At Tapora in Northland, New Zealand, the Hekkers family are running a dairy farm in the European way. Andre, Ria, and their twins, Robby and Mark emigrated in 2001 from Epse in the eastern Netherlands. Their European appoach to farming includes efficiencies which NZ farmers have yet to incoporate. Northern NZ doesn't suffer hard, snow driven winters on frozen ground so these practices seem unnecessary, but Andre believes the European model is better, producing higher quality milk from fewer animals which are in general much larger and in better condition, as well as ensuring sufficient food for each beast.
Dairy Farming Model Infrastructure
Andre has spent almost $100,000 in creating a framework around which to operate the farm, a particularly hilly block in a region subject to considerable rainfall. He has built a 16m x 50m shed for his cows, first laying down concrete flooring and then utilising a modified greenhouse as the covering structure. It allows plenty of light and air through and the cows are brought in every evening in winter.
This farming model considers the well-being of the animal, not to the exclusion of its potential productivity, but the animal needs to be comfortable and content in order to build productivity. Andre's shed is constructed on either side, for the full length, with bales, one for each beast. The concrete flooring under these bales, where the cows bed down, is covered with 16mm thick rubber matting.
Cubicle Farming is different
To the untrained eye, Andre appears to be cubicle farming, a much debated issue in farming communities in NZ. In reality, he is making his cows comfortable, keeping them out of the weather, out of knee deep mud, feeding them well, and in general looking after them. These animals are a long way from being force-fed which is what occurs in the American model of cubicle farming.
Because the animals are housed in inclement weather, they don't pug the paddocks destroying potential feed. In Europe keeping your animals under cover is necessary as a matter of stock well-being, but the principles apply in NZ. A large dairy farm in the Netherlands runs 100 dairy animals on 40 hectares. In NZ stock numbers are higher on much larger farms but as the growth slows, cows often miss the extra condition which would make them top producers.
Andre brings his herd in at night, and in the morning in good weather, he lets them go out to graze. Now running 100 cows, he reduced his herd from the 127 he bought when he was initially told that his 200 acres could sustain that number. Because it's a hilly block on the edge of the Kaipara Harbour, pugged land is easily robbed of its nutrients in rainy weather when it all drains into the Kaipara.
Sustainable Farming
The Hekkers are also very interested in sustainable farming and feed their animals willow. The cows love it and none of them suffer from worms, attested to by regular blood sampling. Because there are no worming issues, the Hekkers don’t need to drench. They also use an organic fertiliser with a seaweed base and add pulverised basalt to it, the combination providing all the minerals required for good growth.
New Zealand farmers are currently grappling with effluent issues since the surge in dairy farming has threatened waterway health. Having been through the same issues in Europe 30 years ago, Andre points again to the European model and suggests NZ farmers can learn much by mistakes made there, 'while we still have choices here.'
Source: Theresa Sjoquist interview with Andre Hekkers - June 2010
