scholarly journals Dairy farm resilience in a variable environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Lewis ◽  
C. Stolte ◽  
E. Stolte
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Price Volatility ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Farm Policy ◽  
Variable Environment ◽  
The Family ◽  
Farm Business ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Pasture Yield

Clarence and Elise Stolte farm the family Masterton property as 50:50 sharemilkers. They have made the 285 ha dairy farming business resilient to environmental and milk price volatility by remaining focussed on sustainable results and not productivity. Evidenced through the Dairy Systems Monitoring (DSM) and the Dairy Farm Business of the Year competition they stand in the top 10% of elite groups for financial results in both high payout in a high pasture yield season, and then in the following low payout, low pasture yield season. Being able to demonstrate consistent results comes from a deliberately well considered farm policy, skilled on-farm management, maximising home grown feed yields and strong discipline around the farm budget.

scholarly journals The role of computer software in budgeting and goal setting of farmer clients

1993 ◽  
pp. 215-216
Author(s):  
D.D. Howden ◽  
R.I. Campbell ◽  
B.M. Eccles
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Management Unit ◽  
The Right ◽  
Farm Business ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Financial Software

A computer can't do anything you can't do by hand. Because of this, many farmers (and others) find it difficult to perceive how owning a computer could change the way they farm. Most potential clients do not believe they will have more money in their pockets at the end of the day because of owning a computer. There is the perception that computers are useful to do the GST and save some money at the accountants but otherwise they are expensive and time consuming. With the right software computers are able to do the task more quickly. The number of computers in use nationally is difficult to determine. A survey by the Kellogg farm management unit indicated 8.4%. In the Wairarapa we have 11.6% of farmers using our software on their PCs. At Computer Concepts we have always focused our financial software on budgeting and on farm business management. This process in simply a matter of knowing where you are today, and from that position projecting (budgeting) into the future. It sounds so simple. In farming the production and prices are always changing. Each week the budget is old, it halves in value. All budgets need to be constantly updated. This means that most farmers are very sceptical of the usefulness of a budget. Keywords: budgeting, computer software

Characterization of dairy farm environments and their effect on cow lifespan

2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 53-53
Author(s):  
I.M.S. White ◽  
M.P. Coffey ◽  
M.J. Haskell ◽  
S. Brotherstone
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Environmental Sensitivity ◽  
Detailed Survey ◽  
Environmental Difference ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
On Farm

Environmental sensitivity exists when an environmental difference has more effect on some genotypes than on others (Falconer and Mackay, 1996). Quantifying the degree of environmental sensitivity shown by individual sires allows us to identify sires as specialists (those which rank highly in certain environments) or generalists (those which rank similarly across environments). Dairy farm environments vary enormously and this affects the production and health of the cows. The aims of this study were (1) to relate detailed survey information on farm management systems to information available at the national level to provide a definition of farm environment, and (2) to assess the effect of environment on lifespan.

Addressing on-farm management to enhance pasture productivity and persistence

2013 ◽  
pp. 241-244
Author(s):  
W.N. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Operating Profit ◽  
The North ◽  
The Cost ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Attention To Detail

Following the 2007/08 drought, we experienced poor pasture production and persistence on our dairy farm in north Waikato, leading to decreased milksolids production and a greater reliance on bought-in feed. It is estimated that the cost of this to our farming operation was about $1300 per hectare per year in lost operating profit. While climate and black beetle were factors, they did not explain everything, and other factors were also involved. In the last 3 years we have changed our management strategies to better withstand dry summers, the catalyst for which was becoming the DairyNZ Pasture Improvement Focus Farm for the north Waikato. The major changes we made were to reduce stocking rate, actively manage pastures in summer to reduce over-grazing, and pay more attention to detail in our pasture renewal programme. To date the result has been a reduced need for pasture renewal, a lift in whole farm performance and increased profitability. Keywords: Focus farm, over-grazing, pasture management, pasture persistence, profitability

PERSEPSI PETANI TENTANG KEBIJAKAN PEMERINTAH DAERAH DALAM UPAYA PENGEMBANGAN AGRIBISNIS SAYURAN

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Awaludin Sofwanto ◽  
Basita Ginting Sugihen ◽  
Djoko Susanto
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Agricultural Education ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
On Farm ◽  
And Training ◽  
Area Development ◽  
Farmer’S Perception

The regional government policies on vegetables agribusiness development is carried out through agropolitan area development program. The aims of this study are : (1) To get informations on perception of vegetables farmer’s towards the regional government policies in the efforts of vegetables agribusiness development, (2) To get informations on the vegetables farmer’s efforts to increase vegetables agribusiness through agropolitan area development program, and (3) To analyze the correlation of farmer’s perception towards the regional government policies in the efforts of vegetables agribusiness development with the farmer’s efforts to increase vegetables agribusiness. The method of this study is using descriptive correlation. Some important results of this study are : (1) The vegetables farmer’s perception towards the regional government policies in the efforts of vegetables agribusiness development is high, (2) Vegetables farmer’s effort to increase vegetables agribusiness is high, and (3) There is significant correlation between vegetables farmer’s perception and the efforts of the vegetables farmer’s to increase vegetables agribusiness, such as : partnership with the entrepreneurs, on-farm management, and marketing management. The supporting sub-system merit such as : the micro financial institutions, agricultural education and training, agricultural extention, faciliting of regional governments to provide market places at main market in Jakarta should be increased.

