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MAY 2016
DAIRY UPDATE
Inside this issue:
CEO Update
1
GM - People &
Production Update
3
BST Leader Update
GM - Profit Update
Asset Manager Update
ASB Economic Update
BEL Group Awards
5
6
6
7
8
BEL People 10
Balance Agri-Nutrients 11
Operations Team 12
Lee Astridge -No8 HR 13
Payroll and Business
Services Update
14
Farm Work Plan 15
BEL Group Contacts 16
News and Events 17
from what everyone is forecasting to be another
sub $5.00/kgMS milk price year. As we print, Fon-
terra has delivered their 16/17 farmgate forecast
milk price at $4.25.
It looks like we will come in around the $5.00kgMS
break-even milk price mark for the 2016 season,
to the end of April we are $4.17/kgMS, with May
accounts and milk production still to be included.
Our budget for 2017 is currently at $4.89/kgMS.
Farm management plans, budgets, business struc-tures and systems have all had a go over to find
further opportunities and efficiencies. It doesn’t
stop here either. The BEL Group’s Farm Tune
programme was launched in May with workshops
for Managers and Farm Tune Champions. This
initiative will be all about hunting out and eliminat-
ing waste, finding opportunities for efficiency and
being determined about driving towards more
production for the same, or the same production
for less.
As presented in the March newsletter, we have set
our business-as-usual milk price at $5.00/kgMS.
This means we have to produce every kg for less
than this in order to make positive progress to-
wards improving our balance sheet and ability to
invest in infrastructure developments and up-
grades. There are three places we can go to do
this:
1. Increase milk production – from the same
inputs. This is the number one priority.
2. Increase income from other sources, such
as stock trading.
3. Reduce expenditure without compromising
milk outputs.
BEL AWARDS GREAT NIGHT OUT
The BEL Awards evening on 19th May was a great
celebration of the year that was; a send-off from
the 2016 season and a gateway into the 2017
season.
Congratulations Daryl Spooner – Farm Manager
of the Year for 2016. Daryl set a goal, worked
through his plan, stuck to his budget and deliv-
ered a stellar performance. Chased hard by the
other finalists, Peter Borges and Reetesh Prasad,
these three Managers are all taking another step
forward in their careers for the 2017 season with
bigger jobs all around. This is what BEL Group is
all about – our people, our business and our
community growing together.
You can catch up on all the awards highlights in
this newsletter.
Congratulations to all of the finalists and the
winners of the BEL Awards, it was such fun see-
ing your success and being able to recognize you “in lights”.
2017 = BACK TO BASICS, DRIVE OUT
COST, BE CREATIVE
Our mantra for this year is 10% up and 10%
down.
Our long game hasn’t changed, we are still all
about building a financially secure and sustainable
future for our BEL family and community.
At the end of April, we had a very robust Board
meeting, debating our way through the upcoming
year’s plan. The goal is to thrive through volatili-
ty. Our current focus is all about getting back to
basics and taking control so that we can emerge
BEL GROUP CEO UPDATE
Page 2
DECISIONS MADE
At our April board meeting we reviewed the budget and op-
erating plan presented, and considered the other strategies
that were raised in the March newsletter.
The following are the ‘big’ decisions made:
1. Once-a-day milking system will be implemented at
Ellingham and Hedley Farms. These will be managed
under one farm manager, Peter Borges. Total num-
bers across the two farms will increase by circa 150
cows with about 50ha of Peterdale coming into the
dairy farms.
2. Reigate will reduce cows down to 900 at calving and
will manage a large proportion of its own wintering
requirements in 2016 & 2017.
3. Dairy Support will provide100% self-containment for
feed and grazing, and we will be relinquishing our
Kellog’s property lease this winter and our
McGregor’s lease in November 2016, supporting our
land use intensification strategy.
4. Contract Milking will continue to be developed as an opportunity for Managers going into 2017/18 and
beyond.
5. Implementation of Farm Tune across BEL Group to
seek further efficiencies across the entire business:
a. Priority is to achieve the 50hours average work-
ing week on farm.
b. Reduction of waste.
c. Do more for the same.
d. Do the same for less
LEADERSHIP CHANGES
BEL Group is ready for its next phase of business and this
means there will be some leadership changes.
Management Changes:
From June 1st, I will be moving aside to let the Senior Leader-
ship Team step into more responsibility and greater leader-
ship of the business.
As was presented in the “Restructure Document” presented
in April, I will move across into a Consultancy Support role
and Toni Goodlass will move into the General Management
Role that I’m vacating. With this, Doug Dolan is increasing his
responsibilities for Production Management across the busi-
ness, with a flow on effect to both Anthony Williams and
Mike Oakly, whose roles are changing and expanding. Rachael
Riddell will continue to lead the financial and asset manage-
ment focus.
Nicola Whittle will increase her responsibilities across our
People focus. We are still nailing down the finer details of
these various transitions but for me it represents Andrea and
BEL Group delivering on our promise to grow our business
and our people together. It has always been one of my goals
to create internal succession within BEL Group so that the
culture, values, learning and experience that is created as we
work in this business are captured and leveraged through
internal promotion of our leaders and managers.
Back in 2010, we determined that BEL Group needed to be a
fully managed business not reliant on any single person, well
organized and systemized to minimize business risks and max-
imize stakeholder confidence and be strong enough to contin-
ue to grow and stay relevant. I really believe that this describes
BEL Group today.
