We sit down with Chris Appleby, Farm Source’s Director On-Farm Excellence, to find out how to track and record this season.
“This year, we’re aiming to make it easier for farmers to track and record information for their Farm Dairy Records by sharing updates early,” says Chris.
Record when it’s relevant
“We’ve heard how painful it can be to find, input and review data from across the season. So, from October, you’ll be able to record data in your Farm Dairy Records at the time it is relevant in the season. You can record on mobile or desktop – it’s about adding flexibility.”
Fertiliser, animal numbers and some feed data can still be pulled through from data connections with the Co-op’s partners to pre-populate the Farm Dairy Records.
| Data Partner | How does the data transfer | How often is the data refreshed or transferred into the Farm Dairy Records |
|---|---|---|
| Agrifeeds | Automatically pulls from Farm Source | Hourly |
| Ballance | Automatically pulls from Ballance's My Ballance | Hourly |
| CRV | Automatically pulls from CRV | Hourly |
| Digital Dairy Diary | Automatically pulls from Dairy Diary | Hourly |
| Farm IQ | Push - requires farmer to send report from their system | Immediately after pushing report |
| Minda | Automatically pulls from Minda to Farm Source | Daily at 7am |
| Ravensdown | Push - requires farmer to send report from their system | Within 2 hours of submitting report |
| Trev | Push - requires farmers to send report from their system | Immediately after pushing report |
New questions this season
This season, there are new questions about water sources and catchments, effluent separation and biogas, with changes to how we ask about carryovers and antibiotic therapy.
- Where do you source your water for the farm, including stock water, irrigation, and shed water?
- Are you part of a catchment group working to improve water quality?
- Do you have effluent solid separation?
- Do you capture biogas?
- Number of mixed aged cows that were in-milk, in-calf or carryovers entered the herd (in addition to asking for heifer replacements)
- What percentage of your herd was dried off using antibiotic dry cow therapy?
“Some of these new questions are of real interest to our customers as they help support claims that our milk comes from farms that use sustainable practices to support positive water, soil and climate outcomes.
We’ve also simplified the form so that carryovers will now be listed under Mixed Aged cows instead of Other Animals,” Chris says. Following farmer requests, the Farm Dairy Records now also include additional products from additional suppliers and breed options to improve the accuracy of data and assessments. Farmers can now also add half-hour times to the Structure recording pages.
Evidence required
At your Farm Dairy Assessment your Farm Dairy Record data is validated with evidence, such as NAIT movements and Dairy Diary notes. Evidence is important to build confidence and trust in the accuracy of your data.
Data collected from partner connections can pre-populate the answers and provides evidence of record keeping practices (e.g. CRV’s My Herd, FarmIQ, LIC’s Minda, or Trev).
Data that requires evidence includes dairy farm effective area and farm boundaries, number of mixed-age cows grazed on and off the milking platform, herd breed and/or liveweight, mixed-age cow mortality, total number of lameness and mastitis cases, off-paddock facility use, supplementary feed use, crops, exported effluent, feed and crops (if applicable), and fertiliser applications.
“If you graze mixed-aged cows off farm, you are also required to record cow movements to improve accuracy of grazing away numbers and provide evidence of this at your 2026/27 Farm Dairy Assessment,” Chris says.
Introducing ’Basic’ Farm Dairy Records
From this season, farmers not participating in the Co-operative Difference have the option to complete the new ’Basic’ version of the Farm Dairy Records, which focuses on information needed to meet Fonterra Terms of Supply and Market Claims.
Questions in the ’Basic’ Farm Dairy Records include:
- Peak cows instead of monthly cows
- Total Nitrogen applied vs. products
Support land questions removed
As the government has deferred the implementation of He Waka Eke Noa emissions pricing, scheme levy, we have removed questions relating to fertiliser applications and other animals on support land.
“If the emissions pricing is reintroduced in the future, then we’ll re-enable the feature. For now, farmers can calculate their own greenhouse gas emissions for support land using the agricultural emissions calculator available on the Ministry for the Environment website,”
Key takeaways
In summary this season, you should find completing your Farm Dairy Records easier than prior years.
“Whether you’re planning on being part of the Co-operative Difference programme or not, there are improvements.
“If you are participating in the Co-operative Difference, we have streamlined the full Farm Dairy Records for farmers to complete, including providing evidence. New questions added to the full Farm Dairy Record provide a better understanding of the journey our milk goes through from paddock to glass, which our customers are asking for.
“If you’re not participating in the Co-operative Difference programme, you only need to fill in the new Basic version that reduces the detail required for fertiliser, monthly animal numbers and other questions.” Chris says.
This season, farmers participating in the Co-operative Difference programme to unlock the additional 7c per kgMS will need to complete their full Farm Dairy Records by 30 June 2026.