Near Raglan, mikemoss [at] xtra [dot] co [dot] nz
"Years ago the banks said - we'll back you into a bigger farm, but not into organics. Now they will back me anywhere."
Mike and Madeline have been the inspiration for several of the organic dairy farmers I met in the Waikato. They have been organic for nine years, so are fully certified and there has been time to see the effects of the change.
The farm is not an easy one. It's a mix of heavy alluvial river flats which can flood and hilly country, some of it quite steep and fragile. Rainfall is 2200-2400mm so soils can become very wet and damaged.
Mike bought the farm from his parents in 1988 and immediately began fencing and planting waterways and wetlands and forestry blocks. Some years later he started working with the Harbour Care group in Raglan, who were really supportive in enabling him to complete the protection and planting of the remaining unplanted waterways. He was running around 2.76 cows/ha and using urea and maize but with high debt: "[we] seemed to struggle from one crisis to another". He felt the higher input system was creating a number of imbalances in the soil and stock health requiring yet more money to be spent on trying to re-balance the system. The dry summer of 1999 and a plague of crickets convinced him his system was unsustainable and he started down the road to organics.
He now runs 2.2 cows/ha. They are Fresian/Jersey cross but Mike is breeding towards Swedish Redbreed, derived from Shorthorn and Ayrshire, which are hardy and easy calvers. A note of caution however, the cross seems to be losing resistance to eczema so another genetic input may be needed. They produce 350-360kg MS/cow.
All feed is grown on the farm - organics requires only organic feed to be brought in and it is difficult to find in a year when everyone is looking for it. In a bad year Mike will drop the stocking rate slightly and grow more feed to keep the cows in top condition.
Fertilizer is Biophos, elemental sulphur and some trace elements. Lime and compost are also used.
"Urea allowed us to be bad farmers. We didn't have to plan feed ahead," says Mike. This need to think further ahead, understand the land and the weather and to plan, seems to be a common factor in all the organic farms I visited.
An outstanding feature of the Moss farm was the herd home, the only one I have seen in my farm travels. With a capital cost of $200,000, it is hard to see it how it could pay for itself, but Mike says it is a god-send for wet cold winters. In very wet conditions the cows are on the fresh grass for only the four hours a day it takes them to eat their fresh ration. Then they are off the grass so there is no pugging of the soil and it grows more grass the next time round. Emissions of nitrous oxide, the most powerful agricultural greenhouse gas, are much lower without the pugging. This is a practical way some farms could reduce their climate change emissions and we need to get it accepted by the Kyoto agreement so those farmers can get the benefit of the lower emissions.
At this stage the main benefits of the herd home are shelter and warmth for the cows, so they eat less; all hay and silage is fully utilised as they are not trampling it; and the paddocks recover faster after saturated conditions. Some farms say they grow 20% more grass on the paddocks when they can take the stock off in wet weather. Other organic farms I have visited use a sacrifice paddock for the same purpose - farms where they don't have to contend with quite so much rain.
I must admit I was prejudiced about herd homes before I saw this one - NZ is known for grazing its animals outside all year round - surely we don't want to coop them up in barns away from the light and the sun and the fresh grass? However now I'm a complete convert. The high roof is translucent and lets in lots of light. The overhanging sides are open so there is air movement through but rain and cold winds are kept out. The cows are free to move around, and there is fresh hay or silage under the eaves around the outside edges of the barn for them to feed at will. If I had any doubts about the animal welfare side of things, it was dispelled when I saw them waiting in the race to get back in again out of the rain.
A large tank under the slatted floor catches the urine and manure. They are held separately until conditions are right to put them back on the pasture. Mike adds rock dust, fine lime and biodynamic preparations to the manure pit so that it composts and this gives 2-300 tonnes a year which is applied to the pasture when it is dry. This avoids runoff to streams in wet weather.
Animal health improved markedly after conversion to organics. There have been no further metabolic diseases. In the early years garlic and flax and other organic remedies for intestinal parasites were used, but now they are not necessary - the animals just don't get worms.
Mastitis can still be a problem and attempts at preventative strategies haven't consistently worked, but it is treatable and does come right. Mike feels that mastitis is now at a very manageable level.
Blackberry is a problem along some fence lines but doesn't grow under the Taxodiums (swamp cypress) so more are being planted to shade the blackberry out.
Gorse has been a problem on the hill block and for some time this was run as a separate block using herbicides. However, Mike now feels they have got the gorse to a manageable level on the hill block so that with the use of goats, organic interceptor, and the retirement of the worst areas into Manuka or trees they are now bringing that area into the organic fold. Part of this block is still for sale but they will continue to farm it in the meantime.
The hard gullies will probably go into manuka for honey and oils rather than trying to control the gorse and grazing them.
Mike and Madeline sell a small amount of raw milk from the farm dairy and this is becoming increasingly popular as more people realise the benefits of this nutritious un-pasteurised product.
The farm is very attractive with its many trees, protected wetlands and healthy stock. "The environmental aspect of what we do, we are as passionate about as the organic aspect. There's a very good fit with the two and we're pretty proud of that."
Mike and Madeline's mission is to prove that a small family farm can work. Just 140 cows supports the family, a big mortgage and one full time employee. They are still making a profit at the current low payout, unlike many of their neighbours. And so far as I could tell, their impact on water quality and their greenhouse gas emissions were about as small as they could be on a dairy farm.
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