It will be different, but BEL Group is ready and this will provide
an opportunity for new ideas, new energy and new perspective
to continue to grow performance.
Advisory Board Changes:
We have said farewell to Deane and Diane Purdue from the BEL
Advisory Board. They were foundation members of this board
in 2010 and have provided expertise and wisdom through our
journey to a fully managed, systemized and robust business.
Deane and Diane brought a huge amount of knowledge, encour-
agement and support as BEL Group found its feet and the Advi-
sory Board became established. Thank you and we will miss
your insightful contributions.
We have welcomed John Parker to the BEL Advisory Board.
John has a broad CV of dairy and agricultural industry experi-
ence, from an executive career with the Dairy Board to direc-
torships with leading New Zealand companies such as the Port
of Tauranga and Dairy Holdings, to involvement with industry through appointments such as Chair of PITO and most recently
the appointment to Chair of the Primary Growth Partnership.
RWSS POSITIVELY PROGRESSED
At a whole of business level, we have negotiated our Water
User Agreement with the RWSS, signing up for 5.0m cubic me-
tres, making BEL Group the largest water user of the scheme.
This was as much about supporting the scheme to progress for
the upside in our community as it was about the future potential
opportunity for our business.
We now patiently await the expected financial close to occur
towards the end of June.
There have been several opportunities identified to grow BEL
Group with this water and we will be developing a business plan
over the coming year with the expectation of RWSS water being
available from the end of 2019.
THANKS FOR THE RESULT
As we track towards 1st June 2016, we have delivered a strong
result and I want to thank every person in the BEL Family for
their part in this. We have delivered a profit result well ahead
of budget with our operational business costs sneaking in under
$4.00/kgMS to the end of April, our end of year KPI was $4.50/
kgMS. Seven dairy farms achieved over 600kgMS/ha to the end
of December, 5 over 650 and overall we achieved 64% of our
production to the end of December. Our 6 week in-calf results
improved again with 3 farms over 70% and all farms over 60%. We have internally promoted into all “vacancies” for June 1st,
and have all of our Farm Managers staying with us to start the
2017 season.
We still have much to work on, we always will!
Thanks for all of the effort, all of the work and all of the fun that
you brought with you to the 2016 season.
Justine Kidd - CEO
PEOPLE AND LEADERSHIP
This new season marks the end of Justine’s leadership of BEL Group. She has done an outstanding job shaping this business to
what it is today. Justine’s stewardship has been characterised by systemisation, innovative ideas, strategic thinking and most valua-
ble, her focus on our people strategies and a values-driven culture within BEL Group.
From a personal point of view, Justine’s support and guidance has been very important throughout the last two years. Her energy
and devotion to the role will be tough to match, but she leaves this role with BEL Group a better organisation and on a strong
footing for those of us who follow her. We wish Justine all the very best in her future endeavours and we look forward to her
continued involvement in our business from a consulting perspective.
If I think back to my very first day at BEL Group, like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I
believed BEL Group was an outstanding business. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do great things and achieve great
results, and grow together in our community. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference in agri-
business in my community. This same inspiration continues to drive me today.
It is a privilege for me, as it is with the other members of the leadership team, to lead this business for the Barry family. Justine has
taken this legacy built by Peter and Andrea, to one of the greatest and most admired dairy farming companies in the New Zealand.
And even on the back of that success, as a leadership team we are hungry to do more. It is a critical time for the dairy industry
and for BEL Group. Make no mistake, we are headed for great places and our job is to make sure BEL Group gets there and
thrives. The leadership team and I look forward to the start of this new phase of our journey together .
Page 3
GM—PEOPLE & PRODUCTION UPDATE
NEW SEASON START
With the 1st of June comes the start of our new farming year. Unlike previous years, this year there is no industry ‘Gypsy Day’ for
BEL Group, our own gypsy movements are occurring due to people being promoted and achieving their career development aspira-
tions within our business. This is a great outcome and what we have been working to as part of our people strategies!
On that basis, we will not be planning a ‘Season Kick Off” event for all staff. Instead the Leadership team will meet with you on-
farm to share with you our strategy and plans for the coming year at your individual team meetings.
This new season sees our absolute focus on improving our productive performance and tuning up our business, processes and prac-
tices to become more efficient. This is no surprise based on the new milk price forecast of $4.25. There is no more opportune
time to improve our performance and look at ways to make our business simpler and more efficient. This is a great opportunity for
us to focus on the basics and perform those basic things exceptionally well.
Every farm has a Farm Management Plan and an Operating Budget that has been set to deliver the priorities identified in our busi-
ness plan. These business plans have been targeted to achieve the KPI’s set in the BEL Group Performance Plan. We encourage
you to understand what this means for you, your team and your farm by asking questions of your Manager and making sure you
really engage at your team meetings.
