Sorption of sulfamethoxazole, sulfachloropyridazine and sulfamethazine onto six New Zealand dairy farm soils

We have investigated the sorption potential of three sulfonamides (SAs) in six New Zealand dairy farming soils using a modified batch equilibrium method employing 0.005 M CaCl₂ as background solution. Both liquid and solid phases were extracted to analyse for the antibiotic concentrations in order to avoid underestimation that may arise a result of photolysis or biotic degradation. The experimental data were later used to construct Freundlich isotherms to determine the effective distribution coefficients. Low log Koc value for all SAs suggests considerable leaching potential for SAs under conditions that are conducive for leaching. The sorption affinity for all soils followed the trend SCP>SMZ>SMO

Do forage legumes have a role in modern dairy farming systems?

peer-reviewedIntensification in New Zealand dairy farming systems has placed greater pressure on clover performance and fitness and has highlighted the need to develop clover cultivars that are better adapted to intensive grazing systems. Increased stocking rates and increased use of nitrogen fertiliser have put enormous pressure on the contribution of clover to modern dairy systems. Future innovations such as semi-hybrid cultivars offer the potential to improve the competitiveness of legumes with nitrogen-fertilised forage grasses. Similarly, advances in condensed tannin research suggest that significant animal performance gains can be achieved in conjunction with reduced environmental impact. In order to capture these benefits, dairy farmers will need to reassess their grazing management to ensure that legumes can be maintained at economically useful levels. Novel grazing management systems that optimise the benefits provided by the grass and legume components need to be used in future dairy farming systems. Forage legumes, and especially white clover, have an important role to play in modern dairy systems

The political economy of a productivist agriculture: New Zealand dairy discourses

The New Zealand dairy industry faces political and commercial pressure to improve its environmental performance on the one hand while maintaining economic efficiency and commercial competitiveness in a global marketplace on the other. The growing scale and intensity of dairy production have caused significant cumulative environmental impacts. Productivist constructions of environmental improvement by the industry are an example of ecological modernisation by a large international agri-food organisation in the face of global trade competition and domestic political pressures. This paper explores the productivist constructions of environmental management by the New Zealand dairy industry in the context of global economic competition and notes an alternative response inspired by an ethic of sustainability. It suggests that despite global pressures of economic competition it is possible to incorporate non-material values into farm management provided these are recognised and rewarded

Application of the Adjusted Weak Axiom of Profit Maximization to New Zealand Dairy Farming

The weak axiom of profit maximization is a nonparametric, empirical approach that has been used in the United States to analyze dairy farmers’ production and profit behavior under input and output price changes to determine whether farmers effectively respond to these changes. The expectation is that profit calculated using the current year’s input and output combination will be greater than that calculated from the previous year’s combination with current prices more often than due to chance. This approach was replicated using New Zealand dairy farm data (1,785 pairs of records over five years). Current year’s profits were significantly greater in two of the years and less in two years and in total. New Zealand’s pasture-based systems mean that this approach has limitations in evaluating farmers’ input and output decisions in response to price changes. Factors such as climatic impacts on pasture availability (a volatile input not included in the data set), and hence purchased feed requirements, affected the results. Farmer responses to costs and prices were not readily differentiated from other factors that affected input decisions or output. Results were interpreted with respect to climate, production, and income and cost changes, both nationally and regionally, with some interesting observations on farmer responses to variability

Leadership and employee engagement in the New Zealand dairy farming industry - is there a link with milk production performance? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

This study sought to investigate which leadership styles were more effective at increasing employee engagement and/or overall milk production performance in the context of the New Zealand (NZ) dairy farming industry. This study also sought to investigate whether psychological needs satisfaction mediated the relationships between leadership styles and employee engagement. A cross-sectional self-report survey was used to collect data. Results indicated that transformational-contingent reward leadership was related to higher levels of employee engagement, while passive-avoidant leadership, management by exception active, and destructive leadership styles were all negatively related to employee engagement. Satisfaction of the need for autonomy was found to fully mediate the relationship between transformational-contingent reward leadership and employee engagement, between passive-avoidant leadership and employee engagement, and also between destructive leadership and employee engagement. None of the independent variables were found to have significant relationships with overall milk production performance. Theoretical and practical implications for effective leadership styles are discussed along with recommendations for future research

