Most Irish farmers would find it difficult to imagine how prolonged periods of fine sunny weather could be bad news, especially when it feels like the rain has not stopped falling since August.
However, on the other side of the world in the northeast coast of the New Zealand south island, a lack of rain has been a real issue for farmers.
Doug Avery’s family have been farming in this region for almost 100 years in a place called Bonavaree, Grassmere, Marlborough.
The land there is extremely dry and is laid out in very hilly terrain, much of it forced upwards from the sea bed over millions of years’ seismic activity.
One really becomes aware of the local climate with the number of vineyards in the area and what’s more the largest salt works plant in New Zealand is next door to Doug’s farm.
In this plant, sea water is pumped into huge holding ponds; with the scorching heat the water evaporates and salt is left behind ready for harvesting.
Doug Avery, Kiwi farmer and author of The Resilient Farmer.
The lack of rainfall combined with regular drying winds soaks up the moisture in the land during the summer, restricting grass growth drastically.
The long-term average rainfall for the area is 574mm per year, that represents half the annual rainfall in Ireland and in 1997 it was as low as 315mm.
Disillusioned
Seventeen-years-ago, Doug started to implement changes to the way he farms. Up to that point, he was trying to battle the driest years on record in the area and was becoming disillusioned with farming in general. With the hilly terrain, irrigation was not going to be the answer like other parts of New Zealand so alternatives had to be investigated.
“I was on the point of giving up and selling the land. We had to let staff go because we could not afford the wages. Huge amounts of money were being spent buying in feed because the grass was not growing, stocking rate had to be reduced and animal performance was not what it should be,” explained Doug.
In New Zealand, the seasons are almost the exact opposite to that of the northern hemisphere. Their summer is our winter.
So in Doug’s old system of farming, he was trying to finish lambs in the summer months of January/February when the land was at its driest and grass stopped growing. Bought-in fodder was used to try and finish these lambs which was adding significant cost to the system.
Continuous years of drought took its toll on Doug and he was beginning to lose hope.
I was always taught by my parents to rise above a challenge by working hard and carrying on and in the past that worked, but the challenge we got with the drought was too big for me and I lost hope.
He explained when he lost hope he lost everything – he lost his interest in farming even though it was the only thing he wanted to do in life, his own personal value and even his desire to live was lost.
However, after reluctantly attending a conference on the benefits of grazing lucerne given by Dr Derrick Moot, everything changed for Doug and his family for the better.
Lucerne
For years, the Averys had grown lucerne but kept it as a mature crop and harvested for feeding out when growth was poor.
Doug said they never tried grazing it. However, grazing lucerne made perfect sense for the area they are farming in.
Moot explained to Doug that lucerne, like many legumes, fixes its own nitrogen from the air. But the real benefit for dryland farms is its very long tap root that can carry moisture from very low depths back up to the leaves.
Sheep and cattle grazing a crop of Lucerne in springtime.
After attending the conference, Doug worked tirelessly implementing this new strategy. Lucerne was sown anywhere a tractor could work. Many of the paddocks contain both steep hills and gentle sloping valleys.
With the valleys growing lucerne and the hills growing small amounts of grass, the ideal mix for a ruminant’s diet could be achieved. “Sheep and cattle do best when 70% of their diet is legume and 30% is roughage such as the stemmy grass on our hills,” Doug explained.
When managed properly, it is an excellent feed for sheep and cattle. “Our lambs went from gaining 170g per day to 400g,” he said. Now 90% of their lambs are being sent for slaughter at weaning time at 105 days old at a carcase weight of 20kg.
In the past, just 50% of their lambs would be fit for slaughter at weaning time and deadweights would only be averaging 16kg. The main benefits or leverages of using lucerne on the farm included:
It is twice as efficient at turning every millimetre of water into nutrition compared to traditional pastures.It thrives in the heat.A single crop of lucerne can grow for more than 10 years before needing to be resown. Double the dry matter production can be achieved without adding nitrogen or water. The lucerne roots help to break up the soil and dead roots are an excellent food source for earthworms and soil microbiology. The livestock-carrying capacity of the land was doubled.The transition to the new system was not without its challenges. The cost of implementing the change for one was significant especially after years of tightening his belt to stay in business. In the beginning, Doug said he lost a lot of ewes as they adjusted to their new diet which was very disheartening.