DAIRY UPDATE
• Debt : Equity Ratio
• Diversity Options
• People Capability
• Asset Management
•BE Milk Price $5.00/kgMS
•<$3.50 Dairy Farm FWE
•Dairy Support >$800/ha EBIT
•100% Self Contained
•2,830,000 kgMS
•67% 6 Week In-Calf Rate
•100% Compliance
•<5% Stock Losses
•50 hours/week
•>80% Retention
• Lost Time Injuries/200,000 hrs < 4
People Production
GrowthProfit
Page 4
BEL GROUP STRUCTURE 2016-2017:
PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE TO MAY 2016
As I write this newsletter, we have 3 farms still milking. We are forecasting to come in 5.7% behind total milk production budget
of 2.65M vs 2.81MmkgMS. Only Ashton and Ellingham will have met their milk production targets and Ellingham and Hedley have
exceeded their 1000kgMS/ha KPI. Our autumn milk production has been off plan and in part attributable to not feeding planned
silage in late summer. This was an economic decision based on the milk price, but we could have done better in managing our
pasture intakes to maximise production through this period and managed our dry-off decisions in a timelier manner. So our abso-lute focus this season is about improving our peak production, managing our herd health to maximise numbers in vat, and improv-
ing our days in milk.
All farms followed their rotation round this year for the first time, which was a significant performance result. Your Ops team will
be working with you this year on improved management and how to meet your targets without compromising feed intakes.
Our mating results across the farms were improved on last year with 6-week in-calf results overall of 68% - Hedley and Elling-
ham achieving our top results of 81% & 80% respectively. Our winter milk farms will require increased attention to meet our KPI’s
this season.
We had a disappointing start with our young stock on Dairy Support. However an action plan, developed by Jim and Doug, has
improved individual farm and animal performance. Implementation of a new sustainable system will set us up for wintering and
deliver 100% self-containment for supplementary feed this coming year.
So based on the focus on improving production (10% up), we have to do this by growing quality pasture. Simply, this means know-
ing your farm plan, understanding the BEL Farming Principles (in your Employee Handbook) and STICKING to the decision rules.
This last season we saw a significant improvement on farms sticking to their rotation lengths. Ensure that you continue to review
this at every team meeting, double-checking the area ACTUALLY grazed for the week against the plan and the Handbook guides. I
know if you are on the correct rotation length every week you will fast track towards your 1,000 kgMS/ha. Have a go – how much
area did you graze this week compared to plan? Did anyone move the cows on or extend a break? Did this get recorded? Was it
made up with a smaller area grazed on another day, or do we need to include it this week? Did you BACKFENCE?
Overall, we have seen improvement across all of our KPI’s and budgets this year, in comparison to last season. I commend you all
on your focus and attention to deliver, but we still have more work to do. The great news is that we are well positioned, with a
stable and committed team across the whole business, to deliver on this season’s plan and KPI’s! Let’s go for it!
Page 5
W INTER PASTURE MANAGEMENT
As we head into the wetter months we must keep our focus on
pasture damage. We plan for NIL.
The following is a table from a piece of research completed in
Taranaki through to early 1990s. The topic investigated was the impact of different grazing methods on winter damage to pasture.
While researched more than 20 years ago, it’s still highly relevant
today.
Treatment KgDM/ha grown % Decline
This trial ran for 120 days, from 1 June to 30 September. The first
treatment saw a piece of land simply mown and its volume of feed
grown measured at 30 day intervals. This grew 2030 kg DM per
ha. The second treatment saw cows eating their daily allocation
for four hours then the cows taken off. This saw 1980 kg DM
grown. The third treatment saw stock given their daily allocation
then left on the paddock and kept in their 24-hour area. This saw
1680 kg DM per ha grown. A 17% decline in available feed. The
fourth and final treatment saw cows daily strip grazed, with long
narrow strips with no back fence for at least five days. This saw a
further decline in feed grown to 1440 kg DM per ha over this 120
-day period.
Mower 2030 0 4 hour on off
grazing
1980 2
24 hour block
grazing
1680 17
5 day strip
grazing
1440 29
In summary, we can reduce the amount of feed grown by
up to 29% over this June to September period by doing
too much pasture damage. To put this picture another
way, this is 590 kg DM per ha of potentially grown feed
that is lost. At a conversion ratio of 15 kg DM/kg milk
solids, this is an extra 40kgMS per ha; 40kg MS at a pay-
out of $6.00/kgMS is $240 per ha extra earned. If our
farm is say 300ha, the amount of milk lost equates to
$72,000 over this 120-day period. This is a serious
amount of money! This is only on one farm!
As we start to progress further into the winter we need
to be aware of how to minimize pasture damage. Your
Farm Manager and Operations Manager are key team
members to help source ideas from.
As a rule we target NO pasture damage.
Toni Goodlass - GM People & Production
BST LEADER - UPDATE
The Development Programme has now completed all the
People Management Workshops with Lee Astridge – they
are always challenging and a lot of fun. The team will con-
tinue to work with Lee and the managers throughout the
year as part of Farm Tune.
We also completed our second Finance Workshop with
Simon Charteris from ASB, with a focus this time on Farm
Budgets. The training was opened up to all BEL Staff and
was very informative.
The next couple of months will be a busy time for the DP
team with Autumn & Winter Management Training fol-
lowed by a Feed and Fertiliser Workshop.
The Primary ITO team met again in April for a study ses-
sion. This was a great opportunity to get work signed off
by the Primary ITO trainer and mentors. It also provided
a great opportunity for help with those difficult questions.
On farm, we had Fencing Training in March, led by Doug
Dolan, and Stack Management in April, led by Mark Burke
from Pioneer.
