🐱 Kiwi Farming Mega Thread - Epic stories of farmers in NZ

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CatParty
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/new-water-treatment-system-hailed-giant-leap-kiwi-farms


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Cleartech, created by Ravensdown, gives farmers the ability to separate waste from dairy shed runoff, allowing them to re-use the water.

With an average of 10,000 litres being recycled every milking it could mean a major difference for water use on farms and with public scrutiny at an all-time high, it's a welcome change.


"The customers asking for that, the community is asking for that, central government is asking for that. We as citizens of New Zealand want a better more sustainable country," says Mike Manning, Ravensdown's general manager of innovation and strategy.

The left over effluent can be used as a nutrient fertiliser for paddocks in summer weather.

The product is set to hit the market later this year at a cost of around $50,000
 
With this efficient use of water, surely Kiwi farms will see an increase in the amount of milk produced. It gets better every day .
 
51C1FA78-D312-4964-A0C8-3EE2DD64D94A.jpeg http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-04/enormous-sinkhole-opens-up-on-nz-farm/9729030?pfmredir=sm


A massive sinkhole has opened up on a New Zealand farm, with a volcanologist saying it is the biggest he has ever seen in the country.

The crack was discovered at Earthquake Flat, 15 kilometres south-east of Rotorua on New Zealand's North Island.

Vulcanologist Brad Scott visited the farm where it was discovered and said it would have taken decades for the underground cavity to grow, but was spurred on by recent heavy rain.

"The largest I've seen prior to this would be about a third of the size of this, so this is really big," he said.

"The cavity would have been present from all the rainfall events over the last 40, 50, 100 years.

"The high-intensity rainfall that we experienced on the weekend just accelerates the process."

Farm manager Colin Tremain said he could not believe the size of it.

He said the area often developed sinkholes due to degrading limestone rock beneath the ground's surface.

"It wasn't until I came down in daylight that I actually saw just how big it was," he said.

"We'll keep it fenced off as it is to keep stock out, although stock aren't stupid, they're not going to walk into a hole, they can spot danger."
 
Wait that's not MovieBob's basement...that's not Spoony's career...that's not Zoey's vag...
 
https://pickle.nine.com.au/2018/05/...f-driving-rare-species-to-brink-of-extinction

A Kiwi farmer has been accused of almost wiping out an endangered species of plant on his property.

Ninety percent of the remaining specimens of shrubby tororaro exist on Kaitorete Spit, a tiny strip of land in the Canterbury region.

That piece of land is largely owned by Brent Thomas, a farmer currently being sued by environmental campaigners.

Thomas is accused of spraying and clearing three paddocks of the property to plant oats, wiping out a third of the remaining shrubby torararo plants.

Environmental advocacy group Forest and Bird is taking Thomas to court to prevent any more of the bushes, known for their heart-shaped leaves, from being destroyed.

It is unclear if Thomas has broken the law, Stuff reports.

Thomas said his business is honouring an agreement from the 1990s that preserves shrubby tororaro plants in a fenced-off area.

"We're horrified to find ourselves in this situation and are working as fast as we can to reach a collaborative, long-term solution," he was quoted as saying.
 
https://pickle.nine.com.au/2018/05/...f-driving-rare-species-to-brink-of-extinction

A Kiwi farmer has been accused of almost wiping out an endangered species of plant on his property.

Ninety percent of the remaining specimens of shrubby tororaro exist on Kaitorete Spit, a tiny strip of land in the Canterbury region.

That piece of land is largely owned by Brent Thomas, a farmer currently being sued by environmental campaigners.

Thomas is accused of spraying and clearing three paddocks of the property to plant oats, wiping out a third of the remaining shrubby torararo plants.

Environmental advocacy group Forest and Bird is taking Thomas to court to prevent any more of the bushes, known for their heart-shaped leaves, from being destroyed.

It is unclear if Thomas has broken the law, Stuff reports.

Thomas said his business is honouring an agreement from the 1990s that preserves shrubby tororaro plants in a fenced-off area.

"We're horrified to find ourselves in this situation and are working as fast as we can to reach a collaborative, long-term solution," he was quoted as saying.

Thats not the only thing I'm driving to extinction
 
https://www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/dairy-news/dairy-agribusiness/kiwi-farmers-tour-us

New Zealand dairy farmers visiting California dairy farms last month were surprised at how far behind US farms were in efficiency and adoption of technology.

Cheap, available labour does little to encourage California farmers to achieve greater efficiency.

For example, one farm the Kiwis visited was milking 1600 cows in a double 25-head parallel dairy. So it took two 10-hour shifts to milk the herd.

Although there is room in the parlour to expand the current system to 40-head, it won’t be done until the herd expands as there is enough labour at $10/hour to continue as is.

Despite this, on farms visited attention to detail was high, with extremely low mastitis levels and a herd average of 45L/cow on one farm, thanks to a diet monitored daily.

Shawn Sands, who farms at Aka Aka, said the tour showed it paid to “focus on doing the basics right”.

“Ensuring that milking policies are being followed correctly by all milking staff can cause a dramatic decrease in SCC and mastitis.

“The farms that paid their staff well and treated them as part of a team had remarkable staff retention.”

Most farms were also pasteurising all milk fed to calves to minimise the amount of bacteria and disease calves were exposed to.

“This could be something for NZ farmers to look into, particularly with the current outbreak of M.bovis,” Sands says.
 
They should take the desert bus, it's quite the way to get around. I hope they take in the sights and learn from American methods of farming to help bring the finest tard cum to their fellow Kiwis back home.
 
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