Dairy

Clint Gulliver

New Zealand has a long history around agriculture. Over time farms have grown in size from single owner/operators to more commercial-based, corporate style farms. The average dairy farm size in New Zealand has grown to an average of 413 cows in the 2013/14 season (Walsh, 2014). Due to this growth farm owners have had to … Read more

Jeremy Anderson

This paper and the associated research sought to answer the following research question: What is the impact of machine to machine (M2M) communication on the dairy industry in New Zealand, and what is the likely impact in the future? Information and communication technology (ICT) plays a significant role in the information flow across the dairy … Read more

Duncan Mackintosh

There is global concern about food safety and the effect antibiotic use in animal production has on our ability to treat human infections in high profile “superbugs” such as MRSA. Antibiotic use in animals has come under significant scrutiny, with a call to reduce their use. Global consumer brands have increased the profile of this … Read more

Satwant Singh

NZ dairy farmers are directly exposed to uncertainty and fluctuations in commodity pricing. Over the past ten years external factors have had a significant impact on dairy farming businesses, leading to increased financial pressure, delayed investment plans and solvency issues. New Zealand (NZ) dairy farmers have been left behind. Sophisticated and diverse price risk management … Read more

Doug Dibley

Dairying remains New Zealand’s largest and most successful industry. A growing global population and higher rates of urbanisation have largely contributed to increased demand in milk globally. Current demand has driven the market and led to continued dairy development and conversion of land use to dairying within New Zealand. This intensification has placed significantly increased … Read more

Lycinda Lett

There are a large and varying number of roster options in the dairy industry. Over time Canterbury and Southland have become predominant dairying regions which are often seen to run shorter rosters with more staff. Some Waikato dairy farms are still seen to run very long rosters on-farm providing staff with limited time off. The … Read more

Adrian Brocksopp

The OVERSEER® Nutrient Budget model (Overseer ) has developed significantly since its inception in the early 1990’s. The model has been widely accepted as an appropriate tool to aid fertiliser nutrient management decision making , the function that it was designed for. Regional councils are starting to use Overseer as a regulatory tool, to meet … Read more

James Ryan

In recent years there has been increased public and media scrutiny of the performance of dairy farming in New Zealand. As a result there are mixed views about dairying in New Zealand. In response to increased community pressure the dairy sector is implementing a range of significant initiatives to enhance its environmental performance. While it … Read more

Ian Handcock

More New Zealanders are dying of cardiovascular disease than cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases combined. Each month, around 860 people in New Zealand die from cardiovascular disease. Farmers do not compare well with the national population with 83% of farmers who took part in a nationwide farmer wellness and wellbeing programme having a cholesterol reading … Read more

Aaron Wilson

The focus of this project is to explore the potential design of a nitrogen attenuating feed pad for dairy cattle that are wintered on fodder crops in the lower South Island. I hope to explain some of the reasoning behind how important cost effective environmental sustainability is to the New Zealand dairy industry, and attempt … Read more

Jason Te Brake

The emergence of China as the largest consumer of food and beverage products has been a significant global mega-trend, one which has far reaching implications around the globe and in the international food and beverage industry. These developments will have a significant impact on food and beverage exporting countries, such as New Zealand, and will … Read more

Matthew Pepper

Something seems wrong with the 50/50 contract because it is in decline. Sharemilking in New Zealand has been the main stepping stone up the Dairy Industry career pathway into farm ownership since the early 1900s. It has been a way of learning skills and at the same time building valuable equity for a dairy farmer … Read more

Michaela Soper

This study stems from the common farmer complaint, that there are too many perennial ryegrass options on the market, this number conservatively estimated at over 50, with a few and limited tools available to farmers to aid them with variety choice for their pasture renewal programme. A survey is conducted of 16 Dairy Women’s Network … Read more

Natasha King

This paper explores the options available to manage effluent within the New Zealand Dairy Industry. It also clearly investigates why Anaerobic Digestion is not suitable at its current levels of technology to be an option for commercial dairy farms in New Zealand. Then it provides some practical, innovative solutions to manage the effluent. Using 3 … Read more

Phil Butler

The purpose of this report is to have a better understanding of the 50/50 sharemilking industry in 2013. The perception within the dairy industry is that the 50/50 sharemilking business structure is on the decline and not enabling sharemilkers to progress to purchasing their own properties or enter other business investments. Having been a 50/50 … Read more

William Grayling

This report investigates the impact that altering the farm system of Singletree Dairies in mid Canterbury to achieve a predicted nitrogen leaching loss in Overseer of 24kgN/ha/year will have on both the operation management of the farm and the financial effects of this. Singletree Dairies currently has a predicted leaching loss of 32kgN/ha/year and through … Read more

Hamish Fraser

Overall there is no clear picture that explains how the industry should fund future growth. However, if some simple rules that have been defined as part of this research are followed, then access to capital to grow the industry shouldn’t be a limiting factor. The key factor is the relationship between the asset values and … Read more

Murray Jamieson

Defining what is the true cost of managing a large scale dairy farm in New Zealand is not just about the financial cost but also the social cost and what the perception of the industry is. Through my study I have defined each area into the financial impact and the social impact it has on … Read more

Virginia Serra Postiglione

Winter is a critical part of the year for dairy farming as the BCS of the cows at the end of winter will significantly affect reproduction and production on the following season, In the Canterbury and North Otago area it can represent up to 20% of the operating expenses. A common strategy is for dairy … Read more

Steve Wilkins

The purpose of this study is to identify areas where the Arable and Dairy industries can continue to be industry leading and keeping the ‘sustainability stool’ upright. All of this, while fitting within the environmental framework we are likely to be faced with in the future.

Sophie Stanley

Social media has given the power to the voice of the everyman, and whilst that may come with its challenges, the opportunities are there for the taking, especially when it comes to telling the story of New Zealand agriculture. The purpose of this report was to assess the value social media could have for the New Zealand agricultural industry to propel us into the 21st century.

Lisa Harper

New Zealand has very high rates of entrepreneurial activity by international standards, but this has not translated into the expected numbers of large and high growth businesses. The result is significant loss of opportunities for growth. This phenomenon has been attributed to cultural influences (primarily lack of aspiration) and a possible lack of finance at … Read more

Harden Brad

This report looks into how employees feel in their current workplace, how they view their efforts, their ethics, how they view their employer and career. Harden Brad

Dorman, Jessie

The selection goal of the New Zealand dairy industry National Breeding Objective (NBO) is to identify animals whose progeny will be the most efficient converters of feed into farmer profit. Desired traits and their relative importance in the form of an economic value are combined to produce an index known as Breeding Worth (BW). This … Read more