Why this Durbanville dairy helps to keep on successful awards

Longevity. Manufacturing. Fertility. Those are the cornerstones of manufacturing at Honest Cape’s dairy farms, Welgegund and 3 Sisters, close to Durbanville within the Western Cape. Crucial of those is longevity, consistent with Johannes Loubser, director of farming operations.

Loubser is aware of what he’s speaking about. He gained the ARC Nationwide Grasp Dairyman of the 12 months Award in 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022, in addition to the Western Cape’s Grasp Dairy Farmer of the 12 months in 2012.

On the time of writing, the dairy had about 2 500 cows in milk, consisting of roughly 2 120 Holsteins, 210 Ayrshires for his or her branded programme at Woolworths, and 170 Jerseys to spice up milk solids.

Honest Cape additionally has 2 500ha of land underneath a rotation of wheat, canola and oats, in addition to 350ha of lucerne underneath irrigation.

Manufacturing

So much has modified since Loubser’s father, Eduard, began the dairy operation in 1955 with a herd of 64 Friesland cows. Loubser and his 4 brothers introduced the Honest Cape emblem in a while after deregulation in 1995.

“Milk costs have been low, so we realised we needed to give you the chance so as to add price to the milk. The farm to begin with equipped the previous 7-11 stores with 1ℓ milk sachets.”

Since then, Honest Cape has prolonged its gross sales to all of the main shops, and its product providing has grown to incorporate UHT milk, flavoured milk, yoghurt, juice, dairy cakes and butter.

 

“It has taken numerous sweat, blood and dangers, however now we have controlled, over the years, to ascertain ourselves as a powerful and sought-after emblem,” says Loubser.

Manufacturing has grown from a couple of thousand litres to over 95 000ℓ/day, whilst yield consistent with cow has larger from a mean of 22ℓ/day to kind of 40ℓ/day for the Holsteins.

The Ayrshires have been offered to the farm a bit over a decade in the past and yield about 30ℓ/cow/day, while the Jerseys on common produce 28ℓ/cow day. The cows are milked 3 times an afternoon.

In 2012, Honest Cape boasted the primary cow in South Africa to provide greater than 100ℓ/day, with 3 in their Holsteins conducting this feat after that.

“You get those peculiar cows each and every now and again. Their prime milk yields does now not have an effect on their longevity or well being negatively, as a result of they’ve get admission to to enough rations to lend a hand handle their situation,” says Loubser.

He issues out that the feeding of dairy cows has grow to be “truly medical” during the last twenty years, with dairy farmers at the moment having simple get admission to to feed professionals to steer the method of rations, lend a hand establish feeding issues, save you dietary imbalances, and stay cows in the most efficient imaginable situation.

“The feeding of dairy farm animals has grow to be extraordinarily actual, which is helping to cut back wastage whilst permitting farmers to maximize the productive possible in their cows. To stay issues easy, alternatively, prime performers at Honest Cape get the similar rations as common or decrease performers in the similar productive cycle. The upper performers merely devour extra to meet their productive wishes,” Loubser explains.

Whilst inter-calving length and yield consistent with cow will all the time be necessary, Loubser issues out that the point of interest has shifted to manufacturing consistent with lifetime, in different phrases, the amount of milk produced via a cow over her existence.

“It’s nice to have a cow with an above-average yield, nevertheless it way not anything if she can not maintain it,” he explains.

In 2006, Honest Cape had its first cow that produced greater than 100 000ℓ of milk over her lifetime. That quantity has since larger to 64.

Cow convenience

Loubser identifies an larger focal point on cow convenience and welfare during the advent of cow housing as any other main contributor to yield enhancements.

Introducing cow properties to the farm is a big expense, so Loubser went to more than a few in a foreign country international locations round 2005 to take a look at other milking programs.

He particularly appreciated what he noticed in Israel, related to the truth that Israel’s climatic stipulations are very similar to that of the Swartland. This helped him come to a decision to make use of an Israeli dairy specialist to lend a hand with the design in their gadget.

The specialist drew up plans for cow properties, going into element at the format, orientation, measurement of booths, feed and strolling area, and effluent control.

