Budgeting, Medium Input (Canterbury)

• The farm produced 371,400 kgMS for the season. This was 3% up on budget.
• The season has been wetter than average, although late November was quite hot which did affect the cows. Summer was wet and cloudy with soil temperatures lower than average. The late autumn was exceptional with good pasture growth and less irrigation required.
• 730 cows were milked for the month of May which resulted in 204,976 cow milking days.
• The last milking was May 28th,2025 and the cows went to grazing soon after this.
• Using fodder beet as an autumn feed and not just for transition has helped contribute to the strong autumn finish for the farm by providing a bulk of high ME, low cost feed. Yields this year were excellent at 27 t DM/ha and at those yields the cost of the fodder beet this year was $0.12/kg DM. From early April the crop was fed at 4 kgDM/cow of fodder beet with the levels of crop increasing through May. 1.5 ha’s of the crop are still available and will be fed out in August to the late calvers. The fodder beet crop is all finished now, and all the cows are at winter grazing as at 28th May.
• Pasture cover for the end of May was 1930kgsDM/ha which exceeded the target of 1900kgsDM/ha.
• Supplements on hand at the 31st May were 430 bales baleage which equates to 131.5 tDM. This compares with having no supplements on hand at the end of the previous two seasons.
• The growth rates and feed on hand through May enabled more cows to be milked to the end of the month without compromising cow condition or pasture cover. BCS average for the herd at 31st May was 4.6.
• It has been a focus in this higher payout year to ensure costs are controlled so that the increase in payout is captured as profit.
• The farm is well set up for the coming season.
• Nitrogen use for the season was on budget at 184 kgN/ha.

Mission
To create a financially secure group of businesses that allows all participants to thrive – and continues to sustainably serve communities for generations to come.
"The Camden Way"

• People/Community: Provide our employees with a safe and supportive working environment. Be respectful, honest and open with them and recognise and encourage their individual personal development and goals. Be recognised as a preferred employer by the farming industry. Be positive and supportive of the communities in which we live.
• Animals: Be respectful and take good care of the animals that we farm. We are committed to meeting all the animal welfare needs of the animals we farm.
• Soil, water & air: Operate our farming business to have the least possible impact on the natural environment, with the goal of leaving it in an improved state.
• Technology/Farm Systems: Utilise effective technologies in our farming systems to achieve our broader aims. We want to be involved with the leading farmer organisations and be early adaptors of positive change.
• Compliance: Where possible endeavour to operate at standards that are higher than the minimum compliance standard, working with all industry partners to achieve this.
• Financial: Strive to operate a profitable, sustainable and resilient business.
• Risk: Identify the major risks to our business and where possible utilise tools to mitigate and manage the risk.

Management
The farm operation is supported by Camden Group Services, a business services group which support all six farms. This includes farm management oversight and administration and financial management, the cost of which is charged to Camden Dairy at market rates.

Budgeting
Budgeting is drafted by the Camden Group Services team in consultation with Farm Managers and 2ICs and is approved by the Directors prior to the start of each season. The budget is monitored and reviewed frequently using an online farm accounting software package and budget v actual variance reports.  The budget is updated in more detail for quarterly board meetings, so an accurate forecast of the year-end view is established. This gives the Board the ability to plan ahead in making decisions on dividends and future capital expenditure

Co-operative difference
Since the 2021-22 season the farm has achieved the standards required to receive a Fonterra Co-operative difference of up to 9.8 cents/kg MS. This is above the company average. Undertaking the work needed for this has been beneficial for the farm and farm staff as it has helped to show what “good” looks like.

Networking
Camden Group management value the benefits gained from being involved in community and industry projects and networking with their peers.

• The farm is well subdivided, (33 paddocks 6.0.9.0 ha each, 2 wire electric fencing), with good internal laneways.

• An independent stock water well and reticulation system provides all stock water. There are two 1,300 litre troughs in each paddock. A dosatron inline dispense is installed for delivery of minerals.

• The farm has minimal machinery, and a plant replacement policy that includes turnover of bikes at 15,000 km. This keeps R & M costs low but does have a higher capital cost.

• The aim is to winter 780 cows and in calf heifers, all off farm on Camden group owned support blocks.

• All young stock are grazed off farm, with weaners off farm by 1st December.

• Pasture management and feed budgeting are given priority. Farm cover is measured and feed budgets updated weekly for 9 months of the year.

• Spring Rotation Planner is followed from 1 Aug, to balance date around 25th Sep, on a 24 day round from there until 1 March, then an autumn planner is used.

• Spring surpluses are managed with planned regrassing program, (12-15% /year permanent pasture), & silage made if there is an unmanageable surplus. Quality is king, correct round length is vital with the aim to fully feed cows 100% of the time. Post grazing residual 1500-1600 KgDM/ha is the aim.

• Achieving recommended cow condition and pasture cover targets for the farm at key times are critical, and decisions for culling and drying off are based on feed budgets, cow condition scores and calving dates

