Owl Farm case study - Milk production

Owl Farm case study - Milk production

This page from Owl Farm, the Waikato demonstration dairy farm run jointly by St Peter's School and Lincoln University, reports annual milksolids production against the farm's budgeted and December milk targets.

It covers how an early, compact calving pattern and careful milking frequency changes are used to shift production into cheaper spring pasture months, given sandy loam soils that dry out over summer.

Photo: “Fonterra Tākaka 2212” by Schwede66, licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0

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Dairy

  • Owl Farm case study - Feed budgets

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    Productivity

    Learn how feed budgets keep pasture cover and cow condition on target.

  • Owl Farm case study - Milk quality

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    See what keeps Owl Farm's alert, grade and demerit counts falling.

  • Owl Farm case study - Imported supplements

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    Check how imported feed is used strategically to lift milk from pasture.

Productivity

  • Owl Farm case study - Summer crops

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    Dairy
    Productivity

    Find out how brassica crops are grown to fill the summer feed gap.

  • Owl Farm case study - Herd reproduction

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    Dairy
    Livestock
    Productivity

    Track how a Waikato demonstration farm lifts its 6-week in-calf rate each season.

  • Owl Farm case study - Youngstock rearing

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    Dairy
    Livestock
    Productivity

    Explore how replacement calves are reared and grown out to entry weight.

Livestock

An alternative perspective

  • Owl Farm case study - Environment plan

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    On-farm actions

    Follow how Owl Farm's environment plan guides its land, water and effluent management.

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