scholarly journals Implications of increased use of brought-in feeds on potential environmental effects of dairy farms in Waikato

2017 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
S.F. Ledgard ◽  
N.L. Bartlett ◽  
P.J. Van Boheemen ◽  
B.R. Wilton ◽  
S.B. Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
Nutrient Efficiency ◽  
High Feed ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm System

Abstract The effects of increased use of brought-in feeds were evaluated across 25 dairy farms in central Waikato. Farms were classified into low, medium and high feedinput categories based on 1200 kg DM/cow, covering a range typical of that in the main dairying regions of New Zealand. Average milksolids (MS)/ha was 1087 and 1900 kg in the low and high feed-input categories, but total land-use/tonne MS was the same when all off-farm land was accounted for. Average estimated on-farm nitrogen (N) leaching increased from 26 to 30 kg N/ha/year between the low and high feed-input categories, but off-farm leaching sources were equivalent to an increase of 20 and 84%, respectively. Greenhouse gas emissions/on-farm hectare were 61% higher on high feed-input farms, but the carbon footprint and N leaching per tonne MS were similar across feed-input categories. High feed-input farms used feed-pads and increased effluent area (66 versus 21% of farm) to increase nutrient efficiency. Mitigation analyses indicated that N leaching could be decreased by optimising effluent area, reducing N fertiliser rate and utilising low-N feeds. Keywords: nitrogen leaching, whole farm system, greenhouse gases, land use

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.

Linking Land Use Capability classes and APSIM to estimate pasture growth for regional land use planning

Soil Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Vogeler ◽  
Rogerio Cichota ◽  
Josef Beautrais
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Pastoral Systems ◽  
System Models ◽  
Farm System ◽  
The Impact

Investigation of land-use and management changes at regional scales require the linkage of farm-system models with land-resource information, which for pastoral systems includes forage supply. The New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI) and associated Land Use Capability (LUC) database include estimates of the potential stock-carrying capacity across the country, which can be used to derive estimates of average annual pasture yields. Farm system models and decision support tools, however, require information on the seasonal patterns of pasture growth. To generate such pasture growth curves (PGCs), the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was used, with generic soil profiles based on descriptions of LUC classes, to generate PGCs for three regions of New Zealand. Simulated annual pasture yields were similar to the estimates of annual potential pasture yield in the NZLRI spatial database, and they provided information on inter-annual variability. Simulated PGCs generally agreed well with measured long-term patterns of seasonal pasture growth. The approach can be used to obtain spatially discrete estimates of seasonal pasture growth patterns across New Zealand for use in farm system models and for assessing the impact of management practices and climate change on the regional sustainability.

The potential of diverse pastures to reduce nitrogen leaching on New Zealand dairy farms

2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 1971 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Beukes ◽  
P. Gregorini ◽  
A. J. Romera ◽  
S. L. Woodward ◽  
E. N. Khaembah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
Protein Ratio ◽  
Total N

The largest contributor to nitrogen (N) leaching from ryegrass-clover pasture based dairy farms is the surplus feed N excreted as urinary N (UN) onto pastures. Pastures consisting of mixtures of ryegrass, herbs and legumes (diverse pastures) have shown potential to yield similar DM, but with a lower N content and a higher water soluble carbohydrate : crude protein ratio compared with standard ryegrass–clover pastures. These diverse pastures have shown the potential to lower the UN excreted by dairy cows in short-term, late-lactation studies. This modelling study was designed to scale the results from component studies up to farm and over a full season to evaluate the potential of diverse pastures to become a suitable strategy for reducing N leaching on New Zealand dairy farms. The Molly cow model was tested against observed data from one indoor and one outdoor study where feeding diverse pasture resulted in UN (N excreted in urine g/day) reductions of 50% and 17%, respectively. The model predicted UN reductions of 23% and 17%. Farm-scale model scenarios, where 20% or 50% of the farm was sown with diverse pastures, resulted in 2% and 6% reductions in UN deposited onto paddocks. This reduction was smaller than expected with some system interactions related to seasonal feed supply, diet composition and total N intake being likely to play a role. The reduction in UN onto paddocks, together with a dilution effect from larger urine volumes per cow per day as a result of lower DM% of diverse pastures, resulted in N leaching reductions of 11% and 19% for the two scenarios, respectively. This potential to reduce N leaching needs to be evaluated further in the context of farm profitability when other aspects of diverse pastures such as yield, persistency, drought resistance and ability to extract N from the soil becomes part of the farm-system analysis.