A mathematical optimisation model of a New Zealand dairy farm: The integrated dairy enterprise (IDEA) framework

Optimisation models are a key tool for the analysis of emerging policies, price sets, and technologies within grazing systems. A detailed nonlinear optimisation model of a New Zealand dairy farming system is described. The framework is notable for its rich portrayal of pasture and cow biology that add substantial descriptive power to standard approaches. Key processes incorporated in the model include: (1) pasture growth and digestibility that differ with residual pasture mass and rotation length, (2) pasture utilisation that varies by stocking rate, and (3) different levels of intake regulation. Model output is shown to closely match data from a more detailed simulation model (deviations between 0 and 5 per cent) and survey data (deviations between 1 and 11 per cent), providing confidence in its predictive capacity. Use of the model is demonstrated in an empirical application investigating the relative profitability of production systems involving different amounts of imported feed under price variation. The case study indicates superior profitability associated with the use of a moderate level of imported supplement, with Operating Profit ($NZ ha-1) of 934, 926, 1186, 1314, and 1093 when imported feed makes up 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 per cent of the diet, respectively. Stocking rate and milk production per cow increase by 35 and 29 per cent, respectively, as the proportion of imported feed increases from 0 to 30 per cent of the diet. Pasture utilisation increases with stocking rate. Accordingly, pasture eaten and nitrogen fertiliser application increase by 20 and 213 per cent, respectively, as the proportion of imported feed increases from 0 to 30 per cent of the diet

Methane emissions from dairy heifers as affected by residual feed intake and breed : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Animal Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Figures 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3 have been removed for copyright reasons, but may be accessed via their sources listed in the References. Chapter 4 has been published as an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/): Flay, H. E., Kuhn-Sherlock, B., Macdonald, K. A., Camara, M., Lopez-Villalobos, N., Donaghy, D. J., & Roche, J. R. (2019). Hot topic: Selecting cattle for low residual feed intake did not affect daily methane production but increased methane yield. Journal of Dairy Science, 102(3), 2708–2713. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2018-15234Reducing methane (CH4) emissions without reducing milk production requires an improvement in feed conversion efficiency: that is an animal’s efficiency in utilising feed for maintenance and production. Residual feed intake (RFI) is one measure of feed conversion efficiency; it can be defined as the difference between an animal’s actual intake and its predicted intake based on its metabolic size and productivity. More efficient animals eat less than predicted (low RFI); inefficient animals eat more (high RFI). Enteric CH4 is an important source of digestible energy loss in ruminants, and research in beef cattle has reported a positive relationship between RFI and daily CH4 production. Jersey (Jer) cows have also been reported to be more feed efficient than Holstein-Friesian (HF) cows. Thus, I hypothesized that high feed efficient (low RFI) animals would emit less CH4 than the lower efficiency (high RFI) animals, and that Jer heifers would have lower CH4 yield than HF heifers. I measured the CH4 emissions of 56 growing dairy heifers (20-22 mo old) in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement: factors included two breeds (HF and Jer; n=28/breed) and two previously determined RFI categories (low RFI; -2.1 kg DM and high RFI; +2.0 kg DM; n=28/RFI category). All heifers were co-mingled and offered the same diet of dried lucerne cubes. Between RFI categories, heifers did not differ in body weight (BW) or BW gain (BWg); but low RFI heifers had 9.3% and 10.6% lower dry matter intake (DMI) and DMI/kg BW, respectively, than high RFI heifers. Similarly, RFI category did not affect CH4/d or CH4/kg BWg; but, CH4/kg DMI was greater in low RFI heifers because of their lower DMI. These results might reflect more complete digestion of ingested feed in more efficient, low RFI heifers, consistent with previous reports of greater apparent digestibility of organic matter. Breed did not affect DMI/kg BW or BWg; Jersey heifers produced less CH4/d, but not CH4/kg DMI or CH4/kg BWg. In conclusion, selecting dairy heifers for low RFI is unlikely to affect daily CH4 production (g/d), but may increase CH4 yield (g/kg DMI)