scholarly journals The Carbon Footprint of Energy Consumption in Pastoral and Barn Dairy Farming Systems: A Case Study from Canterbury, New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hafiz Muhammad Abrar Ilyas ◽  
Majeed Safa ◽  
Alison Bailey ◽  
Sara Rauf ◽  
Marvin Pangborn
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Energy Inputs ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Feed Supplements ◽  
Dairy Systems ◽  
Milk Solids ◽  
On Farm

Dairy farming is constantly evolving to more intensive systems of management, which involve more consumption of energy inputs. The consumption of these energy inputs in dairy farming contributes to climate change both with on-farm emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels, and by off-farm emissions due to production of farm inputs (such as fertilizer, feed supplements). The main purpose of this research study was to evaluate energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, the carbon footprint, of pastoral and barn dairy systems located in Canterbury, New Zealand. The carbon footprints were estimated based on direct and indirect energy sources. The study results showed that, on average, the carbon footprints of pastoral and barn dairy systems were 2857 kgCO2 ha−1 and 3379 kgCO2 ha−1, respectively. For the production of one tonne of milk solids, the carbon footprint was 1920 kgCO2 tMS−1 and 2129 kgCO2 tMS−1, respectively. The carbon emission difference between the two systems indicates that the barn system has 18% and 11% higher carbon footprint than the pastoral system, both per hectare of farm area and per tonne of milk solids, respectively. The greater carbon footprint of the barn system was due to more use of imported feed supplements, machinery usage and fossil fuel (diesel and petrol) consumption for on-farm activities.

scholarly journals SUMMARY OF THE WORKSHOP ON FARM MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY

Agrekon ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-430
Author(s):  
L K Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
Farm Management ◽  
Management Efficiency ◽  
On Farm

Pasture renewal in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions: An overview of farmer practice, experience and attitudes

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 21-24
Author(s):  
Kelly Smith ◽  
R. Brazendale
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Practice Experience ◽  
Rate Information ◽  
And Performance ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Over Time

Pasture persistence and performance, and associated issues such as black beetle, are of central concern to dairy farmers. The Pasture Renewal Survey 2010 aimed to better understand farmers' confidence in their ability to make informed decisions on their pasture renewal practices, their satisfaction with the success of this decision-making and the performance of their renewed pastures over time. In addition, the survey investigated their attitudes to information sources and what barriers they saw to improving pasture performance on farm. A postal and online survey elicited responses from 776 dairy farmers in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. The four main findings of the work were: 1. Farmers are more confident of their ability to make appropriate on-farm management decisions for renewed pasture than they are of their ability to choose appropriate cultivars and endophyte. 2. Farmers, while generally satisfied with their own success in renewing pasture, reported decreasing levels of satisfaction with renewed pastures over the 3 successive years following renewal. 3. Farmers do not rate information sources very highly in terms of their usefulness in relation to pasture renewal. 4. Weather-related issues and pest-related issues (particularly black beetle) were the most commonly identified barriers to improving pasture performance. Keywords: farmer confidence, farmer satisfaction, information sources, pasture renewal.

An Evaluation of Raw Milk Microorganisms as Markers of On-Farm Hygiene Practices Related to Milking

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 764-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. HUTCHISON ◽  
D. J. I. THOMAS ◽  
A. MOORE ◽  
D. R. JACKSON ◽  
I. OHNSTAD
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Raw Milk ◽  
Hygiene Practices ◽  
Bacterial Indicator ◽  
Relative Standard ◽  
Bacillus Spp ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Milk Storage ◽  
Bacterial Groups

Dairy farm hygiene audits were undertaken at 24 farms during summer and winter and the results compared with transformed bacterial indicator levels in raw milk samples collected during each audit. The bacterial indicators measured were total viable counts, Escherichia coli, coliforms, Bacillus spp., Bifidobacteria spp., and Pseudomonas spp. The results of initial comparisons using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients showed presumptive relationships between some bacterial groups and the subjective quantitative audit scores. When investigated further using linear regression, the presumptive relationships were found to be influenced by external factors. Possible reasons for the low correlations between on-farm hygiene and bacterial indicator counts in raw milk were further investigated. Measurements of the uncertainty associated with the bacteriological results were undertaken and revealed geometric relative standard deviations that ranged from 0.019 to 1.05. Toward the higher end of this scale, the uncertainty associated with the laboratory estimations of bacterial numbers may have been large enough to blur hygiene score-marker bacteria relationships. The samples obtained from on-farm raw milk storage tanks were representative of the whole tank contents and not a significant source of error. Although total bacterial counts are widely acknowledged by the milk industry as not always giving a true measure of on-farm hygiene during milking, we were unable to find any marker bacteria that showed consistently higher correlations and were thus better suited as indicators of on-farm hygiene.

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