An Interactive Planning Model for the New Zealand Dairy Industry

1983 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 521
Author(s):  
P. J. Mellalieu ◽  
K. R. Hall
Author(s):  
J.G. Jago ◽  
M.W. Woolford

There is a growing shortage of labour within the dairy industry. To address this the industry needs to attract more people and/or reduce the labour requirements on dairy farms. Current milk harvesting techniques contribute to both the labour requirements and the current labour shortage within the industry as the process is labour-intensive and necessitates long and unsociable working hours. Automated milking systems (AMS) have been in operation, albeit on a small scale, on commercial farms in Europe for a decade and may have the potential to address labour issues within the New Zealand dairy industry. A research programme has been established (The Greenfield Project) which aims to determine the feasibility of automated milking under New Zealand dairying conditions. A Fullwoods MERLIN AMS has been installed on a protoype farmlet and is successfully milking a small herd of 41 cows. Progress from the prototype Greenfields system offers considerable potential for implementing AMS in extensive grazing systems. Keywords: automated milking systems, dairy cattle, grazing, labour


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 180
Author(s):  
Ray Y. Zhong ◽  
Eric Li ◽  
Uthman Aziz ◽  
Neeraj Nambiar ◽  
Fariz Aziz ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia M. Lee ◽  
Cory Matthew ◽  
Errol R. Thom ◽  
David F. Chapman

Genetic improvement programs for livestock and pasture plants have been central to the development of the New Zealand (NZ) pastoral industry. Although genetic improvement of livestock is easily shown to improve animal production on-farm, the link between genetic improvement of pasture plants and animal production is less direct. For several reasons, gains in farm output arising from improved plant performance are more difficult to confirm than those arising from livestock improvement, which has led to some debate in the livestock industries about which plant traits to prioritise in future breeding programs to deliver the greatest benefit. This review investigates this situation, with the aim of understanding how genetic improvement of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), the predominant pasture grass, may more directly contribute towards increased productivity in the NZ dairy industry. The review focuses on the dairy industry, since it is the largest contributor to the total value of NZ agricultural exports. Also, because rates of pasture renewal are greater in the dairy industry compared with the sheep and beef industries, genetic gain in pasture plants is likely to have the greatest impact if the correct plant traits are targeted. The review highlights that many aspects of ryegrass growth and ecology have been manipulated through breeding, with evidence to show that plant performance has been altered as a result. However, it is not clear to what extent these gains have contributed to the economic development of the NZ dairy industry. There are opportunities for breeders and scientists to work together more closely in defining economic traits that positively influence pasture performance and to translate this information to objectives for breeding programs, systematically linking information on the measured traits of ryegrass cultivars to economic values for those traits to assist farmer decision-making regarding the most appropriate cultivars to use in their farm system, and better defining genotype × environment interactions in key productivity traits of modern ryegrass cultivars. Changes in priorities for investment of public- and industry-good funds in forage improvement research and development will be needed if these opportunities are to be captured.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1819 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Douglas

Industrial forestry activities in New Zealand are now in a phase of unprecedented growth: the annual cut will double from 18 million m3 to well over 30 million m3 a year during the next 5 years. Given that most of the wood is taken from forest to mill or port by road in New Zealand, including a portion of the trip on public highways, the impacts of the doubling in logging truck traffic will be significant and severe. New Zealand’s roads have, for the most part, thin-sealed, unbound pavements. New Zealand’s second-largest industrial sector is tourism. Pavements and tourists will feel the impact of the looming increase in logging truck traffic unless steps are taken to anticipate the changes in traffic volumes and patterns. There is the complicating factor that the dairy industry too is now expanding rapidly with associated increases in raw milk tanker traffic. There is some friction between the forest industry and the dairy industry over which will be responsible for the increased strengthening, rehabilitation, and maintenance of roads. Research is under way to use regional network analysis and geographic information systems to predict the increases in heavy-truck traffic and changes in its distribution on public roads. This is the first step toward devising measures to mitigate the impacts and is a precursor to the implementation of pavement management. A unique opportunity exists in southern New Zealand: cooperation between forest operators and government agencies in the Otago and Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand on large-scale projects, providing the environment needed to examine such large, landscape-scale problems.


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