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Thinking outside the square has been a big part of David Fullerton's farming philosophy, and nothing highlights that better than his calf rearing operation. Running the family dairy operation at Ngahinapouri in the Waikato, David is also a partner in the genetics company HSS Genetics. The company specialises in providing quality dairy stock for off shore and local buyers alike.
With a local and world wide shortage of dairy cattle, business is strong and global interest takes David around the world with business partner Henk Smit. Business includes frozen embryo export, domestic embryo transplants and rearing high quality, high genetic calves to their optimum.
David appreciates better than many the need to give the calves a good start if they are to fulfil not only his own expectations, but those of demanding overseas buyers. Exports include air freighting calves to Chinese buyers.
"I think in so many cases, the New Zealand farming women do a magnificent job rearing calves out to 150kg, then their husbands or partners spend the next two years undoing that hard work!"
He acknowledges his expectations for fully growing his largely Holstein Friesian stock out well are high, preferring to calve them at 580 to 600kg, getting 100% performance from the get go.
His 550 head dairy operation has cows calving all year around. This brings some advantages to establishing a good calf rearing system, but also its own on-going demands.
"When you know you only have a six week period you are rearing calves over, it is possible to gear up for that, do it well and then move on to the next stage in the season.
"Doing it all year round though, that makes it a full time job. It does bring the opportunity for good systems that enable it to run well, and produce consistently well grown calves, all year around."
The year round calving means at any given time David's staff were dealing with around 280 calves.
This need for consistency and good systems prompted David to consider an automated calf feeder when building the large airy 50m by 30m calf rearing facility that graces the property today.
After analysing several brands on the market, he opted for the Lely Calm automatic calf feeding system, and half way through its first year he has no regrets about the decision.
"We decided that if we were going to do this, then we would have the best system possible." David favoured the Lely's well designed intrinsically solid, simple design, coupled with an efficient self cleaning system and four individual pump units for four point delivery.
"The software programme is also very good, informing you about what calves have not fed, and how much each calf has had. You can get as much, or as little, detail out of it as you wish for."
All calves wear low frequency electronic tags that are scanned by the Lely system, and milk volume is allocated according to their age.
Generally calves have three feeds over a 24 hour period, and a stainless steel sliding door on the sucking heads shuts to prevent them playing with teats once their allocation is complete.
David says 90% of calves will latch onto the system first time, soon learning their allocation is not limitless, and quickly adopting greater meal intake in their diet as a result.
David has managed to combine the technology of the Lely Calm automatic calf feeding system with old fashioned observance and good stockmanship, and believes the machine engenders the same abilities in his staff.
"They are able to become better managers now their time physically feeding the calves has been reduced. They are able to take the time observing them, making sure they have good access to fibre and importantly good, clean water."
Drafting is still done very much on eye appraisal, and David believes the Calm system sees his staff now spending more time with the calves, and able to pay closer attention to those that need it.
"They are also taking a lot of pride not only in how the calves are doing, but how the whole place looks, keeping it tidy and very well organised, it's good to see."
Maize silage is introduced at six weeks, and he also feeds a commercially sourced alfa fibre mix that can be easily loaded into the shed using the farm's telehandler hoist.
The Lely Calm's ability to run liquid or powdered milk supplies gives it flexibility through the season, kicking off with liquid and then easily switching over to powdered supply. The ability of the machine to optimise powder mix and delivery has impressed David so much so that powdered mix forms around 60% of the total milk dispensed.
The hard grind of rearing and feeding calves over summer has been made far more pleasant, with the new east facing shed channelling air through while the Lely Calm system keeps the warm milk supply fresh and optimally supplied for the smaller numbers over that time.
The calves reared on the Lely machine are gradually wound down within 90 days, whilst still getting adlib supplies of meal and hay
After years of rearing calves the conventional way, David notices the different shape in the calves that are weaned off the Lely Calm automatic calf feeder.
"We are getting a longer, lankier animal, there is less fat over the frame, but a bigger frame that is more grown out than you might be used to. They seem to just shoot away after a short time being auto-fed."
The Lely Calm feeder has not only ensured the Fullerton's continue to deliver well grown capable young stock to their buyers. It has also helped create a position in their management team for staff keen to develop their youngstock knowledge combining it with a machine that has put state of the art technology in place of a previously time consuming, difficult task.