Our Farms
Weekly pasture stock-takes with the C-Dax pasture meter help drive our pasture based feed system. The information collected is used to plan grazing and supplement use as farm profitability is driven by our pasture harvested per ha. We are actively seeking more accurate and robust solutions for measuring regular pasture inventory.
Cows are wintered off on a mixture of kale and fodderbeet at the Newparks or Broadfields support blocks, which are 5kms from the property.
Irrigation comes from the Rangitata Diversion Race via MHV Water, delivered to the ground by five centre pivot irrigators and three Rotorainers on 6-9 day rotations with K-lines and long line sprinklers in the corners. Corner irrigation is shifted using Tracmap GPS placement.
Through the Harvest.com system we monitor a number of data points continuously. These include weather, milking process and milk silo monitoring, water use, soil moisture and temperature, irrigation system control and monitoring along with GPS proof of placement. The collection and use of data allows informed decisions to be made coupled with accelerated learning and system optimisation.
The Senztag CowManager activity monitoring system is employed to monitor cow health and heat activity 24/7
Tracmap and Hawkeye are used for fertiliser application guidance and proof of placement.
An in house app is used on each farm to track pasture covers, round length, feed use, and production so performance relative to budget, district, and comparison between all dairy units can be monitored by staff on a daily basis.
We have regular plan-do-review sessions on farm around achievement of major KPI's including costs, production, feed use, animal health, reproduction, and calving to support the team in improving our systems.
Doug Lowry is responsible for the design, planting, and maintenance of our shelter and gardens around the properties. Our emphasis is on using plants which maximise the shelter available for stock while creating habitat and all year food source for bees and native birds.
A local family beekeeping business Homer Honey has chosen to partner with us and place hives on the farm.
View the Kintore Farm map.
