Lye Farm

Welcome to DairyNZ's Lye Farm. Home to world class udder health and intensive indoor nutrition research.

This page contains a short farm profile and information on research conducted on Lye Farm.

• Focus
• Farm profile
• Main Functions

Focus

Commissioned in 2002, Lye Farm is home to some of the most advanced indoor dairy research facilities in the southern hemisphere. Activities on this farm focuses on milk harvesting and intensive indoor research work.

Need a Research Venue

Developed for the advancement of the pastoral based New Zealand dairy industry, we also offer the use of this facility to other research organisations for research projects that will benefit our dairy farmers.

Farm profile

Farm area	100 ha (effective 95 ha)
Milking cows	330 (1 Dec 2003, Depends on scientific requirements)
Soil type and fertility	Mainly Peaty Silt Loams
Paddocks	93 paddocks of 1 ha each
Dairy infrastructure Cows on the rotary milking system	30-bail rotary dairy with: automatic cow ID, daily electronic milk weight recording and measured in-bail feeding associated milking annex with: three bail tandem dairy (Used for udder health and milking technology studies) single sided 8 bail herringbone dairy (Used for intensive milk measuring studies) These facilities allows more intensive milk sampling and milking machine cow interaction studies to be undertaken, including udder health. Animal barns: Used for indoor feeding trials Supplementary feeding barn Long-term free stalls for housing cows over long periods Intensive feeding barn incorporating electronic gates at each feeding bail to allow individual intake measurement Metabolism stalls with 16 bails for intensive input-output studies and a roofed feeding pad The facilities are used for intensive feeding and nutritional studies providing information on: cow nutrition reproduction and milk characteristics methane output Laboratories: Bacteriological and field laboratories

Main Functions

Research

At Lye Farm, modern facilities make it possible for DairyNZ scientists to focus research on milk harvesting and intensive indoor work.

Three-ball tandem designed for udder health and milking technology studies.

State of the art rotary and herringbone dairy facilities are used for:

• Udder health and milking technology studies
• Intensive milk measuring studies

Pristine indoor barn facilities are used for intensive feeding and nutritional studies providing information on:

• cow nutritionre
• production and milk characteristics
• methane output

Event venue

Farmers attend a condition scoring presentation at the annual DairyNZ field day in March.

Undercover facilities make Lye Farm a popular venue for field days and various other farmer events.

Scott Farm and Greenfield automatic farm, together with Lye Farm, often form part of various dairying events and touring programmes showcasing the New Zealand dairying industry.

Identical twin herd

Lye Farm is home to the only identical twin herd in the world with more than 75 twin sets. Herds comprised of identical twins form the basis of many DairyNZ research activities. As identical twins have similar genetic composition, the number of animals required for research trials may be reduced without compromising project outcomes due to small herd sizes. With fewer genetic variables to contend with, trial results may be more reliable than when using animals of very different genetic strains.

Some examples where twin animals are used effectively include reproduction trials, milk production trials and udder health (susceptability to mastitis).

Identical twin herd eases research worries - Dexcelink Winter 2005

Every year DairyNZ purchases identical twin heifer calves born July/August to supplement its herd. We appreciate enquiries from farmers who are considering selling such calves.