Amy and Greg Gemmell, dairy farmers in Manawatū, New Zealand, have found a perfect balance between technology and family life, thanks to the installation of three robotic machines in their dairy shed. The era of Greg needing to rise before…
“Avoid The Heat Of The Day”
With the advent of climate change, dairy farmers could expect to be dealing with more days where their cows are suffering from heat stress. That’s the message from DairyNZ’s Jacqueline McGowan, an expert in animal behaviour. She says her gut…
The Summer Solstice
NIWA and the corporate media would have everybody believe that we’re in the middle of summer. They are incorrect. We are, in fact, only three weeks into summer. I think we can all agree that the middle of summer (aka…
Rates And Expenses (Part 5)
In this, the final, segment of our five-part series, we’ll conclude by looking at a couple aspects of relief milking that can crop up from time to time. Milking For Cash For reasons of your own, you may wish to…
Rates And Expenses (Part 4)
In Part 4 of this series, we begin by looking at how to ensure that you get paid in a timely manner, upon completing each of your jobs. Getting Paid The vast majority of farmers pay their relief milkers on…
Rates And Expenses (Part 3)
In Part 3 of our five-part series, we begin by looking at what is undoubtedly a relief milker’s biggest expense – driving to their jobs. Mileage Costs Chances are, you are going to be travelling a fair bit to reach…