle.

Goat handler

With 6000 goats, the farm’s two Hecton Sheep Handlers get weekly use, providing an easy, safe and efficient way to hold each doe as her hooves are inspected and trimmed. The Handler is easily adjusted to handle any

variability in size. No heavy lifting is required reducing the potential for operator back injuries. The speed of milking in the herringbones mean staff are continually on the move but comfort is ensured with NumatAGRI

Pit Mat, which provides cushioned flooring that ensures grip and safety and is easy to clean.

NZ Dairy Goats initially – in preparation for Stage 1 – sourced its dairy goat herd from 25 farms. But Shaun says they now breed their own – rearing them in a warm purpose-built kidding barn. This is adjacent to the dairies, and was designed to provide the optimum environment for young kids to thrive and includes an automated warm milk system.

The does on the NZ Dairy Goats Wardville Farm are fed a diet comprising of a regular

The barn features a deep litter bedding system.

‘Grass’ belies the saladlike quality of the does’ fresh grass diet.

supply of fresh grass, which is cut on the farm and carried to the barns, supplemented with silage. The term ‘grass’ under-states the saladlike quality of the pasture, which contains a mix of rye grass, clover (red and white), chicory and plantain.

It’s fresh

Each doe gets five applications of fresh grass per day along with silage and, in the dairy, a mix of maize and molasses provided by Landmore Agri and stored in the Big Dutchman silo with automated feed system which feeds a measured amount to each doe. Each of the duo-galvanised silos is equipped with two sight glasses for easily visible feed levels.

The new dairy in the foreground and housing barn, with the Stage 1 development in the background.

The custom-built kidding barn is adjacent to the Stage 2 dairy.

The generator – positioned alongside the twin vats – provides insurance of continuance of operation.

As it is for most sectors in New Zealand, attracting and retaining good staff is a challenge but Shaun says the location of the farm, the fact that goats are friendly and nice to be around, the technology employed and training provided along with the facilities for animals and staff means they usually have a full staff complement. Housing is provided on-farm for staff who require it, and NZ Dairy Goats regularly employs short-term staff –often overseas students – particularly during peak periods.

The transition

Shaun admits transitioning 4000 does “which had been trained and were accustomed to a rotary dairy, to the herringbones” was a challenge.

“These were goats we bred and which, the previous year, had been milked in the Stage 1 rotary coming to the new complex

when it was completed in July 2022. “The does come from the housing barn to the dairies in eight mobs. They gather in one collection yard and then – ideally – file into whichever of the four rows has been vacated. That was the goal but, for the first week at least, we had to manually assist each doe onto the platform.

“The ergonomic head bails coupled with in-shed feeding certainly provided an incentive in those early days but we still had a few long milkings in the first few weeks.”

One year on

One year on from the first milkings, Shaun says the decision to go with twin rapid exit herringbones has proved to be a success – from an animal, staff and production perspective.

“The new dairies are great to work in, the technology is largely

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GIBSON ELECTRICAL

with over 30 years experience

with over 30 years experience

The self-loading individual indexing gates hold each doe comfortably.

intuitive and easy to use; so milkings generally go very smoothly.

“The Wardville farm embodies our commitment to investing in some of the country’s most successful goat farming talent, quality milking parlour equipment and leading farming technology in order to create the optimal conditions for our goats on-farm.

“Our focus now is to maintain and improve production through an emphasis on animal health. With the dairies fully operational, we also now have the opportunity to complete landscaping around the dairies.”

NZ Dairy Goats Ltd was founded in 2020 to become a leading operator within the growing New Zealand dairy goat industry. Its vision is to become one of the most commercially efficient and environmentally-friendly goat farming operations in Australasia.

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The does’ grass diet is supplemented by Landmore Agri feed mix stored in the Big Dutchman silo.

King

Electrical’s Josh Kane with one of the dairy’s switchboards.

The collection yard, which feeds into the twin herringbones.

A wide animal-handing race is positioned on the outside of the twin dairies.

The new round yard completed by Te Awamutu Construction, with the Viking Containment lined effluent pond in background.

Driftmans Farm near Tokoroa is one of three farms and two dairy run-offs owned by Mike and Vanessa Tillemans. The couple bought the 134 hectare farm in 2018, drawn to its close proximity to Tokoroa township, and its development potential.

The Tillemans have a contract milker on each farm and Mike provides back-up for each of them.

“Initially we had to use the existing 30-aside herringbone shed, modified to a 26-aside to fit our 400 larger Friesians/ Friesian-cross cows. We knew that we would have to build a better shed going forward,” says Mike.

The old shed was down near the road, so wouldn’t meet new effluent system regulations if expanded and the deteriorating shed had awkward cow flow.

In November 2021, the Tillemans decided to go ahead with

a new shed that fitted both their current and future needs.

“I picked a good, sheltered but elevated site which allowed the use of gravity for drainage. It has good access for the cows and the tanker.”

Right builder

Mike worked with Qubik sales manager Nick Heffer on a plan for the new shed. Mike obtained three quotes for builders and went with Te Awamutu Construction, working with Andrew Smith.

“We were able to offer a fixed price if our quote was accepted promptly. We ordered the materials prior to Christmas and were ready for a summer 2022 build,” says Te Awamutu Construction director Andrew Smith.

The build was for a 40-aside herringbone shed, with Te Awamutu Construction carrying out construction of the shed, plant room, pump room, office, 1700mm wide pit, yard work, pipework, vat stand, tanker pad and silo pad.

“A point of difference was the pump room being separated and insulated from the rest of the building. While this comes at a cost, it reduces the noise level in the shed and offers cooling for the pumps in the heat,” says Andrew.

New plant

The shed was fitted with a Waikato Milking systems 40-aside herringbone dairy plant featuring a mid-Line system with swing arm cup removers.

“This swing arm is an extremely efficient swing over device for a herringbone dairy, promoting excellent cluster alignment. It creates a clear pit space and an improved work area for the operator,” says Nick.

Innovative Design Improves Efficiency

The whole new dairy shed and associated infrastructure at Driftmans Farm. Dairy farmer Mike Tillemans.

The milking plant consists of: 40 cluster sets with light-weight stainless steel shells and quadrant square liners, plus G2 cluster washers ensure optimum plant hygiene with adjustable flow control, and a strong onepiece base moulding. There’s a 90L receiving milk can with 60L sanitary trap, a centrifugal milk pump with a Qubik VSD milk pump controller, a milk recovery system with 7000L stainless steel double-bank plate cooler. A maxi stainless steel top loading milk filter and a BP400 blower vacuum system with SmartDrive VSD.

“While it was a straightforward build, there was a lot of planning to complete the job

in the time available. We had a few Covidrelated issues but we were up and running in June 2022, just before calving,” says Qubik milking machine specialist Chris Maughan.

Programmable output

The plant water system consists of a K14400T plate cooler pump with pressure tank control system, and a Qubik automatic plant washer controller which has 12 fully programmable output relays for both wash and rinse sequences, and automatically changes over from acid and alkaline chemical routines, achieves the highest levels of hygiene.

This system has full data logging, recording and digital display of peak wash temperatures for compliance when the shed inspectors visit. “Once the cows were dried off, we used quite a lot of things from the old shed including pipework, two hot water cylinders and a stainless steel wash tub,” says Qubik water reticulation specialist Karl Hart.

For ease in detecting water leaks, a minimal amount of the stainless steel pipe work is underground, with most being in culvert pipes or on the surface. Leakage from the

milk system drains into the pit so it is quickly seen and dealt with. “I installed two 25,000L water tanks myself for the cowshed water, which is pumped from the farm bore,” says Mike.

New e˜ uent pond

A new two million litre effluent pond, with a Viking Containment liner, serves the farm. “The 2200m2, 1.5 millimetre Agrishield HDPE geomembrane was installed over two days and we provided a 20-year material warranty,” says Viking Containment sales and installation manager Brent Whitehead.

Te Awamutu Construction director Andrew Smith, Qubik water reticulation specialist Karl Hart, farmer Mike Tillemans, Qubik’s sales manager Nick Heffer and milking machine specialist Chris Maughan.

Mike Tillemans in the fully insulated pump room, which dampens noise and keeps the room cooler in summer.

The Qubik-designed shed is centrally placed in an elevated spot on the farm.

Re-utilised feed silos from the old shed for the new PPP Industries 40-aside herringbone feed-system.

Tillemans have a Friesian/ Friesian-cross herd.

Another 140,000L concrete three-day holding tank collects solid waste for removal using a digger and has the option to direct the liquid effluent to either the pond, or the irrigator which services 30ha.

The new yard has a washdown system and a new tanker track was built. The cows have collars and are drafted as they leave the shed into different places if they are on heat or have health issues. Ezi-flo pit gates from Dairy Gates provide a more effective way for cows to leave the shed. These gates are manufactured in the Waikato and distributed New Zealand-wide.

“Our system has handles all along the pit for easy

Qubik installed a 20-aside herringbone dairy featuring a Mid-Line system with swing arm cup

operation by the milker and are strong, with fewer moving parts and fully galvanised,” says Dairy Gates owner Michael Peattie.

Underground power

The electrical work was carried out by Fire N Ice’s team, led by Lance Felton. “We worked with Mike to run power underground from the old dairy 340m away. Using power from the existing shed saved the cost of a new connection,” says Lance.

They set up the changeover switch at the old shed to use a new generator, which supplies power to the house, milking

shed and water pumps in the event of a power cut. They also wired the new shed and set up remote control stations for the effluent system.

PPP Industries supplied the 40-aside herringbone feedsystem. They utilised Mike’s old shed’s feed-systems silos, loading auger, and added onto the existing trays.

“They upgraded to our new blue dispensers with large inlet and outlet holes designed for PKE. They also upgraded the motor mounts to our new stainless units as well as a new stainless pull cord system, and large 90mm PKE augers,” says PPP Industries national sales manager James Kellow.

AJ's Engineering

The 140,000L concrete three-day effluent holding tank.

removers.

Farmer Mike Tillemans with Te Awamutu Construction director Andrew Smith. The vat refrigeration unit.

About 30ha of the farm is irrigated by effluent.

There is nothing like personally experiencing the efficacy of any piece of technology – as an unsuspecting New Farm Dairies journalist found when visiting Andy and Ange Gower’s new dairy on the outskirts of Te Awamutu.

The two walkover teat spray units in the dual exit races from the herringbone are positioned so it is impossible – as our journalist found – to get into the exit yard without getting a thorough spray.

Ange Gower laughed when she heard, admitting she has been caught “several times” – both she and Andy saying the spray units are the most effective they have seen, ensuring

that anything – animal or human – which passes through the exit races gets a thorough dose of spray.

Andy and Ange are in their 19th season on the 160 hectare property. The herringbone shed they inherited was built in the 1970s, and one of several judging by various elements unearthed during demolition of the dairy.

“We initially thought the dairy could have been brought up to modern standards with the addition of things like automated drafting but the cow flow was terrible and milking our 380-cow herd took forever so we

began to look at the options. “We didn’t really consider building a rotary – our cow numbers suit us and we simply couldn’t justify spending more than twice what a new herringbone would cost,” says Ange.

Stylish and functional

They approached local engineers, Elite Services, in the spring of 2021. “They have developed a herringbone layout which we’d seen and really like – stylish and extremely functional – with two utility buildings positioned either side of the vat stand, and the AB and animal handling yards on the other side.

“We opted for a 40-aside with a zigzag backing rail as this gives each cow her own space – something we value in a crossbred

herd where cows vary in size – and because it fosters good cluster alignment. We also wanted NumatAGRI ErgoMat rubber pit matting in the pit as the cushioning adds immeasurable milker comfort,” says Andy. “We had it in the old shed and wouldn’t be without it.

“We’ve always relied on Qubik for our milk systems supply and support and engaged them to install a Waikato Milking Systems plant because it’s local and superbly engineered and built.”

Covid lockdowns delayed the initial startdate for the rebuild but Andy commenced demolition of the old dairy on April 17, 2022, with a target completion date, to coincide with calving, of July 10. Looking back, Andy recalls they missed that target date by four or five days “due to weather”.

