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New Zealand, Carroll County Dairy Farmers Compare NotesBy Tom Kocal
PEARL CITY Even though they are located on opposite sides of Planet Earth, two dairy farmers from New Zealand and two from Lanark found much in common during the New Zealander's visit to Hunter Haven Farms on the north edge of Carroll County. Doug and Tom Block hosted the visit from Christime and Himsha Finnegan Thursday afternoon, July 16. Christine is the manager of a 700-cow dairy operation in New Zealand, and her husband works in a "dairy support" capacity. Also along for the tour was Shirley Bartelts, Penny Lauritzen and Pat Yeagle, representing Illinois Agri-Women, Carroll County Fair President Kris Lauritzen, and former IL State Rep. and dairy farmer from Stockton Ron Lawfer and his wife Pat. Hunter Haven Farms currently houses 800 Registered Holsteins, utilizes 1800 acres of cropland to feed the herd, and generates its own electricity from a methane digester built in 2005. Cow manure is collected, and as anaerobic bacteria breaks down the manure, methane gas is created. This gas fuels a 200 hp motor that runs a generator capable of producing 140 kw of electricity per hour - enough to power almost 140 homes with electricity. All of the milk produced at Hunter Haven, approx. 7000 gallons each day, goes to Stockton Cheese, who happens to be the largest producer of Swiss Cheese in the U.S. A whopping 10% of all Swiss Cheese made in America is manufactured at Stockton Cheese.
The Finnigan's were impressed with the Block's operation while touring the milking stations, storage facility, the methane digester, and offices. They discussed differences in data collection, safety concerns, quality procedures, and environmental concerns. "We have different soil types on our farm in New Zealand," Christine said. "Our cows are smaller than your Holsteins. We milk them twice a day. Once in the morning, then they graze on one paddock (field), and are milked again in the afternoon. Then they go to another paddock. We have more grass-fed cows in New Zealand. "We don't build million dollar structures like this in New Zealand, because we don't have the cold winters like you do here. We let the cows graze free-range, but are conscious of how often they graze the areas. We let them eat grasses down to a certain height only. We found that at this level, the grass grows back faster and maintains optimum quality." They mainly grow perennial rye grasses and white clover as the main food source. The paddocks are rotated every 21 days. Christine added that they are very weather-oriented in New Zealand, mentioning that the seasons are reversed down under.
"Winter cows are dry, as they are in June and July, too. Calving coincides with the grass-growing season when it's at its peak. In the U.S., the cows are fed the same year-round." Penny Lauritzen said the Finnigan's also visited Wisconsin earlier in the week before stopping in Carroll County. Their main reason for the visit is because Christine is a featured speaker at the Illinois Farm Manager's Congress in Bloomington this week. "Illinois Agri-Women sponsored the Finnigan's trip with a $500 scholarship," Penny said. "Christine will share her time with the IL Agri-Women on Friday. "IL Agri-Women have met with farmers from Mexico, Canada, Ireland and now New Zealand in the past 3 years. In Ireland, for example, the producers we met were producers of beef, dairy, and sheep. They also grew poplar trees for bio-mass energy production of ethanol. World-wide, we all have a lot in common."
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