THEMES 1 & 2
The Primary Growth Partnership pre-farm gate themes
are helping dairy farmers to sustainably produce milk to
meet market requirements
Some important outcomes in the last year are outlined
in this slide show
THEMES 1 & 2
Farmer Wellness & Wellbeing
Sustainable Dairying
• Nutrient management
• Effluent management
• Animal Welfare Management
Dairy Cattle – Genetic Gain
FARMER WELLNESS & WELLBEING
The Farmer Wellness & Wellbeing work addresses
wellbeing of farmers to minimise risks to the workforce and the
impact due to lost productivity.
Three types of activity:
 Deliver direct benefits to farmers, for example Health PitStops
and Mental Health 101 days
 Develop stakeholder relationships, through the Farmer Mental
Wellness Action Group
 Undertake underpinning research, for example stress and fatigue
research.
PITSTOP HEALTH CHECKS
FARMER WELLNESS & WELLBEING
In the past three years, Health PitStops have been offered to farming
men and women at dairying events across the country. Nearly 3,000
have participated.
The PitStop includes a free physical health check and an emotional
wellness screening.
The physical health checks are managed by the New Zealand Institute
for Rural Health, and AgResearch led the emotional wellness
screening.
40% of the 350 farmers that were identified as “at risk” through Health
PitStops consulted with their GP, and 35% took action to improve their
health.
MENTAL HEALTH 101 DAYS
FARMER WELLNESS & WELLBEING
A number of agencies have worked together to bring MH101 sessions to
rural professionals and farmers, since December 2012.
The session format was developed by Blueprint for Learning, a leading
provider of learning and development for people working in the mental
health and social service sectors .
Working together with the Ministry of Health and Dairy Women’s Network,
13 workshops were delivered nationally.
Participants now have the skills to effectively respond to
neighbours, friends, employees or clients who may be experiencing
stressful and difficult times.
STRESS & FATIGUE RESEARCH
FARMER WELLNESS & WELLBEING
Social research methods have been used to understand fatigue and
stress on dairy farms.
This will help farmers, who manage a complex biological system of
animals and land, wrapped up in a business with finances and staff.
Work on a dairy farm never really stops. Dairy farm staff typically work
long hours for parts of the year, and they can be isolated in rural areas. At
calving time in the spring, there is a lot happening, and it’s an important
season for the productivity of the farm.
Meanwhile, dairy farm ownership and management structures have
changed significantly in the past few decades. This is altering factors
such as levels of debt and motivation of workers.
Risk factors for stress and fatigue, identified in the research, are being
integrated into delivery of preventative actions throughout the industry.
NEW STRATEGY
FARMER WELLNESS & WELLBEING
Objective:
To address the health needs of the farm
workforce before they limit farm performance
by:
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Acting on the dairy-specific factors that
contribute to work-related injury, chronic
illness and burnout
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Brokering joint objectives with other key
stakeholders.
Early
response
Prevention
Reporting
dashboard
On-farm
Safety
THEMES 1 & 2
Farmer Wellness & Wellbeing
Sustainable Dairying
• Nutrient management
• Effluent management
• Animal Welfare Management
Dairy Cattle – Genetic Gain
SUSTAINABLE DAIRYING
The Train the trainer programme is working with rural
professionals to achieve a step change in the way knowledge
and technology is delivered to farmers.
It’s focused on five areas that will help dairying be sustainable:
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Nutrient management
Effluent management
Animal welfare management
Greenhouse gas management
People and farm system management.
It comprises:
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Training and certification for rural professionals
Accreditation for companies.
DairyNZ is working with relevant industry organisations to produce
and deliver these.
NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
There is increasing attention on the environmental footprint of the dairy
industry - and in particular impacts on freshwater quality.
Nutrients drive pasture production, but losses from farms to waterways
and lakes, particularly of nitrogen and phosphorus, can lead to
increased growth of weeds and algae.
Water then becomes restricted in its value for recreation, cultural and
other uses.
Nationally, there is a new requirement for water quality limits to be set
for regions and catchments.
The Nutrient Management project is making sure dairy farmers
get good nutrient management advice so they can plan
to efficiently use nutrients for on-farm production − and minimise
losses.