Despite the challenges and setbacks, he persisted with the change and now has a farming business that can compete with the top 10% of farmers across New Zealand.
Doug has also focused on soil fertility with an emphasis on soil pH and lime spreading to create ideal conditions for lucerne to grow and flourish.
Lime is as cheap as chips here. I don’t know why more people don’t use it.
The lucerne now acts like a giant bucket under the ground making use of all the rain that fell the previous winter over the dry summer months. After eight to 10 years in the ground, Doug puts a lucerne paddock back into grass to allow moisture levels to recover again.
He is now working with the nature of the area rather than against it.
Growth in drought
Since starting out on the road to change 17 years ago, the farming business has grown significantly. The Averys have gone from owning 1,100ha to 2,024ha with a further 276ha leased. Over the last 10 to 15 years, they have been constantly looking for expansion opportunities and have acquired a number of neighbouring properties.
The main enterprises consist of breeding ewes and cattle trading systems with some lucerne grown for seed. Doug has learned that the main risk period for a fodder deficit on the farm is from Christmas to late February, so they try to reduce stock numbers as much as possible during that period.
This, in turn, reduces the need for bought-in feed which contributes positively to profitability.
Growing lambs and cattle on lucerne can generate a profit of $3,000/ha (€1,764/ha) and approximately $5,000/ha (€2,941/ha) for seed (€1 = $1.7NZD). Lucerne seed is grown on 50ha to 100ha per year. With the introduction of the new system annual revenue has gone from $300,000 (€176,470) in 1998 to $3,000,000 (€1,764,705) today.
Sheep
They put 4,500 ewes and 1,500 ewe hoggets to the ram annually. Composite breeds of sheep (mixture of Finn, Texel and Romney) rather than a single breed are used for increased performance.
Ewes are pregnancy scanned 60 days prior to lambing and are separated in groups of single-, twin- and triple-bearing ewes. Scanning rates are quite good with the mixed aged ewes scanning 190% to 200% and hoggets scanning 130%. Ewes are bred while grazing lucerne which helps increase litter size and conception rates.
Prior to lucerne, Doug said it was a challenge to get ewes in lamb because the farm would be in a fodder deficit at that time of year after the dry summer. The twin- and triple-bearing ewes lamb down at varying stocking rates on lucerne paddocks while the single-bearing ewes lamb on grass paddocks to avoid trouble at lambing with oversized lambs.
Lambing begins on 28 July and lasts for about four weeks with most lambs born in the first 15 days.
Doug said intervention at lambing is only carried out if someone is passing and sees an issue. With electronic tagging and record keeping, the Averys try to select replacements from trouble free dams.
Ewes and lambs remain on lucerne paddocks until weaning with excellent performance usually achieved grazing the crops.
Lucerne on Doug Avery's farm in Marlborough, New Zealand. Lucerne has replaced ryegrass on this livestock farm because of its tolerance to drought and excellent feeding value.
Weaning percentage is 145% to 155%.Doug said this performance is lower than he would like and is reduced by large numbers of bought-in sheep.
“It is more difficult to maintain high performance with rapid expansion,” he explained. Most lambs are sent for slaughter at weaning time, usually towards the end of November/early December. This year, lamb prices were $7.10/kg (€4.17/kg) deadweight. This year, 6,500 of their own lambs will be sold as well as 2,000 store lambs bought-in earlier in the year.
Cattle trading/finishing
Cattle numbers on the farm vary annually, usually depending on feed availability. The Averys no longer restrict themselves to any one system and are not afraid to change if a certain system is not performing.