The new dairy’s animal-handling facilities are adjacent to the dairy.

Andy and Ange Gower are ‘delighted’ with their new shed.

Left: Exit gates from the previous dairy were installed in the new build because they are so efficient.

Qubik’s Nick Heffer and Jeremy Collett.

Qubik’s Nick Heffer says the new milking plant includes ECR-S electronic cup removers, SmartPULS pulsation, 320 clusters and a G2 cluster wash system which delivers excellent plant hygiene.

“The dairy has a 90L milk receiving can with a 60L sanitary trap, complemented by a Fristam centrifugal milk pump, Variable Speed Drive milk pump controller, milk recovery system, 7000L stainless steel doublebank plate cooler and maxi stainless steel milk filter. The vacuum system includes a BP400 Blower with VSD.

Reduce labour

Nick says Qubik recommended Waikato Walkover teat spray units to reduce the labour requirements and milking times in the shed.

“The WalkoverSPRAYER identifies individual cows and automatically adjusts to

increased cow flows to ensure accurate spray coverage regardless of the speed the cow is moving over the unit. For example, at normal walking space the sprayer deploys two spray nozzles to accurately spray all four teats and, if the cow is moving faster, four nozzles are deployed,” says Nick.

Qubik’s Kyle Osborne says the dairy is equipped with stainless steel underground pipework, a Dab K14-400T plate cooler pump with pressure tank control system, washdown pump and control system, Rheem hot water cylinder and galvanised heater stand.

Andy and Ange say the build was undertaken in “diabolical weather”. “It started raining the day the yards were poured and didn’t really stop, but our builders, subbies and Qubik were fantastic. They just got on with the job, despite what the weather threw at us.

“The Qubik team was super-quick, taking

just six days to install the milking machine!”

The one big difference with the new shed, from the old, is the cows enter where they previously exited. This was done so the cows would flow off the new feed pad, into the dairy – “but the change of perspective didn’t faze the cows at all”.

Simplicity and e˜ ciency

Andy and Ange say the simplicity and efficiency of the technologies they included in the new dairy are already – midway through their first season – paying for themselves. “The purging of the milk recovery system, for example, saves between 40L to 60L per milking – milk we would formerly have lost during the wash process but which now goes into the vat.

“We didn’t have automatic cup removers in the old shed and soon realised that they

streamline the entire milking process and have had a positive impact on udder health.”

Overall Andy and Ange are delighted with the new shed. “It’s been a really good investment,” says Andy. “It’s changed the entire milking experience because it’s so quick and effortless compared to how it was before.

“We haven’t had any teething problems. Elite Services and the subbies they organised, along with NumatAGRI and Qubik, went above and beyond to ensure we had a great shed, when we needed it”.

And they’ve shaved an hour off milking. “It now takes around 1.5 hours to milk 380 cows, where before it’d be around 2.5 hours so that means more time for animal health and around the farm.

“We’ve got a good team on the farm and providing good facilities is an important factor to attracting and retaining good people,” says Andy.

The two walkover teat spray units in the dual exit races.

The Elite Services dairy design features vat location central to the pit and support areas.

The 12hp vat refrigeration unit supplied and installed by Qubik.

The dairy features a zigzag rail, which helps ensure cow comfort and cluster alignment.

Left: NumatAGRI ErgoMat rubber pit matting provides cushioning comfort for milkers.

Having

A Taiwanese company’s passion for New Zealand’s dairy goat industry and the Dairy Goat Co-operative across more than three decades has led to the development of a 1500 dairy goat farm on the outskirts of Hamilton.

Pharmaceutical company Orient Europharma has, for more than three decades, championed New Zealand’s dairy goat milk to consumers across China, Taiwan and South East Asia. The company has promoted and marketed Karihome goat milk powder, produced by the Dairy Goat Co-operative, to satisfy growing demand for a product known for a plethora of health benefits. Orient Europharma’s stated aim is for Karihome to be the number one goat milk brand in the region.

Orient Europharma’s connection with the goat dairy industry goes back three decades through their dairy goat farm located at Rotokauri near Hamilton.

Their confidence in future demand growth for dairy goat milk is evident in their decision to purchase and develop a larger dairy goat farm which would showcase the quality standards behind the production of dairy goat milk to their consumer base. To do that they consulted a stalwart of the dairy goat industry – Alan Empson – for a time the chairman of the Dairy Goat Co-operative and a long-term dairy goat and cow farmer in his own right.

Act on behalf

Alan says he had had the privilege of working with the Board of Orient Europharma for 30 years and was pleased to act on their behalf in the purchase of a suitable property and its development as a large-scale commercial goat dairy.

“We signed a conditional agreement on a 120 hectare Taupiri farm in 2016 – it was an existing cow dairy farm but had the position, contour and potential to fulfil the company’s goal to develop a leading-edge dairy goat farm,” says Alan.

“We started knowing we wanted the farm to, at peak, milk 1500 does – so this number determined we would need barns sufficient to house this number of goats, each located 20 metres from, feeding into, a central dairy goat rotary. That decision then dictated the area we needed for the building with the addition of such things as stormwater accumulation and effluent. All of those requirements suggested the project site would occupy around 2.5ha,” says Alan.

“We had to jump a few hurdles starting with consent from the Overseas Investment Commission and then permission under the Resource Management Act before we could begin extensive earthworks to develop the site for two 80m by 50m that would each connect to a central 80-bail rotary goat dairy.”

With all consents granted, development of the 2.5ha building site began in the summer of 2018.

When it came to choice of contractors for all the various elements in the greenfields project, Alan called on companies he’d worked with over decades.

Does are fed grass silage and green grass in the barns and a meal mix in the dairy.

Alan Empson with farm manager Rudolph Van Zuydan.

Screening on the races and collection yard prevents goats being distracted by others going in different directions.

“Don Chapman Waikato Ltd built the dairy while Leask Engineering looked after the yards and backing gates with Moa Rotary Platforms installing an 80-bail goat rotary. Qubik supplied and installed the milking cooling systems and the new shed was wired by Alpha Electrical.”

Alan says the farm “will milk 1500 dairy goats in the 2024 season but we started off with 875 predominantly Saanen does in the 2022/2023 season, their mating and kidding sequenced to the completion date for the dairy of October 2022”.

Collaboration

Undertaking a project of this size called for a degree of collaboration between contractors, says Don Chapman Waikato’s Shanan White.

“We took Alan to see a 90-bail goat dairy we’d built and which was very similar to what he wanted. Aside from a few minor changes, he

The goat entry to the milking platform.

Left: Qubik supplied the refrigeration systems for the two milk vats, which feature automatic vat wash systems and twin hot water cylinders.

approved that design. Essentially the rotary is central, fed on each side by goat housing barns which each hold 800 does.”

The Don Chapman team did all the building work, which included all concreting – yards, ancillary buildings etc – insulated panel cladding, walls, windows, drainage and painting within the building footprint, leaving the building ready for the platform/plant installers and the electrician to fit off.

“Lead times, over the Covid years, became longer and this was factored into all aspects so we had what we wanted and who we needed when that stage of the development was reached,” says Shanan.

Leask Engineering manufactured and installed the gates and railings for the circular yard, holding pens, rotary entrance and exit bridges.

Manager Chris Foster says that traditionally Leask Engineering specialised in cow dairy sheds and yards, but during the past few

Access to the centre is provided by an underpass.

The height of clusters in the OPTIMA External Goat rotary is designed to maximise operator comfort.

decades had added a number of sheep and goat installations to its portfolio.

“Our aim, with goats in particular, is to use and position materials in such a way that accommodates a variation in animal size and facilitates good animal flow,” says Chris.

“For goats, as with sheep, we screen the fences and gates to prevent the animals being distracted by others going in different directions. The screening also helps prevent the goats climbing and positively improves animal welfare.”

With more than 65 years’ experience building dairy sheds and installing animal handling equipment, the Leask Engineering team understands the urgency of getting the job done right and on time, says Chris.

“It is not only a matter of understanding the behaviour and welfare needs of the animals, but also understanding how they are going to be managed by the staff.

“This enables us to tweak our supply and install a set-up that is really practical, efficient, safe and easy to use. Very often it is the finer details which make the difference,” says Chris.

supply

The 80-bail OPTIMA external goat rotary was installed in May-June 2022 by Moa Rotary Platforms.

Moa’s senior service engineer Matt Churchill saying the all stainless steel deck features rubber matting and is lighter but similar structurally to a cow rotary. “The rotary includes enticement feeding and is capable of milking up to 1300 goats per hour with minimal labour.”

Maximise comfort

Qubik installed the milking machine components of the OPTIMA External Goat rotary, which is designed to maximise comfort for the operator and the animals and to reduce stress levels so the goats let their milk down easily.

“Effluent made easy”

Qubik installed the cluster presentation arms, which ensure the cups and controls are at the optimal height so it is easy, fast and comfortable to use for the operator. And Qubik also installed the milking plant, the shed water, milk cooling, pre-cooling and feed system.

Qubik operations manager Jeremy Collett says the milking plant includes the pulsators and stainless steel lines to the central gland in the middle of the platform and to the plant room. The plant includes a Fristam Milk Pump and Milk Pump VSD SmartDRIVE, Vacuum Pump BP400 and Vacuum Pump VSD SmartDRIVE.

“Most new sheds install automatic plantwash systems these days, due to the increased cost in chemicals and labour efficiency,” says Jeremy. “Outside the milking shed, we supplied the refrigeration systems for the two milk vats, which also feature automatic vat wash systems. “The pre-cooling system consists of a 40kw

chilled water system with heat recovery.

“The feed system Qubik supplied and installed included one 16 tonne silo with an inline auger system to a controlled feed head that can feed extremely accurately.”

Pumped up

Qubik water technician Kyle Osborne says two pumps provide washdown water to clean the yards with the second pump for the plate cooler and hot water cylinders. Qubik also supplied and installed a stainless steel heater stand and two stainless steel hot water cylinders.

Alpha Electrical was charged with designing and installing all electrical components for the new dairy shed. Alpha Electrical senior electrician Gavin Newport says they “ran electrical supplies for and fitted off the dairy plant, barns and effluent, which sounds simple,

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but the timing and placement of every aspect is precise”. “For example, a lot of ducting is laid before the floor is poured so its positioning has Gavin says the ducting and cabling has been futureproofed to make it easy to add new technology as it is developed. “A lighting designer was even brought on board to calculate the amount of artificial light required, to ensure milking is easy at any time of day,” says Gavin.

A delight

Prior to joining Orient Europharma as farm manager for the Taupiri farm, Rudolph Van Zuydan had extensive experience milking both goats and sheep.

“We grow everything we feed on-farm apart from meal, which is bought in. The does are fed predominantly green grass and grass

silage in the barns,” says Rudolph. “Initially four people worked in the dairy but we plan to reduce this over time as we become more accustomed to the dairy.

“The dairy is a delight to work in – milking takes a maximum of two hours from start to finish,” says Rudolph.

Alan admits that “in normal times the directors of Orient Europharma would have visited the farm during the development phase but, thanks to Covid, they weren’t able to do that so we did a lot of online reporting to keep them up-to-date with progress”.

“Their first visit to the farm took place in November 2022, around a month after the dairy was commissioned, and they seemed very happy with the overall set-up.”

The first milking in the new dairy took place October 2022. Currently, the farm is milking 875 does but this will increase to 1500 in the 2023/2024 season.

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Moa Rotary Platforms’ Matt Churchill says the 80-bail OPTIMA external goat rotary features are structurally similar to a cow dairy.

Qubik’s Kyle Osborne with the pre-cooling system consisting of a 40kw chilled water system with heat recovery.

The Leask team: Rom Stellingwerf and manager Chris Foster.

The Alpha electrical team: Chris Goddard, Gavin Newport and Mitch Bearman.

Years of planning Years of planning

The new dairy at Murray and Anna Rowe’s farm on the outskirts of Te Awamutu has been in the planning stages “for years”. Murray and Anna have been on the 93 hectare farm since 1992.

“We used to lease a neighbouring property so milked 300 cows – but when the lease terminated we dropped back to an effective milking platform of 86 hectares milking 260 cows, with a 20 hectare runoff for young stock,” says Murray.