The plans additionally integrated the design that allowed the transfer from Honest Cape’s previous herringbone milking parlour to a 64-cow rotary gadget.

“The cow housing and milking parlour have been two of the most efficient investments we had ever made,” he says.

He explains that cow housing is helping a great deal to strengthen cow convenience, and in impact longevity and well being, via sheltering cows towards the weather: wind and chilly in wintry weather, and warmth in summer season. As of late, all of the business dairies within the Swartland employ cow housing.

Whilst there was numerous debate through the years about the most efficient bedding to make use of in those programs, Honest Cape over the years settled on compost, consisting of decomposed cow manure.

Loubser explains that it’s a lot less expensive and simpler than having to move sand to the farm. The farm additionally makes use of effluent to fertilise lands underneath wheat manufacturing.

Just right stockmanship

In conjunction with this, there was a better focal point on excellent stockmanship and the manufacturing of tamer cows which are more uncomplicated to take care of.

Loubser says dairyman Anton Starke was once one in all his nice inspirations when he used to be nonetheless a kid.

“We visited Anton’s dairy someday and noticed essentially the most atypical factor. His cows have been so tame that each and every of them went over to him for some consideration after being milked. Their tameness used to be an instantaneous results of the truth that he used to be repeatedly with the animals, so that they have been used to him, and the delicate approach by which he labored with them.”

Loubser admits that dairy herds have grown too massive at the moment to pay person consideration to cows, however he feels that farmers nonetheless must make common time to stroll some of the cows to peer for themselves that the whole thing is ok.

Loubser provides that giving calves numerous consideration all the way through the primary couple of months after delivery is helping them for use to other people when they’re mature.

Cow well being

The coming of latest and advanced virtual applied sciences introduced nice enhancements.

“I have in mind obviously how I complained about the truth that it’s worthwhile to now not see what used to be going down with person cows round 2002. Some time later, I heard of era that monitored the motion of cows to lend a hand establish once they have been in warmth. As of late this era is so refined that it additionally lets in farmers to spot cows which are doubtlessly in poor health,” says Loubser.

The era opened the doorways to synthetic insemination and higher fertility, copy, calving and cow well being control.

“With the ability to deal with in poor health cows early is a big merit because it way the remedy may well be more practical and the cow would possibly undergo much less rigidity, which is able to negatively have an effect on milk manufacturing, fertility and longevity.”

4 years in the past, Loubser began the usage of genomic trying out at the herd to boost up genetic development and take the guesswork out of the breeding and collection of animals.

He explains that younger calves are examined for characteristics comparable to exploit manufacturing, longevity and well being to lend a hand him establish animals that are meant to be included into the herd. A prime somatic mobile depend, for example, signifies a susceptibility to mastitis.

In conjunction with this, sexed semen is used at the genetically awesome animals within the herd to boost up genetic development via making sure those animals best produce feminine offspring.

Poorer performers are inseminated with Angus genetics and their offspring are bought for just about 3 times greater than a dairy calf would fetch to the meat marketplace.

Business woes

Loubser identifies emerging enter prices and in particular load-shedding as main business demanding situations.

“Enter prices have skyrocketed during the last few years, while milk costs have moved sideways for the previous 9 years. There was once over 20 000 dairy farmers within the nation a bit greater than a decade in the past, of which about just a thousand have survived financially.”

Loubser is thinking about extremely professional farmers who’re nonetheless leaving the business.

“Up till now, the native business has been ready to offer the native call for, however I don’t know for the way for much longer. The farm-gate milk worth for manufacturers that has larger during the last 12 months has helped to counter escalating enter prices, however it’s not sufficient,” he says.

Honest Cape put in a 1MW sun plant between 2020 and 2021, which has helped to cut back the industry’s carbon footprint and effort utilization. Loubser issues out that, sadly, this is helping best all the way through the day and when there is not any load-shedding.

To additional cut back their dependence on Eskom and cut back the have an effect on of load-shedding, the industry is investigating different change power provide assets, like biodigestors and wind generators.

E-mail Johannes Loubser at [email protected].