High-tech farmer reaps benefits

Hayden Lawrence explains how he has put technology to work on his Taranaki dairy farm. Photo by...
Hayden Lawrence explains how he has put technology to work on his Taranaki dairy farm. Photo by Sally Brooker.
The man who invented the C-Dax pasture meter has gone on to incorporate technology into his farming life.

Hayden Lawrence presented a workshop at the recent South Island Dairy Event at Lincoln University, looking at whether on-farm technologies were an investment for the future or just another cost.

It depended on what you needed and how well it could work for you, Dr Lawrence said. Before deciding whether a new piece of technology would be added to his dairy farm at Hawera, Taranaki, he applied the philosophy of ''plan, measure, manage, review''.

That allowed him to make informed decisions based on relevant data, costs, and how it would affect the business.

In feed planning, it was essential to know how much grass the farm grew, he said. However, only 20% of New Zealand farmers measured grass growth.

''We measure every paddock, every week. It takes us one and a-half hours to collect data and half an hour to process it and make management decisions. It has proved to be cost-effective.''

The farm had made an extra $300 a hectare year-on-year from having its grass measured, Dr Lawrence said.

Differential feeding based on peak litres of milk production plus five herd tests a year had resulted in a large increase in per-cow production, he said.

All paddocks also had their soil tested. A ''solid fertiliser history'' before he arrived at the farm five years ago meant some areas did not need much, while others lacked nutrients.

The tests resulted in seven different fertiliser applications, with a strategy for each paddock. Pasture production had not been limited and the cost of the soil testing had paid off, Dr Lawrence said.

A precision liming programme had also been introduced, using the same soil tests to put lime only where it was needed. By using fertiliser spreading guidance, $23.60 a hectare had been saved through improved application of nitrogen-based fertilisers. He used smartphone apps on the farm. Free ''gtasks'' app allowed him to load all jobs to be done, synchronised with his wife's phone and those of the farm workers. When one of them completed a job, it was marked off.

''It saves paperwork and writing up sheets at the shed.''

A handwriting note app was used to record artificially-bred cows. The information was emailed to the shed. Dr Lawrence said he also used Twitter, tweeting his growth rates and pasture covers.

''All my neighbours should be following me - they don't measure pasture and could get the benefits without the costs.''

Maps were sent to workers' cellphones to show the farm's grazing plan.

''This is all free stuff, developed for other industries. We can find tips and tricks to help us manage our businesses.''

He warned farmers to be careful with their data management.

''It's really important as an industry to keep the pressure on big companies so farmers still own their own data.''

They should also be able to review it.

Farmers should plan what they need to measure on-farm before buying technology, he said.

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