“The original 20-aside herringbone shed had reached the end of its life and I was always having to weld things that had broken or get maintenance done. It was at the end of its life and with son Clinton, and his wife Kate, sharemilking we wanted to build a shed

which would see the farm, and family, into the future.

Murray says knowing they would eventually build new enabled them, over a few years, “to replace anything with what we’d need in the new shed”. For example, they got a new vacuum pump big enough for a larger dairy.

“In 2018 Qubik put in a new effluent system, which was sized and positioned to allow gravity feed of effluent from the new shed. Controlled from the dairy, Clinton is able to irrigate effluent to a large area of the farm,” says Murray.

Demolish old, build new

“The site of the original dairy was ideal so we decided to demolish the old and build new over winter. Murray says cow flow in the old shed was poor. “[However], so we realigned the entry and exit to facilitate smooth flow through

the dairy. And while the old shed had in-shed feeding, it didn’t have automatic cup removers so they were a definite enhancement in the new build.”

Talking with Qubik, the family decided that a 30-aside herringbone would be ideal. Calving down 260 cows and with 30 sets of cups makes milking a lot easier. “The 20 hectare run-off directly across the road could, at some point, come into the milking platform which would enable us to increase cow numbers.”

Murray started demolition work on the old shed on April 26, 2022, recalling it was “dead and buried in three days”. Site works began on May 1, 2022, and Te Awamutu Construction started the build shortly after on May 5. The shed was finished with the first milking taking place 11 weeks later on July 20, 2022.

Designed by Te Awamutu Construction, the new dairy is spacious and functional, every

aspect easy to negotiate and operate from a cow or human perspective.

Te Awamutu Construction’s Pat Gibson project-managed the build, ensuring that subbies were on-site as and when required, and Murray Rowe says he cannot speak highly enough of the way the project came together. “It was completed on time and to budget. It was very wet but the builders just turned up every day, donned their wet weather gear and got on with it. They were fantastic.”

Complete package

Kyle Osborne, of Te Awamutu-based Qubik, says the company specialises in being able to offer farmers a one-stop-shop when it comes to renovating or replacing dairy systems. “We offer the complete package – milking systems, effluent management, refrigeration, feed systems and water reticulation.

Farmer Murray Rowe in his family farm’s new dairy.

The Race Wrangler is incorporated into the animal handling yards.

Qubik adapted and reinstalled the original in-shed feed system.

“We’ve been privileged to provide product and service to the Rowe farm for decades, and Murray and Clinton Rowe involved us in early planning for the new dairy.

“Qubik supplied and installed the Waikato Supa 4 Mid-Line milking system, which offers better vacuum control and faster milking. A 101mm milkline, which ensures great milk flow and more stable vacuum, maximises animal comfort and minimises the risk of mastitis. The Rowe plant features mechanical pulsators and ECR-S automatic cup removers with auto-start. “The stainless steel 320 clusters are lightweight and have Quadrant square liners. The dairy features automated wash systems for clusters, plant and vat.”

Kyle says the dairy has a Fristam centrifugal milk pump and 90L receiving milk can with 60L sanitary trap, a Qubik VSD milk pump controller and milk

recovery system. The vacuum system is a BP400 blower system with variable speed drive.

“The plant water, also supplied and installed by Qubik, consists of stainless steel underground pipe work, a Dab K14-400T plate cooler pump with pressure tank control system, wash-down pump and control and two hot water cylinders.

Retrofitted feed system

“The original feed system was re-installed using existing parts from the old dairy shed, Qubik retrofitted new additional stainless trays to match the design of the old trays for the additional bails in the new shed and Qubik utilised the old 16ton silo from the old dairy shed,” says Kyle.

A Race Wrangler is incorporated into the animal handling yards, which are positioned out of the weather under the

dairy’s extended roof. The Wrangler’s head-bail and double belly girths and winch hold and immobilise the cow, allowing inspection and treatment of any feet issues.

Murray says cow adaptation to the new shed was smooth. “From day one they just came up the race, looked around and walked straight in.

Years of planning are evident in the spacious, functional milking area.

“They are used to in-shed feeding so that certainly helps but, despite the fact that the entry to the new shed was where the exit was in the old shed, they came on in very calmly and settled as though nothing had changed.

“Clinton and Kate milk together at the start of the season but once the peak is over, generally there is only one person in the shed – and milking is a breeze.

“All the planning – and hopes we had –are realised in the new shed. Milking is faster, simpler and more efficient. The new milking system and environment has certainly contributed to production and Somatic Cell Count, which is low.

“The new shed is brighter and lighter than the old, which had a low roof,” says Murray. “It’s a lovely shed to work in, the yard layout makes it easy to move around and there is nothing we would change.”

Qubik’s Kyle Osborne and farmer Murray Rowe.

The new dairy stands on the site of the original shed.

The plant features mechanical pulsators and ECR-S automatic cup removers with auto-start.

The adage ‘never judge a book by its cover’ is never more true than with Alan and Tina Jones’ dairy on the outskirts of Stratford in Taranaki. The exterior of the dairy might be decades old but it is strong, functional and efficient thanks to strategic technology upgrades.

Alan and Tina Jones have farmed 120 hectares on the outskirts of Stratford for 31 years.

“We both grew up on dairy farms in Taranaki – in fact we’re both fourth generation Taranaki dairy farmers but we both spent some time working off-farm – Alan as a plumber and myself in banking,” says Tina.

“Our return to farming was spearheaded by Alan’s father, who found this property which he bought in 1992. We initially worked for wages, progressing to lower order sharemilking before becoming 50/50 sharemilkers. We bought the farm in 2000 and milked 200 cows.

Double the size

“When we came here the farm was 60ha and we added another 60ha when the neighbouring property came on the market in 2010, enabling us to increase cow numbers to 320.

“The original shed – when dad bought the farm in 1992 – was an 18-bail rotary but when we bought the farm in 2000 we extended the dairy so we could lift cow numbers, initially to 220, then to 320 cows 10 years later when we bought

the neighbouring farm. “The steel platform was sound and functional, so we extended its width, installed new runners, tracks and rollers with new bails making it a 26-bail. The only alteration we had to do to the shed footprint, to allow the larger platform, was pushing the back wall out, replace the concrete floor and shorten the bridge.

“It was a really cost-effective way to upgrade the dairy,” says Alan.

Flick of a tail

“The original shed had cup removers but the cows’ tails would often flick the levers, making the cups drop off, so by the time they got around to the exit you wouldn’t know if they’d been milked out or the cups had been triggered by their tails.

The mountain was out on the day New Farm Dairies called – Alan and Tina Jones reckon there’s no better backdrop.

The magical mountain that says ‘home’.

“Over time, as cow numbers increased, we had staff and I really wanted a system which was fail-safe, so there was never any doubt – whoever was milking – that every cow had been milked out,” says Alan.

“The milking system had just outlived its usefulness. In addition to the issue with the old cup removers, the pulsator wiring loom had perished, the side wall of the dairy was flaking and the roof had a few leaks so we decided another revamp was in order.

“In 2021 we decided to replace the cup removers, bail restraints and the pulsator wiring, reline the side wall and reroof the dairy. At the same time we decided to resolve the long-

The collection yard was extended in 2010 to accommodate increased cow numbers.

Clever adjustments mean the building accommodates the new 26-bail rotary platform.

standing lack of effluent storage and put in a new system.

“We had no storage and were having to pump effluent onto the paddocks every day using spray irrigation and a traveling irrigator. The system for application was efficient enough but we needed to add storage to remain compliant and sustainable,” says Alan.

Tailoring equipment

The Jones have always used Dairymaster Milking Systems Stratford for their supplies and service. “We have a good relationship with them – they understand our farming goals and their familiarity with the shed and systems mean we always get innovative solutions,” says Alan.

Dairymaster’s Shaun Dyer says retrofitting modern technology into old sheds calls for a lot of innovation

“and tailoring equipment so it works and complements the existing environment”.

“In this case we recommended Milktech CR-1 Electronic Cup Removers because of their simplicity, robustness and ease of installation.

“The cup removers have only four main components –controller, switch, milk sensor and ram – with the ability to control the retention bar and other technologies like in-bail teat sprayer and third party pulsators,” says Shaun.

Futureproofing

“The parameters of the cup removers can be changed from a smartphone or any WiFi-enabled device and the system can be easily upgraded as new features are developed which is a great way to futureproof the shed.

SPRING-LOADED SELF-CLOSING SALOON DOOR

·High reinforcing bar prevents stooping when loading

·Latch function to prevent gate opening during transport

·Off-set hinges to allow 180 degree opening for ease of unloading

·Reduces awkward bending and lifting compared to other trailers

·Easy, faster and safer calf loading

Keep a spring in your step by reducing sprains and strains during the busy calving season. Designed to fit K438, K538, K54, K64,

The bail restraints and cup removers.

The interior wall of the dairy was relined along with a new roof.

The centre platform.

“Some minor adjustments were needed so the existing bails could accommodate the CR-1 Retention Rams and straps. The set-up of the original bail restraints meant they often pinched the cows so we wanted to avoid that, and have bails which would also easily accommodate herd test meters,” says Shaun.

“The CR-1 retention controls can also be set to independently control the retention bar, at the exit, to retain a cow which is still milking.”

Shaun says his Dairymaster Stratford team is delighted with the way the project came together – “it’s one of the best cup remover retrofit installations we’ve seen, transforming the performance and appearance of the dairy”.

Relining the side wall of the dairy along with a new roof took place while the retrofit was

underway in March 2022.

“We had gone onto milking once-a-day in the mornings, so that left the majority of the day for the renovation and upgrade to take place,” says Alan.

Tank storage

When it came to effluent storage, Alan and Tina opted for a concrete tank over a pond with liner.

“We wanted something permanent and low maintenance; we didn’t want a pond with a liner which has a finite life and also didn’t want the worry of leaks so we opted for a concrete tank which is permanent, low maintenance

and has a smaller footprint than a pond,” says Alan. The 450m3 concrete tank is located adjacent to the tanker track and lower than the dairy, facilitating gravity feed of effluent into two tractoraccessible stone traps from where it drains into the main sump. Alan can now choose whether to pump effluent direct to the tank, or onto paddocks via the existing irrigation system.

Dairymaster supplied and installed a Mono 18/90 effluent pump, which is controlled by a Sema Variable Speed Drive and transducer in a Sema Stainless steel control box. The tank

has

Worth the money

One year on from the retrofit of the cup removers and bail restraints and installation of the new effluent system, Alan and Tina say it was “money well spent”.

“The enhancements have meant that the shed is now efficient – all the cows get milked well – and milkings are faster because no cow goes around twice unnecessarily. We have two people in the dairy until the end of mating and then one person for the remainder of the season,” say the couple.

a 5hp Doda vertical stirrer on a three-drum pontoon. A new stormwater diversion was also installed.

The exterior of the decades-old dairy belies the new technology within.

The 450m3 concrete tank has a 5hp Doda vertical stirrer on a three-drum pontoon.

The new effluent system comprises a Mono 18/90 effluent pump with Sema variable speed drive and transducer.

Alan Jones and Dairymaster’s Shaun Dyer.

What are your cows missing?

Julian Dalefield may no longer be an active farmer – but his optimism for the future of dairying, his love of the land and his faith in his sharemilkers is evident in the new 54-bail rotary on his dairy farm on the outskirts of Palmerston North.

The Gordon family have a long-standing sharemilking relationship with Julian. Callum Gordon says his family own a dairy farm at Colyton milking 500 cows and “have been sharemilking on the Palmerston North farm for 12 years”.

“Until February 2022 we were milking around 530 cows through an old 36-aside herringbone shed. Including clean-up it was taking three people 3.5 hours to milk in the morning, with slightly less in the afternoon, averaging five-six hours a day.”

Callum says the old shed had been modified over the years “but the economics of continuing to maintain and update it had become marginal”.

Callum says farm owner Julian was well aware of the daily

challenges of continuing to operate the old shed and, when it came to the decision point, wanted to build a dairy that would be his legacy to the future of dairying.

