By Anne Hardie
Wintering dairy herds on the West Coast is challenging and little research has been carried out specifically for the region. But now a project is going to assess the range of wintering options and their ability to improve environmental outcomes.
‘How to winter better’ is one of the projects funded by Our Land and Water Rural Professionals Fund and will gather information from farmers in the region who are using a variety of wintering options to cope with the high rainfall.
Farmers already use standoff pads, sacrifice paddocks, herd shelters and compost barns alongside other methods, but there is little information about each system on the West Coast.
Andrew Curtis from Primary Insight says a ton of work has been carried out elsewhere, but the West Coast has often been neglected, resulting in limited research to date for the benefit of farmers in the region. The project will enable West Coast farmers to directly participate in research relevant to their farming and the results will provide region-specific information that will enable them to make informed decisions and meet intensive winter grazing regulations.
Andrew says it will be a very practical project working with farmers who will be questioned about their motivations, reasoning, any limitations of their wintering systems and whether they are considering changing to a different winter system and why.
The differing wintering options will be modelled through OverseerFM and Farmax to understand the economic and environmental (water quality and greenhouse gases) implications of making changes to the farm wintering system.
Farmers sometimes choose a wintering option because of a good sales job, Andrew says, rather than having the costs and benefits analysed.
The project team will interview farmers using different methods and learn from their experience as well as carry out cost-benefit analysis and work out the environmental footprint.
“The aim is to reduce risks to water quality and soil degradation, in the most cost-effective way for their farm system.”
Rather than simply erect a shelter as part of the wintering plan, Andrew says the project should be able to give West Coast farmers more information to make an informed decision. It is also aimed at encouraging farmers to think about their wintering systems and how they can be improved.
The goal is to get the information out to farmers before next winter, with an on-farm field day to present information from the nine-month project.
