The Withys operate a 156-hectare dairy farm, milking 440 Friesian-cross cows in a 36-aside herringbone, with in-shed feeding. The farm is largely based on Lumsden soils, which are notoriously poor draining and need to be carefully managed, particularly in Spring. The property also has a hectare of pine trees to stand off cows when wet.
Since 2020, Charleen and Chris have been members of the Greater Dipton Catchment Group, a community group that is fostering environmental change and education among farmers in Dipton, Southland.
Between November 2022 and May this year, the couple took part in the ‘Greater Dipton Catchment Group greenhouse gas reduction and sequestration journey’. The project involved five farms in Dipton and looked at ways farmers can implement small changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on farm, and balance economic and environmental sustainability.
Forestry and farming consultants visited the participating farms (two dairy, and three sheep and beef) to gather base data. Each farm then had 4 different scenarios which altered farm systems, to investigate GHGs, nitrogen losses and profitability, and compare to the base data - OverseerFM and Farmax were the tools used to model each scenario. GHGs investigated were methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide.
“We enjoy being part of the Catchment Group and this was a very interesting, and important project to be involved with. We came up with four different scenarios for our farm. The first scenario was having a herd home, which we have actually built. In the past, most of our herd was wintered off and we started them in the herd home this winter, with around 120 mixed age cows fed outside on fodderbeet and 220 cows in the home,” Charleen says.
“The second scenario looked at reducing our stock rate. The third lowered our replacement rate, and the fourth scenario looked at converting 20% of the farm to an oat crop to produce oat milk. All four scenarios included the herd home.”
“When looking into reducing GHGs, but maintaining our profitability, scenario 3 (reduced replacement rate) appears a good option to investigate further for our farm. Plus, now that we have built a herd home, we’ll have the ability to utilise methane inhibitors in the future if they become commercially available in New Zealand”
Charleen says the project helped them look over their farm systems and look for improved efficiencies, and how these could possibly lower their GHGs and improve their environmental footprint.
“There is certainly no silver bullet to lowering GHGs, however small changes can help and we look forward to future research and development of options to help farmers.”
Refer to the Thriving Southland website for more detailed information about the Greater Dipton Project.
This project is a finalist in the 2023 Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards in the FMG Rural Champion Award category.