The Muster-Steve Henderson: Preparing For Calving

Steve Henderson shares some tips ahead of the upcoming calving season.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome back to the musta away down to our o
this afternoon to catch up with Steve Henderson dairy farming
down that way. Steve, O, good afternoon, blue sky here
and Gore, how's it looking there.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Half any lists, No, we're looking pretty good in comparison
to the last three days anyway, almost blue sky on
a bit of wind. So that's what we enjoyed the moment.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
So what have you had over the past three days?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
There were snow showers and various parts of northern South
and anyway, snow quite down and low on the hills too.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, it was like it was shuld Island had it
almost down halfway down the hill. So let's say it
was cold and I'm interesting getting just sort of unforecast
and chairs come through it upwards are fifteen miles a
day coming through coastal South. Let's keep that stap enough
really for the year.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
So you're staying on top of the feet at the moment,
at the top of the ground.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah yeah, but miss so you get a couple of
weirder days and the keres sort of you know, they
do sinking just like anywhere else. But we get a
daylight today and the back up on top. So now
I think we're still holding your own cal condition wise,
it's all worked out pretty well. They love gained the
ones that needed to and the ones that haven't needed
to they haven't. So yeah, all in all, want has
been pretty good. Really cal conditionise.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
So you're getting closer to calving. I suppose you had
a couple of girls. Have them pop out yet? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
We have yet we've got five heaps in the shed
and a couple of cares that were a bit early,
so not just just systems makes with your sheets going
and Nick gives a k had a bit of milk
both arms. You have got about three or four and
so you know the end is there and probably this
time next week will be you know, had a bit

(01:48):
of a routine and actually underway, so you had the
heapers theoretically, yeah, end of the month, which is you
if you say it fast, it's not too far away,
is it.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Do you embrace calving or do you dread it?

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Nah?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
I frig of love calving.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
I am.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
I think I enjoy it because you know what you're doing,
and b it's just such a busy time of the
year that you're forever sort of doing triage stuff, so
you're always e gauging what's most important and forever doing that,
and you in a nice way. There's not actually people
that annoy you. You get through your day and you're

(02:22):
busy farming, and there's no reps calling in and no
one wanted to have ketch ups. So how I thoroughly
enjoy August September, So.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
You're left to be a farmer. In other words, yeah, yeah,
you did.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Right, Yeah, and you know stuff enjoy it too. It's
a lot of people say it's time a year, but
I don't really vouch for that. I'd say October November
is busier when you're starting to win calves and a
bit of track to work. So August and September can
be as busy as you make it. But if you've
got some reasonably good systems, it can be quite quite
an enjoyable time of the.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Year when the weather doesn't play board. Have you got
things in place to negate that.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah we do. So we've got a few sacrifice peddiccks.
So the cows on grass and bayleage pre coming into
the herd. Obviously they get into the herd, and yeah,
we run them onto concrete you know, if we do
get some real rough nights, so they'll feed their allocation
in the peddocks and then yeah, we won't be too
worried about standing them off on concrete for yeah, three

(03:17):
or four hours, just so they're not moping around and
they've got a little bit more shelter and you know,
trying to save those peddocks. So hopefully for the cross
we don't get three springs in a row. We've had
the last two springs will just be marginal enough down here,
so hopefully the third one is good. In year, we
don't have to do that too often.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
Grass levels, how are they looking fantastic?

Speaker 2 (03:38):
Actually, so in June we grew up with the twenty
kilos a day. We just didn't get frosts, and you know,
some might say it's too much grass, but I don't know.
We'll just pull cows off crop earlier and you know,
utilize that grass. And I think the biggest worry probably
for most people too in springtime is just the utilization.
You know, if you can't eat it down to sixteen hundre,

(04:00):
don't worry about it. Just carry on because you'll get
at that next round when it may be a bit drier. Yeah,
they'll obviously a bit more harm done by trying to
chew it right out in that first round if it
is a wheat paddock. So driving around Southland, I believe
most people will be in a pretty good boat with
growing that much grass through June.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Is it a problem though, having too much feed at
this time of year considering we're still in the cold months.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yea, it can be. It can be, and that bottom
stuff starts to rot too, So you know, the longer
it is, it takes a bit bit longer to chew
through it and to be fear it's it's the next round,
you know, post end of September that that is the
tricky one. If you've had a long grass, it doesn't
quite shoot back like the shorter you know, three hundred

(04:45):
grass does, so you've got to build that legaz and
coming into that second round that can be the bit
of the problem. But you know, I'd always much rather
have more grass than not enough grass, and we'll utilize
it somewhere.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
So carving is pretty much teeing off for a lot
of peaple else do you what's a couple of hints
you've got? We talk about this every year, but you
just come of you've got some really good systems in place.
Like you talk about what's some advice for people.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
I think the biggest thing that we changed might have
been four or five years ago. Whenever it was just
work backwards from five o'clock in the afternoon, so go
right out there is that time that people want to
be home where you need to be home by five o'clock,
So work backwards and you know, you might look your
costumes at one o'clock in the afternoon, or you may
do the first thing after the milkers in the morning

(05:32):
and just you know, get your most important jobs done
and then some of the like to do is they
might not happen, and just work your day backwards from
five and that's what we do, and we have changed
their system a little bit. We do look the costumes
first thing in the afternoon and car throwing wise ed
lib system that just allegate's a febit of time feeding

(05:52):
calves and the cabs actually do win a little bit
earlier than the twice a day system. So it's all
those little things and just doing the jobs that need
to be done rather than kick around and do those
like to do jobs, especially in the August September, and
it's probably the two things, ed lib and you're working

(06:14):
back for five o'clock and making sure your day finishes then, so.

Speaker 3 (06:16):
You aim to be out of the shed by.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Five yep, yep. But obviously, like any other job, you'll
get a fewhick ups and you have a carb and
gear or if something's happened. But if you have the
plan by five o'clock, you'll at least be gone by
have ass five and systems in place that not everyone's
getting tired a few late starts. And then also people
that come in late eight o'clock in the morning, you

(06:38):
know they could be cheating classroom kires and you're going
to do those other jobs without even calling into the
sheep for a half air chap. So as long as
everybody knows what page they're on, yeah, you can have
some pretty efficient systems coming in spring.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
And I suppose buying from your staff about what you're
doing during these months and then realizing that this is
basically what dictates your income over the next twelve as well.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, dere light, and it's about having an invested staff too,
so the more information they can get off you or
you know, a few professionals that might come in and
talk about it for different things. The more buying that
staff member's got, the more you'll get out of them,
and the more invested interests they have. So yet, all
our staff know everything from You know pretty much what

(07:22):
their bank account is, where all their invoices come from,
where they all go right down to cow numbers, stock losses,
breeding policy, all those things, so there's no real hidden
surprises when something comes along. I've got a few idea
of what time of the year it is and what
you're trying to achieve. So yeah, I think that's probably
an underestimated thing that can be ending out there.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
I will leave it there, Steve, all the best for
the start of the carving. We're catching a couple of weeks.
See how it's all progressing.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
Cheers Andy, and yep, everybody else is getting into carving
and landing.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Enjoy it, laugh out loud with ag proud. His life
on the land can be a laughing matter.

Speaker 1 (08:02):
Brought to us by sheer Well Data working to help
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Speaker 3 (08:21):
The Muster's brought to you by Peter Schenelics. A podcast
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Speaker 1 (08:23):
App shortly courtesy of iHeart Radio, but a blue sky
out there, col and Crisp just the way we like
it for July.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
See it tomorrow