Eastern Southland Calving Barns and Pads Infrastructure Tour

The Warnocks will host us on their farm, sharing their experience with open-air, uncovered bark chip calving pads, which they have been using for the past six seasons. Their system incorporates an innovative design, including herd home style slatted concrete at the feed face to capture effluent while cows are feeding.

We’ll hear how the calving pads are integrated into their overall farm system, including their approach to effluent management, maintenance of the bark chip surface, and diet management through the transition period. They will also provide insights into animal health outcomes and broader management benefits.

We will then travel to Aerodrome Farm, where contract milkers Jimmy and Louise Purdon will host us and discuss their calving barn system. They are about to enter their fifth calving season using this infrastructure. The barn, which accommodates up to 120 cows at a time, is used exclusively for calving, with straw bedding applied daily using a blower system.

We’ll explore the day-to-day management of this system and discuss the impacts the calving barn has had on their farm, including transition feeding, animal health, calf mortality, feed utilisation, and effluent and nutrient management.

You will have the opportunity to see both systems in action with cows on the calving pads and in the calving barn, ask questions, and discuss the costs involved in operating each system.

Nick Ward from WM Environmental will also join us to outline consenting requirements for off-paddock infrastructure projects, including feed pads, wintering systems, and calving pads or barns.

Lunch kindly sponsored by ANZ.

Protect our industry - please arrive with clean boots to prevent the spread of disease, pest or weed.