“A range of options were considered before the decision was made to build a new dairy. A site adjacent to the old dairy was chosen so the farm’s operations could continue unaffected while the new development was taking place.”

An engineer before returning to farming, Callum worked closely with Julian and his farm consultant, Martin Boyle, on the design of the new dairy and associated infrastructure.

Futureproof

“Efficiency was the number one goal for the new dairy along with having a facility which would future-proof the farm and help attract and retain good staff.

“Those requirements, along with cow numbers, meant a rotary was the best option. We opted for a 54-bail platform but decided to make the building a bit more spacious by pushing the width of the building footprint to the builder’s standard ‘60-bail

width’ to give plenty of space around the sides of the platform.

“The additional width also enabled a large apron out the front over the bridge providing extra protection from the wind and rain, making the shed a pleasant environment to work in. The building’s large footprint allowed for the vats to be brought inside alongside a spacious underpass to the centre of the dairy. Having the vats inside allows everything to stay clean and tidy while also providing security.”

Callum says the lack of an underpass in the rotary on his family’s Colyton farm influenced his appreciation of the importance of easy access to the centre of the new dairy.

“We inherited the dairy on the home farm which did not have an underpass and the subsequent addition of in-shed feeding and shed technology upgrades meant accessing the centre for service, maintenance and cleaning became more difficult.

“The larger footprint for Julian’s new dairy enabled us to add an easily-accessed underpass, avoiding the need to climb over the platform and duck through rails when accessing the centre.”

WALL COATING SYSTEMS

The site for the new dairy was determined by the underpass, water table and effluent system.

The dairy from the rear of the large collection yard.

The west side exterior of the new dairy.

The optimum site for the new dairy was alongside the old herringbone, providing access to services while allowing the old shed to continue operating until the new dairy was completed.

Ground-works commenced in December 2021 to develop and raise the building site so the lowest part of the shed, the underpass, was above the water table to eliminate any potential for water ingress or dampness in the underpass and to allow good gravity feed of effluent from all sumps in the shed to the new effluent sump.

The walls of the dairy are concrete precast panels with polypanel walls. The insulated roof is comprised of poly-panels sandwiched between two layers of colour steel, ensuring the interior is quiet and stays cool in summer.

The ‘bus stops’

Shelters/extensions on the exterior of the building, AKA the ‘bus stops’, house the noisy shed equipment ie the Vacuum Pump to run the shed while the second houses the air compressors. Compressed air is used for the drafting gate, milk purge, teat spray pump and molasses valves.

Bromley Dairy and Pumps’ Steve Bromley was called in during

the early stages of planning to discuss the dairy plant.

“The platform and milking system are Waikato, which is strong, well designed, easy to use and update as technology continues to advance,” says Steve.

The Orbit 5500 concrete platform, installed by Moa Rotary Platforms, features an extra-wide 2.7m platform with automated lubrication on a double beam with nylon rollers. Bail restraints work in tandem with ECR Plus automatic cup removers preventing over or under milking. Udder health is further enhanced by Smart D-TECT pulsators, which perform a health analysis of each quarter, and SmartSPRAY automatic teat spray. The dairy also features a SmartWASH automated wash system. The ability to monitor and manage every aspect of the dairy – from the shed computer or mobile phone – is provided by DairyHQ parlour management.

‘Must-haves’

Callum says automated drafting was high on the list of ‘musthaves’. “We used a system of ropes in the old dairy, which bears no comparison to the sort function we now have that sets up automated drafts through the Sort Gate 5500.”

Affectionately called ‘bus stops’ on the east side of the dairy house ‘noisy elements’ –vacuum pump and compressor.

The Agrichill Smartstart ensures constant operation of the chiller.

The new dairy features one of the first Multiport Rotary centre-glands to be installed in New Zealand. Steve says the services that traditionally hung from the roof now go through one system – milk, air, wash, compressed air, teatspray and skirt wash. “It is easier and safer to service as there is no need for ladders etc to access various elements of the system.”

The effluent system, supplied and installed by Bromley Dairy & Pumps, comprises of a stirrer and Yardmaster Pump with the ability to deliver to the pond or direct to irrigation. There is a Varisco self-priming pump on the pond to deliver back to the sump for irrigation or to the yard to greenwash via the backing gate nozzles.

Future-proofing the operation also saw the shed infrastructure extended to the nearby calf shed with power, water and twin return milk lines from the new dairy direct to the calf shed. The interior walls of the dairy are coated with the seven-layer Acraflex paint system applied by Surfatex 2019 Ltd providing a hard-wearing, easily cleaned surface.

Farm manager Kane Seymour-East says maintaining the cleanliness of the walls is easy by simply brushing any areas requiring cleaning with a soft car-wash brush after every milking in the time it takes for the wash to go through.

From left: Farm manager Kane Seymour-East, Bromley Dairy & Pumps’ Steve Bromley, Surfatex director Glen Sinclair and sharemilker Callum Gordon.

The new 54-bail rotary platform.

The interior of the old shed.

The in-shed feed system, from Central Silo Systems, consists of two 16T meal silos complete with pneumatic filling tubes, a mineral injection hopper and complete molasses dosing system. It ensures each cow gets a preset amount of PKE and DDG, minerals and molasses at each feed when required. Kane says having two silos with a different product in each provides flexibility to easily change the feed mix at any time.

No waste

The dairy has installed Agrichill’s automated ‘Smartstart’ system that eliminates the potential for a vat of milk to waste due to the chiller not being turned on.

Developed by Agrichill founder Matt Parkinson, the Agrichill Smartstart “is akin to an insurance policy for the farmer that, no matter who is in the shed, the chiller will always be on to protect the quality of the milk they produce”.

Matt says aside from the efficiency of the units, Smartstart reduces the risk of milk down the drain. “Even with vat monitoring these days, it’s now even more important not to forget to switch on the vat as the dairy company also knows you forgot too. It provides great peace of mind and one less thing farmers and staff need to worry about.”

Callum recalls the original plan was for the dairy to be completed in time for the start of the 2022/2023 season “but that was, in hindsight, ambitious”.

“We realised everyone had to do their job properly and with additional delays due to Covid-19, material, supplies etc the original completion date soon looked challenging.

“We had gone to a lot of effort to ensure the design of the new shed didn’t interfere with the running of the old shed, so a few months over the target date added no stress or rush to the contractors and farm. We also didn’t want to start in the new shed mid-calving or mating so settled on a late-January 2023 start, which was ideal.”

Bite the bullet

Transitioning 530 cows from a herringbone to a rotary was always going to be a challenge and Callum recalls that ‘D’ day was a Wednesday afternoon.

“We decided we would bite the bullet and put the entire herd through during an afternoon milking. We naturally anticipated it would take a long time to load all the cows but in reality it took a team of 10 people eight hours to put the quiet herd through the dairy! Milking started at 2pm and we finished 10pm that night!

“The cows hadn’t been fed in the old shed, so the in-shed feeding was certainly an inducement – once they knew it was there, their transition to the new environment sped up and by day three the cows were running up the race wanting to get onto the platform for a feed. Getting them off and to stay off then became the new focus.”

Transitioning from a low technology environment to a relatively sophisticated one resulted in some initial anxiety on the part of the farm team, Kane recalls, but this was soon allayed. “We went over the basic running of the shed before that first milking so the team could see that while there’s a lot of technology behind the scenes, the user face is intuitive and simple.”

Legacy realised

Six months on from the first milking, Callum says the dairy has lived up to expectations.

“There is not a lot we would change. It’s a very efficient and easy to run shed and a nice environment for staff and the cows.

Julian is, according to Callum, “rapt with the new shed”. “He’s got the legacy shed he wanted – a facility that is modern and efficient, which is a drawcard to attract and retain staff and –overall – a testament to his faith in the future of dairying.”

Steve Bromley with the dairy’s Multiport Rotary centre-gland.

A 54-bail platform in a 60-bail footprint enables a spacious interior.

The large footprint has meant the vats are inside, alongside the milk room, and adjacent to the entry to the underpass.

The stirrer and Yardmaster pump has the ability to divert effluent to pond or irrigator.

Cows have been milked in the new dairy on the Macdonald family farm on the outskirts of Whakatane for seven months – but you wouldn’t know it! The dairy and adjoining feed pad are pristine – spotless – and that comes down to farm managers who are meticulous about cleanliness, not to mention pride in the new purpose-built complex.

Farm managers Phil and Rachel Whitewood milked for farm owners Ross and Louise Macdonald in one of the farm’s two old herringbone dairies before moving across to the new complex in August 2022.

When commended about the spotlessness of the dairy and surrounding yards, they say

in pristine dairy

Brent and Michelle with her parents Ross and Louise Macdonald believe the new dairy meets their objectives for an efficient, oneman shed.

it comes down to using exfoliating gloves in the dairy and scrapers in the yards and feed pad after normal yard and flood washing. It’s an approach applauded by Ross and Louise and their daughter Michelle.

In ˜°˛˝...

Ross and Louise moved to the then-40 hectare dairy farm in 1985, recalling it was then milking 140 Friesian cows. “As time went on we leased a neighbouring farm, which gave us 94ha and enabled us to increase the herd to 300 cows,” says Ross.

“We bought the leased farm in 2020, the certainty of size – land and herd – giving us confidence to review the shedding on the farm,” says Ross.

At the time each farm sported old herringbones – a 12-aside and a 14-aside. Daughter Michelle had been overseas working

as a chef and then at a bank in Whakatane after moving back home with her husband Brent. After the birth of their son, she heeded the call of the farm and came back to, initially, feed calves in 2015.

Brent, who was an electrician, decided to give farming a go in 2020 and worked alongside Phil on the home farm in the 12-aside shed. They have since bought into the farm partnership with Michelle’s parents.

Time was right

“The condition of the old sheds, coupled with the fact that effluent consents were coming up with the prospect of having to do two effluent upgrades, resulted in the family deciding the time was right to build one centrally located dairy – which would service the farm into the future,” says Michelle.

“The chosen building site was sufficiently large to allow development of the new dairy

Vehicle Grooming Services

The new dairy on the outskirts of Whakatane.

and adjacent feed pad and effluent pond and was more elevated than the rest of the farm so effluent and wash water would gravity feed to the effluent ponds.” Superior Excavation helped with site work and installation of the weeping wall.

The family looked at a variety of shed and yard designs and settled on a design which had “a lot of great concepts”. For example, the shortest distance for milk from the cows to the vat was achieved by positioning the vat between the office and service rooms.

Straight yard

“We also wanted a straight collection yard because it promotes good cow flow into the dairy.”

The yards were manufactured and installed by one of the best-known light engineering companies in the Bay of Plenty, Taneatua-based WJ Dippie.

The straight collection yard complete with Reporoa Herdflow Crowd Gate.

300,000 native trees on their 300 hectare farm.

The goal is the outcome of a plan to enhance the farm’s waterways and environment and contribute to the country’s commitment to addressing climate change. But it comes at a cost. About 30ha of land has been retired from the dairy farm – but it’s a cost the family believe to be an investment in the future.

The Boyle family has farmed on Maniatutu Rd in Pongakawa for nearly 120 years, with two farms combining through marriage and then growing to the current acreage with the acquisition of neighbouring properties.

and – descendant of the original settlers –minor shareholding in the hands of their son Jonathan. While the bulk of the farm is dairy, the property has also been diversified with the development of kiwifruit and avocado orchards run by Keith and Caroline.

Mixed contour

“The farm is mixed contour, rolling to steep with sidings, which screen a valley with around 5km of stream and wetlands at the foot,” says Jonathan Boyle. “Until three years ago the wetlands were protected from stock access by fences around 1-2m out.

“The decision to begin riparian, revegetation and wetland planting was the outcome of family discussions greatly assisted by my partner Debbie Porter’s knowledge

and experience as a horticulturalist. She worked for a native revegetation business in Ngongotaha when we met five years ago and her knowledge and contacts were invaluable.

Wetlands

“We were concerned about protecting and enhancing the quality of the wetlands and the overall farm environment. The decision also meshed with the Government’s commitment to funding programmes that would reduce carbon emissions,” says Jonathan.

