Article - BusinessDesk Intensive, housed dairy farming doesn't make economic sense in NZ, farmers say. In 2000 there were 23,286 registered dairy production holdings in England and Wales, and today this figure stands at 11,2331. The new State of the Environment report paints a “comprehensively damning” picture of the dairy industry. Feeding cows supplementary food is expensive, which means farmers need to have more cows to offset the increased costs. According to Environment Aotearoa, the latest report from the government shows our clean, green, fresh water identity is eroding quickly. Some beautiful landscapes rich in dry land plants and animals, like Mackenzie Country and Canterbury plains, are unsuitable for dairy conversion and require large scale irrigation. Stronger leadership to encourage further focus on per cow production rather than the historic per hectare production is required to achieve both the economic and environmental ambitions of New Zealand. Australian farmers are losing the fight against historic drought . Elaborated below are … The NZ Farm Environment Trust oversees the awards, which are sponsored by Ballance Agri-Nutrient, the Tauranga-based cooperative farming supplies business. More cows mean more irrigated land. During the 2012-13 season, Lincoln achieved a profitability margin of more than $4600 a hectare compared with $5200/ha for Melrose Dairy. "We're getting to a point now where there is a cost to the environment if we push things too hard," he said. "We need to get back to basics and concentrate on our strength, which is growing grass. I think we've lost sight of that a little bit," Mark Slee said. Around 2 million calves are removed from the mother cow every year in New Zealand. "I see housing cows as potentially a good thing with environmental potential but from an economics point of view it's really, really marginal. This related to cutting up grass for silage, which affects grass quality. An award-winning dairy farm couple has described walking through "ghost town" dairy farms in the Netherlands, where cows never go outside, and told Parliament's primary production committee that New Zealand needs to promote the benefits and efficiency of pasture-based farming, rather than move to a more European, intensive model. The number of dairy farmers in Britain has fallen dramatically over the last decade, and continues to decline. Good dairy farming practice also ensures that the milk is produced by healthy animals in a manner that is sustainable and responsible from the animal welfare, social, economic and environmental perspectives. In the past the dairy co-operative has criticised plans to establish 16 new dairy farms in South Canterbury which would keep 18,000 dairy cows indoors for eight months of the year. Another 2018 study looked at 20 years of data for 2.7 million people and showed there is an increased risk of illnesses with levels of nitrates that are even lower than the national rules currently. The Slees also won the LIC Dairy Farm Award, the PGG Wrightson Land and Life Award and the WaterForce Integrated Management Award last year. The SPCA says Fonterra is damaging New Zealand's international clean, green reputation by expanding its use of intensive indoor dairy farming in China. Level 3, Suite 306 Intensive farming is the latest technique used to yield high productivity by keeping large number of livestock indoors and using excessive amount of chemical fertilizers on a tiny acreage. A young calf (file). Canterbury has major issues with nitrates and the 1.3 million dairy cows being farmed on unsuitable land could be a contributing factor. By Suze Metherell. We’ll help you up skill and progress further, wherever you are in your career. There are many studies linking nitrogen in drinking water to health issues like thyroid disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and neural tube defects. Most dairy farm workers have a work roster that provides regular days off but these are often not in the weekend. Farming came under the spotlight, with a worsening in the quality in rivers as a result of intensely farmed land, and more than 75 percent of soils under dairying being badly affected by compaction. The scale and intensity of dairy farming in New Zealand are driven by global economic circumstances that influence the industry to increase their productivity and profitability by increasing the use of production inputs (e.g., stocking rates and fertiliser use). An award-winning dairy farm couple has described walking through "ghost town" dairy farms in the Netherlands, where cows never go outside, and told Parliament's primary production committee that New Zealand needs to promote the benefits and efficiency of pasture-based farming, rather than move to a more European, intensive model. In intensive dairy farms, all three of these are compromised by periods of confinement in indoor housing, health problems due to higher milk yields and distress caused by early separation from their calves. Some of the footage is shocking, and it is not limite… The Netherlands, which has low-lying land and water quality issues, mainly houses its dairy cows and has introduced a limit of two cows per hectare to help manage effluent. Higher milk yield. So implementing good dairy farming practice is good risk management for the short and long term future