UPPER WAIKATO SUSTAINABLE MILK
PROJECT
The Upper Waikato Sustainable Milk Project is organising free,
one-on-one advice and support to 700 farms in the Upper Waikato
catchment.
The aims are to reduce nutrient and sediment loads going into the
Waikato River as well as improve water use efficiency on farm.
The Waikato River Authority-funded project is managed by DairyNZ and
strongly supported by the wider dairy industry, including Fonterra, Open
Country and Miraka dairy companies.
This project applies outcomes from the wider nutrient management
work in the Primary Growth Partnership programme, using rural
professionals certified as Nutrient Management advisers and delivering
Sustainable Milk Plans.
SUSTAINABLE MILK PLANS
Consultant and farmer
assess the farm situation
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Discussion facilitated by
consultant using a
questionnaire
5 management areas
Relate to catchment
benchmarks
Use tools such as Overseer
software
Achievements to date are
discussed & documented
Develop and agree a
Sustainable Milk Plan
>
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Agreed plan for improving
performance, with actions
based on good practice,
tailored to the individual farm
& time-bound
Platform for continuous
improvement
Includes making management
changes & also further
investigating unknowns
Framed as current, future risk &
potential mitigation options
>
Plan drives on-farm change
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Implemented over 6 to 8 months
Consultant supports farmer to
complete actions
Brokering to specialists as required
And results in:
 Improved farmer awareness &
understanding
 More efficient use of water &
effective sediment, nutrient and
effluent management
 Readiness for the new national
freshwater regime
THEMES 1 & 2
Farmer Wellness & Wellbeing
Sustainable Dairying
• Nutrient management
• Effluent management
• Animal Welfare Management
Dairy Cattle – Genetic Gain
FARM EFFLUENT SYSTEM DESIGN
.
Effluent can become concentrated in certain parts of the farm, including
the milking shed, feed and stand-off pads and underpasses, and needs
to be managed to ensure it does not pollute neighbouring waterways.
DairyNZ, with industry partners, has developed a comprehensive
effluent improvement programme that will ensure all dairy farms have
a fit-for-purpose effluent system and an effective effluent
management plan.
Farm dairy effluent design standards and a code of practice on effluent
pond design and construction have been developed with the Institute of
Professional Engineers (IPENZ).
An accreditation programme provides farmers with access to expert
effluent management system designers and builders.
Over 570 rural professionals have been up-skilled in effluent
system design and management, and 20 companies have achieved
Farm Dairy Effluent Design accreditation.
EFFLUENT WOF PROGRAMME
EFFLUENT MANAGEMENT
DairyNZ has developed the Effluent Warrant of fitness (WOF)
programme to help farmers ensure their effluent system meets council
compliance standards.
The Effluent WOF programme will arrange a voluntary, independent
inspection of a farm’s effluent infrastructure and practices. It is a
consistent method for assessing an effluent system, to ensure it is fit for
purpose on a particular farm.
During development, the programme underwent extensive testing with
over 200 farmers.
THE ASSESSMENT
EFFLUENT WOF PROGRAMME
The assessment is done by a trained, certified, independent assessor.
The 3 to 4-hour assessment covers the farm’s entire effluent
infrastructure, including:
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Effluent consents and permitted rules
Effluent storage capacity
Farm nutrient loadings
Soil risk
Effluent irrigator performance
Keeping animals off-pasture infrastructure
General health and safety requirements.
All effluent catchment areas, including feed pads and underpasses, are
examined and accounted for.
The assessor delivers a full report that includes identification of risk
areas and suggests practical actions a farmer can take to ensure their
effluent system is capable of being compliant 365 days a year.
FARMER EXPERIENCE 1
EFFLUENT WOF PROGRAMME
Riverton farmer Ewen Mathieson got an assessment of his 360ha
farm’s effluent system done by certified assessor Donna Corbin.
His property is part of the newly formed Pourakino Catchment Group in
western Southland which aims to improve water quality in the Pourakino
Arm of the Jacob’s Estuary by adopting more sustainable farm
practices.
“Our system is compliant and has another four years to run on our
consent. However we have a large catchment area, with the dairy,
underpass, calving pad and race areas,” says Ewen.
“The WOF process was to get an understanding of what we needed to
do to maintain best practice, and enable us to budget on what we would
need to spend over the next four years, before our consent was up.”
