SHOWING THE KIWIS HOW JUDGING IS DONE
STEVEN Duncan knows dairy farming can be tough, but he is out to prove he can be tougher.
Two floods in three years, depressed milk prices and escalating costs have not been enough to deter the Lockyer Valley farmer from investing in the future.
Last year he installed three robotic milking machines and he has just completed building a compost barn to house his cows as part of an ongoing commitment to improving production, reducing disease and stress on cows and combating the current economic environment.
Steven says the investments and a strong focus on home-grown feed are part of a long-term strategy to keep the farm viable even in the harshest times.
“Healthy cows are the core of our business and our focus is preventing disease, not treating sick animals. The compost barn will help us
We certainly had our challenges that first month.
Steven Duncan
achieve that,” he said.
“We’ll be able to look after our cows and control the environment 24-7.
“The barn will provide the missing link in our system: a soft and dry place where the cows can rest.”
The barn, which was completed this winter, will reduce lameness stemming from cows walking on laneways or standing on concrete for a prolonged time and it will stop cows lying in mud and contracting mastitis.
Steven expects a production spike and significant animal health benefits as animal comfort increases.
“Now they can lie in a comfortable environment underneath a high roof that allows the breeze to flow through,” he said.
“If cows are spending a lot of time on their feet, whether it be walking long distances while grazing or standing under a shade structure, it decreases their capacity to produce milk.
“When cows are lying down there is much higher blood flow through the udder and therefore more milk produced.”
The Duncans previously tried to boost production by increasing cow numbers.
“The more cows you have, the more bought-in feed you rely on if you can’t produce enough home-grown, high-quality forages,” he said.
“If your infrastructure is not set up for handling a higher number of animals, then risk of disease increases. These costs outweigh the profits of milking more cows.
“We decided to go the other way and milk fewer cows, look after them better and increase productivity that way.”
The farm is now milking 160-180 cows on a Lely robotic system introduced in January last year.
Ironically, the robots were introduced less than a fortnight before floods engulfed 85% of the farm.
“We certainly had our challenges that first month,” he said.
“Luckily, we had a generator that worked for about six days.”
The robots are averaging about 2.7 milkings per cow, per day and the farm is averaging 26.5 litres per cow, per day.
Last year, the herd peaked at 32 litres per cow.
This year, that number rose even higher, to 33 litres and is still rising.
“The compost barn is going well and we’re seeing the benefits,” Steven said.
“The mastitis has almost disappeared even with the splash of rain we received in the past couple of weeks,” Steven said.
The Duncans have three properties with the 60-hectare dairy component supported by grain and hay enterprises.
The farm has also altered its calving pattern to a year-round system with only four weeks off over the hot Christmas period.
Despite the challenges, Steven, 33, and the father of two young boys, remains committed to the industry, continuing to work the farm with his father Graham.
The fourth-generation dairy farmer admitted he had tried other jobs in the past, including several years as a machinery salesman.
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