“We accepted that retiring 30ha would have a negative impact on our 560-cow dairy farm but felt the benefits – which are largely aesthetic – outweighed the financial cost.

“Initially, we sourced plants from a range

One section of the 5km valley that runs through the 300ha farm – which is being transformed by native plantings.

of nurseries but I encouraged Debbie to set up her own nursery business, Trees by Nature, on the farm supplying native plants for the farm planting, and for local councils,” says Jonathan.

Four years on from that decision, Jonathan and Debbie have overseen the planting of 90,000 native plants, transforming the valley. “All plants are propagated in the farm’s old herringbone dairy.

“Thankfully the old shed was still structurally sound, so we gutted that and converted it to a nursery production area complete with adjacent tunnel houses,” says Debbie.

The tunnel houses were supplied by Redpaths, New Zealand’s largest manufacturer of commercial greenhouses and animal shelters.

Debbie Porter, Jonathon Boyle and his parents Keith and Carolyn Boyle are committed to enhancing wetlands and the overall farm environment.

One of the first riparian planting projects was to stabilise the bank under the new dairy shed.

“Seeds are ‘eco-sourced’ from the area. For example, seeds are collected from preferred plant species which have grown in the area – in our case plants that thrive in the Bay of Plenty. Based on advice, we chose to grow manuka, kanuka, pittosporum, flax and cabbage trees.”

Native plants

Debbie says their plants are specific – native – to their area. “Different seeds need different environments to germinate, so Jonathan converted the vat stand to a seed-sowing house to mimic nature – for example, seeds germinating in warm dark conditions so we cover the seed beds until the plants poke through, then take the covers off to provide the light needed for those plants to thrive.”

“Seeds are planted and gradually moved out to the tunnel houses to grow before

they are planted out – in all we work to a 12-month turnaround.”

One of the first riparian planting projects was to stabilise the bank under the new dairy shed.

“Jonathan and I planted manuka and kanuka underplanted by carex grasses, which send out a massive mat system of roots to bind the bank together and provide soil stability for the larger species as they grow,” says Debbie.

“Initially we ‘release sprayed’ around the trees once-a-year to prevent grass from suffocating the young plants but, now, four years on the trees are established, stabilising the bank.

“Around the same time we also began an extensive refencing programme taking existing fence-lines, which were around 3-5m from the stream, out to incorporate the wetlands on

either side of the stream. In places the area is now 50m wide.”

The Boyle family has done around twothirds of the planting on the farm, but Debbie says they got a planting gang to help out in the third year. “Planting takes place when there is sufficient moisture in the soil, usually between April and October.

Climate change

“We have noticed huge climate change this year. The volume and intensity of rain has rotted a lot of seed on the trees – plants are not producing the seed that they would normally.

“The rules are out the window with the changes we are experiencing in climate, so we’re having to be flexible and do what we need to maintain momentum in the farm’s planting programme. If seed isn’t available on

the farm, I get it from bush blocks around the Bay of Plenty.

“This year the nursery will produce around 35,000 plants and we hope to double that next year. We’ve got another 200,000 plants to get in before we achieve our goal but, realistically, we could keep on planting for years,” says Debbie.

Looking from the vantage of their home on one of the highest hills on the farm, Keith and Caroline reflect on the change they’ve seen since the planting programme began four years ago.

“The siding and wetland plantings we can see from the house are just a fraction of everything which has gone in but it has transformed the valley,” says Caroline. “My grandparents wouldn’t recognise it! We’ve also noticed a significant increase in bird life and water purity in the stream.”

Designed

Inside the two Redpaths’ tunnel houses.

One of the tunnel houses framed, in the background, by the old dairy.

The old collection yard has been converted to a native plant nursery.

Jonathon converted the old vat stand to a seedsowing house.

The old herringbone’s heritage is evident in one section of the nursery production area.

Excavating the site to allow redevelopment of Johan and Gea Dykshoorn’s dairy was akin to an archaeological dig, each digger bucket-load revealing more of the farm’s history.

Johan and Gea purchased the Otorohanga farm in 2008 after sharemilking in Te Aroha, Johan recalling it was then 68 hectares “with a further 72ha leased”. “After nine years we purchased the lease block so today’s dairy platform is 141ha milking 380 cows.”

When they bought the farm it had a 36 internal rotary built in 1993. “We made some adjustments to the bails to accommodate various sized cows but kept the basic shed, always planning to upgrade it at some stage.”

That stage came in 2021. “By that time we had three A4 pages of things which frustrated us. Essentially it had passed its use-by date; we needed two people milking and weren’t able to send slow milkers around a second time,” says Johan.

“Initially we thought of simply upgrading the internal plant but soon realised things wouldn’t fit properly and we would still have the old roof, which was leaking, and the existing vet race wasn’t up to scratch.”

Opportunity to improve

The original subdivision of the Dykshoorn farm centred round the dairy with feed lanes and silage bunkers laid out on a level below the shed.

“Upgrading the shed provided an opportunity to improve the animal-handling

facilities at the shed – the original yards sloped towards the feed lanes, causing a problem with cows slipping, so we decided to take the opportunity to raise and extend the yards on that side of the shed.

“The old yards sloped down towards the feed lanes so cows would slip. We wanted to raise and level the ground on that side of the shed to provide room for good animal handling facilities.”

As it did for most people planning a build, the Covid-pandemic affected renovating plans which were finally activated on April 25, 2021.

Seven weeks

“We dried the herd off and had seven weeks to gut and rebuild the shed and yards,” says Johan.

Johan and his sons removed the old milking plant before earthmoving contractor Paul Wolvers was called in to remove the platform, and raise the north-facing yards.

Wolvers Contracting’s Paul Wolvers, who has worked on the farm for previous owners and knows the property well, was called in to demolish the old shed – leaving the vat stand and milk room.

“The original vat stand and milk room –which are stand-alone beside the dairy – were still sound so the plan was to leave these as they are and focus on gutting the old milking area and developing larger, level yards overlooking the feed lanes,” says Paul. “The old platform was made of steel and concrete so, given the time constraints, we decided to bring in a crane and lift it out in one piece versus demolishing it in situ.

“Effluent

Johan Dykshoorn says the original vat stand and milk room were sound, and so were retained.

The old vat stand sits proudly alongside the new dairy – and features artwork by Johan and Gea’s daughter.

The new 36-bail Rotary Platform.

Where old meets new – the old vat stand and milk room to the left, and new dairy to the right.

"ThisautumnIdosed25springcalving cowsthathadacellcountover900,000 andfollowedupwithrumicellintheherd. ByMay,those25cowswereunder 250,000!!"

“That almost didn’t happen however, because the steel straps around the perimeter had been cut and when the crane lifted the 15 tonne platform it folded in half! However, it held together as it passed over the vat stand and was lowered into the paddock,” says Paul.

With the platform out of the way, the demolition began – each sweep of the digger revealing the remains of four previous sheds that had been built on the site.

Archaeological dig

“It was a bit like an archaeological dig,” says Johan. “Over a week, Paul removed five layers of concrete, plus a large set of underground stairs.”

That left six weeks for builders, Gibson

Construction, to build the new roof, Moa Milking & Pumping to install the new 36-bail Waikato Centrus Rotary Platform, YTM Electrical to disconnect and install all electricals, and Paul Wolvers to demolish the old animal handling yards and construct a larger site to accommodate the new animalhandling facilities.

Last in, was Qubik’s Jason Hare, who says the milking system installer is often the “last one in”.

“Ideally you allow around a fortnight to install a new milking plant but in this case we had five days – so we pulled out the stops and worked around the clock to get the job done,” says Jason.

Johan opted to go with Moa Milking &

Pumping for the Centrus Rotary Platform and milking system “because it’s made in New Zealand, is well-engineered and built to meet the demands of dairying in New Zealand”.

New plant

The new plant features Waikato ECR electronic cup removers, 320 clusters, SmartDRIVE milk pump controller, 2.2 Fristam milk pump, compressed air milk recovery, Qubik automatic plant wash controller and BP400 Variable Speed Drive vacuum.

Water tanks were relocated to a new pad at the rear of the dairy, Johan recalling that, thanks to Qubik primary cooling, milk now goes into the vat three to four degrees Celsius cooler than it did previously.

A Dairy HQ automated drafter was installed in the new animal-handling facilities enabling

three-way drafting that can either be set ahead of, or during, milking.

The contained layout of the dairy – without large corner spaces – called on an innovative solution to house the dairy’s computer system. Qubik designed and fabricated a one-off stainless steel box to house the computer and keypad within easy reach at cups-off protected from the dairy environment.

The first milking in the new shed took place July 18, Johan recalling they already had 55 cows in which were being milked by “kind neighbours in their dairies”. “Our neighbours understood what we were up against and made their sheds and labour available to us which was fantastic,” says Johan.

The cows settled very quickly to the new environment which, thanks to the composite platform and new plant, is quiet and efficient –milking 355 cows in just over two hours.

The ‘working’ side of the new dairy features a curtain, which provides shelter from the prevailing wind.

YTM Electrical’s Yeriah Malleck undertook all electrical work for the new dairy.

Wolvers Contracting’s Paul Wolvers stands on the new raised yards with the feed lanes, silage bunkers and effluent ponds in the background.

The Qubik team – Kyle Osborne, Jason Hare and Jeremy Collett –who completed the milking machine install in five days.

Johan Dykshoorn says the Qubik designed and fabricated stainless steel box protects the computer and positions it within easy reach at cups-off.

Waikana rotary

When Alistair Murray started working on a dairy farm to fund his sheep farming aspirations, he was told that once he saw the money he’d never leave.

At the time, he didn’t believe that. Today, he smiles, and bows to the early prediction, because dairy farming has been good to his family. The only thing left that even hints at sheep is their idle 40-aside herringbone dairy, which was converted from a woolshed.

This season the Murray family is milking in a new fully automated DeLaval E100TM 60-bail rotary dairy. This has been a journey of achievement for Alistair and Hazel. Alistair started working on this farm after completing a Diploma of Agriculture at Lincoln University.

When he met and married Hazel, the young

couple took a 10 per cent equity share in the business. Five years later their share climbed to 20 per cent, and then to 30 per cent.

In 2008 when they hit the 50 per cent conversation with their equity group – which owned several other farms by that time – and took the chance to buy the property outright. They also bought a run-off block across the road. This summer-safe property gets a dusting of snow through winter.

Lifting cow numbers

Another land purchase from their neighbour 18 months ago has allowed them to increase their herd from 530 to 750 crossbred cows on 530 hectares – including a 260ha milking platform – and averaging 430kg/ms.

It raised the question about how long they were spending in their old dairy, and how tired it was. Last season it took six hours a day to

milk a peak herd size of 720 cows – averaging 2.4kg/ms a day.

“It wasn’t too bad in terms of the time it was taking,” says Alistair. “But the shed needed a lot of money spent on it. So, we either had to upgrade, or keep patching it up.”

The Murrays decided if they were going to make the move, they were going to embrace automation, and build a rotary, so one person could milk.

They considered three different dairy building brands, but DeLaval – which has a strong presence in Southland – had some telling advantages for Alistair.

“The thing with DeLaval is the whole technology integration, so you don’t have five brands in a shed trying to talk to one another,” says Alistair. “DeLaval was also on the technology side more than others, and their price was pretty much the same.

“If we didn’t go the full hog on technology it is going to be an old shed before we even milk the cows in it.”

The concrete platform and dairy plant were supplied by DeLaval through its Southland distributor Southland Farm Services, which includes an electrical and plumbing division.

Options

They also engaged local builder GT Chamberlain Ltd, and Doug’s Engineering. “Grant Chamberlain’s team [GT Chamberlain Ltd] gave us options every day with how we wanted the shed to function,” says Alistair. “Probably the other thing is that 12 months ago, you couldn’t get a quote off a builder to hang a door. Grant was happy to put a quote on paper and stand behind it. “We appreciated that.

The view from the old 40-aside herringbone dairy, on the right, which was established in an old woolshed. The new build takes shape to the left.

An aerial view of the new dairy parlour.