With the start of the new season pending, I am preparing
to update and improve all training and training records
with the help of the Ops Team, to ensure this year is our
best yet in ensuring all our staff are being trained ade-
quately.
June will be a busy month with Motorbike Skills, Tractor
Skills, Stock Handling and a Calf Rearing Refresher lined
up.
Nicola Whittle - BST Leader
DAIRY UPDATE
Page 6
Asset Manager - Update
Where’s Pauly?
Paul Phippen recently travelled to Sri Lanka to attend Rudda’s
wedding.
GM PROFIT - UPDATE
At the end of February, our results showed that we remain on
track to hit our target Break Even Milk Price Key Performance
Indicator for this season of $5.60/kgMS. To the end of March,
we were on track to do better than this by 52 cents/kgMS.
Our forecast farm working expenses are $3.78/kgMS (28c
above our target of $3.50) and total operating expenditure
$4.49. Both Hedley and Ellingham have forecast farm working
expenses below $3.50 which is a fantastic result. Neither farm
has met this KPI previously, so it is a huge accomplishment.
Well done Daryl on your Financial Performance Award; it was a
well-deserved win.
Kowhai Terrace has also made significant improvements on last
season. Their March Forecast showed a $1.62/kgMS improve-
ment in farm working expenses from the 2014/15 season, an-
other fantastic result achieved by conscious planning of farm
activities and regular review of financial data.
Fonterra have announced the total dividend for the financial
year will be 40 cents per share, producing a total forecast cash
pay-out of $4.25-$4.30 per kgMS. While the forecast farmgate
milk price has not been increased again, we are still on track to
14% ahead of budgeted income due to stock and dividends
income offsetting negative variances in milk production and
retrospective payments.
Savings have been made in animal health in the areas of Mastitis,
Minerals and Reproduction. Fertiliser and Nitrogen are fore-
cast to come in 12% below budget. Currently we are under
budget due to autumn activity varying from original plan
(weather) as well as some savings on Nitrogen through pricing.
Unfortunately, maintenance costs on dairy sheds have come in
over budget. This is due to refrigeration and chiller issues,
worn platforms and backing gates. This over has been offset by
compliance activities budgeted but not carried out.
We have made savings in cropping by carrying out some activi-
ties internally. The forecast is to achieve an 11% saving in crop-
ping. Rape crops are currently sitting at 30% less than budgeted
cost/ha. Oat crops are also significantly under budget, currently
44% less than budgeted cost/ha. We are still expecting to re-
ceive invoices for these activities, however year-to-date spend
on the activity is positive.
Grazing costs have been reduced significantly. We are forecast-
ing a 54% reduction due to savings on external youngstock
grazing and summer grazing being contained within the group.
To the end of April, total on-farm expenditure was 14% less
than budget, and we are forecasting an 8% saving overall due to
expected expenditure yet to come in May.
Capital expenditure and projects are 54% complete, with just
17% of smaller projects remaining in progress, and 28% were
cancelled or held. Outstanding projects will be carried over to
the new financial year. Still in progress is work on the Spring-
field Villa. This has had significant cladding and roof repairs and
is currently being painted. The latest project achievements
have been the completion of a water system at Indigo Heights,
the Reigate effluent pond, effluent irrigators at Springfield and
Hedley, and the new house builds.
The Board have approved next season’s budget, so we are
looking forward to another challenging year and repeating our
savings performance achieved in this financial year. Amanda and
I are currently tidying up Farm Management Plans and final
budgets per farm. These will be distributed at the Farm Manag-
ers meeting on 8th June.
Rachael Riddell GM - Profit
OUT & ABOUT AT BEL GROUP…
Congratulations to Rudda and his new bride.
We wish them all the best for the future.
Looking fresh: the Villa at Springfield is sporting
a lovely new paint job.
Page 7 DAIRY UPDATE
Page 8
Long Service Awards:
Basil Bath
Ray Peters
Paul Hopkinson
Recognition Awards:
Isaac’s Pumping and Electrical Rookie of the Year –
Ferdinand Reyes
Meridian Energy Idea of the Year -
Hedley
Vet ABS Stock Care and Performance –
Peter Borges
Fonterra Milk Quality Award–
Daryl Spooner
HazardCo Workplace Safety Top Individual of the Year –
Gavin Dougherty
TruTest Workplace Safety Top Team of the Year –
Parkhill
Management Awards:
Andrea Barry Business Owner Award –
Nikki Johansen
Staples Rodway Financial Performance Award –
Daryl Spooner
Ballance Productive Performance Award –
Daryl Spooner
No8 HR People and Leadership Award –
Rhys Spooner
BEL Awards:
LIC Development Programme Participant of the
Year –
Robert Barry
ASB Top Individual of the Year –
Stacey Bain
Farmlands Top Team of the Year –
Springfield
BEL Group Farm Manager of the Year –
Daryl Spooner
Page 9 DAIRY UPDATE
Page 10
BEL PEOPLE
Gavin Dougherty
1. Position - what do you do
at BEL Group?
2IC at Parkhill
2. Time with BEL Group:
2 Years
3. What were you doing
before coming to BEL
Group?
Making concrete water tanks in Auckland
4. What are your hobbies/interests?
Fishing, fixing stuff and spending time with the family.
5. Where is your place of birth?
Te Puke
6. What dream would you love to come true?
Become a millionaire. Who wouldn’t!
