Big Sky thinks big with project to boost milk production

Maniototo's Big Sky Dairy is looking at running a herd of 6000 cows on supplementary feed - a move away from traditional grass-based systems on an unprecedented scale.

Company director Ewan Carr said he and fellow directors Howard Paterson and Rodney Humphries were considering increasing the herd from 2000 to between 5000 and 6000 within five years.

This would make it one of the largest of its kind in the country.

The herd would be run on a 1660ha farm at Patearoa, near Ranfurly, which Mr Carr has run since 1992. He said the farm was possibly the largest dairy unit in New Zealand. Most were between 200ha and 300ha.

The company was experimenting with a new feed system, based on a North American model. A final commitment to the project would be made in the next few weeks.

Crops of grass, lucerne, crop silage and treated grains were being grown on the property to provide feed. The plan was to eventually move from what was now mainly a pasture-based feed system.

"We are increasingly using supplements to provide sustainable and consistent sources of protein and carbohydrates," Mr Carr said.

By feeding cows in a concrete-pad environment, efficiency was boosted and waste minimised.

Big Sky wanted to produce high quality A2 milk, and was awaiting results of DNA tests for the level of A2 milk in its cows.

Mr Carr said he expected up to 20 per cent of the results to be positive.

"We would be looking to be one of the first suppliers of A2 milk when the market requires it."

The manager of Dunedin's A2 Corporation, David Parker, said the milk was thought to be safer to drink than A1. It may be available in supermarkets from August.

Mr Carr said a trip to Australia had convinced investors that the supplementary feed-based system would increase milk production.

Large Friesian cows in Australia, similar to those owned by Big Sky, were producing more than 800kg of milk solids a cow.

Big Sky was already averaging 450kg a cow, which put it in the top 5 per cent in New Zealand.

Mr Carr said the area irrigated on the farm would have to be increased from 600ha to 1500ha to accommodate the planned expansion.

That was likely to happen over the next 12 months.

Mr Carr said the cows would be bought and bred on the farm.

"We're concentrating on existing breeds and going for a larger cow that we will fully feed. We're also trying to minimise health risks."

He said the company would continue supplying milk to the New Zealand Dairy Group.

The Dairy Board's external relations manager, Neville Martin, said if the project went ahead, it would signal a shift in the economics of dairying for New Zealand farmers.

Mr Martin said the industry relied on being able to produce low-cost milk to compete with countries where suppliers lived close to their customers, were propped up with big Government subsidies and were protected by trade barriers.

Part of the low cost in New Zealand came as a result of cows being fed grass.

"Supplements are costly and New Zealand farming is usually based on bottom-line production.

"By the sound of it, this [Big Sky's project] is something new - a very interesting development," Mr Martin said.

Mr Carr said the large size of the farm and the dry Maniototo environment ensured that the numbers added up for investors, although the project's sums were still being done. He agreed that the costs would be substantial.

- NZPA