Risk management portfolios in New Zealand dairy farming : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Agribusiness at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

New Zealand’s dairy farming sector has changed dramatically over the last two decades. As a result of growth in global demand, dairy farms have become more intensive in production, more capital-intensive and have more debt. These changes increase the vulnerability of the dairy farmers to risks and uncertainties arising from various sources such as input prices, output prices, climatic conditions, and policy changes. In response to these uncertainties, dairy farmers utilise various sets of risk management strategies, henceforth known as portfolios of risk management strategies. Previous studies have created a solid foundation for understanding dairy farms’ responses to risk. In particular, they found that debt management and planning for capital spending are the two most important risk management strategies for New Zealand dairy farmers. However, little is known about what entails debt management and planning for capital spending from farmers’ perspective. Hence, little is known about the diversity of risk management portfolios that New Zealand dairy farmers utilise to manage risks. By extending the definition of portfolio of risk management strategies into the financial risk management space, this study was one of the first studies that provides a synthesis of farm business risk management and farm financial risk management through the perspective of a risk management portfolio. Six portfolios of risk management strategies were identified, each of which has a different mix of risk management strategies and implications for the overall business strategy. The results also showed that a range of farm and farmers characteristics shape NZ dairy farmers’ portfolio of risk management strategies. The range and complexity of financial management strategies identified in this study suggest that traditional financial management literature can benefit from insights gained from the empirical studies. The results provided the industry people such as rural consultants, policy makers, and banking sector much-needed insights into the risk management portfolios used by dairy farmers

Conversion of family farms and resilience in Southland, New Zealand

The well-known deregulation of New Zealand agriculture prompted the growth of dairy farming, particularly in the region of Southland. The formation of the giant cooperative Fonterra only exacerbated the conversion of sheep farms into dairy farms that challenged both farmers’ and the region’s traditional identity as a sheep country. Interviews with converted farmers show that farming families convert to dairy primarily in an attempt to preserve what is important for them: farm succession and a professional identity. At the community level, conversions to dairy prompted economic revival and a reversal of population loss. This article engages the literature on resilience and rural communities to explore Southland’s adaptation to new economic and farming realities while exploring potential shocks in the future around financialization and environmental well-being

The Factors Which Have Resulted in Migrant Workers Being 'Essential' Workers on New Zealand Dairy Farms

Over the past decade, the dairy industry has grown in land area, number of cows, milk production and dairy exports to the point where it is New Zealand’s premier exporter. Growth has been accompanied by significant structural changes to the industry. In particular, many small, family owned and managed farms, that were characterised by high levels of self­employment, have been replaced by large­scale ‘factory’ style, irrigated farms that depend on non­family, often casualized and seasonal workers, who work very long hours. Staffing these farms has been problematic and recruitment and retention have been regularly highlighted issues. Such issues have cast doubt on the social sustainability of the dairy industry. The future of the dairy industry to a large degree depends on its people. Many of these people are now migrants, who have become ‘essential’ because traditional sources of labour are inadequate. Does a dependence on migrant workers jeopardise the future stability and sustainability of dairy production? Can all stakeholders in the industry benefit from migratory staff in such a way that all parties achieve a winning outcome, as for the horticultural Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme. A profound change in the dairy industry may be necessary to ensure that stakeholders make the effort necessary to negotiate such a multi­win outcome, which might provide a lasting rather than a temporary solution. The paper reviews the changes in the dairy farm labour force from Census data, Linked employee­employer data (LEED) and information from the Department of Labour on temporary work permits. The risks associated with dependence on a migratory labour force are considered