7. What is the craziest or worst job you have ever
had?
Doing QC work in forestry for two years.
8. Which 3 people (dead or alive) would you most
like to have dinner with, and why?
Paul Walker—He was a great driver
Karen— We haven't had a chance to go out for dinner
9. Something no one at BEL Group knows about
me is...
I can walk on my hands for a long time.
10. The coolest thing I have ever been part of
was…
Having a family
11. My unusual talent is…
I can stand on my head and drink a big bottle of beer.
Natalie Thomas
1. Position - what do
you do at BEL
Group?
Herd manager’s assis-
tant at Reigate.
2. Time with BEL
Group:
1 year
3. What were you
doing before coming to BEL Group?
Dairy farming
4. What are your hobbies/interests?
Catching up with friends, travelling and netball.
5. Where is your place of birth?
Dannevirke
6. What dream would you love to come true?
To grow taller
7. What is the craziest or worst job you have
ever had?
Working at McDonalds
8. Which 3 people (dead or alive) would you
most like to have dinner with, and why?
My two best friends and Channing Tatum, I mean who
wouldn’t want to have dinner with Channing Tatum.
9. Something no one at BEL Group knows about
me is...
I'm really short
10. The coolest thing I have ever been part of
was...
A missionary trip to Vanuatu to help re-build and teach a
few classes at the local schools.
11. My unusual talent is…
Being able to wake up before my alarm every morning.
DAIRY UPDATE
Management practices when under risk of high nitrate levels in
feed include:
Feed low nitrate feeds, low digestibility feed first to
suppress appetite and limit subsequent intake of high
nitrate feed.
Reduce its access for younger and pregnant stock.
Stock should be allowed to adjust to the feed over a 3
-4 week timeframe.
Dilute high nitrate feeds with low nitrate feeds. Dilu-
tion is one method that can be used to help ruminal
microorganisms adapt to high nitrate feeds.
Release cattle in the afternoon when night-time nitrate
accumulations have subsided.
Avoid grazing shortly after a drought-ending rain.
Stock lightly so animals can choose lower nitrate
leaves over higher nitrate stems.
Provide clean drinking water for the stock whilst on
the high nitrate forage.
James Parsons - Ballance
Page 11
BALLANCE
AGRI-NUTRIENTS
Nitrate Toxicity
When plants grow rapidly, they absorb a large proportion of soil nitrogen as nitrate. Normally plants convert that nitrate
into other forms of N (ammonium and simple amino acids) in
the roots and these are then transported around the plant.
Even still, practically all plants contain detectable amounts of
nitrates afterwards. Alas excessive nitrate accumulation can
occur under certain conditions, when the uptake exceeds its
utilization for protein synthesis. This nitrate is then trans-
ported to the plant’s stem and leaves – which if ingested by
grazing stock can lead to nitrate poisoning or toxicity.
The conditions that are likely to lead to high nitrate levels in
plants (commonly accepted critical nitrate level of 0.21% or
21,000ppm and above) and the management practices that
can minimize such risks are the following:
After an extended dry spell: Nitrates accumulate in plants dur-
ing periods of moderate drought because the roots continu-
ally absorb nitrate, but very high daytime temperatures inhib-
it its conversion to amino acids. During a severe drought,
lack of moisture prevents nitrate absorption by plant roots.
Following a rain, however, the roots rapidly absorb nitrate
and accumulate high levels. After a drought-ending rain, it
requires at least 2 weeks before the nitrates will be metabo-
lized to low levels, provided environmental conditions are
optimum.
Wilted, diseased or herbicide affected plants: Conditions such as
hail, light frost, herbicide drift or plant disease can damage
plant leaf area and reduce photosynthetic activity. With less
available energy, nitrate reduction is inhibited and nitrates
accumulate in the plant.
Overcast, moist conditions with warm soil temperatures: Shaded
plants lack sufficient photosynthetic energy to convert nitrate
to amino acids. Extended periods of cloudy weather increase
nitrate content and dangerously high levels can occur when
wet, overcast days follow a severe drought.
High application rates of N fertilisers: Split nitrogen applications
late in the season provide better nutrient distribution and reduce the potential for toxicity.
Plant type: Greenfeed rape is notorious, closely followed by
other brassica greenfeeds. Vigorous ryegrass can also create
problems, as can cereal greenfeed crops and fresh grasses.
Nitrate content generally is highest in young plant growth
and decreases with maturity. Stalks are highest in nitrate
content, followed in order by leaves and grain in decreasing
amounts.
Supplement condition at harvest: Silages made from stressed
forages should be analysed after ensiling because the fermen-
tation process usually converts only about 50% of the ni-
trates to a nontoxic form. If forages are harvested as hay,
nitrate concentrations remain virtually unchanged over time.
Taking centre stage: Lee Astridge, Daryl Spooner and
James Parsons during the presentation of the Ballance Agri-
Nutrients Productive Performance prize at the recent BEL
Group awards evening.
Simply the Best: Tina Turner dropped by to help cele-
brate the BEL Awards on May 19th.
Page 12
As you can see from the photo below, a lot of the old tradi-
tional farming methods are still very strong...
Anthony Williams - Operations Manager Ashley Clinton
LONGROW
The weather has been good to us this autumn, with pasture
covers increasing on all the Longrow farms.