This year, 200 Friesian bulls weighing 100kg were purchased and they will be finished off lucerne achieving deadweights of 340kg to 400kg. They recently bought 500 yearlings which will also be finished off the farm. The beef price in New Zealand is currently $5.40 (€3.17/kg). Some suckler cows are also kept on the farm but Doug said they are the worst-performing enterprise. This year, 300 dry dairy cows were purchased at $650 to $850 (€382 to €500) excluding transport and are running with a Jersey bull.
Unlike at home, it is common for dry cows to get another chance at breeding in New Zealand. Doug hopes these cows will scan in-calf and sell for $1,350 to $1,850 (€794 to €1,088).
He said they do an excellent job tidying up grass pastures on the higher ground and these pastures maintain dry cows in suitable condition for breeding.
Listen to an interview with Doug in our podcast below:
With the farm now profitable, succession has become a far easier subject to approach, said Doug. “My son Fraser is currently in the process of taking over and buying the farm out,” he explained. It is very common in New Zealand for a farmer’s children to buy the land from their parents. This is because every child is entitled to a share of the proceeds so all siblings have to be looked after. When the business is profitable, this is achievable but for many other farm families children would be buying into large historic debts and unsustainable businesses.
Spending time with Doug, it is hard not to come away without a positive outlook on life; he is an electric type of guy. In July, he launched his book called The Resilient Farmer which details his journey from despair to happiness and contentment. The book aims to teach all farmers methods of building their own personal resilience to combat whatever life throws at them. The key message from Doug’s story is that no matter what the issue is, there is always another way.
Once he committed to making change things started to become easier and he reinvigorated his zest for life and farming.
“Between every peak there is a valley, and valleys are just as vital as peaks. They are places where you can rest and relax and start generating the energy and mental capacity for your next peak. If you are mindful of peaks and valleys, you never become mired in despair,” according to Doug.
Read more
Drought in New Zealand gives positive signals for Irish milk price
Fonterra cuts New Zealand milk output forecast by 4%
Most Irish farmers would find it difficult to imagine how prolonged periods of fine sunny weather could be bad news, especially when it feels like the rain has not stopped falling since August.
However, on the other side of the world in the northeast coast of the New Zealand south island, a lack of rain has been a real issue for farmers.
Doug Avery’s family have been farming in this region for almost 100 years in a place called Bonavaree, Grassmere, Marlborough.
The land there is extremely dry and is laid out in very hilly terrain, much of it forced upwards from the sea bed over millions of years’ seismic activity.
One really becomes aware of the local climate with the number of vineyards in the area and what’s more the largest salt works plant in New Zealand is next door to Doug’s farm.
In this plant, sea water is pumped into huge holding ponds; with the scorching heat the water evaporates and salt is left behind ready for harvesting.
Doug Avery, Kiwi farmer and author of The Resilient Farmer.
The lack of rainfall combined with regular drying winds soaks up the moisture in the land during the summer, restricting grass growth drastically.
The long-term average rainfall for the area is 574mm per year, that represents half the annual rainfall in Ireland and in 1997 it was as low as 315mm.
Disillusioned
Seventeen-years-ago, Doug started to implement changes to the way he farms. Up to that point, he was trying to battle the driest years on record in the area and was becoming disillusioned with farming in general. With the hilly terrain, irrigation was not going to be the answer like other parts of New Zealand so alternatives had to be investigated.
“I was on the point of giving up and selling the land. We had to let staff go because we could not afford the wages. Huge amounts of money were being spent buying in feed because the grass was not growing, stocking rate had to be reduced and animal performance was not what it should be,” explained Doug.
In New Zealand, the seasons are almost the exact opposite to that of the northern hemisphere. Their summer is our winter.
So in Doug’s old system of farming, he was trying to finish lambs in the summer months of January/February when the land was at its driest and grass stopped growing. Bought-in fodder was used to try and finish these lambs which was adding significant cost to the system.
Continuous years of drought took its toll on Doug and he was beginning to lose hope.
