Western Southland

Financial management

Key financial focus is to control costs and have low capital expenditure to enable aggressive debt repayment.
In house management of coding, GST, payroll, budgeting and variance reporting using Xero/Figured allows for frequent monitoring of cash position.
Fully review current position and update budget every quarter, with two to three catch ups with the accountant per year.

Benchmark

Use accountant benchmark data (from their own client database), and other local and industry information eg Woodlands research Farm

Environment

Follow best practice for late winter and early spring crop grazing to minimise pasture damage and runoff.
Future plans include native planting. Fonterra planting grant for 25-26 season has provided 200 plants for existing unproductive areas.
Currently in Fonterra's ecopond trial.  

Infrastructure

• The 575 cow herd is run in two mobs and milked through a 40 aside herringbone shed which has in shed feeding.
• The farm is flat and it is 1.5 km from the farm dairy to the furthest paddock (about a 0 minute walk).
• Tracks, fencing and water supply infrastructure are in good order and maintained regularly.
• Facilities for staff housing, calf rearing, implement and feed storage are good.
• The farm doesn't have any off-paddock infrastructure except a wood chip calving pad.

Policy

• The business is based on a farm production system 3-4, with a total of 1.7 t DM /cow imported feed (supplements and off farm grazing).
• Feeding decisions are based on a pasture first philosophy and supplementation is based around this.
• In-shed feeding is used throughout lactation, particularly to extend early and late lactation.
•  About 1 t DM /cow of imported feed is fed. Rates of feeding through the season vary depending on pasture supply.
• Silage/baleage, (made on farm), is only fed in the shoulders of the season and with crop in late winter/early spring.
• The herd is Jersey, and stocking rate sits around 3.4 cows/ha.
• All young stock are grazed at a third-party support block from weaning.
• Cows and in-calf heifers are wintered off farm for 8-9 weeks at third party grazing. 

Soil fertility, fertiliser and N applied
Follow Ballance recommendations and usually use close to 170-180 units of N/ha.
All paddock soil testing is done every 5 years. 
Crop paddocks are tested prior to planting.

Water use
Water supply is from a metered bore.
Use is monitored and reported every year as part of the consent.
Water quality is good.

Shelter and riparian planting
The farm has plenty of shelterbelts, predominantly Macrocarpa, which are trimmed every 3 years.

• Focus is on efficient pasture utilisation.
• Pasture surpluses in the spring and early summer are managed through the cropping and regrassing policy and harvesting for silage/baleage. 
• A larger area of the milking platform is removed to make silage in late January or early February.
• Balage is used on crop for cows to come back to after wintering and silage is used for springers on bark chip feed pad in paddocks.
• Weekly farm walks are completed on farm which are entered into MINDA Land and Feed.  Feed wedge information is utilised in terms of key pasture management decisions.   
• Attention is on minimising pasture damage from pugging, as the farm can experience very wet spring conditions. The soil typically can hold a lot of moisture which is when permanent damage can occur. 
• The farm has no infrastructure for standing stock off paddock, so wet periods are managed by proactively moving stock on. The feed budget factors in this extra grass used.
• The Spring Rotation Planner is used for the calving period, with the first round, (for a PSC of 10 August for MA cows), being targeted to finish after the 25th of September.  
• After balance date cows will be on a 23-day rotation through to Christmas, then budget on 25 days to end of January, then it will be pushed out to 30 days.  Aim is to be at 40 days in late April.
• On average  ha of Swedes are planted each year, which with baleage, is used for cows to come home to prior to calving.
• Silage/baleage is usually made on farm, (about 25 ha on average), but more can be sourced elsewhere in a lower growth year. 
• The aim is to regrass about 12-13% of effective farm area per year which is 22 ha per year. This is made up of 9-10% grass to grass and 3-4% crop to grass.
• Imported concentrates fed in a typical season are a mix of 80% PKE, 10% PKE 10, (10% molasses) and 10% DDG for a planned total of 575 t DM.

• The Jersey herd, is of high genetic merit with a herd average BW 194 and PW 208. Herd is not currently DNA tested but is joining the LIC SPS this season and will be tested going forward. 
• The 5-year average 6 Week in calf (WIC) is 72% and empty rate 10%. Typically, 50 CIDRs were used per year.
• The 2026-27 plan is to not use any CIDR’s or anoestrous treatments. 
• Mating is for 10 weeks, made up of 6 weeks of AB using Jersey semen, (bottom 30% on BW/PW mated to beef), then bulls run with herd for 4 weeks.
• 150 replacements are reared annually. Calves are reared on milk, meal and hay and weaned at 85 kg live weight.
• 4-day old Jersey bulls sold to a calf rearer and the balance of calves sold as bobbies.
• There is a strong focus on Body Condition score recommendations including any cows less than 4.5 BCS in March going on Once a Day milking.  All cows got to OAD form the beginning of May.
• Calibration of body condition scoring is done annually with the vet.
• There are no major metabolic issues as a proactive approach is taken to ensure supplementation is appropriate. Minerals are administered via Dosatron and an in shed feed crumble. This crumble use is being reviewed as it is a large cost.
• Average SCC is 140,000 to 150,000 (5 year average). Cows over 100,000 SCC are treated with dry cow therapy and teat seal, balance of herd including in-calf heifers are teat sealed only.

• 100% of the workforce is recruited through existing connections. 
• Staff retention is high No one has left business in five years, which is a credit to the farm manager and his team culture.
• Follow best practice for health and safety and have a good record.
• Have clear and simple policies that are easy to implement.
• There is frequent staff contact to ensure everything is on track.