Target is 2200kgdm/ha by the end of May, with rotations at
80 days from May 10th.
Cow condition is still our main concern, so continue to
separate cows into mobs on BCS and feed as you would if
they were still milking. Our target is 4.5 BCS on all cows at
the end of May.
Cows are mostly dry across the farms and will all be dry by
May 20th. Remember to check dry cows for winter mastitis
and treat early.
The new structure is out now so let’s all get behind it as we
look forward to the new season.
DAIRY OPERATIONS TEAM UPDATE
WINTER MILK FARMS
As the season winds down for the spring calving farms, Ash-
ton, Fairlea and Springfield have just about finished an une-
ventful autumn calving - other than dealing with below target
pasture covers due a bit of an Indian summer, with Ashton
and Fairlea still irrigating through to late May. Never the less,
calving has gone well and we are nearly at quota production
levels.
All farms have had some cow condition slide through late
February, with feed losing quality. This meant that not every
cow hit target at calving but we are close to being back on
track now as we get close to winter mating. This year the
winter milk farms will be running an all-natural mate pro-
gramme, using Hereford bulls to save costs on AI and to capi-
talise on autumn calf sales.
All spring cows on Fairlea and Springfield are now dry and
well on track to reaching BCS targets. Teams are in the pro-
cess of using up all annual leave and readying farms for anoth-
er exciting season.
There have been a few internal staff movements which most
will be aware of by now. I’m looking forward to seeing what
Sam, Rob and Gav bring to their new teams. As a result,
there a couple of vacancies at Ashton which we will be filling
with some fresh blood.
Lastly, I would like to wish Alison and Rob all the best with
their impending arrival…
Doug Dolan - Operations Manager Winter Milking Farms
ASHLEY CLINTON
Another season draws to an end and it has been a very good
one for the teams.
This year they have been on the ball from day one and all the
ducks have lined up to make it a very enjoyable and reward-
ing year. KPIs have been achieved and teams have been sta-
ble. Weather conditions have been favourable and fortunate-
ly the El-Nino didn’t arrive; but what it did do is made us
think differently about our approach to round lengths and
farm systems and we will be using the same approach
next year.
Next year’s restructure is exciting and we will all be looking
forward to the challenges ahead of us.
I have just got back from my trip to the UK. Thanks to
the Barry Farm teams for keeping things on track and achiev-
ing a strong finish to the end of the season.
For those of you that are interested, farming in the UK is no
better than here. Milk prices are slightly better but with the cost of production a lot higher (mainly because they are stuck
in their ways), very few farms are doing better
than breakeven. But what I did see there, was a lot of room
for improvement.
One farm I went to visit was a 900 cow farm that has gone
from milking 3 times a day with 400 cows on a high input
system, to 900 cows rising to 1100 OAD and making
more money. The other thing that stood out was solar panel
farms. I don’t know much about these other than they get
paid 1000 pounds/acre and can still be grazed - now that is an
easy way to farm.
A solar panel farm in the U.K. Farmers can still graze
the area but also get paid £1000 pounds per acre.
DAIRY UPDATE Page 13
Coaching & Farm Tune
It was our absolute pleasure to present a workshop on coaching at
the Dairy Women’s Network conference recently and to have the
opportunity to network with this outstanding group of professional
women who, every day, make a big difference to the lives of those
around them.
One of the things we covered in our workshop was the importance
of coaching as a tool for developing autonomy, relatedness and
competence… the key things for motivating staff:
Autonomy: The belief that you can control your own life and hav-
ing opportunities to do so.
Relatedness: Feeling connected with others in a positive way that
encourages trust and liking.
Competence: Knowing that you have and use valuable skills, quali-
ties and abilities.
Coaching isn’t a ‘soft’ option; it is a tough option that holds the
person being coached to account, provided we do it well and we
don’t save the world one incident at a time by fixing the problem
rather than helping the other person to find the answer and own
the solution themselves.
So how do you do it?
The Grow acronym is a popular coaching framework and stands
for:
Goals
Reality
Options
Will do
It is a process of taking people through questions to identify what
they want to achieve, where they are now, what options they have
and finally, what they are going to do about it. The challenge of
coaching is allowing the other person to find their way…
As we start the Farm Tune process at BEL Group, involving the
team and ensuring they are at the front of problem solving will mean
we get great results. Engaging and motivating our teams will be a
key part of that process.
I look forward to working with you all over the next period as we
fine ‘tune’ our businesses and set ourselves and BEL Group up for
the future.
Lee Astridge - No8HR
I’d like to thank everyone for their hard work this season
in controlling FWE, it is a credit to you all. The savings we
have made this season, and your continued effort in look-
ing for efficiencies, will help us to go forward into the fu-
ture.
Mike Oakly - Operations Manager Longrow
DAIRY SUPPORT
It’s been a challenging late summer/autumn at Dairy Sup-
port with some late personnel changes and Indigo Heights
getting a bit off track. Unfortunately, this has effected
some heifers’ growth rates over this period, and will result
in some on farm teams getting stock back that are not at
their desired weights.
On a positive note, such is the depth of talent in BEL, we
got Jim to jump out of his tractor (which was surprisingly
easy) and take the reins. I’m happy to report that with a
bit of prodding and Jim’s tireless work ethic, things are
back on track. Indigo’s cover rose 600kg in two months.