• Pasture
  The farm is in a status quo position now for re-grassing as the whole farm has been re-pastured within the last 10 years. Approximately 12-15% of the farm is being regrassed each year to improve pasture species. This is done as grass to grass and regrassing the crop area in the spring using a pasture seed mix of dairy diploid rye grass and white clover direct drilled. The permanent pasture is usually in the grazing rotation by late December. 
• Weeds
  The main weed problem is nodding thistles which are managed with some winter weed spraying or through the regrassing programme which includes each year putting the two most weed infested paddocks through a cropping rotation first, (brassica or annual rye grass).
• Crop
  From 2024-25 the cropping programme is about 6 ha of fodder beet for autumn milking cow feed and for transitioning milking cows in May prior to going to winter grazing. The winter crop area is part of the total spring regrassing programme.
• Supplements purchased
  Most of the silage purchased is sourced “in house” from within the Camden Group. About 600 kgDM/cow is baleage. 
  About 150 kgDM/cow of Proliq is imported.
• Usually about 100 t DM is carried into the winter for springers and to cover any short term deficits for the milkers in early spring.
• Supplements made on the milking platform
  The plan is to have sufficient cow numbers to harvest all the pasture so usually no supplement is made on the milking area. Taking paddocks out of rotation for regrassing in the spring helps to manage pasture surpluses without needing to use a mower.
• Irrigation
  Moisture and evapotranspiration levels are monitored on farm, and water use is budgeted. This information is used in daily irrigation planning to ensure costs are kept down and the irrigation carried out is effective.
  Irrigation is provided by:
• 108 ha – 753m Centre pivot (installed 2014)
  60 ha – 600m Centre pivot (installed 2019)
  44 ha – G-set sprinklers in corners
• Winter grazing
  The herd is grazed off on average for 9 weeks on Camden group owned support blocks.
• Young stock
  The last of the calves leave the farm as weaners by 1st December. They return to the farm mid-July 1st as in calf heifers. They are grazed on support land owned by Camden Group. All costs are at market rates.
• Feed quality
  Pasture and baleage samples are regularly analysed during the year so that the quality of feed available is known. This allows better allocation of feed to ensure the best quality feed is given to the milking cows which assists in ensuring the cows are fully feed.
  the average pasture quality for during the spring and early summer 24-25 season was over 12.00 MJME/kgDM.

• Protrack is used on this farm.
• The herd has a BW of 259/46 and a PW of 304/63, as at 1/1/2023.
• Herd testing is carried out 4 times a year with 2 tests over two milking and two tests from one milking.
• Empty high BW/PW young cows are sold to the group support enterprise each year and maybe purchased back as in calf cows the following year.
• The herd has a replacement rate of 23% each year, made up of in calf heifers and some in calf carryover cows.
• About 185 replacement heifer calves are reared each year, on whole milk, meal, pasture and hay. They are weaned off milk at 70 kg liveweight, (LW), and continue to get crushed barley and fresh pasture until they reach 100 kg LW. Up to 1.5 t of milk powder may be used each year to top up the fresh milk supply.
• Mating starts 23 October and is for 9.5 weeks. AI is used for the first 5 weeks, made up of 3 weeks using 60% premier sires, 20% sexed semen and 20% beef semen, (for lower genetic merit cows). Weeks 4 and 5 are with compact calving “dairy” semen. 
  About 20 Jersey bulls, (leased in-house), are used for the last 4.5 weeks of mating and are withdrawn from the herd 27 December.
• Heifers are run with about 20 Jersey bulls, (leased in-house).
• Pregnancy testing is carried out at 35 days after mating has finished. A second pregnancy is done late April/early May to identify any final empties.
• No anoestrous or synchrony treatments are used.
• The approach to animal health is to be vigilant, keep good records and be proactive. Metabolic diseases are not an issue as supplementation can be made easily through the metered inline water dispenser.
• The average bulk somatic cell count for the herd is below 130,000. The animal health budget includes dry cow therapy for the herd, and teat sealing, (including the in-calf heifers). This accounts for about 1/4-1/3 of the total animal health budget. 
  The incidence of lameness varies (3-8% of the herd), but is mostly treated in-house so is not a large direct cost. Laminitis can occur in December/January with the change in feed quality.

• The farm operation employs 4.5 FTE, made up of one farm manager, one 2IC and two senior farm staff. A seasonal worker is employed from July to January to cover calving, calf rearing, mating and annual leave commitments.
• The average length of employment is about 4 years, with most staff being promoted within the business and only leaving to move to being self-employed, (contract milking, sharemilking or equity partnerships).
• Farm systems and processes for employment and health and safety meet best practice standards and are in line with “The Camden Way”. The team pride themselves on a proactive health, safety and well being culture, and the Board of Directors take particular interest in this too.

• Soil testing
  The soil test for 2023-24, coverd 5 sites having full tests done and all paddocks tested for pH and phosphate levels. The results are: pH  6.2 Phosphate 30.6 Potash 7.3 Sulphate Sulphur 7.8
• Fertiliser
  Fertiliser applied each year are based on soil tests and nutrient budgets. Nutrients applied (kg/ha) are: Phosphate 25-30 Potash 0-5 Sulphate Sulphur 55-65 
• Nitrogen
  Nitrogen use is about 180-190 kg N/ha, usually applied at 22.5 kg N/ha over 8 applications.
  Product used is Ammonium sulphate for the first application, then urea, with N protect used during hotter weather or when there might be a delay between application and irrigation.
• Nutrient loss
  The trends in nutrient loss on Camden are similar to the situation of what has occurred on dairy farms throughout Canterbury historically. The first graph is taken from Overseer for Camden Dairy Farms Ltd. The second is from the November 2023 publication “Trends in nitrogen loss from Canterbury Dairy Farms”. The result of improvement in on-farm efficiencies such as irrigation and effluent management, fertiliser use and supplement feeding have all contributed to the improvement.

The analysis found that across about 302,000 hectares of dairy production land, the mean nitrogen loss per hectare in 2016-17 was 63.8 kg per hectare. This had reduced to 46.2 kg per hectare in 2021-22.

• Effluent
  Effluent is spread via the irrigation system to 110 ha, (51% of the farm). The farm has 30 days of pond storage.
  Application is via guns underslung on large pivot and Pluck LP35E Irrigator (2012) with drag hose
  Regional Council consents to dispose of 15m3/day - valid to 2029.