“You need advice that has your best interests at heart, enabling
you to make choices that best suit your system, not a certain
piece of equipment or process.”
Ewen Mathieson and Donna Corbin
FARMER EXPERIENCE 2
EFFLUENT WOF PROGRAMME
Working with certified assessor Debbie Care, South Waikato farmer
Richard Todd determined that his farm’s effluent irrigator was applying
too thickly, despite appearing to be doing a good job. Further work also
indicated the storage ponds were too small.
The irrigator was replaced with a more effective model that applies
3.5mm-8mm depth across a wider area, and the ponds have been
costed for enlargement and lining.
Richard and his staff now refer to application maps that highlight the
high-risk areas of the farm and best times to apply effluent upon them.
Richard says the WOF process was well worth the money spent on
it, given the significant capital involved in getting effluent systems
right.
CERTIFIED ASSESSOR EXPERIENCE
EFFLUENT WOF PROGRAMME
The Effluent WOF certification programme creates new opportunities
for farm advisors.
The programme is establishing a network of certified assessors
throughout the country who are capable of conducting the
assessments. They are rural professionals who have a strong
background in dairy advisory and management roles, and they undergo
rigorous and ongoing training, including a witnessed assessment.
The WOF service provides them with an additional service to offer
clients that helps deliver constructive, positive outcomes.
One of the first assessors in the country to be certified is Donna Corbin
in Southland.
“A WOF assessment helps bring a no-surprises solution to farm
purchases,” Donna says.
“Getting an assessment done means someone buying a farm won’t get
caught out with an unplanned effluent upgrade bill.”
Donna Corbin (right)
REGIONAL COUNCIL VIEW
EFFLUENT WOF PROGRAMME
The Waikato Regional Council has welcomed the system. The Council
has a long-term vision of building capacity in the rural sector so farmers
can manage their farm’s environmental footprint and sustainability
themselves. The WOF programme will help to achieve this.
Waikato Regional Council special projects manager Rob Dragten says
the Effluent WOF programme provides an excellent industry-driven
tool, that complements the Council’s own compliance
programmes.
“There is a growing realisation among farmers that while most effluent
systems are okay when conditions are good, many aren’t able to cope
when the weather gets more challenging” he says.
“Farmers are often more trusting of advice from rural
professionals with farming expertise, and therefore more likely to
act.”
REAL ESTATE AGENTS’ VIEW
EFFLUENT WOF PROGRAMME
Real estate professionals have also welcomed the programme.
They sometimes encounter problems with dairy farm settlements over
claims about an effluent system’s capability and compliance.
If not up to scratch, an effluent system will require significant
investment.
Long-time Waikato rural valuer Ron Lockwood of Fergusson Lockwood
& Associates in Hamilton welcomes the opportunity for the sector to
have an independent, affordable means of getting effluent systems
assessed and certified.
“Given the potential liability of a non-compliant effluent system why
wouldn’t you get this done?”
THEMES 1 & 2
Farmer Wellness & Wellbeing
Sustainable Dairying
• Nutrient management
• Effluent management
• Animal Welfare Management
Dairy Cattle – Genetic Gain
ANIMAL WELFARE MANAGEMENT
Good animal husbandry is a vital skill in dairy farming – to underpin
good production and also meet the industry’s animal welfare
responsibilities.
Animals that are well cared for produce well and do not suffer
unwarranted stress and pain.
BODY CONDITION SCORING
ANIMAL WELFARE
Having an accurate picture of cows’ body condition scores (BCS) helps
a farmer understand their herd’s feed demand and enables them to
make appropriate management decisions.
This includes planning feed requirements through seasonal variations
such as droughts, and ensuring cows are at optimal condition for mating
and calving.
The Train the trainer approach is being used to improve farmer
confidence in body condition scoring services by providing a pool
of certified assessors who will reliably and accurately conditionscore dairy cattle to an assured standard.
BODY CONDITION SCORING
ANIMAL WELFARE
The main goal was to ensure national consistency in Body
Condition Scores by rural professionals.
For example, a cow scored in Southland should receive the same score
as it would in the Waikato and regardless of who scores it − a
veterinarian, farm advisor or animal welfare inspector.
First, minimum knowledge requirements were defined.
