Shed offers dairy herd shelter for all seasons

The wintering barn that dairy farmers Andre and Ria Hekkers built on their 82 ha property at Wharehine has helped to mitigate the effects of the dry summer.

During the long hot spell their 105 cows have been kept out of the sun and fed once a day in “free stalls” with access to outside grazing. By bringing them inside, Andre can accurately monitor the amount of feed each cow gets in order to maintain production, regardless of the pasture’s dry matter content.

Keeping the cows inside during winter – and only allowing them access to the paddocks if they are not too wet – means that the Hekkers’ can preserve precious pasture, maintain soil health and keep their cows in better condition. It’s also drier and warmer inside. It’s a system that Andre has grown up with in Europe.

“I know there’s some controversy surrounding keeping cattle inside, but it’s not cruel,” he says. “A lot of the concerns are unfounded and ill-researched. In Holland, cows kept inside fare well. On my farm, our cows are free to come and go and are less stressed as they are protected from adverse weather. The pasture also suffers less stress and through the summer, our cows are a lot cooler being inside.

“We’re lucky here in that we have a typically wet farm, with plenty of kikuyu to help us through the dry. While this summer has certainly been drier than we’ve experienced, what’s made it worse is that the whole season has been difficult.”
The dry summer followed a colder-than-usual winter, then a wet spring brought rain at the wrong time.

The Hekkers usually milk around 100 cows and are on track to produce 32,000kg/ms this season. Andre aims to produce all his own feed, either grass silage or maize, and having his wintering barn means he can eventually grow enough grass year round to do this.

Milk production this summer is around the same level as last year.
“We’re happy about that, but I can’t say for sure that we’ll be able to keep it up.
“When we bought the farm nine years ago, we knew it was tough country, there’s only about 60ha productive farmland. We can’t be described as being sustainable, but we liked all the trees and bush which provide shelter. We’re working with the Auckland Regional Council to fence off our bush, and have joined other local landowners in a bid to eradicate pests and create a mainland island on the peninsula.

“We were told that we could support more stock, and should be running 150 head, but we’ve proved we can produce the same with fewer cattle for less cost. It is possible to farm in a kinder, more natural way which is better for your animals. I’m not telling others how to farm, just stating my own way of doing things.”
The couple came to New Zealand to find a better place than Europe to raise their twin boys, now 11.

“However, we were shocked to find that it wasn’t as clean and green as we had been led to believe. In Holland, you are told that New Zealand is the perfect place for dairy farming. No-one tells you about the wet, wet winters or the dry summers.”
Farming in New Zealand generally is not natural enough, he says.

“It’s too intensive with a high use of chemicals and little monitoring of irrigation in some areas.”

Image: Andre Hekkers feeds rye silage to his Wharehine herd.