Award-winning Southland farmer 'walking the talk' and embracing change

2022 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards winner Kevin Hall. Photo / Shawn McAvinue

The only thing certain in life is change and Southland farmer Kevin Hall wants to be part of it. Otago Daily Times' Shawn McAvinue visits a field day to see how the Ballance Farm Environment Awards regional winner is continuing to keep his dairy grazing and beef-fattening business Hollyvale Farms sustainable.

Be part of the change.

In his closing speech on a field day on his farm last week, 2022 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards winner Kevin Hall acknowledged the challenges ahead for farmers.

Farming was a "long-term career" requiring constant change to remain sustainable.

"I encourage everyone to be part of the change, embrace it, get stuck in and over time, it will happen and it'll be a good outcome for everyone."

He told his children to get outside their comfort zone because it allowed them to grow.

"That's your professional development."

He entered the awards for that reason, saying it was time for him to "walk the talk".

He bought the property in 2008 and named it Hollyvale Farms, a nod to Hollyvale, the name of his original Friesian stud.

The main purpose of the property was to provide wintering for cows, and heifer grazing, for the dairy farms in his business.

His business strategy was to winter his cows himself rather than send them away for contract grazing.

"It's a dairy farmer's cows, so I think it's his responsibility to look after them, rather than pass the buck on to someone else."

Since buying the farm, he had invested in three wintering tunnel houses for 675 mixed-aged cows.

The tunnel houses feature sawdust bedding and silage feeding facilities.

Effluent, solids and liquids, are collected and stored and reapplied to the farm, to utilise the nutrient value.

He "micro-managed" the application of the effluent on the paddocks in a 36-hour period in November or December to ensure it was done to plan, when the weather conditions were right, to avoid a "potential environmental disaster".

Sawdust bedding in the tunnel houses was changed annually.

On average, each cow was given about 2cu m of sawdust.

Mixed age cows walk on sawdust bedding in a wintering tunnel house on dairy grazing and beef fattening business Hollyvale Farms in Waimahaka last week. Photo / Shawn McAvinue

After winter, the sawdust was dried in the sun for about six weeks and then spread on paddocks as compost.

He preferred sawdust to woodchip because it was more compostable, kept the tunnel houses cleaner and kept the cows warmer.

Effluent management in the tunnel houses had been the steepest learning curve, he said.

"Building the shed is the easy bit, dealing with effluent is where the money and fun and games really start."

A benefit of the sheds was guaranteed condition score gains for his cows.

He targeted the herd putting on half a condition score in June.

"We can do that every year, regardless of what the weather throws at us."

During winter, his 230 in-calf heifers, run in two mobs, ate autumn-saved grass and three types of baleage - grass, oats and barley undersown with ryegrass.

"The aim is to not make too much mud."

The in-calf heifers were given 3.5 bales a day in winter.

In-calf heifers watch as 2022 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards winner Kevin Hall talks about his balage wintering system at a field day of his dairy grazing and beef fattening business Hollyvale Farms in Waimahaka last week. Photo / Shawn McAvinue

On average, each heifer had 7.5sq m of grass available a day, in the 24ha set aside for them in winter.

"We are using a bigger area. If these were on fodder beet or a typical brassica we would probably use half the area - 12ha to 14ha - to do the same job but I think we are getting better winter outcomes."

When someone in the crowd asked if the baleage wintering system would meet the new winter grazing rules, he replied: "Does it provide all the answers to beating some of the hurdles in front of us? It's a step in the right direction, it's a bit of deintensification."

A past fodder beet wintering system on the farm was more intensive than a baleage wintering system and presented a greater risk of pugging.

Every farm was different, he said.

"It's just trial and error to see what works for your farm and how much mess you want and what you are wanting to be doing with that paddock come springtime - it's all compromises."

As part of the long-term sustainability strategy, waterways were fenced off, natives planted and detainment bunds installed.

He was a DairyNZ climate change ambassador and has been part of the Three Rivers Catchment Group committee since its formation and has been involved with the Dairy Environmental Leaders for the past five years.

Competition judges Craig Smith and Sarah Baldwin spoke at the field day.

Baldwin said the judges were impressed by the way Hall documented all of his wintering practises.

"Kevin is a very forward-thinking farmer who has given much thought to future farming issues."

Smith said he was impressed with Hall creating a written wintering plan, sharing it with staff, and taking photos of the management of critical source areas, on the "roly-poly" parts of the farm.

The competition's national final will be held in Christchurch on November 24.