I was always taught by my parents to rise above a challenge by working hard and carrying on and in the past that worked, but the challenge we got with the drought was too big for me and I lost hope.
He explained when he lost hope he lost everything – he lost his interest in farming even though it was the only thing he wanted to do in life, his own personal value and even his desire to live was lost.
However, after reluctantly attending a conference on the benefits of grazing lucerne given by Dr Derrick Moot, everything changed for Doug and his family for the better.
Lucerne
For years, the Averys had grown lucerne but kept it as a mature crop and harvested for feeding out when growth was poor.
Doug said they never tried grazing it. However, grazing lucerne made perfect sense for the area they are farming in.
Moot explained to Doug that lucerne, like many legumes, fixes its own nitrogen from the air. But the real benefit for dryland farms is its very long tap root that can carry moisture from very low depths back up to the leaves.
Sheep and cattle grazing a crop of Lucerne in springtime.
After attending the conference, Doug worked tirelessly implementing this new strategy. Lucerne was sown anywhere a tractor could work. Many of the paddocks contain both steep hills and gentle sloping valleys.
With the valleys growing lucerne and the hills growing small amounts of grass, the ideal mix for a ruminant’s diet could be achieved. “Sheep and cattle do best when 70% of their diet is legume and 30% is roughage such as the stemmy grass on our hills,” Doug explained.
When managed properly, it is an excellent feed for sheep and cattle. “Our lambs went from gaining 170g per day to 400g,” he said. Now 90% of their lambs are being sent for slaughter at weaning time at 105 days old at a carcase weight of 20kg.
In the past, just 50% of their lambs would be fit for slaughter at weaning time and deadweights would only be averaging 16kg. The main benefits or leverages of using lucerne on the farm included:
It is twice as efficient at turning every millimetre of water into nutrition compared to traditional pastures.It thrives in the heat.A single crop of lucerne can grow for more than 10 years before needing to be resown. Double the dry matter production can be achieved without adding nitrogen or water. The lucerne roots help to break up the soil and dead roots are an excellent food source for earthworms and soil microbiology. The livestock-carrying capacity of the land was doubled.The transition to the new system was not without its challenges. The cost of implementing the change for one was significant especially after years of tightening his belt to stay in business. In the beginning, Doug said he lost a lot of ewes as they adjusted to their new diet which was very disheartening.
Despite the challenges and setbacks, he persisted with the change and now has a farming business that can compete with the top 10% of farmers across New Zealand.
Doug has also focused on soil fertility with an emphasis on soil pH and lime spreading to create ideal conditions for lucerne to grow and flourish.
Lime is as cheap as chips here. I don’t know why more people don’t use it.
The lucerne now acts like a giant bucket under the ground making use of all the rain that fell the previous winter over the dry summer months. After eight to 10 years in the ground, Doug puts a lucerne paddock back into grass to allow moisture levels to recover again.
He is now working with the nature of the area rather than against it.
Growth in drought
Since starting out on the road to change 17 years ago, the farming business has grown significantly. The Averys have gone from owning 1,100ha to 2,024ha with a further 276ha leased. Over the last 10 to 15 years, they have been constantly looking for expansion opportunities and have acquired a number of neighbouring properties.
The main enterprises consist of breeding ewes and cattle trading systems with some lucerne grown for seed. Doug has learned that the main risk period for a fodder deficit on the farm is from Christmas to late February, so they try to reduce stock numbers as much as possible during that period.
This, in turn, reduces the need for bought-in feed which contributes positively to profitability.
Growing lambs and cattle on lucerne can generate a profit of $3,000/ha (€1,764/ha) and approximately $5,000/ha (€2,941/ha) for seed (€1 = $1.7NZD). Lucerne seed is grown on 50ha to 100ha per year. With the introduction of the new system annual revenue has gone from $300,000 (€176,470) in 1998 to $3,000,000 (€1,764,705) today.
