Episode 75 – Bridging research and reality
In this episode, Anne Lee speaks to Andrea Dixon, General Manager of the Southern Dairy Hub, and Dawn Dalley, Senior Scientist at DairyNZ. Andrea provides a background on the farm’s history, how it’s set up, what’s on the agenda over the coming season and HubWatch – an easy to access, online way of getting the latest information from the Southern Dairy Hub.
Dawn explains the latest side-by-side herd study which is comparing a “standard herd” run at a 3.1 cows/ha stocking rate with a”future herd” of high genetic merit cows run at a lower stocking rate of 2.9 cows/ha. She gives an update on the first season’s results and shares insights from other studies including research on wintering practices with interesting insights into the importance of soil wetness compared with pugging depth.
Host:
- Anne Lee, Senior Journalist, Dairy Country
Guests:
- Andrea Dixon, General Manager, Southern Dairy Hub
- Dawn Dalley, Senior Scientist, DairyNZ
Andrea Dixon, General Manager of the Southern Dairy Hub in Southland, is overseeing the commercial scale, 349ha research dairy farm where a series of farm trials are running that are designed to test dairy systems which can remain profitable while reducing environmental impact. The farm is running a comparison between a standard herd and a high-genetic-merit, lower-stocked “future” herd to assess whether fewer, more productive cows can deliver better results.
She explains that the Hub’s ability to have research that’s farmer-led and grounded in the realities of operating a commercial dairy farm can benefit Southern dairy farmers. By connecting scientists, industry and farmers, Andrea says it’s possible to fast-track the adoption of innovations that improve efficiency, animal welfare and environmental outcomes.
She also outlines HubWatch, the farm’s weekly, online glimpse into the research and happenings at the Southern Dairy Hub which not only gives farmers up to date data but shares real time decision making processes as the farm’s management deals with local climatic variations and seasonal management situations.
The farm’s focus on technology, use of drones to establish plantain and beef-on-dairy breeding policy for non-replacement calves are also discussed.
Senior Scientist Dawn Dalley is leading research at the Southern Dairy Hub in Southland to test future-focused dairy systems that balance profitability with environmental stewardship. Drawing on her extensive experience in pasture management and farm systems science, Dawn is comparing a standard herd with a high-genetic-merit, lower-stocked “future” herd to see whether fewer cows can deliver more milk with less impact.
She provides results from early stages of the studies and talks about the differences in wintering with the “future” herd wintered on pasture and balage. Dawn explains some of the interesting results from varying break sizes and outlines some of the management findings. The first milking season’s results show the “future” farm had higher per cow production and used less supplementary feed but due to the lower stocking rate, produced 150kg milksolids (MS) per hectare less. Environmental impact and financial data will also be analysed and reported on.
Passionate about bridging the gap between research and real-world farming, Dawn works closely with southern farmers to ensure findings are reported on in a practical, relevant, and farmer-driven way. She sees the Hub as a proving ground for innovations that could reshape how southern dairy farms operate, making them more resilient, efficient, and environmentally responsible for the future.
