Talking Dairy
DairyNZ
Talking Dairy is your go-to podcast for New Zealand dairy farmers. You'll hear from farmers, scientists, and experts who share practical tips and insights to help you succeed. It's all about giving you the tools and knowledge to make the best decisions for your farm. Brought to you by DairyNZ, we help farmers lead the world in sustainable dairying by investing in research, new solutions and advocacy. Follow now and stay informed with the latest episodes.
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Top 10 Talking Dairy Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Talking Dairy episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Talking Dairy for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Talking Dairy episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Breeding the cow of the future | Ep. 14
Talking Dairy
10/31/21 • 31 min
When it comes to breeding decisions, which animal traits matter the most to Kiwi dairy farmers? Should environmental traits should be part of the Breeding Worth index? Farmers were recently asked what they want to see in the cow of the future. Here to explain the findings is Dr Peter Amer from AbacusBio, with valuable insights and questions from Canterbury dairy farmer and genetics-enthusiast Tania Riddington.
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09/20/21 • 28 min
Is agriculture going to be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)? And what role does the He Waka Eke Noa partnership have to play in reducing agricultural emissions? In this episode, Waikato dairy farmer Sophia Hunt joins the podcast to ask DairyNZ principal policy advisor Roger Lincoln some questions on this topic.
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05/31/21 • 29 min
Where do dairy farmers fit in the climate change discussion? Can farmers have confidence that emissions targets won’t keep shifting? And what support can farmers expect from the government? Climate Change Minister James Shaw sits down with us to talk it through.
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Flexible milking case study and research | Ep. 19
Talking Dairy
02/02/22 • 39 min
What prompted the Lincoln University Demonstration Dairy Farm’s move to full-season 10-in-7 milking? And what impact has it had on animal health, fertility, production and staff wellbeing? We speak with demonstration lead Jeremy Savage. Also on the episode is DairyNZ scientist Paul Edwards, who shares what the research is telling us about the effect of different milking intervals on milk production, fat and protein yields, and even sleeping patterns for farm staff.
Links:
Better workplaces through flexible milking podcast
DairyNZ flexible milking research
DairyNZ flexible milking content
Lincoln University Dairy Farm data
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05/31/22 • 31 min
It’s no secret that soil carbon levels on New Zealand farms are among the highest in the world. So, why aren’t dairy farmers being rewarded for it? Also, is it worth trying to increase your soil carbon stocks, if so, how, and what’s the best way to measure it on your farm? To answer those questions on this episode is Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Adjunct Professor at Lincoln University, and a farmer-elected director of DairyNZ and Ravensdown. Jacqueline’s been deep into this topic for many years and she’s passionate about helping farmers get their heads around it.
Chapters:
0.48 - What is soil carbon and why is it important?
2.20 - How do soil carbon levels in NZ compare to other countries?
6.01 - Carbon captured in pasture - how does that process work?
8.25 - How are farmers in other countries being rewarded for soil carbon?
13.05 - Why aren’t NZ dairy farmers getting the same rewards?
14.52 - Management practices to maintain, or even increase, soil carbon stocks
18.43 - The effect the age and stage of soil has on soil carbon
21.09 - Soil carbon varying across a farm and even within a paddock
24.11 - How to measure carbon in your soil, and the change in those levels
27.19 - Details of the new study to monitor and measure carbon in soil at a national level
28.52 - What does this all mean for farmers, and what should they be doing?
Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]
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Wintering – not just a Southland issue | Ep. 28
Talking Dairy
06/21/22 • 32 min
Wintering on crop isn’t just a Southland issue. New National Environment Standards for intensive winter grazing will come into effect in November 2022. Farmers all over New Zealand are having to review their wintering crop practices now and put some thought into how they’re going to winter into the future. In this episode, we chat with Central Hawke’s Bay sheep farmer Ben Tosswill and Southland dairy farmer Ewen Mathieson about winter grazing practices now and what’s next.
Chapters:
0.51 – Ben: banking back to farming
2.32 – Ewen: third generation farmer
3.20 – Changing consumer/market expectations
4.14 – What’s different now compared to five years ago?
5.13 – Ewen’s move away from cropping
7.18 – Meeting new regulations
7.59 – Flexibility to cope with curve balls
9.40 – Wintering as a North Island sheep farmer
10.20 – Sheep farmers lifting their game
11.34 – What Ben’s changed on his farm
13.10 – Reducing risk to animals and environment
15.10 – Cow lying time
16.39 – Lowering stress on sheep and staff
17.39 – Team culture and wellbeing
20.34 – Benefits of a written wintering plan
21.54 – Team buy-in on the plan
23.55 – Preventing small issues from becoming big ones
26.13 – Protecting waterways: silt fences (Ewen), temporary hot wires (Ben)
28.52 – Ewen: keeping the power on
29.49 – Ben: sharing the wintering plan
30.17 – Final thoughts: one thing farmers can do now
Visit our website for more on wintering
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07/05/22 • 62 min
Recorded on 9 March 2022. Kiwi dairy farmers are increasingly under pressure with ever-changing regulations, acute workforce shortages, and all the complexities that come with a changing world. Sometimes it can be hard to navigate while still making time for family, friends, and the stuff that matters most. What are these challenges? How do we manage the juggle and still feel ok? What is being done for us as farmers ... and who is speaking up for us? How do I notice I’m not handling so well? Who can I talk to?