From left: Alistair and Hazel Murray with daughter, Leah, 22.

‘worth it’

The

and also at cups on for worker comfort.

“We also wanted the 24 hours service support we get with Southland Farm Services, and DeLaval has got enough sheds in Southland now that all those people can’t be wrong.”

Southland Farm Services’ capital sales Jeremy Dawson and its electrical operations manager Gerhard Lategan presented Murray Dairyfields with their DeLaval options.

“When Alistair and Hazel first came to us, they knew that they wanted a rotary – but they’d never been involved with one,” says Jeremy. “We discussed whether they wanted a high level or basic level dairy, and they’ve ended up with a reasonably high level one.”

Jeremy says key features include the concrete platform, the automatic wash via an overhead wash gland – which means they can turn the autowash on no matter where the platform is – on-deck automated teat spraying, MA200 Automatic Cup Removers,

DeLaval’s platform for this E100TM 60-bail dairy in Southland had the concrete poured manually the day before this photography was taken.

Dry weather was initially the builder’s dream, but winter did drop the temperatures in May.

a full Delpro Herd Management system with platform identification, milk metering, automatic drafting and an IDD touch screen control, in addition to a RC3 platform control system.

“It is pretty typical of what we’re seeing with rotaries nowadays with everyone wanting a one-man shed. However, the on-deck teat spraying is fairly new.”

Cluster drop

The clusters will drop at the bridge and travel underneath, taking all the rubberware with them, so they don’t complicate the cows’ exit.

“That is quite a new feature for us, and the first one we’ve put in in Southland,” says Jeremy.

This dairy also features a lower profile bail so the cows can exit easier. A cow motivator at the

exit will omit a blast of air if any cows fancy going around a second time.

The overhead wash gland is significant day-to-day, says Jeremy. “It’s something that is unique to our design. Traditionally they would have to hook up a hose when they are doing the wash to top up the teat spray fluid. But it’s now supplied automatically through an overhead delivery line, and the teat spray mixer is also automated. No-one will have to touch it.”

The family also raised their office area a metre higher than the main floor, so Alistair can look out the window across the whole platform.

Alistair acknowledges this will be a steady journey of discovery. “DeLaval was the whole package. There is a lot of the intuitive stuff that we won’t use in the first year. We know it’s all possible, but we will get a handle on everything before we start getting that in-depth.”

Alistair has included a double-motorised

The old dairy had no automation and it took six hours a day last season to milk 720 cows at its peak.

backing gate so staff can bring the second herd in seamlessly behind the first. The herd is split between two-year-olds/lighter cows and mixed age cows.

From the get go

Fraser ‘Spud’ Dawson, foreman for GT Chamberlain Builders Ltd, was in the thick of it throughout the build. Grant Chamberlain says when they initially spoke to Alistair and Hazel, it was immediately obvious that they knew what they wanted.

“They specified a 60-bail shed with an openplan plant room, a raised vet area at cups-off, and a raised 900mm office which would give the shed a great outlook across the yard,” says Grant.

“A point of difference on this build is our extensive earthing system that we have upgraded to after close consultation with an electrical engineer.

almost complete platform with Numat matting in the entry area

“We’ve spent considerable time and effort making our stray electricity in the sheds neutral over the years, because it is something you cannot skimp on,” says Grant.

“The Murrays run as a tight family unit. Their son, Jack, had worked in a shed with concrete steps and a raised area at cups-on. This is one of the final touches we did in the shed, and it worked out great. It was a pleasure to work with Hazel, Alistair and their family.”

Andrew Johnstone, from Doug’s Engineering, was involved in the first conversion build in 1993 – so found it interesting to return for the new build.

“We’ve done the yards, the pipe work, holding pens, the gates and the centre fold in the middle that allows those two 16-metre backing gates to go around and allow the second herd to follow straight in.”

Andrew bought Doug’s Engineering off its

founder, Doug McDonald two years ago. Doug now manufactures the electrical glands for Andrew, and he works alongside builds in a consulting role with a special focus on Computer-Aided Design.

“Alistair and Hazel have been really easy to work with,” says Andrew. “We’ve taken a few good ideas from everybody and come up with a decent shed.”

Daughter returns

Having their daughter, Leah, 22, return to the farm was a double-edged sword for Richard Gardyne, of Gardyne’s Grain. The Gore-based family business had employed Leah for the last three years.

She’s relinquished the role, returning home as Murray Dairyfields’ farm manager. Leah’s younger brother, Jack, 17, works one-day-aweek at Gardyne’s as part of a gateway training

through his school. Leah owns roughly 65 cows now – some at home – and some are leased out. Her goal is farm ownership.

The herd is currently fed an average of 3kg a day per cow of in-shed meal. It’s an even split between a wheat/barley blend, palm kernel and dried distiller grain. Gardyne’s Grain has a strong presence in Southland and West Otago, servicing dairy, deer, sheep, and horse operations.

Patrick Murphy and Mark Bugden, from Southland Electrical & Refrigeration, were responsible for everything electrical – which is a lot. They bring the magic in the form of neatly packed-away wiring, which unleashes the technology.

“The electricity has taken hundreds of hours,” says Patrick. The Yorkshire native, from Northern England, has lived in Southland for eight years.

“To see the dairy come together, literally from the ground up, was pretty interesting,” says Patrick.

Embracing risk

Standing outside the new build, Alistair and Hazel, both 49, are aiming for a throughput of 350 cows an hour this season.

They say their success comes down a mix of things, acknowledging that the early equity partnership gave them a solid footing.

“I guess we always backed ourselves pretty much,” says Alistair. “And, we worked hard, saved hard, and took risks when opportunities came up. In the equity partnership we were trading just about a farm a year – one way or the other – and it wasn’t without stress.”

Hazel adds: “We bought and sold small blocks of ground outside the equity partnership to get here too”. “And, it’s all been worth it.”

In 2021, LeAnne Blakelock introduced an adlib feeding system to rear 220 calves. Two seasons in, she says she uses less milk replacer and has dropped a labour unit.

For the first 4 weeks, the calves feed on colostrum milk then Sprayfo Delta adlib, transitioning to Sprayfo Blue whey-based milk replacer, once a day, to weaning.

A surprise for LeAnne is that the calves consume no more milk replacer on the ad lib system than they used to on the twice-a-day system (using other products) in prior years.

“We attribute this to the explosive growth we get on Sprayfo Delta

Switch to Sprayfo this season and grow better calves.

in the first month and the subsequent rumen development with Sprayfo Blue, leading to feeding milk for less weeks” says LeAnne. “Our Sprayfo calves are more vigorous, healthier and bigger. We can see 30-day old calves sitting and chewing the cud.”

Read LeAnne’s story

Above: Southland Electrical & Refrigeration team Vega Mukri, Mark Budgen and Paddy Murphy.

Andrew Johnstone, who now owns Doug’s Engineering, was also involved in the 1993 herringbone build at this property.

Richard Gardyne and Leah Murray, who worked for Gardyne’s Grain for two years before returning to her parents’ farm as a manager.

GT Chamberlain Builders Ltd foreman Fraser ‘Spud’ Dawson chats with farm owner Alistair Murray.

The animal handling area

“Our vet said ours were the best R2’s she had seen all season in terms of ‘well grown’ – good body condition, not just fat. We got top money for them.”

-

LeAnne Blakelock, Dairy Farmer, Taranaki

* Apply for a payment holiday on AgriVantage calf rearing products through your reseller. Terms and conditions apply – visit agrivantage.co.nz

No PVC in this dairy PVC

Garry and Bev Swney have crafted a new rotary dairy that challenges industry standards at every level.

Anyone who knows Southland’s Garry and Bev Swney weren’t surprised by their decision to build their first rotary basement dairy with an extraordinary eye for detail, and a full focus on their team and cow comfort.

Based at Morton Mains – 25km from Invercargill – they have worked their way up through the industry with that “detail” riding high on both of their shoulders. They have bought and sold land over the years, worked hard, and when they consolidated…they

have done it in style. They tapped into their trusted advisors and suppliers on this journey – building a full 54-bail rotary dairy housed in a shed sized for 60 bails. It includes a bespoke stainless-steel platform, an expansive underpass for staff, no polyvinyl chloride – known as PVC – pipes, and minimal underground water pipes.

Their motivation comes down to their personal ethic, and their desire to look after their sharemilkers, Craig and Heidi Williams, so their 50/50 sharemilkers and “key partners in their business” never want to leave.

Everything on this property – including the immaculate driveway – leans into the dairy

now sitting proudly at the apex of 210 hectare property. Even the disused 44-aside herringbone looks neater than most active dairies.

Rotary vs herringbone

Craig and Heidi will calve down 630 and milk 610 cows through the peak this season. Garry says they always had three milkers in the old shed, and that herringbones are no slower than rotaries with good cow flow and shed systems. The decision to swing to a rotary came down to marketability, and meant Garry and Bev had some homework to do.

“We’d asked Craig what they wanted, and

they were more than happy with the shed they already had,” says Garry. “But it was aging, and we wanted to address it. We got plans drawn up by Doug’s Engineering for a new herringbone on the same site.”

They checked in with another trusted contact, Grant Chamberlain, of GT Chamberlain Builders.

“We’ve been doing work for them for quite some time now – not only in Southland – but as far away as the Marlborough Sounds,” says Grant. “Initially Garry was very motivated towards a herringbone. But I rang him one Saturday morning, and suggested he should also consider a rotary.

The view of the new dairy near Invercargill challenges industry standards at every level.

Garry and Bev Swney are the glue behind this operation.

The solid stainless steel wall in front of the cows stops any meal, slobber, or manure from passing through to the basement of the dairy.

Two automated swinging cow brushes increase cow comfort indoors – far away from Southland’s winter – while the cows enjoy their ration.

“We spent a day going around other rotaries we had built, and it didn’t take them long to realise that they had more homework to do. I remember them telling me at the end of that day: ‘This is turning out to be a very costly drive’.”

Garry also rang farmers whose opinion he respected in the area, a real estate agent, and a farm consultant. Without exception, they told him if they were going to buy a farm their size, they would want a rotary dairy on it.

Garry and Bev immediately knew what they had to do. “I videoed a rotary shed working because Bev and I are herringbone people, and we’d never been in a rotary dairy. But we’re very good at analysing things as a team,” says Garry.

Grant says the resulting cowshed which includes a 16-metre round yard, holding yards, concrete lanes linking the wintering barn and stone traps, a green-wash system at the base of the backing gate, and a flood green-wash

A fine mist (which is easily missed by a rookie) runs continuously on the outside of the platform, keeping everything clean during milking.

system on the concrete entry/exit races, was a pleasure to build.

“We’re thrilled with the outcome for Garry and Bev,” says Grant.

Flawless & never fails

The rotary design fell to Doug McDonald – former owner of Doug’s Engineering – and it started a conversation that would lead to a $2.1million build.

“Grant told us that Doug was thinking about designing a shed himself. Doug’s Engineering do a massive amount of maintenance work on rotary dairies in Southland, so they see every weakness in them,” says Garry. “We wanted to pick his brains to prevent those 10-15 year problems you have in rotary cowsheds. We also wanted a stainless steel platform, stainless steel water pipework throughout, and minimal underground water pipes within the shed

properly. I’ve dug enough holes looking for water leaks in my career.”

Doug – who’s unfailingly modest – but wellknown for his clever Computer-Aided Design drawings acknowledges that the resulting stainless steel platform is “one of a kind”.

“Garry had gone around and looked at a few platforms and I said to him that if he didn’t find one he wanted, and it came down to it, we’d build it. I told him how I would do it after spending years repairing them, and he warmed to those ideas.

“And while there are other stainless steel platforms out there, this has a number of design differences – so this one had to be all laser-cut.

“It was at this time that we also decided to cover the entire platform in Numat Kura matting, which added to the cows’ comfort, their surety underfoot, and made the milkings

quiet,” says Garry. Numat rubber matting helps you improve the health of your cows which, in turn leads to greater milk yields and lower claw treatment and stock replacement costs.

Bespoke design

They started from scratch with the bail design. Instead of building the bail feeders on the platform, the feeders became an extension of the platform; and they installed a solid stainless steel wall from the platform up to those feeders.

