Articles
Keep up to date with topical issues and market updates with DBC’s informative articles
Cost-effective silage preservative steals oxygen…not feed
Is a silage preservative an additional cost in the conserved feed debate or a must-have decision to preserve feed and limit waste? Mid Canterbury dairyman Mark Stewart says it’s been a no-brainer for their operation, which is projected to average 600kg MS a cow. They have been able to save feed wastage at four pivotal points. Find out how it’s working for them…
He came for the sustainability and stayed for the results
A stubbornly high Somatic Cell Count, 17% empty rates, saving money on conventional fertiliser, and a rising awareness of the global “nitrogen addiction” were the original triggers which made Tasmanian dairy producer Mark Wadley consider biological farming.
Practise is often ahead of science
When Isaac and Angelique Korpershoek first discussed switching to biological farming a decade ago, Isaac was “curious” and Angelique – a veterinarian – wanted the evidence-based science. At the time they were struggling to get their protein percentage above 3% during early lactation and Isaac said, “We were just at that point where you can only adjust so much in your grain ration, and I was starting to think that we couldn’t continue putting nitrogen on at 400kg/ha a year.”
BMCC from 300,000 to 50,000 thanks to the soil
A leap of faith has transformed the way Steve Chilcott farms in the Meander Valley, Tasmania.Biological farming still comes with enough naysayers and doubters. But there is no denying a paddock full of four and five-leaf clovers, night and day fertility results, and a somatic Cell Count (SCC) that has tracked downwards from a harrowing 300,000 to a consistent 50,000 on 350 cows. The reason? Turns out, while it’s a complicated subject, it’s not hard for farmers to switch…
Managing Fodder Beet
Mike Copland’s fodder beet crop topped the Ashburton region this season – yielding 44.5 tonnes Dry Matter (DM) per hectare.
Hard hooves save time
Anyone who has followed a lame cow up the track, knows it’s a lesson in fortitude for the cow, and patience for the person landed with the job.
Newsletters
Keep up to date with topical issues and market updates with DBC’s informative newsletter
Silage Season
Dairy Business Centre Silage Edition
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