All mobs at Indigo are on daily breaks and have back-
fences right behind them every day. Back to basics is the
way forward for Dairy Support.
There has also been an upgrade to the tracks at Indigo
which will help with being able to get silage gear in and out
and will make stock work a lot more efficient. It should
also allow anyone to go and check their stock without the
need of 4wd - even Toni could get in there with her new
car.
This year, all winter crops were in the ground early and
haven’t required any extra N to get them to yield, so there
has been no issues with nitrates this year. This will mean
all winter blocks will be ready for cows to arrive.
There are plenty of changes at foot for Dairy Support,
especially on the people front. Emma Bell has been ap-
pointed to the new Team Leader role and starts in July.
We are pretty excited to see what she brings to Dairy
Support, coupled with being coached and mentored by the
best in the business.
Mike Palleson has also taken on a role as stock manager, and has been instrumental in helping turn the ship around.
And this is my first and last newsletter article at the helm
of Dairy Support as Ant will be taking over as Dairy Sup-
port Ops manager.
Doug Dolan - Operations Manager
Mmmmm: Cows at Ashton enjoy breakfast on a
beautiful autumn morning.
Page 14
PAYROLL & BUSINESS SERVICES
REMINDERS:
Leave: Please ensure that you complete leave request
forms for all Days in Lieu, and Annual Leave that you
wish to take – BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM
Changes of Details: There is a ‘Change of Details’
form on the website (or available from the Business Ser-
vices office), that should be filled out whenever any of
your personal, address, contact (phone/e-mail) or bank
details change.
PAYROLL ENQUIRIES - who should you
contact?
Please firstly talk to your Farm Manager or Operations
Manager with any queries regarding payroll.
All Longrow Dairies (Cloverlea, Kowhai Terrace, Parkhill
and Reigate) payroll queries can be directed to:
Kelly on 021 0816 3455, 9am – 3pm.
All BEL Group (Ashton, Ellingham, Fairlea, Hedley and
Springfield, Dairy Support, Engineering) payroll queries
can be directed to:
Nikki on 027 360 1022.
ASSET PURCHASES AND SALES: Please remember that there is a process to follow with
regards to BEL Group Asset Purchases/Sales and Dispos-
als. Please make sure you contact Paul Phippen in the
first instance regarding any Purchases/Sales or Disposals
of BEL Group Assets.
LATEST PAYROLL NEWS
UPCOMING CHANGES TO CONTRACTS:
As you are all aware, there are changes coming soon regarding
the structure of BEL Group, which is going to mean internal
movements of some employees, changing leave entitlements and
standard hours being worked per week, among other things.
This will mean for most of you changes to your contracts, with
new Schedule A’s being generated for you.
This also means that Kelly and I will have our hands full altering
details on the payroll system. Please bear with us while we get
these changes processed. If you notice that we have not made
the correct changes on the payroll system, please get in touch
with us to rectify any errors we may have made. This will ena-
ble us to have the processing of pay-runs running smoothly as
quickly as possible.
NEW LEAVE FORMS:
Please ensure that you use the website to obtain the latest ver-
sion whenever applying for leave.
SORRY, but we have altered the leave form yet again as we
require the Business Services Manager to approve or decline
any request which falls under ‘Special’ circumstances. Nicola
will need to sign off your leave request if it:
Is a request to cash up annual leave.
Is a request for leave, and your employment with BEL
Group is in the process of being terminated (either by yourself or BEL Group).
Remember – your leave is not officially approved until you
receive notification from the business services office.
Nikki Johansen - Finance and Payroll
ACC
If you need to go on ACC for any reason it is im-
portant that you quote “BEL Group” as your em-
ployer HOWEVER if you work for any of the
Longrow farms - Parkhill, Cloverlea, Kowhai Ter-
race or Reigate you will need to quote “Longrow
Dairies” as your employer.
Please note: if staff have been absent and are receiv-
ing ACC payments during this time—please ensure
the time off is coded with a ‘C’ for ACC on the
timesheet (and not ‘S’ for sick leave).
Upcoming Statutory (Public) Holidays
Monday 6th of June – Queen’s Birthday
Looooonnnnnggggg Winter working stint.
(I for one am hoping that it is very cold and snowy (only where I
need it, not on the farms!) during this time J)
Monday 24th of October – Labour Day
Page 15 Page 15 DAIRY UPDATE
ON FARM WORKPLAN
ACTIVITY JUNE JULY
EFFLUENT (RECORD
USE OF APPLICATION
IN EFFLUENT DIARY)
Irrigation Scheduled - Check pumps
greased and serviced. HBRC Inspection.
Effluent Irrigation Scheduled - Travellers checked
greased and serviced. Effluent analysis/ soil tests/
nutrient budgets review.
FARM BUILDING
MAINTANANCE
Dairy Shed water blasted – internal & ex-
ternal. Check and tidy calf sheds.
Check external / internal of dairy for re-
pairs completed.
All early milking 2 x hot wash
FINANCIAL Review your Farm Budgets.
HOUSE AND SECTIONS Wash house exterior, clean gutters and
mow lawns.
Mow lawns, spray section boundaries.
House Inspections.
MILK AND COLOSTRUM
SUPPLY
Check storage for penicillin milk
Training of staff on dairy routine.
Shed check completed
Colostrum supply routine organised.