The Extended Use Of The Milk Recording System In New Zealand

1946 ◽  
Vol 1946 (02) ◽  
pp. 20-25
Author(s):  
Arthur Ward
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Recording System ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
List Type ◽  
Young Stock ◽  
Improvement Plan ◽  
On Farm

In New Zealand, herd recording, since the introduction of the Herd Improvement Plan in 1938, has been governed in policy by the Herd Recording Council in Wellington. In 1938 the decision was taken to extend the scope of the milk recording movement so that milk records could be used for:— (1) improvement through breeding; (2) studies on farm management, including the prevention of disease in dairy herds; and (3) studies on problems of nutrition on dairy farms, em-bracing not only the feeding of dairy cattle and young stock, but also such matters as the influence of soil types, pasture species, etc. There are six Herd Improvement Associations and a representative of each Association is elected annually to the Herd Recording Council with full voting power.

Evaluating rates of technology adoption and milking practices on New Zealand dairy farms

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 702 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Edwards ◽  
B. T. Dela Rue ◽  
J. G. Jago
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Significant Potential ◽  
Attitudes Towards Technology ◽  
On Farm

This study assessed technology use and evaluated rates of technology adoption and milking practices on New Zealand dairy farms. Industry surveys were conducted in 2008 and 2013, when farmers were asked a series of questions relating to their physical farm details, their role in the business, their attitudes towards technology, the technologies they had on-farm and their levels of satisfaction. In total, 532 and 500 respondents were questioned in the two surveys, respectively, with a similar representation of rotary and herringbone dairies. Questions relating to attitudes towards new technologies were subjected to a cluster analysis using the 2013 dataset. Farmers were classified into two categories, ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ adopters. Fast adopters are more likely to have a rotary, with a larger farm and more cows. The most common technology in herringbone dairies is automatic vat washing and in rotary dairies automatic cluster removers (ACR). Rotary dairies equipped with ACR, automatic drafting and automatic teat spraying achieve greater labour utilisation (cows/labour unit). Around half of farmers with herringbone dairies sometimes or always wait for slow-milking cows to milk out and 85% of farmers do not know the their ACR settings, highlighting significant potential to improve milking efficiency. Overall, technology is associated with greater labour utilisation. However, the benefits of each technology should be scrutinised to ensure appropriate investment decisions are made by farmers.

scholarly journals Nitrogen balances and losses on intensive dairy farms

1997 ◽  
pp. 49-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.F. Ledgard ◽  
J.W. Penno ◽  
M.S. Sprosen
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Farm System ◽  
South West England

Nitrogen (N) balances were constructed for "average" dairy farms in New Zealand, south west England and The Netherlands, and for Dairying Research Corporation (DRC) farmlets varying in stocking rate and use of N fertiliser and maize grain. N surpluses were calculated to indicate the potential impact on the environment and these were compared with measured N losses from the DRC farmlets. On the average New Zealand farm, annual N inputs of 186 kg N/ha/year (mainly from N2 fixation) resulted in N outputs in milk+meat of 55 kg N/ha/year (30% efficiency) and a N surplus of 131 kg N/ha/year. Dutch farms produced 70% more milk/ha but had N inputs of 568 kg/ha, N outputs in produce of 81 kg/ha (14% efficiency) and a N surplus of 487 kg/ha. English farms were intermediate. In the DRC farmlets, applying fertiliser N at 400 kg N/ha/year increased N surpluses and nitrate leaching by 3-4 fold, resulting in nitrate-N concentrations in drainage of 2.5× the recommended maximum for drinking water. The most efficient farm system received no N fertiliser and was highly stocked (3.3 Friesian cows/ha) for very high pasture utilisation. This resulted in similar milk production/ha to Dutch farms (with 1/3 the N inputs) and a 45% efficiency of conversion of N inputs from N2 fixation into milk and meat products. Keywords: dairy farm, nitrate leaching, nitrogen balance, nitrogen fertiliser, stocking rate

