Creating more options for summer dairy farming

Feed planning, crops, cow condition and split calving all play a role on Owen and Hollie Clegg’s South Taranaki farms, helping them navigate summer while maintaining production.

For Owen Clegg, farming is about creating options.

Together with his partner Hollie, he manages a 110 hectare lease farm alongside a contract milking operation. Across both farms, their focus is on building a system that can respond to changing conditions while maintaining cow performance and protecting the future of the business.

Pasture remains the foundation of their system, doing the heavy lifting for much of the year, but Owen knows there are times when pasture growth alone isn’t enough. Rather than relying on one solution, crops, feed planning, split calving and careful body condition management help the business stay productive through changing conditions.
 

Feed planning starts early

Like many dairy farmers, Owen’s first priority is making the most of pasture. The crops they grow are designed to complement grass and help fill feed gaps when growth slows.

Maize has become a key part of the Cleggs’ farming system. Over time they’ve steadily increased the amount they grow after seeing the role it can play in supporting production and creating feed certainty. What began as a smaller part of the system has gradually become one of the couple’s key tools for managing seasonal risk.

“We’ve become maize farmers,” Owen says.

The shift has been driven by the consistent yields they’re achieving and the flexibility it provides. If summer turns dry, they know they’ll have feed available. If conditions remain favourable, it still provides a valuable buffer later in the season.

“We’re getting better yields out of the maize,” Owen says. “We’ve just lifted the amount.”

This season they’ll also grow turnips to provide quality feed through summer.

“It’s good green feed. It can come earlier and be a good bulk feed through that summer period as well. It’s something that we know and know how to grow,” Owen says.

That thinking aligns with advice from Corryn Soothill, a Farm Source TSR who works with farmers across South Taranaki on feed planning and crop management.

“We do know ryegrass is an awesome product for nine or 10 months of the year, but we’ve got that two or threemonth window in Taranaki where it doesn’t quite perform like we’d like it to. You’ve just got to have feed for that window.”

Corryn says farmers are best placed when they make decisions while options are still available.

“The aim of the game is just making sure you’re prepared and that if it does go dry, you’ve got a plan to get through.”
 

Getting the details right

While growing crops is important, Owen says success often comes down to getting the basics right. For turnips, that means careful establishment, a strong pest programme and staying on top of weeds and bugs early. Corryn says attention to detail during establishment can make a significant difference.

“It costs just as much to grow a good crop and probably more to grow a bad crop. If you put the detail in, you’ll get the benefits.”

The couple also work closely with a local nutritionist and draw on support from Corryn when making decisions around crop selection, pasture renewal, seed choices and spray programmes.

“We started using a nutritionist as well to get those things right,” Owen says.

Those external perspectives help ensure each decision fits within the wider farm system.
 

Balancing feed demand

Feed supply is only one side of the equation. Managing demand is equally important.

Two years ago, the couple introduced split calving and now have around 80 autumn-calving cows alongside their spring-calving herd. Those cows leave the system around Christmas and early January, reducing feed demand during a period when pressure can build.

“Just like that we drop 80 head out of the system,” Owen says.

The reduction creates breathing space and helps preserve feed for the rest of the herd. The autumn-calving cows then return later in the season, providing another production opportunity and helping deliver a final lift in production.

“We’ve actually found that this works pretty well for us.”

Combined with crops and supplementary feed, split calving gives the couple another way to match feed demand with what’s available on farm.
 

Looking after next season’s production

Cows are dried off based on both calving date and condition score, with lighter cows leaving the herd earlier if needed. The philosophy is straightforward: protecting next season’s performance is more important than extracting every last kilogram of milk.

“If you take it off them now, it’s going to take it out of next season,” Owen explains.

The farm also uses independent body condition scoring. Having an outside assessment helps remove subjectivity from the process.

“Sometimes they all start to look the same,” Owen says. “I’m actually quite generous compared to the people who are certified.”

The information helps guide drying-off decisions and ensures cows are entering the next season with the best chance of performing well.
 

Focus on what you can control

Across the different parts of the business, a common theme emerges. Whether it’s growing crops, managing feed, monitoring body condition or making stocking decisions, Owen and Hollie focus on the things they can influence.

“The things you can’t control can make you feel pretty average at the time, but they’re things you can’t control, so you’ve got to move on and focus on what you can control,” Hollie says.

For her, maintaining perspective is an important part of that approach. Staying connected with other farmers helps remind them they’re not facing challenges alone.

“If you talk to other farmers, you realise they’re going through it too. Everybody’s facing the same conditions,” she says.

The couple also make a point of stepping away from the farm when they can.

“It’s talking with people to get away from it, and taking a break,” says Hollie.
 

Building resilience into the system

The decisions Owen and Hollie make throughout the year aren’t designed around any single challenge. Instead, they’re focused on building a farm system that can respond as conditions change. If you’re looking at ways to build more options into your farming system, contact your local Sustainable Dairying Advisor.