PEOPLE Set Training Goals. Review vehicle and
machinery policies with all staff.
All milking routines to be written down.
KOT Review 1. Establish relief milker options.
Review milking roster with all staff.
Review calf rearing routines with all staff.
REPAIRS AND
MAINTANANCE
Shed check. Doseatron serviced.
Fencing all up to 4000 volts. Race repairs
completed.
Replace rubberware. Tanker tracks / driveways
graded.
STOCK RECORDS Winter Mating. Update culls and first cal-
vers. Retagging completed
BCS Herd
Record Mating's daily into mating book and
weekly into Daily Update
Yearling weights reviewed.
Record Matings daily into mating book and week-
ly into Daily Update.
Record spring calvings daily to MINDA and Daily
Update. Queries attended to while cows in co-
lostrum mob. Record Natural Matings daily into
mating book and weekly into Daily Update. Year-
ling weights reviewed.
SUPPLEMENT AND
FEEDING
Complete annual feed budget. Cows @
grazing checked. Feeding out recorded
daily on jot form.
EVENTS/MEETINGS/
REVIEWS
Farm Managers Meeting - Ashton.
On-Farm Plan Update.
Farm Managers Meeting.
On-Farm Plan Update.
CALVING Organise calf sheds and dehorning gear
Wean lates. Set up for calf rearing.
PSC 20th July - trim Cow tails.
Colostrum to Spring calves. Feed calves 2x daily
until 14 days old.
Dehorning autumns & wean lates.
MASTITIS & SCC Teatspray 14 days after last milking, run
herd through shed. Teatspray manually.
Mastitis treatment in Colostrum mob - risk of
Mastitis in Colostrum Mob and high SCC post
Calving. Teatspray manually.
MINERALS Cu Sulphate in troughs. Blood Tests.
Order spring mag.
Mag Dusting to dries and springers @ 80-100g/
cow. Cu Sulphate in troughs. Selenium.
TREATMENTS 7 n 1 Booster - Cows.
Rotavirus Vaccine -21 Days prior to PSC
Lice treatment if needed.
REPRODUCTION PSM June 10th - all natural mating, bulls in
herd. PSM Heifers 3rd. Bulls at 1:18.
Bulls out of autumn heifers at grazing.
Check bull soundness Daily.
SEASONAL RISK Calves: Scours, Pneumonia, Navel Ill, Parasite
Cows: Milk Fever.
STOCK MONITORING CS 5.0 all cows June 20. Hazard review
stock handling. BCS profile.
All cows minimum BCS of 4.5 by 1st July.
BCS profile herd, to be ≥ 5 at Calving.
Monitor LW of heifers at grazing
Page 16
Christchurch by Laurence Elliot
Page 17
NEWS AND EVENTS
LOCAL & INDUSTRY NEWS AND EVENTS
May
28 May CHB Service Day (Community Day)
Ruataniwha Street, Waipukurau
10.00am Onwards
June
9 June Hawkes Bay RBN Farming Successfully within Nutrients
Limits
CHB Municipal Theatre, Waipawa
6.00pm-10.00pm
Tickets $10 www.ruralbusinessnetwork.co.nz/
event-tickets/
10 June Te Aute College Matariki Festival
Te Aute College, Otane
6.00pm-8.30pm
www.eventfinda.co.nz
15-18 June NZ National Agricultural Fieldays
Mystery Creek, Hamilton
8.00am-5.00pm Daily
www.fieldays.co.nz/
22 June DairyNZ Lower North Island
High Input Group
Plantation Dairies
Plantation Road, Waipawa
10.30am-1.30pm
Abby Scott: [email protected]
24 June F.A.W.C
Whiskey, Wine & Wild Food
CHB Municipal Theatre
7.30pm-11.55pm
$85
www.fawc.co.nz
26 June F.A.W.C
Mid-winter Christmas Market
Hawkes Bay A&P Showgrounds
Free Entry
www.fawc.co.nz/
July
17 July Norsewood to Takapau Fun Challenge
Takapau School, Takapau
8.30am-1.00pm
Adults $15, Kids: $5
www.sporty.co.nz/shbchb
30 July Motel California NZ Eagles
Tribute Show
Cactus Jacks, Waipawa
$35
www.eventfinda.co.nz
BEL GROUP EVENTS
May
30 May ACC Accreditation Audit
June
8 June Farm Managers Meeting
Ashton
11.00am – 2.00pm
10 June Effluent Samples due into BS Office
15 June SHED Leaders Meeting
Longrow Office
10.00am-11.30am
15 June Development Training
Winter Management
Longrow Office
6.30pm-9.30pm
21 June Lee Astridge
Farm Tune Workshop 3
Longrow Office
10.00am-2.30pm
July
6 July Farm Managers Meeting
TBC
11am-2pm
10 July Effluent Samples Due into BS Office
14 July Development Training
Fertiliser & Feed Workshop
Longrow
6.30pm-9.30pm
18-20 July Housing Inspections
TBC
WEBSITE LOG-IN
All staff are welcome to access the BEL Group
website (www.belgroup.co.nz) and resources.
Should you require a login and password,
please contact the Business Services Office on
06 858 8921. You will need to have an email
address to have this facility set up.
DAIRY UPDATE
Have you joined BEL Group
on Facebook? — like us now!!