Interesting reading on NZ system

blackdog1

Article in International dairy topics

Bactidiaryl

blackdog1 wrote: »

Article in International dairy topics

Let them at it. Good news for us.

John_F

more here http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11193262

one of the arguments in favour of nocton dairy unit in the uk was that there would be less nutrient run off, less leaching of N cos it would be spread evvenly and not in one patch around water toughs and entrances to paddocks.
as sheebadog said in another thread, to keep growing a dairy unit moving indoors is inevitable. consumer views would be different though

blackdog1

Bactidiaryl wrote: »

Let them at it. Good news for us.

The problem is teagasc are going down the nz system. Nz are going down the feeding system because they think its more profitable. Our whole ebi is based on the nz system. .so where are we heading and should the ebi be more weighted for milk production and slightly reduced for fertility? Or should we be aiming for bulls with +300kg in milk not this +100-200 kg bull?

mahoney_j

blackdog1 wrote: »

The problem is teagasc are going down the nz system. Nz are going down the feeding system because they think its more profitable. Our whole ebi is based on the nz system. .so where are we heading and should the ebi be more weighted for milk production and slightly reduced for fertility? Or should we be aiming for bulls with +300kg in milk not this +100-200 kg bull?

Ai companies this spring are looking for bulls over 100 on milk sub index of ebi as a lot of herds have become seriously fertile but at the expense of milk kg.think that answers the question.

Timmaay

blackdog1 wrote: »

The problem is teagasc are going down the nz system. Nz are going down the feeding system because they think its more profitable. Our whole ebi is based on the nz system. .so where are we heading and should the ebi be more weighted for milk production and slightly reduced for fertility? Or should we be aiming for bulls with +300kg in milk not this +100-200 kg bull?

It all depends on yourown herd, the overall EBI can't be relied on alone, if you got a herd of high yielding HOs with a poor CI then you need a higher fertility bull, if your cows go back in calf every year but milk like goats then its production your looking for, has always been the way. I'll admit to just picking on overall EBI before, that was back when I had very little knowledge on breeding, I thankfully haven't been long educating myself!

Gillespy

Fair and balanced bit of journalism there, Sue. There's a role for you here somewhere if you can't stomach the way farming in NZ is going. The hyperbole though.

Joe Schmidt and Brent Pope are the only Kiwis I listen to. :cool:

charleysurf

blackdog1 wrote: »

The problem is teagasc are going down the nz system. Nz are going down the feeding system because they think its more profitable. Our whole ebi is based on the nz system. .so where are we heading and should the ebi be more weighted for milk production and slightly reduced for fertility? Or should we be aiming for bulls with +300kg in milk not this +100-200 kg bull?

I keep reading that teagasc are going down the nz route on boards and I'm just wondering where's that's coming from, from any teagasc event I've been at there advocating feeding 500kgs of ration in their ideal system or 7-10% of the cows requirement. a true nz system has no feed brought into the farm and is grass only, you calve down the herd to grass in the spring cut silage in summer to buffer in the autumn and then dry off in accordance to grass growth in the winter. if anything nz farmers are going more to an irish model of production by supplement at the shoulders with pke.

on going down the feeding system, its not being driven by profitability, look whos promoting the idea, its not their research organisation dairynz its their milk processor, who basically wants more milk to sell. Fonterra are also getting concerned about all the recent conversions and the impact these new farms are having on the environment and more importantly the image. pollution caused by overstocking in some sensitive areas is damaging their previous green image and thus hitting their ability to move product.

not fully sure that the ebi is based on a nz system, the whole logic of it being more weighted to fertility is that in a seasonal production model, fertility plays a huge rule in the profitability of the system and currently the national averages for 6 week incalf, calving interval etc mean that lactations aren't close to the 305 days.

charleysurf

mahoney_j wrote: »

Ai companies this spring are looking for bulls over 100 on milk sub index of ebi as a lot of herds have become seriously fertile but at the expense of milk kg.think that answers the question.

the national average in fertility is improving slightly but I wonder is that more to do with the high replacement rates (younger cows are always more fertile) that are on many farms at the minute due to quotas going. there are a lot of very young herds out there with farmers breeding as many replacements as possible, I've seem herds with over 33% replacement rates because he didn't want to sell these animals and so culled older cows that had low ebi etc. personally I'd be worried about the fertility of these replacements as some fellows are introducing replacements off cows that have repeated up to 3 times just so that he can have stock on the ground to expand.

John_F

there are 5 different systems as it is in NZ,

System 1 - All grass self contained, all stock on the dairy platform
No feed is imported. No supplement fed to the herd except supplement harvested off the effective milking area and dry cows are not grazed off the effective milking area.

