Dairy farming

Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or more properly, an enterprise, raising female cattle for long-term production of milk, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy for processing and eventual retail sale. Most dairy farms sell the male calves borne by their cows, usually for veal production, rather than raising non-milk-producing stock. Many dairy farms also grow their own feed, typically including corn, alfalfa, and hay. This is fed directly to the cows, or stored as silage for use during the winter season. Additional dietary supplements are added to the feed to increase quality milk production.

Dairy Farming in New Zealand

In New Zealand, dairy herds are grazed 365 days of the year on fresh pasture. There is no need for winter housing as the climate is mild. The majority of the herds are Friesian or Jersey with many cross breed herds. This cross breeding

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produces what is called Hybrid vigor, meaning that they can handle more extremes of weather. New Zealand farms are efficient and are operated with no government subsidies which were phased out in the 1970's. Herd sizes vary drastically with many small family farms of 100 to 200 cows and larger corporate farms with anything up to 3000 cows.

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Most farms are staffed on ratio of one worker for every 250 cows with many smaller farms only having one person, usually the owner, running things. It is possible to progress from a worker to farm owner by gaining industry qualifications and advancing to share milking on a 50/50 basis where the share milker owns the herd but not the land. This enables equity to be built up until it is time to purchase a property. This has been the traditional route to farm ownership, however equity partnerships with one or more investors is becoming popular as it enables you to step up quicker. The quality of New Zealand milk is very high with many farm families using milk straight from the vat for their own use. Herds are often grass-fed only which produces a more palatable milk and keeps costs down.

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