An ongoing training and assessment programme was developed.
To help professionals keep up regular practice to maintain accuracy,
an on-line calibration component has been developed.
BODY CONDITION SCORING
ANIMAL WELFARE
By June 2014, 220 rural professionals were trained and assessed as
competent BCS assessors under the programme.
They include: veterinarians, vet technicians, farm advisors, DairyNZ
staff, herd improvement organisation staff and breed classifiers.
Body condition scoring is also a critical skill for Ministry for Primary
Industries staff who oversee compliance with the Animal Welfare (Dairy
Cattle) Code of Welfare 2010.
During April and May 2014, 80 MPI compliance officers and
veterinarians attended workshops in Hamilton, Fielding, Christchurch
and Invercargill, run by DairyNZ trainers. Many will sit the formal
assessment over the next six months.
Another useful outcome has been the involvement of inspectors
assessing Traits Other than Production (TOP) for the dairy industry’s
breeding value programme. It is expected that these inspectors will
become BCS certified assessors over the next 12 months.
THEMES 1 & 2
Farmer Wellness & Wellbeing
Sustainable Dairying
• Nutrient management
• Effluent management
• Animal Welfare Management
Dairy Cattle – Genetic Gain
DAIRY CATTLE - GENETIC GAIN
Technologies using genetic and phenotypic information have
advanced significantly in the past decade, and these are being
harnessed to improve dairy cattle genetics.
This work includes addressing dairy cow production traits, as well as
things like susceptibility to lameness and facial eczema tolerance.
The result is healthy and more productive dairy herds.
GENETIC GAIN - SEQUENCING
The Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) is using new
technologies to work out what dairy cattle genes are associated with
which economically important trait − and which genetic variations
between animals cause measurable differences in these traits. This
work started in 2011.
This is helping the industry understand the best dairy cattle
genetics for New Zealand and improve the ability to predict future
performance of animals based on their genetic profile.
Over time this will help the industry to increase the rate of genetic
gain, while being able to rapidly adapt breeding objectives to
address challenges, for example animal health and environmental
sustainability.
So far the gene sequencing project has discovered 13 gene
variations linked to important dairy cow traits such as mastitis, milk
composition, production and animal health, which economic analysis
shows could be worth an extra 10% per year in genetic gain of the
national dairy herd.
GENETIC GAIN - PHENOTYPE
Identify physical traits of
interest
Currently 7 traits are used in
the calculation of dairy cattle
Breeding Worth: milkfat, milk
protein, milk volume,
liveweight, residual survival,
somatic cell count and fertility.
Other traits are now being
investigated because they
impact on herd health and
productivity. These include:
susceptibility to lameness,
facial eczema tolerance, and
fertility.
>
Investigate the traits of interest
using statistical methods and
including underlying genetics
Example 1: From lameness records
of 65 South Island herds over 3
seasons, it was found the heritability
of lameness is relatively low at 5%,
but the genetic variation between
sires for susceptibility is high. There
is potential to reduce the prevalence
of lameness in daughters by 15%.
Example 2: The possibility of
improving fertility through genetic
gain was evaluated using data from
the National Herd Fertility Study. It
showed potential to increase the
accuracy of the fertility breeding
value by 12%.
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Develop tools to enable farmers
to select animals for a broader
range of traits
Example 3: Sires with more facial
eczema tolerance are now
available, so farmers in facial
eczema-prone areas are able to
breed more tolerant herds.
This means:
 Less dependence on existing
animal health treatments
 Fewer suffering animals.
Also, this work has shown the
importance of accurate on-farm
parentage recording for selecting
genetically-superior replacements
KEY FACTS
About the Innovation to transform the dairy value chain
Primary Growth Partnership programme:
Started:
Length:
Crown PGP funding:
Industry funding:
April 2011
7 years
$85 million
$86 million
Crown funding for work done (31 August 2014): $40,051,827
Estimated potential economic benefits to NZ:
$2.7 billion per year by 2025
Source: Ministry for Primary Industries website
Commercial partners:
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DairyNZ Ltd
Fonterra
Agriculture Services Ltd
Landcorp Farming Ltd
Livestock Improvement Corporation
(LIC)
 New Zealand Federation of Young
Farmers Clubs Inc
 Synlait Ltd
 Zespri Ltd