By Anne Lee

After more than 20 years, Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF) is still blazing the way for dairy farmers. Last season they adopted a ‘10 milkings in 7 days’ variable regime, reducing pressure on people and cows. They have also remained active over time by demonstrating ways to cut nitrogen application while maintaining production and profit.

LUDF’s aim, as always, is to maintain profitability while it forges on with new innovations; although its strength has also been in sharing what didn’t work, exposing the costs and finding solutions.

The 10 in 7 variable milking regime – a variation on the three milkings in two days system – is proving it can reduce pressure on people, allowing once-a-day (OAD) milking during weekends, and more sleep-ins during the week due to OAD milking on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Table 1 shows what the milking timetable looks like and the intervals between milkings.

DairyNZ research has found that while variable milking times will result in a drop of 5% milk production, there’s no need to stick rigidly to the 8-20-20 hour milking intervals of the three milkings in two days system.

It’s opened the way for the 10 in 7 system that in turn has enabled more flexible rosters for staff – such as the five days on, two days off adopted by LUDF.

The research found that as well as the benefits for staff, fewer milkings and fewer walks to the farm dairy can also lead to benefits for cows, with a lift in body condition score of 0.25.

For LUDF the positives have definitely been achieved on the people side, but the cow benefits have yet to be realised.

At the farm’s spring focus day, 2IC Cody Mulligan said the 5 and 2 roster, along with the 10 in 7 milking regime, had definitely improved work-life balance.

Not only did he get his weekends off – Sunday and Monday each week – he could also get along to school activities and had more time to spend with his young children before and after work.

With OAD milkings on three of his rostered days on, there was more time during the week to focus on other tasks around the farm.

He was able to get to jobs in spring that would normally have to be left until calving was over.

Team member Georgia Berg agreed and said the system had big benefits to overall wellbeing compared with other twice a day (TAD) systems she’d worked in where rosters were 11 on and three off and nine on and three off.

Getting more sleep meant she was more rested and felt fresher and more energised.

Any negatives to the system, such as having to come up with systems for calf pick-ups and feeding calves over spring with varying milking times, were greatly outweighed by the wellbeing benefits, she said.

Pictured below: LUDF staff Cody Mulligan, 2IC, and team member Georgia Berg.

LUDF manager Peter Hancox says cows were quick to adapt to the varying milking times, although there were some issues in spring with keeping cups on some heifers at the early morning milking following the longest milking interval (21.5 hours). But cow flow was good as cows were keen to get into the shed for milking.

To get around varying milking times the team fed calves at either 10.30am or 11am and had to purchase a milk warmer to keep the early morning calf milk warm until then.

Artificial insemination (AI) was timed so the technician came at the end of their run on the days the team was milking OAD, and on days where cows were being milked TAD they came at the start of their run.

Last season’s tough spring and poor growing season meant benefits of the 10 in 7 system weren’t realised when it came to cow condition and milk production loss was higher than budgeted at 8%.

Three to four percent of that was likely due to seasonal effects and up to 5% due to the variable milking regime.

The drop in milk production income was partially offset by a 25% cost saving in petrol and motorbike repairs and maintenance, a 13% drop in electricity use with less shed running time, and a 25% cut in the cost of cleaning products for the shed and plant.

At a $9/kg milksolids (MS) payout, the overall impact on the bottom line of shifting to the 10 in 7 regime was $39,000.

At a $7/kg MS payout, that impact would have dropped to $5,000.

The team has continued the milking regime this season and hopes seasonal effects don’t cloud anticipated benefits to cows.

A long-term view for lower N use

At 144kg N/ha, LUDF’s nitrogen (N) use is well below the 190kg N/ha cap.

One of the key changes to help achieve lower N use has been a shift to slightly longer grazing rounds that more closely fit with the three-leaf grazing stage for ryegrass.

That’s optimised the grass response to any N applied but it’s also meant 2.4 fewer grazing rounds, so fewer applications through the season.

The start of seasonal nitrogen fertiliser applications was shifted from late July to late August/September when there’d be a better response, and late autumn applications stopped to limit potential winter nitrate leaching.

An average of 8kg N/ha less was applied at each application.

A solid history

More than 20 years ago a group of key dairy sector organisations joined with motivated South Island farmers to establish the South Island Dairying Development Centre (SIDDC) and Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF).

The aim was to develop and demonstrate sustainable best practice for the growing South Island dairy industry.

Ravensdown has been right there from the beginning as a founding partner in SIDDC and LUDF.

Back then Ravensdown recognised South Island dairying faced new opportunities and challenges compared with North Island areas where much of the research had been carried out.

Science-backed innovation was needed then just as it is now, and through the LUDF and SIDDC partnership Ravensdown has been able to support and develop transformational innovations and practices.

LUDF has been able to demonstrate at a commercial dairying scale how such innovations can be used in a practical sense to lower dairying’s environmental impact and enhance productivity.

Strategic nitrogen use, coated urea, automated pasture measurement with C-Dax and effluent systems ClearTech and EcoPond are all examples.

The partnership remains strong and together with Lincoln University new advances in environmental technology will continue to be demonstrated at LUDF.