Embracing technology on the farm

Andrew Ritchie

Steven Leov is a fifth-generation dairy farmer milking 300 Jersey cows on the Leov family farm in Rai Valley.

Recently he introduced the Halter system to his herd and outlined the advantages he has found to a group of dairy farmers at a meeting organised by DairyNZ.

Having two young children to look after his time is at a premium and a way had to be found to effectively share the hours in the day between his family and managing his beloved Jersey herd.

Steven found that the cows adapted to the collars quickly with a major advantage being that the herd was waiting for him at the milking shed in the morning.

“The cows move at their own pace without being pushed along by dogs and motorbikes,” he said.

It is too early to say definitively, but Steven believes that this may result in fewer lame animals. Setting breaks is accomplished at the touch of a mobile phone. He has found it is possible to set several breaks in the day resulting in better, more efficient feeding of the herd, something he has not been able to find time for in the past.

The Halter programme will effectively prohibit stock entering waterways, so fencing will no longer be required. Steven believes that extending the technology to the beef industry is a possibility through the controlling of grazing. The system also monitors pasture cover eliminating another time-consuming task.

Heat detection should result in a tighter calving spread and more days in milk. Steven compared the detection rates from 2024 and 2025 over the first three weeks of mating at 42-66-79 compared to 49-79-88. He said the other advantage was not dealing with bulls and the hassle they can sometimes cause.

Playing the devil’s advocate Mark Speight, DairyNZ’s Systems Specialist, suggested that while the programme obviously solved many problems for Steven it is very farm specific. Farmers should ask themselves, what is the problem to be solved and will it generate value? Will it diminish the level of observational stockmanship particularly in newcomers to the industry?

The awareness of available technology was discussed by the group and the importance of being prepared for the increasing incidence of weather events. Mark sited as an example the recent severe weather events in Southland and the lack of emergency generators on dairy farms in the region.