Conference to highlight top farms

01-10-2009 | Not Specified

Some of the best-performing Northland beef and dairy farms will be on show for consecutive afternoon field trips during the 2009 Grassland Conference, Waitangi, November 3-5.

On Tuesday afternoon conference-goers will be treated to an in-depth look at Te Ngaio Farms' high-performing dairy farm just south of Kerikeri, followed by the Cookson family's sustainable beef cattle hill farm at Kawakawa. Both are within 20 minutes by bus from Waitangi.

Tuesday, November 3, has been structured to encourage participation from Northland farmers, who have been offered a special one-day conference fee for that day of $75, including lunch and bus travel.

On Wednesday afternoon the Jack family's Pakaraka paradise, winner of the 2006 Supreme Ballance Northland Farm Environment Award, also beef cattle only, will be the venue.

These properties have been intensively studied and monitored already, so a wealth of climate and production data is available.

For instance, Te Ngaio Farms, owned by the Guthrie family and share-milked by Brett and Denise Larmer, is now achieving more than 1000kg/ha milksolids production annually, at around 370kg/cow.

Since the Larmers arrived on the property, production has increased 30,000kg MS annually each year for four years.

The 400ha effective dairy unit is an all-grass milking platform subdivided into 80 paddocks averaging 5ha. This season the cows are managed in two herds of 560 each milked through separate 52-bail rotary sheds.

The production target for the Guthries and Larmers is 1200kg/ha MS annually, while continually improving their farm sustainability, especially in the disposal of effluent within the Waitangi River catchment, which feeds into the Bay of Islands.

Geff and Dinah Cookson, of Kawakawa, have participated in several pasture and beef production research projects, improving their own figures while contributing to the understanding of kikuyu-dominant pasture farming.

In recent years the 485ha effective farm has finished bulls while hosting three funded projects: a focus farm for beef finishing on hill country, using nitrogen to change pasture species, and pasture renovation with mainly herbs on kikuyu-dominant hill country.

The Jacks at Pakaraka have been innovative farmers for many years, with once-bred heifers and intensive beef finishing with Technosystem.

They are coming to the end of a three-year term as the Far North Monitor Farm in the Meat & Wool New Zealand series, during which Alec Jack also completed a Nuffield Scholarship.

This is a showplace property alongside the Pouerua pa site and the artesian Lake Owhareiti. The Jacks maintain vigilance against kikuyu invasion and have conserved and restored native bush and wetlands and planted extensive shelter belts.

Grassland Association president Pat Garden said the conference offered a marvellous opportunity for farmers to rub shoulders with some of the best brains in the game.

The formal part of the proceedings with the prepared papers provides an insight into the most up-to-date thinking and research but there is also plenty of opportunity to chat.

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