»«■; ■ v la * WHAT'S HAPPENING IN NEW ZEALAND DAIRYING New Zealand dairying. Since 1985 New Zealand dairy farmers have been paid on the basis of three factors milkfat, protein, and volume. Volume is discounted because it contributes importantly to transport and manu facturing costs, and protein has increasingly earned more as con sumer demand for milkfat (the traditional basis for pricing) has declined. Thus in 1985 the New Zealand Dairy Board (NZDB) payment was in the ratio of 1.64 for fat to 1 for protein. For the Cows per acre 1991-92 season the ratio is 0.60 for Cow liveweight (lb) 1 fat to 1 for protein and dairymen Days in milk are being advised that this is likely Milk (Ib/COW) to decline to 0.1 to 1 over the next Milkfat (Ib/cow) • 10 years. Protein (Ib/cow) New Zealand dairymen and the Solids (Ib/acre) NZDB arc very interested in MILK INCOME ($/acre)* methods to increase the total solids , CnW content of the milk and especially * gaseSf on SUSI’.O2/1 b imrn t 125KingCourt/Hollanderßd. I New Holland, PA 17557 717/354-9611 Warren J. Parker Department Agricultural and Horticultural Systems Management Massey University Palmerston U. New Zealand The New Zealand dairy industry ■is based on 2.3 m cows in 14,744 heids. Ninety percent of the 880,000 tons of dairy products produced annually are exported. Almost all of the herds (95 per cent) produce milk on a seasonal basis over a 230-250 day lactation. Grazed pasture comprises rriore than 90 percent of the cows’ diet This weeks article reviews some of the current research and events in I I | AIR-O-MATIC i VENTILATION SYSTEMS 0 All Types Of Fans For All Types Of Buildings ftk X Sizes g « 20 ”‘° ■PPWf 1 Jfe jj %heij|KMp Wall Fan w/Hood & 9 Painted Galv. Cabinets 9 9 » 9 » IZTM PORTABLE si«. COOLING 36To 8 Amß FAN 48” UTILITY TRAILERS FRT SERIES JSmtm£z... I'mrnmm** " '~. a> —....,^tsM«r Available In 5000 Thru 10,000 GVW Other Models 3000 To 24,000 GVW Also Available GRAZING PASTURE MENT MFG. CORP. CHRISTMAS JOY May the meaning and the message of the first Noel | rekindle your faith in His love. Merry tidings. | ' L r^V 390 Series ROLL-A-WAY This is CONVEYOR fJ%/y A Rugged S&CX/ High Speed Unit For Ear Com, Silage, Bulk Feeds, Small Grains, Manure or Bales. - ZIMMERMAN RUGGED HEAVT DUTT WAGON GEAR ■ U 0 . ~'• t ' Model 990 FORAGE BOX Model 991 FORAGE BOX MMMMMMii protein. Most of these improve ments are expected to be slowly realised through breeding rather than through nutrition, which offers restricted opportunities because of the use of a pasture only diet for lactating cows. The emphasis on solids has renewed interest in the Jersey breed, who lost favor during the 1970 s to mid-1980s because Frie sian cows provided higher returns for calves (for dairy beef) and cull cows (through heavier carca weights). Results for the first sea son of a farm system trial compar ing Jerseys and Holstein-Friesians at two stocking rates at Ruakura (near Hamilton in the North Island) showed that Jersey cows made more income per acre (see Table). The farmlets were man aged so as to have the same amount of pasture at the end of the milking season. In comparison to Pennsylva nia! the results indicate—a shorter average lactation (corresponding Contact Us For Literature & Prices! to seasonal dairying), lower milk yields per cow, but high percen tages of solids and more emphasis on income per acre than per cow. Also those of you who have read the past articles on stocking rate will be interested to see the effect of more cows per acre and of the different liveweight of the two breeds. Cow liveweights are a topic of discuion at present A researcher has suggested that New Zealand dairymen should be considering smaller cows for pasture produc tion efficiency. Increasing a cow’s liveweight from 882 pounds to 992 pounds (small by US standards in either case), requires an additional 37S pounds pasture DM per year for maintainance energy. For a ISS cow herd (about the New Zealand average), this 110 pounds increase in individual cow liveweight equ ates to an extra 17089 pounds of herd liveweight which is equiva- Jersey Jersey Hols-Fr. 1.4 1.8 1.2 867 849 1091 263 225 , 265 7288 5784 10264 441 346 472 304 229 359 2664 2606 2511 1574 1588 1444 milkfat. 'I ' * s 5 I s I s 5 Merry Christmas To old friends and new fio our wishes for a season of love and faith. A warm, wonderful thanks to all! J-* >> '** mil ii 1 ■■■ f- *W. niim* ■JF CYSTONE ? 477 East Farmersville Rd. ' ■C CONCRETE ( Ntw Holland, PA J 7557 ”“ij ji%PRODUCW; ? f|7,358-236* *“ .M *■ <* /•’ \ ' l *, .v. at. > . ~ * ' . . ..... _ _ Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 21, 1991-Cl7 lent to the weight of 19 cows and the consumption of an extra 58,433 pounds of pasture DM per year! If this pasture DM was used to produce milk, rather than main tain liveweight, it would generate an extra 33 pounds milkfat/cow with a value of $33.66 (or $5,217 for the 155 cow herd). Extra cows, rather than liveweight, would earn additional income through calf and cull cow sales. The figures are challenging, and raise questions about the need for 1300-1600 pounds cows in Pennsylvania, especially where cows are on a pasture diet Dairyfarmcrs are showing a lot of interest in “focus” farms. This is a relatively new extension prog ram, involving Dairy Companies and New Zealand Dairy Board Consulting Officers. The “focus” farms are located in different dis tricts and are closely monitored (e.g. pasture production, cow con dition scores, herd replacement liveweight gains, milk production) to identify where management could be improved or new technol ogy could be adopted to increase profit. The farms are operated by commercial farmers and are man aged under the same constaints as the ‘real’ world (rather than a research environment). The mea surement of farm performance has highlighted some interesting fac tors —low performing farms don’t necearily produce a lot less pasture and often can make significant (Turn to Pag* CIS) Hol-Fr. 1.6 1039 228 7409 331 247 2298 1350
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers