This episode featured as part of the Milk Quality segment in partnership with EcoLab.

DairyNZ is targeting a 35% reduction in bobby calf numbers by 2050, about 600,000 taken out of the system, under its dairy beef opportunities programme, chief executive Campbell Parker says.

The programme, announced on 12 March, is jointly funded under the Primary Sector Growth Fund and brings together DairyNZ, B+LNZ, the Meat Industry Association, and the dairy companies. Farmer interest has run ahead of expectations.

“The desire from farmers has actually been, we’ve been surprised on the upside around how curious farmers are and how they can adapt their systems to that,” says Parker.

Reaching the target requires better genetics, changes to how animals are reared and market development so some can be killed earlier and younger at a premium.

The shift is as much about protecting the sector’s standing as lifting returns.

“It’s also about risk management, because if we can get ahead of that, if you look at trends around the world around animal welfare and other things, we are a bit of an outlier.”

He wants a solution to hold through the cycle rather than rise and fall with beef and lamb prices.

“What we’ve got to make sure is that that solution’s enduring because we’ve got a cyclical industry.”

Systems are already changing. In Northland, 41% of dairy farmers are once a day all season, with integrated dairy and beef operations becoming more common. Beef will remain a big part of the dairy system as farmers adapt how they run those operations, he says.

Farmers are weighing up a possible El Niño, and he says palm kernel cannot be relied on indefinitely.

“Palm kernel has filled a gap for a long time, and a lot of people do pull that lever.

“But what happens if you look out to the world and at some point we don’t have that lever to pull?”

He says farming with nature no longer means trading production against the environment.

“So it’s not an and/or conversation anymore, it’s an and/and.

“We can have productivity, profitability, good sustainable, and environmental, outcomes.”

Make sure to contact PGG Wrightson to plan your crop and pasture requirements. You can find your local Technical Field Representative or store team here.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.