On-farm technology benefits staff and cows
Waikato dairy farmer Ben Moore.
The use of on-farm technology is one of the points of difference in the business of Waikato dairy farmer Ben Moore.
English-born Ben and Kiwi wife Lizzy spent two years sharemilking Lizzy’s family farm at Okoroire, between Tirau and Matamata, when a new opportunity arose about five years ago.
They bought a 45ha block across the road, built an underpass, leased the 100ha farm from the Wildings, and now run them together as one business producing
190,000kg milk solids from 450 crossbred cows.
On-farm technology ranges from the online effluent monitoring system to automatic teat sprays and cow manager, an ear tag for heat detection and keeping an eye on general cow health.
‘‘We’re utilising technology to run a more streamlined operation so our staff and our cows can benefit from it,’’ Ben says.
‘‘Our staff – Shaun and Aimee Spillsbury, who job share one full time position – don’t work more than 36 hours a week.’’
He says the hardest part about introducing new technology is training the farmer and/or the person using it.
‘‘You have to be willing to accept technology to use it to its best advantage. I have come to trust the technology that we have, a learning curve at the beginning, but the more people who buy into new technology the better the technology will be. There’s a little bit of responsibility back on us there. When I first started learning, I was driving a Ford Dexter with 44 horsepower and I’m now driving 300 horsepower. Things change.’’
Some of the farm system is loosely based on Lean Management principles, such as their electric fence energiser.
‘‘We bought an i-series from Gallagher; we put a box in for $150 that uses wifi and Bluetooths our phones so you can turn the power on and off anywhere on the farm any time. You don’t have to go back to flick a switch.
‘‘We have two Kawasaki mules, both have sprayers with booms and toolboxes, so anywhere on the farm at any point they can do a job that needs to be done. It’s common sense.’’
As dairy chairman for Waikato Federated Farmers, Ben is part of a national feed coordination group (overseen by MPI), which saw him organise 4500 bales of feed delivered into Waikato during the drought.
Covid-19 has resulted in the streamlining of some of his Federated Farmers work.
‘‘You have to be willing to accept technology to use it to its best advantage. I have come to trust the technology that we have, a learning curve at the beginning, but the more people who buy into new technology the better the technology will be.’’
‘‘We’ve had a lot of Zoom calls in 2020, which has meant a lot less driving around and going to meetings. But we have to make sure our time is still seen as valuable by other industry groups. We are volunteers and we have our own businesses to run as well. We can’t just hop on a Zoom meeting at 3pm in the afternoon because we’re usually in the middle of milking,’’ he says.
2020 was also an election year.
‘‘I sat in on Zoom calls with all of the parties, bearing in mind we’re a-political.’’
Post lockdown, Ben featured on Seven Sharp with Laura Daniels about the desperate need to get more contractors into the country for the summer season.
‘‘It did work, we were allowed 210 into the country but now there are not enough vouchers for isolation accommodation. Sixty or 70 have been allowed in and the rest have to wait until February. That will be too late.’’
With his personal contracting background, Ben has been able to help local contractors. But he says he’s also enjoying the chance to be more proactive on a bigger stage.
‘‘I’ve always been fairly vocal, in a problem-solving type of way, but if you’re going to be vocal you need to know what you’re talking about. Being involved with Feds is my way of giving back to the industry; making changes for the better.’’