“I didn’t see the point of putting more platform out there when it does nothing,” says Doug. “So, I stopped the platform right in front of the cows – and essentially instead of going out, we went up – and built the bail feeders there. It means the cows can’t see through, and no rubbish can get through there and it keeps everything clean in the basement of the dairy.

Doug says there is no PVC in this dairy and every water pipe is above ground. “Everything is stainless steel, because PVC can fail – and Garry and Bev would rather spend the money for it to look bespoke, and not to fail. I saw this design as a last hurrah for me, because I’m semi-retired. Garry and Bev are both great people to work with, and this was an exciting project.” Garry says: “What I loved about Doug’s ideas on this is if you look in front of the cows, it is totally enclosed”. “And I thought that concept was unbelievable. It stops crap from being sprayed inside the centre of the dairy. A camera focussed in the centre of the platform enables staff to watch what’s going on in the middle. “There were lots of little things like the support for the breach rail, which often rots off at the concrete level on the galvanised pipe. We put stainless steel in the concrete up to 150mm high and welded the galvanised pipe on top.”

Another thing Bev and Garry noticed on the bridge of other rotary dairies was that cows were distracted by the cups-on people, and it

disrupted cow flow and made for dead time. “That was a catalyst for us to put stainless steel sheeting on the pipework leading onto the bridge. Doug – in his ingenuity – suggested using leftover stainless steel from the platform. We wanted the lead-in across the bridge onto the platform to be three cows in length. Because when it only shields two cows, they can easily back out. Three cows makes that a lot harder.”

BB Cunninghame Ltd applied the Acraflex dairy wall coating to the interior and exterior walls of the dairy. Being acid and alkali resistant, the Acraflex coating make the dairy easy to clean.

Smart bit of kit

The plant came down to Shane Simpson, and the team at DairyTech South.

“I’m not aware of any other dairy that includes this much bespoke stainless steel,” says Shane Simpson. “I’ve known the Swney family for a number of years, I’ve worked pretty

closely with them, and they are great people. “They were very sure of what they wanted, and they have exceptional standards. Stainless steel is slow to install because it’s very precise work. But it’s worth it at this end, because it’s also easy to keep clean, easy to repair, and it looks so smart. The lines are spot on.”

Shane recommended a mix of his trusted suppliers, Read Industrial slides and pulsators, and MilktechNZ’s CR-1 Wi-Fi-driven Electronic Cup Removers, claws, cluster shells and retention straps.

With the CR-1’s Wi-Fi-driven technology, farmers can monitor and adjust their preferred milking parameters from any smart device. The technology also includes a “lift to start”, rapid venting for softer pull-down, and an adjustable retraction speed.

DairyTech South – with two business hubs at Gore and Winton – was the first dairy shed specialist in New Zealand to install MilktechNZ CR-1 units. Shane initially made the call based on his knowledge of

MilktechNZ’s owner Gustavo Garza – and he didn’t hesitate to recommend the technology to Garry and Bev.

“Gus and I had been around each other within industry for years, and the MilktechNZ CR-1s brought us back together,” says Shane. “The CR-1s are an extremely smart bit of kit. I’ve been in the industry for 19 years, and these are top-of-the-line worldwide, there’s no doubt in my mind. They can also be upgraded in the future as technology evolves, which was a big point for me.”

Professional connections

Shane says a welcome spin-off from this build has been the strengthening of professional connections. “These projects always do that because everyone can see each other’s workmanship and that gives everyone confidence in each other,” says Shane. “Just standing here and watching those cows coming on now that it’s finished…the cow flow is wonderful.”

The yard holds 650 cows. The former cowshed was a 44-aside herringbone.

MilktechNZ’s South Island manager Mark Craig says it was great to be introduced to Garry and Bev through DairyTech South.

“Going from a herringbone to a rotary is a big investment and including us has been a big tick for MilktechNZ,” says Mark.

Drinkable water

Cleanflo Filtration Ltd’s Craig Hyde knew he’d be in the mix because one of Garry and Bev’s pet hates is what Southland’s iron-infused water does to dairies.

“When we first moved here from the Eastern Waikato, we visited a dairy that was only 12 months old and it was covered in rust,” says Garry. “We didn’t want our shed

to look like that, so we’ve always had water filtration systems. You can have a cup of tea using our dairy water, and your whiskey and water looks normal.”

Craig says they are also circulating minerals and trace elements out to the farm’s water troughs. One wall of the dairy is dedicated to both systems.

“We’ve owned Cleanflo for about 12 years and Garry and Bev worked with them 12 years before that,” says Craig. “They are great clients, and anything they do, they do properly. In Southland, if you don’t get it right, you don’t get another chance.”

confirmed they moved a significant amount of soil to prepare the site for the build. Having been involved in the Swney’s barn build, their relationship is rock solid.

“They are very genuine and honest people,” says Daryll. “They know what’s going on, and we’ve done a lot of projects for them over the years. All I’d like to say is ‘thank you’ for including us.”

Garry says they’ve worked with Cameron’s Contracting for nearly 30 years, starting off with Jack senior, and now with the second generation in his son, Daryll.

“We get on with everyone well. It’s just the way we’re made, and we go back quite a way with a number of our contractors. If we have an urgent job, they would down tools and

come and help.” Jason Jensen, of Southland Plumbing & Pumps, was responsible for making sure no-one “gets caught-short” at the dairy. Jason smiles saying while there was nothing unexpected in what they did, toilets are not something anyone wants to leave out and they appreciated being involved.

Working in it

Through the winter it was taking two hours to milk 550 cows. Sharemilkers Craig and Heidi head into their seventh season this spring. “Hopefully they have no plans to leave, because they do a fantastic job,” says Garry. “They have the same values as us. Presentation is vitally important for us all, and that flows through into all the staff.

Craig and Heidi Williams sharemilk for Garry and Bev Swney.

Cleanflo Filtration Ltd’s Craig Hyde is standing by the system that strips the iron out of the water. To his left is the Nutri-Dose system which circulates minerals and trace elements through the water troughs.

Some of the team who’ve been important parts of this build or its daily operation.

L-R: Doug McDonald, farm owner Garry Swney, Andrew Johnstone, sharemilker Craig Williams, Toni O’Connor and herd manager Glen Moody, Ross Aitken, Mark Craig, farm manager Cole Williams, Shane Simpson, Craig Hyde, Jaron Jenson, Daryl Cameron, Simon Knight and Daniel Brough.

Andrew Johnstone, who owns Doug’s Engineering.

“I wasn’t here all the time during the build, and Craig was our spokesperson. He knew the way I thought, and he did a fabulous job. I’m at the farm on a very regular basis and Craig and I talk all the time – whether it’s about management or social stuff. We’ve got a great relationship, and they are a great couple.”

Craig and Heidi happily confirm that leaving this operation is the last thing on their mind. Last season they finished with an average of 530kg MS (1650kg MS/ha) with cows that weigh, on average, 450kg.

“We were introduced to Garry and Bev through a farm consultant who thought we’d be a good match, and we’re not going anywhere. They’re making it too comfortable,” smiles Craig.

“It’s a very quiet, comfortable, and warm dairy – all those good things. The stainless steel

is perfect, the way it’s been built makes it easy to keep clean, and the cow-flow is really good.”

Another inclusion has been a Wrangler hoof-care crush. Owned by Wilco and Waverley Klein Ovink, at Whakatãne, it teams efficiency with safety for the cow and the farmer. While primarily designed for feet, it’s also ideal for calving cows and any other handling requirements.

Innovation everywhere

While the big guns of the industry were all heavily involved in this build, there was plenty of opportunity for individuals and/or the next generation to shine.

Fraser ‘Spud’ Dawson, the foreman for

Dairy Tech South recommended MilktechNZ’s CR-1 Wi-Fidriven Electronic Cup Removers, claws, cluster shells.

As milking draws to a close, the dairy is still immaculate.

GT Chamberlain Builders Ltd, was on the frontline. He was responsible for the perfectly-aligned brick laying on the underpass running below the platform, which also links in with the yard. Garry and Bev were so impressed, they had a surprise sign made up, christening it: ‘Spud’s Underpass’.

One of Andrew’s younger team members, Jack McLaren, also got the chance to leave his mark on this dairy. He was tasked with finding a tidy

Bev says: “We do feel great pride when we come in here, and it always looks immaculate. I think we’re going to be coming in here and going ‘wow’ for many, many years”.

‘Music to our ears’

They started the build in March and were ready to move in at November but held off until January to get through mating and adjusting to the cow collars Craig and Heidi had fitted to the herd. Now they are settled in and enjoying the ride.

The LED lights on the MilktechNZ CR-1 Electronic Cup Removers are easy to spot from anywhere in the dairy. Note the stainless steel sheeted entry to the bridge so cows aren’t distracted by the milking team.

MilktechNZ’s CR-1 Wi-Fi-driven Electronic Cup Removers, claws, and retention straps in full workhorse mode.

When the 50-bail rotary dairy was built on Ben and Wendy Croft’s Culverden farm it featured bails which were set on an angle, to facilitate cow flow off the platform.

“You can see the logic,” Ben admits “but the angle impacted negatively on the way the clusters sat, more often tilting to one side and contributing to a degree of mastitis – not to mention odd-shaped udders”.

Ben and Wendy have a multi-year strategy to progressively upgrade the dairy and changing the alignment of the bails wasn’t a viable option. “Because that would mean an extensive rebuild of the platform and yards. The existing platform worked well, so we focused on modifications which would enhance its performance,” says Ben.

First up were electronic cup removers, bail restraints and automatic teat spray – “however because cup removers work on flow and drop off when this falls, we were concerned we could have a lot of mastitis or have to cull cows with udders which had been ‘shaped’ by the existing cluster alignment”.

Right person

“In hindsight, however, we needn’t have worried because we got the right person in to do the job.”

The ‘right person’ was Rob Morris from Morrison Agri. “Rob took us to another shed with the type of set-up he thought we needed. After watching a milking and seeing how it worked, we felt confident to go back to our equity partners and recommend that this was the way to go.”

Ben and Wendy are in their eighth season

as equity partners/managers in an equity organisation that owns five farms. The 245 effective hectare property milks 930 cows at peak. Wendy works off the farm but is very involved in the farm.

“Working with equity partners requires a consultative mindset and framework so the practical and economic logic of strategic decisions can be considered – the visit to the other farm provided that logic,” says Ben.

Fabricate modifications

Rob Morris says Morrison Agri’s ability to fabricate modifications inhouse gives them an edge when it comes to tailoring a solution for dairy sheds like Ben and Wendy’s.

“The team spent some time working with the angles in Ben and Wendy’s shed to develop something which would ensure the clusters sat squarely under each cow so the

cup removers and bail restraints would work effectively,” says Rob.

“We changed the way the rubberware works – the rubbers/droppers used to go out from underneath the skirting so we changed that so it now goes through ports on the deck and inside the steel-side poles on the right of each bail with stainless steel tubes which contain the pulsator and milk lines.

“The ‘tubes’ are contained within a cover which prevents cows stepping on the rubbers.”

The result, Ben says, is that the clusters sit squarely under each cow with faster, more efficient milk flow.

Less mastitis

“Our concern about cows with uneven udders was unfounded, as the cows milk well so the bail restraints work as they should; and, overall, we have less mastitis.”

Clare Bayly

Clare

The centre pit during the upgrade.

The rotary set-up before the upgrade.

The new gear in the shed, with the upgrade complete.

Talking to New Farm Dairies midway through the 2022/2023 season, Ben recalls the refit was done during June/July 2022, ready for calving.

“When it came to the building process Morrisons were awesome to work with. They made up prototypes of the modifications they were going to do so we could see them in position, and then went away, manufactured the end product and then retrofitted it into the dairy.

“If you walked into the dairy today, you’d think the setup is as it’s always been,” says Ben.

“This has always been a ‘hands-on’ farm. We graze the herd in two mobs, our collection yard is relatively small, so there would always be two people in the shed milking and one

bringing the next mob in.

