By the start of autumn, the rolling paddocks of George Campbell's 400 effective hectare dairy and beef farm are usually dry and brown. Not this year. Everywhere you look is lush, green pasture. The grey clouds overhead threaten to release even more rain on the already sodden soil.
George’s springer spaniel, Pepper, eagerly greets Mark Bulwer and Christian Muller as they pull up in their ute. Mark, a PGG Wrightson Technical Field Representative, and Christian, a Technical Expert for Animal Production, arrive at the Te Awamutu farm to discuss George’s plans for the next few seasons. The earlier, the better for George. He likes to buy his inputs up front, around Fieldays, to secure a better deal.
“We are always thinking a year ahead.”
Outcomes from the previous season always underpins the decision-making process.
“We look at the outputs of the last year: what worked, what did not, and see what tweaks we can introduce to achieve better outcomes,” says Mark.
This year’s unusual weather has delivered unusual outcomes. The toxic fungus, Pseudopithomyces toxicarius, responsible for Facial Eczema (FE) thrives in warm, damp environments. A warm summer usually provides the perfect conditions for FE to proliferate.
“February is usually our dryest month. Instead, the rain has been so heavy this season, FE never got a hold,” says George.
Though, there has been an increase in insect pressure in his crops.
“Because of the cooler spring, the crop was slow to develop, leaving it vulnerable to pests like cutworm, so we applied an an insecticide to reduce the pressure on our crops,” George explains.
The extra rain is not entirely unwelcome, however. In addition to his thriving pasture, George has 56 hectares of chicory, four of lucerne, and 96 hectares of maize silage on his runoff property to provide a balanced diet to his 1,400 dairy and beef stock.
“Often at this time of year, we are chasing the protein to get the right body condition score before calving, but not this autumn.”
With dry off underway in preparation for the arrival of 150 autumn calves in a few weeks, the 300-tonnes of extra feed George ordered last year sits in storage.
“There are worse problems to have,” laughs George.
While feed is not an issue this year, planning crop rotations is more than just producing enough feed.
“Our goal is to reduce our movements around the farm. It is all part of the discussion. Ideally, we are re-grassing our cropping paddocks every two years,” says George.
As the second-generation to farm this land, George wants to build upon previous success and improve outputs. Though spring calves are the norm, many farmers find great success when calving in autumn. A few years ago, George introduced autumn calving as a tool to increase milk outputs.
"We switched to calving some of the herd in autumn, so we could re-calve them in 18-months," he says.
Though conception rates are better for spring calves, George finds raising calves in autumn is generally easier.
"It is easier to keep the calves warm and dry in autumn," he says.
So, shortly before their mid-March arrival, the tractors will be removed from the converted hay barns to get them ready for the new calves. Mark is already creating the necessary check list.