Sheep
They put 4,500 ewes and 1,500 ewe hoggets to the ram annually. Composite breeds of sheep (mixture of Finn, Texel and Romney) rather than a single breed are used for increased performance.
Ewes are pregnancy scanned 60 days prior to lambing and are separated in groups of single-, twin- and triple-bearing ewes. Scanning rates are quite good with the mixed aged ewes scanning 190% to 200% and hoggets scanning 130%. Ewes are bred while grazing lucerne which helps increase litter size and conception rates.
Prior to lucerne, Doug said it was a challenge to get ewes in lamb because the farm would be in a fodder deficit at that time of year after the dry summer. The twin- and triple-bearing ewes lamb down at varying stocking rates on lucerne paddocks while the single-bearing ewes lamb on grass paddocks to avoid trouble at lambing with oversized lambs.
Lambing begins on 28 July and lasts for about four weeks with most lambs born in the first 15 days.
Doug said intervention at lambing is only carried out if someone is passing and sees an issue. With electronic tagging and record keeping, the Averys try to select replacements from trouble free dams.
Ewes and lambs remain on lucerne paddocks until weaning with excellent performance usually achieved grazing the crops.
Lucerne on Doug Avery's farm in Marlborough, New Zealand. Lucerne has replaced ryegrass on this livestock farm because of its tolerance to drought and excellent feeding value.
Weaning percentage is 145% to 155%.Doug said this performance is lower than he would like and is reduced by large numbers of bought-in sheep.
“It is more difficult to maintain high performance with rapid expansion,” he explained. Most lambs are sent for slaughter at weaning time, usually towards the end of November/early December. This year, lamb prices were $7.10/kg (€4.17/kg) deadweight. This year, 6,500 of their own lambs will be sold as well as 2,000 store lambs bought-in earlier in the year.
Cattle trading/finishing
Cattle numbers on the farm vary annually, usually depending on feed availability. The Averys no longer restrict themselves to any one system and are not afraid to change if a certain system is not performing.
This year, 200 Friesian bulls weighing 100kg were purchased and they will be finished off lucerne achieving deadweights of 340kg to 400kg. They recently bought 500 yearlings which will also be finished off the farm. The beef price in New Zealand is currently $5.40 (€3.17/kg). Some suckler cows are also kept on the farm but Doug said they are the worst-performing enterprise. This year, 300 dry dairy cows were purchased at $650 to $850 (€382 to €500) excluding transport and are running with a Jersey bull.
Unlike at home, it is common for dry cows to get another chance at breeding in New Zealand. Doug hopes these cows will scan in-calf and sell for $1,350 to $1,850 (€794 to €1,088).
He said they do an excellent job tidying up grass pastures on the higher ground and these pastures maintain dry cows in suitable condition for breeding.
Listen to an interview with Doug in our podcast below:
With the farm now profitable, succession has become a far easier subject to approach, said Doug. “My son Fraser is currently in the process of taking over and buying the farm out,” he explained. It is very common in New Zealand for a farmer’s children to buy the land from their parents. This is because every child is entitled to a share of the proceeds so all siblings have to be looked after. When the business is profitable, this is achievable but for many other farm families children would be buying into large historic debts and unsustainable businesses.
Spending time with Doug, it is hard not to come away without a positive outlook on life; he is an electric type of guy. In July, he launched his book called The Resilient Farmer which details his journey from despair to happiness and contentment. The book aims to teach all farmers methods of building their own personal resilience to combat whatever life throws at them. The key message from Doug’s story is that no matter what the issue is, there is always another way.
Once he committed to making change things started to become easier and he reinvigorated his zest for life and farming.
“Between every peak there is a valley, and valleys are just as vital as peaks. They are places where you can rest and relax and start generating the energy and mental capacity for your next peak. If you are mindful of peaks and valleys, you never become mired in despair,” according to Doug.
Read more
Drought in New Zealand gives positive signals for Irish milk price
Fonterra cuts New Zealand milk output forecast by 4%
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