Identifying the pasture potential for New Zealand dairy farms

2019 ◽  
pp. 235-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Neal ◽  
Simon J.R. Woodward ◽  
Brian T. Dela Rue
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Soil Type ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Nitrogen Fertiliser ◽  
Farm Performance ◽  
Fertiliser Application ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Potential Tool

Higher amounts of pasture and crop eaten on farm are associated with higher profit, and it is likely that many dairy farms have an opportunity to improve their financial performance. Regional averages of pasture and crop eaten are readily available but locally relevant estimates of achievable potential pasture and crop eaten are not, so farmers do not know what improvement to pasture and crop eaten and profitability might be possible. The Pasture Potential Tool was developed to provide a locally relevant estimate of that potential. Data on pasture and crop eaten were sourced from DairyNZ’s DairyBase farm performance database, and made available using an interactive web-based tool after testing with pilot groups of farmers. The tool defined a farm’s potential pasture and crop eaten in a particular year as the 90th percentile of farms within a defined radius, or the level that is exceeded by only one in ten farmers, with the data being filtered for comparable soil type and elevation, and adjusted for nitrogen fertiliser application. The tool is available on the DairyNZ website, and has been accessed more than 1300 times in the first 5 months since it went live (as of May 2019).

scholarly journals A Bayesian Belief Network approach to evaluating complex effects of irrigation-driven agricultural intensification scenarios on future aquatic environmental and economic values in a New Zealand catchment

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 460 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Quinn ◽  
Ross M. Monaghan ◽  
Vincent J. Bidwell ◽  
Simon R. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Bayesian Belief Networks ◽  
Economic Values ◽  
Development Scenarios ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
On Farm

Agricultural intensification often has complex effects on a wide range of environmental and economic values, presenting planners with challenging decisions for optimising sustainable benefits. Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) can be used as a decision-support tool for evaluating the influence of development scenarios across a range of values. A BBN was developed to guide decisions on water abstraction and irrigation-driven land use intensification in the Hurunui River catchment, New Zealand. The BBN examines the combined effects of different irrigation water sources and four land development scenarios, with and without a suite of on-farm mitigations, on ground and surface water quality, key socioeconomic values (i.e. farm earnings and jobs, and contribution to regional gross domestic production (GDP)) and aquatic values (i.e. salmon, birds, waterscape, contact recreation, periphyton and invertebrates). It predicts high farm earnings, jobs and regional GDP with 150% increase in irrigated area, but a range of positive and negative aquatic environmental outcomes, depending on the location of water storage dams and the application of a suite of on-farm mitigations. This BBN synthesis of a complex system enhanced the ability to include aquatic values alongside economic and social values in land-use and water resource planning and decision making, and has influenced objective setting in Hurunui planning processes.

scholarly journals Animal Welfare Assessment: Can We Develop a Practical, Time-Limited Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Cows in New Zealand?

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1918
Author(s):  
Sujan Sapkota ◽  
Richard Laven ◽  
Kristina Müller ◽  
Nikki Kells
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Specific Protocol ◽  
Almost All ◽  
On Farm

Despite being a leading producer and exporter of dairy products, New Zealand has no industry-recognised welfare assessment protocol. A New Zealand-specific protocol is essential, as almost all dairy farms in New Zealand are pasture-based and housing is rarely used. Therefore, protocols developed for intensive cows are not suitable. The aim of this study was to develop a simple yet practical welfare assessment protocol that could be used to assess the welfare of a dairy herd during one visit timed to occur around milking. Six welfare assessment protocols and four studies of dairy cattle welfare assessments that had some focus on dairy cattle welfare at pasture were used, along with the New Zealand Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare, to identify potential assessments for inclusion in the protocol. Eighty-four potential assessments (20 record-based and 64 that needed assessing on-farm) were identified by this process of welfare assessments. After screening to exclude on-farm assessments that were not relevant, that had only limited practical application in pasture-based dairy cows or that required more time than available, 28 on-farm assessments remained, which were put together with the 20 record-based assessments and were tested for feasibility, practicality and time on two pasture-based dairy farms. Assessments were then identified as suitable, suitable after modification or not feasible. Suitable and modified assessments were then included in the final protocol alongside additional measures specific to New Zealand dairy farms. The final protocol included 24 on-farm assessments and eight record-based assessments. Further testing of these 32 assessments is needed on more dairy farms across New Zealand before the protocol can be used to routinely assess the welfare of dairy cows in New Zealand.

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