System 2 - Feed imported, either supplement or grazing off, fed to dry cows
Approx 4 - 14% of total feed is imported. Large variation in % as in high rainfall areas and cold climates such as Southland, most of the cows are wintered off.

System 3 - Feed imported to extend lactation (typically autumn feed) and for dry cows
Approx 10-20% of total feed is imported. Westland - feed to extend lactation may be imported in spring rather than autumn.

System 4 - Feed imported and used at both ends of lactation and for dry cows
Approx 20 - 30% of total feed is imported onto the farm.

System 5 - Imported feed used all year, throughout lactation & for dry cows
Approx 25 - 40% (but can be up to 55%) of total feed is imported.

*Note: Farms feeding 1-2kg of meal or grain per cow per day for most of the season will best fit in System 3.


http://www.dairynz.co.nz/page/pageid/2145861231/The_5_Production_Systems

charleysurf

the current system teagasc are promoting is a similar I effect to system 2.

System 2 - Feed imported, either supplement or grazing off, fed to dry cows
Approx 4 - 14% of total feed is imported. Large variation in % as in high rainfall areas and cold climates such as Southland, most of the cows are wintered off.

in the dairy exporter this month john roche a former teagasc scientist now working with dairynz saying the following about Ireland. teagasc believes system 2 is the most resilient because it is a low-cost, low input production system that can act as a buffer to the volatility of commodity markets. and if the price of supplement was to increase it wouldn't cripple the business. teagasc is adamant, however that it won't create a similar system or give advice on different farm systems. they believe that romoting a system 1 to system 5 label creates acceptability to fit anywhere and they believe they'd be giving a mixed messages if they did so

frazzledhome

Charley, where have you been hiding?

You'll find many deaf ears here I fear

C0N0R

John_F wrote: »

there are 5 different systems as it is in NZ,

System 1 - All grass self contained, all stock on the dairy platform
No feed is imported. No supplement fed to the herd except supplement harvested off the effective milking area and dry cows are not grazed off the effective milking area.

System 2 - Feed imported, either supplement or grazing off, fed to dry cows
Approx 4 - 14% of total feed is imported. Large variation in % as in high rainfall areas and cold climates such as Southland, most of the cows are wintered off.

System 3 - Feed imported to extend lactation (typically autumn feed) and for dry cows
Approx 10-20% of total feed is imported. Westland - feed to extend lactation may be imported in spring rather than autumn.

System 4 - Feed imported and used at both ends of lactation and for dry cows
Approx 20 - 30% of total feed is imported onto the farm.

System 5 - Imported feed used all year, throughout lactation & for dry cows
Approx 25 - 40% (but can be up to 55%) of total feed is imported.

*Note: Farms feeding 1-2kg of meal or grain per cow per day for most of the season will best fit in System 3.


http://www.dairynz.co.nz/page/pageid/2145861231/The_5_Production_Systems

I don't know of any system one farms, I know of a few twos and mostly threes and fours with the odd five. That's the way things are heading over here, well in the South Island anyway, go up north and you will find more system ones probably. A lot of farmers see the biggest restriction on them is the amount of land they have so are stocking to a higher rate and maximising the output from what they have. Things are going to change here in a few years though due to n leeching becoming a major issue and it's going to get tougher for the dairy man.

trixi2011

John_F wrote: »

there are 5 different systems as it is in NZ,

System 1 - All grass self contained, all stock on the dairy platform
No feed is imported. No supplement fed to the herd except supplement harvested off the effective milking area and dry cows are not grazed off the effective milking area.

System 2 - Feed imported, either supplement or grazing off, fed to dry cows
Approx 4 - 14% of total feed is imported. Large variation in % as in high rainfall areas and cold climates such as Southland, most of the cows are wintered off.

System 3 - Feed imported to extend lactation (typically autumn feed) and for dry cows
Approx 10-20% of total feed is imported. Westland - feed to extend lactation may be imported in spring rather than autumn.

System 4 - Feed imported and used at both ends of lactation and for dry cows
Approx 20 - 30% of total feed is imported onto the farm.

System 5 - Imported feed used all year, throughout lactation & for dry cows
Approx 25 - 40% (but can be up to 55%) of total feed is imported.

*Note: Farms feeding 1-2kg of meal or grain per cow per day for most of the season will best fit in System 3.


http://www.dairynz.co.nz/page/pageid/2145861231/The_5_Production_Systems

My farm over here in nz fits between system 2-3 all cows wintered off farm and whole crop silage imported to put on condition in late lactation. Plenty of silage made off the grazing block for supplementing during the year. The output per cow isn't huge but costs are really low and profit level are high