For more from the Farmers' Forum Series, visit our website.
Chapters:
2.18 - Overview from Jim van der Poel, DairyNZ Chair
7.22 - Former farmer and rural mental health advocate Doug Avery
34.32 - Dairy farmer panel – Wayne Langford, Loshni Manikam and Neil Bateup
Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]
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06/20/23 • 15 min
In today’s tight labour market, we need to ensure our dairy farm assistant jobs are attractive and competitive – but how? In this episode, find out about DairyNZ’s new tools to help farm employers know if their job role 'meets the market' and what factors could be tweaked to create a bigger pool of applicants. Our guests are DairyNZ’s Geoff Taylor and Pouarua Farms CEO Jenna Smith.
Useful links
Know the Market project - DairyNZ
Job competitiveness calculator - DairyNZ
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Wet weather management | Ep. 56
Talking Dairy
07/05/23 • 38 min
Rain, rain, rain. How are other dairy farmers managing their way through this exceptionally wet winter? Hear from Hauraki Plains farm owner John Garrett, Cambridge farm owner Marc Gascoigne, and Northland herd owning sharemilker Carl MacDonald, who explain how they're trying to minimise soil damage while still adequately feeding the cows. They discuss round lengths, cow comfort, team morale, mental health, lessons from previous wet winters, and more.
Notes
Wet weather management - DairyNZSpring Rotation Planner - DairyNZRural Support Trust: Help and support for rural NZ (rural-support.org.nz)
Home - Farmstrong - Live Well Farm Well
Farmer wellbeing - DairyNZ
Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]
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Recovering from an extreme weather event | Ep. 44
Talking Dairy
03/07/23 • 33 min
It’s been an incredibly tough time for farmers affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. For many, the recovery will be long and challenging. We thought it would be helpful to hear from one farmer who’s been through something similar and can talk about what the recovery looked like.
Dean Bailey was sharemilking in Manawatu when, in February 2004, a devastating flooding event left his farm submerged beneath two metres of water. It was six months before they were milking cows again on the farm. Dean will talk about how the recovery unfolded, the importance of good communication, rallying together as a community, and taking it one day at a time.
Michelle Greaves, a Regional Partner in DairyNZ’s Lower North Island Team, also joins us to talk about DairyNZ’s role in the response and recovery, and provide advice on how farmers can prepare for the seasons ahead.
Notes
- Cyclone response - DairyNZ
- Decision tree for flood damaged farms: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/media/5787035/flood-damaged-farm-decision-tree.pdf
- Government grants and funds: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/55630-Cyclone-Gabrielle-farmer-and-grower-recovery-grants
- Completing a feed budget: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/feed/improving-pasture-performance/assessing-farm-performance/feed-budgets/
Chapters
1:18 - Intro to Dean
1:41 - How Dean’s been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle
3:30 - Dean's been speaking with Hawke’s Bay farmers hit by the cyclone
3:48 - ‘Taken out of farming’ in the Manawatu floods of 2004, and how they recovered: what worked well, keeping morale up
9:14 - Dean discusses support organisations, talking to mates, getting through it as a community, and keeping the cows in lactation
12:05 - Deciding what to prioritise in each day of the recovery
15:30 - Dean’s advice for Cyclone Gabrielle-affected farmers
17:45 - Ways to make a farm and business resilient to the effects of extreme weather events, e.g. positioning fencing to run with the water
20:00 - Michelle discusses key support avenues and tools to help farmers recovering from an adverse event
22:15 - What Michelle’s hearing from farmers in affected regions: power, fuel and water supply, roading access, cows dried off, stock movement, infrastructure
25:25 - Dealing with the silt
26:33 - What’s DairyNZ’s role in the response and recovery?
29:30 - Resilience of dairy farmers, and advice for farmers on preparing for future extreme weather events (contingency plans, generators, means of communication, fuel storage)
Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]
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FAQ
How many episodes does Talking Dairy have?
Talking Dairy currently has 105 episodes available.
What topics does Talking Dairy cover?
The podcast is about Research, Podcasts, Science, New Zealand, Agriculture and Business.
What is the most popular episode on Talking Dairy?
The episode title 'Protecting profit in a high payout | Ep. 16' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Talking Dairy?
The average episode length on Talking Dairy is 27 minutes.
How often are episodes of Talking Dairy released?
Episodes of Talking Dairy are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of Talking Dairy?
The first episode of Talking Dairy was released on Apr 6, 2021.
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