“Installing cup removers meant the second and third guy would get a break from milking and be able to devote time to getting things done around the farm like moving the irrigators.

“We’d also been on manual chains to hold the cows on the platform, which was labourintensive and required a point of decision on the part of the milker ie should I leave her on for another revolution or let her off? That lead to a risk of over or under milking of cows. Now, the bail gate restraints, controlled by the cup removers, simplify and streamline the entire process enabling a new level of efficiency and animal health.

“Similarly, teat spraying was previously manual whereas now our automatic teat spray

ensures that every udder gets sprayed evenly, every time.”

Ben says there has been “a huge payback to what we invested from an efficiency and people perspective”.

E˜ ciency

“On the efficiency front, we are pumping through 330 cows an hour now in the mornings and 400 in the afternoon and those cows will do 480kg ms to 500 kg ms each. Before we installed cup removers and bail restraints, we averaged 280 cows per hour in the morning and 300 to 320 per hour in the afternoon.

“When it comes to people, like most dairy farms we are traditionally short-staffed during calvings but the enhancements we made this

season has taken the pressure off our team.

“For example, when one member of the team left in late-August there was no panic as we were able to manage well with the people we had on hand – thanks to the increased efficiency of the shed.

“And when one of our team had a new addition to his family I was able to give him two weeks off, something which wouldn’t have been as easy before.”

Ben and Wendy are quick to praise the innovation and ‘can do’ attitude of Morrison Agri.

“They are perfectionists, really particular about getting everything setup exactly as it should be, so it’s right from the start.

“We are really impressed with them – their work ethic is next-level and the team is awesome to work with.”

Work taking place on the upgrade.

The walk-on platform with the new equipment.

Milking taking place in the newlyupgraded shed at Culverden.

The new equipment installed.

During the upgrade to install electronic cup removers, bail restraints and automatic teat spray.

e preferred milking g systems s partner r for r Dairy y Farmers

Succession is a serious business for Drew Horn. Drew has three sons – Baylee, 22, Boston, 20, and Flynn, 13 – and his primary focus is to see all of them established on

It’s a lofty goal, and he’s drawing closer to achieving it. To get there, Drew has worked hard with his business partner Luke Campbell for close to 20 years. The pair have leveraged off simultaneous 50/50 sharefarming positions across multiple properties to build the equity they’ve needed to each take another step.

Drew says the secret to running the successful partnership during two decades is much like “a marriage” and it involved compromises. The pair have now refined their business holdings to an 1100ha farm at Kurow milking 1600 cows on the south bank of the Waitaki River, 60 kilometres northwest of Oamaru. Luke oversees it.

Drew watches over 216ha Alpro Farms Ltd

at Rakaia milking 750 cows in two herds, and another 1200-cow farm 3km away. Alpro Farms has been sharefarmed by Irishman Pat Murphy and his wife, Steph, for the last four years. The couple will move into their first full ownership role on a new farm next season.

First serious move

It means 2023-2024 will be the first serious move by Baylee and Boston to follow their father, as they take the reins for the new season. The brothers will assume control of the property, which includes the 50-bail rotary dairy that has had a major operational facelift in the last 12 months. The dairy is the hub for two herds – split by age.

Alpro Farms was one of the first Bankside conversions in Mid-Canterbury. It was converted in 1996, and the upgrades over the years had been minimal.

Drew says their pain-point to spend into the six figures on an internal gut of the dairy came down to some simple decisions.

“The labour problem was the biggest thing,” says Drew. “There is a shortage of the next generation who want to milk cows. I wanted to have a one-man cowshed on a rotary.

“We needed to completely modernise the system. What we had was functional, but when you considered our labour challenges and the time constraints we were facing, there were efficiencies to be had by making this change now.”

The dairy gut was completed in one month with the cows being milked in it twice-a-day.

Their trusted dairy advisors, MorrisonAgri’s Robert Morris and Permbrand’s Phill Shaw were in on the brainstorming conversations early. Drew’s natural ability around engineering would prove to be a valuable set of hands during the process.

Big and small changes

The changes have included a number of subtle modifications, and just as many significant overhauls. The result is that production was up 13 per cent for the month of December – and four per cent for the entire season to date. It takes around 30 minutes less to milk, and the herd’s Somatic Cell Count has dropped from an average of 150,000 to 120,000.

BIO LOO

BIO LOO

Photos: Laurens Rutten.

their own farms within his lifetime.

Sharemilker

The complete upgrade – including a full overhaul of the grain-feeding system – took one month. It was achieved in between milkings –at the start of calving.

The impact of including Automatic Cluster Removers was one of the immediate and obvious changes.

“It has allowed for a lot more flexibility around things,” says Drew. “We only need one person to do the milking, and another to get cows.

“Previously we needed three people to milk –and, if there was only two of us, as soon as we got to the end of the first herd, one of us had to shoot out and get the second group, so we’d be stalled for half an hour. It added quite a lot to the milking time.

“The ACRs give us a greater degree of flexibility, and if there is only two of us on

the place still runs quite easily.” Drew says rather than cutting staff, they chose to make everyone’s life simpler.

“We usually run with a staff of four, including myself. So, we are sitting on a ‘six and two’ roster, and we have three people on most days. It means everyone is doing a 10-hour day. This government wants town hours, and the people have their family, and they want to be home for dinner.

Frees up time

“The ACRs allows the third person to go and do other stuff around the farm – be that maintenance or looking after other farm jobs. It makes everything happen in a more timely and efficient manner.

“By using everyone more economically we

now also have better working hours. In the six days on, our team has one, if not two, late morning starts at 7am, rather than what it used to be at 6am when the second herd came in.”

MorrisonAgri is the agent for Waikato Milking System and Robert recommended their 320 High Performance cluster with ACRs. The bigger bowl allows for faster milk throughput, thus lowering the running costs, and importantly gets the cows back to their paddock faster.

“The very first night the cows milked out in three-quarters of the time, because of the extra capacity,” says Drew.

An added feature has been a fixed-point take-off system which is built into the ACR software, and an automatic in-bail teat spray –SmartSPRAY – which was added in February

2023. Herd management software is likely to follow in time.

The SmartSPRAY happens within five to seven seconds of the clusters coming off the cow; as the teat orifice takes 20-25 seconds to close after milking is completed. By standardising and automating the amount of chemical to 25ml per cow, together with the added surety of the cow leg positioning –which includes the SmartSPRAY system – it has added another welcome layer of consistency to the milking.

Cluster change

The cluster change was supported by a switch to the G2 Cluster Washer, which literally flipped the jetter positioning conversation on its ear.

This ‘before’ (left) and ‘after’ (right) shot clearly shows the new streamlined cluster positioning, pictured during early stages of installation. The new cluster washers now hang upside down above the platform just below the teardrop – well out of the way of the cows’ feet.

Pat Murphy is joined by Permbrand’s Phill Shaw, Baylee Horn, and MorrisonAgri’s Robert Morris.

Permbrand’s Phill Shaw oversaw the grain system overhaul.

Photo: Laurens Rutten.

The new jetters are no longer “deck-mounted” with rigid plastic heads. They have rubber cups which, in practical terms, makes it faster and a more natural movement to attach the cluster post-milking. The Cluster Washers hang upside down above the platform just below the teardrop – well out of the way of the cows’ feet. “We no longer require that vacuum to lift the milk during milking, thanks to the newly installed deck-ports, because it’s all done by gravity now.

“It also allows for a more stable vacuum at the teat-end, which minimises cup slip and creates a smoother and faster milking.”

Drew says it has also been comforting to see the centred cluster alignment on the cows,

which naturally promotes a more even milk-out.

The new BP400 Variable Speed Drive pump has saved power and transformed the room it’s housed in from an oil and watersoaked slick mess into a dry, warm area.

Quieter

The Blower Vacuum Pump features a VSD, which helps the blower perform quietly while maintaining accurate airflow on-demand. They do not need to be oiled regularly outside of an annual maintenance check, or have any water lubrication. The Sema VSD uses digital sensors to monitor and control the vacuum level.

“Drew made that decision to get power usage down, and to get away from water and oil in that room,” says Robert. “I’ve got ‘before’ and ‘after’

photos of that room, and there is no comparison.

“It’s now a dry, warm room. It also helps with vacuum stability out of the cluster as well. If a set of cups falls off, restoring and maintaining vacuum is instantaneous. It’s also quieter, obviously, and will save power and water.”

Grain system overhaul

The grain system comes under the ‘major overhaul’ ticket. The cows used to have vinyl sack in front of them, which carried 1kg of barley to each cow.

Phill described it as a “step back in time”. With the crossbred herd averaging 430kg ms a cow – and Drew wanting to lift that to 550kg ms per cow – wasting grain with an outdated system was a massive concern and a potential money-waster.

They had one silo before the overhaul. It included an old roller mill and there was often whole grain in the cows’ manure in the yard. Drew didn’t hold back on this part of the upgrade.

They cut everything out and installed stainless steel trays, which they describe as a “night and day” difference. They also added two new silos and they went straight to the top shelf and added a Skiold disc mill. Phill says the European manufacturer it’s always his recommendation.

“Roller mills have a tendency to have less spring tension and more grain slips through, which is bad for the cows and bad for farmer because they see their money sitting in their yard,” says Phill.

The new BP400 blower vacuum pump with a 15KW motor (underneath) is controlled by a Sema VSD on the wall.

The uncluttered deckport now includes 320 High Performance clusters with Automatic Cup Removers and SmartSPRAY bullets. The top-of-the-range Skiold disc mill made a ‘night’ and ‘day’ difference to the grain utilisation at Alpro Farms Ltd at Rakaia.

The new disc mill cuts the grain, and the ultimate beauty of this Rolls Royce choice lies in its simplicity. “It’s just the motor with the disc,” says Phill. “The maintenance is just nothing. Drew has gone from roughly a 15KW motor down to a 7.5KW motor. It has half the power consumption, it’s quieter, it does such a better job, and the cows are doing better off it.”

Stoked

Drew agrees. “We are stoked with it, and it’s so quiet in operation. When you get a stone through a roller mill, they jam up and we have to come out of the dairy and fix it. This one is a lot easier, there’s less maintenance, and we only have to change blades every six months.

“I like the modern technology of cracking or

chipping the grain, rather than rolling it, which means the cows can digest a lot more now than they used to be able to with the old system,” says Drew.

The new autofeed system – which can automatically blend three feeds in differing amounts – is driven by a laser system, which has been developed by Permbrand. It never misses a cow and it won’t feed her a second time around. The stainless steel feeders offer longevity.

“Stainless is easy cleaning, and easy to maintain,” says Phill. “A cow’s saliva eats into the galvanising on the other finishes. And, with the stainless steel, they look at themselves in the mirror and think how good they are.”

The system has been tailor-made for Alpro Farms. “We bring all the main components

in from Europe, the silos are made locally in Timaru, and all the augers are made in Ashburton,” says Phill. “We can also manufacture in our Rolleston workshop, which gives us the ability to tailor-make systems to order.”

Clever system

He reckon this system is clever and cost effective for what it does. “We can feed different ratios of palm kernel to grain, and it will also work with systems that do individualise feeding.”

Phill says grain feeding upgrades have been on the climb, and Permbrand had completed roughly 20 grain feeding conversions last year.

“Big feeders get big money and small feeders

get small money. If you don’t put the input in, you won’t get the output,” says Phill.

In all, Drew says the changes had made their days easier, and by reclaiming efficiencies in their business he is comfortable that he’s setting his sons up for success.

“At the moment, it’s made things easier for the manager, but longer-term I think – with the more accurate grain feeding and other time savings – it should all help in the bigger picture.”

Drew is on track to step aside and to step back, knowing he has done everything in his power to underwrite the next generation.

“My goal is to get this going with two of my sons next year, then to put some money aside to buy another farm in five years. I know I’m not getting any younger.”

An uncluttered deck is safer for the cows and the equipment.

MorrisonAgri’s Robert Morris is happy to see the cows flowing through the new dairy with ease.

Labour challenges prompted Drew Horn and business partner Luke Campbell to give the 50-bail rotary on one of their farms a major operational facelift.

“Effluent made easy”

“Effluent made easy”