Helping out on organic dairy farms

Esther Dijkstra, project manager of the Grow Organic Dairy project, is based in the Wairarapa.

01-02-2010 | Jackie Harrigan

Reaching out to organic farmers and sharing their collective wisdom is one objective of the Grow Organic dairy project.

Thus it has begun reporting results from a series of Organic Dairy and Pastoral Group (ODPG) field days held recently.

The Sustainable Farming Fund-funded project aims to grow the organic dairy network, lift the production of individual farms, increase innovation and make sustainable dairy production methods an attractive proposition to other dairy farmers.

Research has identified a huge range in production levels from organic farmers so the "Grow Organic" project aims to mine the experience and practices of high producers to help those with lower output.

Grow Organic dairy project manager Esther Dijkstra rolled out the first round of results at a field day at Massey No 4 dairy farm, which runs a 20ha 45-cow organic unit alongside a conventional unit of comparable size for research purposes and production and profitability comparisons.

The first year of the Grow Organic project aims to capture the successes in organic management in four key areas: animal health, pasture management, soils and soil fertility, and farm management.

One of the first projects was a visit to nine progressive organic farmers to discuss their animal health treatments and prevention programmes, so their wisdom can be passed on to other organic dairy farmers through field days and other information channels such as the ODPG website (www.organicpastoral.co.nz).

The big three animal health issues for organic dairy farmers are mastitis, facial eczema and bloat.

Following on from the animal health component of the Grow Organic project, the soils and fertility sub-group begins in 2010 with research set up on the Massey No 4 dairy farm organic unit.

Dijkstra says some farmers have gaps in their fertiliser and soils knowledge and to move forward as successful organic farmers the team felt more research was needed.

Massey soil scientist Dave Horne says farmers surveyed about the best fertilisers and soil conditioners were confused by the range of products available.

Field trials will evaluate lime, a compost product (Osflo), RPR (Biophos) and a new product (Rocksolids). Thirty plots with multiple replicates will collect detailed information over 18 months to compare pasture production and quality as well as soil nutrient levels, structure and biological properties.

Mastitis:

Somatic cell counts are a normal constituent of milk; they are the first line of defence when pathogens invade the udder.

Elevated somatic cell counts (SCC) are an indication of subclinical and clinical mastitis and measure the inflammatory response of the cow.

Research shows organic farms have generally higher SCC than conventional farms over the 2005-06 and the 2006-07 seasons (Grow Organic farms 2005-06, 280,000-370,000; 2006-07, 260,000-360,000).

What the farmers said:

• "We still get mastitis, but we don't fear it. Our cell count hovers high. We'd like to be low and that's our goal but we're not going to sacrifice our friends ... it's not costing us fiscally yet."

• "Prevention, definitely prevention."

• "There is anecdotal evidence from New Zealand and overseas that when you have a herd with a too low cell count (<150,000) that if a bad mastitis bug gets in it can really decimate them (the herd) as the immunity is low."

Prevention:

• Hygiene in milk shed

• Teat spray iodine or iodine and glycerine (also in dry period)

• Milking technique

• Homeopathics - MA Nosodes and phytolacca

• Cider vinegar, seaweed and garlic or combinations

• Seaweed meal from feeding systems

• Minerals (salt and salt licks)

• Culling - "Mastitis ran in our cow families - we got rid of the genetics by culling whole cow families."

Treatments:

• "Let the quarters drain out as much as you can before you treat"

• Latch on bull calves

• Rear calves on mastitis cows

• Cider vinegar and seaweed drench

• Drenching with extra lime "lack of Ca increases cell count"

• Homeopathy - Phytolacca, • Streptococcus urberis, gunpowder, Nosodes, teatree oil (undiluted)

Injections to treat: manuka honey, teatree oil, mixture of manuka honey, aloe and tea-tree oil, colloidal silver.

Bloat

What the farmers said:

• "Yes, and we do see bloat. We can smell it with a lot of clover and we might have lost around two cows in 15 years."

• "Yeah, we use homeopathics for bloat. It's one of those things that as soon as you think you have it solved it'll bite you in the backside. I do spend a bit of time in the spring, once I know it's coming.

Prevention:

• Quality hay

• Keeping cows fully fed; don't let them go into a paddock hungry

Biodynamic preparation 501

• Homeopathics - Colchicum, carbo veg.

Facial Eczema

What the farmers said:

• "Lime application at 2.5t/ha could protect farmers and stock from the effect of facial eczema for up to three years."

• "All of the farmers are addressing calcium-base saturation. All are applying different calcium fertilisers, maybe the common denominator for why organic farms have less facial eczema?"

Prevention:

• Liming paddocks

• Seaweed on paddocks to encourage other fungi

• Seaweed in the water - liver conditioner

• FE Nosode

• Zinc (sulphate) as supplement through troughs

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