of the dairy farming enterprise. Dairy Farming You’ll learn the lot - from animal health and milk quality to game changing technology and business management. Killing the golden environmental goose that provides long term gold is a crime against wisdom. This is a global issue. Dairy farm work happens every day of the year as cows need to be milked, fed and cared for. I've come to realise that we cannot have a conversation about individual health without it matching the health of our ecosystem. Our district has the highest number of pork producers in the country (although not the largest volume produced) as well as a significant number of poultry farms. New Zealand needed to boost its publicity and understanding about pasture-fed dairy cows, because the free range method carried a premium price tag in Europe. Intensified dairy farming thus incurs considerable environmental externalities: impacts that are not paid for directly by the dairy farmer. Dairy farms are situated across Britain, but are concentrated mostly in areas where the climate encourages favourable conditions for grassland farming. Surely we need to start changing the way this country produces food for the world so we don't destroy our environment at the expense of the export dollar. New Zealand has a natural advantage in dairy New Zealand is naturally blessed when it comes to making milk. 1010, Auckland, NZ, 0800 843 627 "The consumers don't want cows inside," she said. The cornerstone report out today says the industry is not only degrading biodiversity, rivers and lakes, hastening climate change, it also points to our seas as another environmental victim of intensive … By Suze Metherell. Dairy farming In the 1860s and 1870s most Waikato farmers raised cattle and sheep, and grew root and grain crops. READ MORE: * There is no single answer to climate change * Climate change: E-bikes, tiny homes and embracing a life with lower emissions * North Canterbury nitrate reductions may cause financial ruin, some farmers say * Milking it: The true cost of dairy on the environment * South Canterbury dairy farmers could be forced out of the industry * NZ's dairy pollution cost may be $15b: report. Our fantastic farming community need better recommendations from outside the industry that relies so heavily on the status quo, with minor tweaks. I understand that dairy is interwoven with our cultural identity, and our economy relies heavily on the income it provides. They deserve pathways to diversify so they can stay ahead of the economic, environmental, climate change and animal ethics curve ball that will be thrown at them over the coming years. New Zealand’s climate, soil and abundant water create the perfect environment for growing grass. Mark Slee said farmers in the Netherlands perceived New Zealand farms as highly inefficient, given the reliance on pasture feeding, and thought grass was a poorer quality food. Some 6.6m cattle are … These operations are known as AFO or CAFO in the U.S. The banks of dairy companies have taken action after the reducing price of milk solids affected sharemilkers' ability to pay debts. NZ farming must face up to the future and the first step along the way is to have farming survive without subsidies. Intensive, housed dairy farming doesn't make economic sense in NZ, farmers say. Due to the seasonal nature of dairy farming work your hours of work can change throughout the year. Many people in New Zealand have reported that clean, healthy waterways are their number one concern for those reasons. In Canada and the UK dairy is no longer a staple nutritional recommendation. Source: istock.com Intensive pig farming, also known as pig factory farming is a subset of pig farming and of Industrial animal agriculture, all of which are types of animal husbandry, in which livestock domestic pigs are raised up to slaughter weight. Dairy farming in New Zealand began from small beginnings during the early days of colonisation by Europeans. Habitat protection is critically important to the achievement of Fish & Game’s statutory duty. Intensive, housed dairy farming doesn't make economic sense in NZ, farmers say. Seventy-six per cent of native freshwater fish are at risk of extinction, 82 per cent of waterways on farmland are unsafe for swimming, 59 per cent of ground water on farms failed the current standards due to E. Coli and 13 per cent due to nitrates. However, the report also found emissions from transport, and from wood and coal burning, had declined. John Evans commented 2016-12-02 10:31:50 +1300 Increasing productivity (on farms) has been drummed into farmers over the years from everyone from their local Farmlands / PGGW agent to Fonterra, because it boosts the amount of product they buy / have to sell (respectively). Review of Holsteinization on Intensive Pastoral Dairy Farming in New Zealand B. L. Harris1 and E. S. Kolver2 ... (NZ) dairy cattle population since the late 1960s. Dairy doesn't fit well with any of those aspects. Scrub where sheep once grazed is being given over to intensive dairy farms—some of them irrigated to help the pasture grow. Intensive farming consents scrutinised 24 Feb, 2017 06:27 PM 3 minutes to read Horizons water quality scientist Logan Brown was out testing Rangitikei River water in 2012. Photo: Supplied via NZ Herald ... 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