Field Day, Simple and Smart Systems, Mata, Northland

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Join us to visit Andrew and Vicky Booth’s farm, managed by Jen Summerell, which has been set up with the aim of being run profitably and efficiently by a single person. The Booths’ farm is 100 ha (85 eff), milking 240 Friesian cross cows OAD through a 28 aside HB shed, producing 400 kg MS/cow/year. The Booths use all bulls for their mating, buying in carry-over cows as replacements.

Description

Diverse pastures suited to Northland

Traditional ryegrass/white clover pastures often do not produce well or persist in Northland. Diverse pastures can be a viable alternative. We will look at how and why the Booths are introducing diverse pasture in combination with summer crops (turnips and greenfeed maize) into their system. Daniel Hawkins, Northland Seed and Supplies, and a local farmer will talk about the pros and cons of diverse pastures, and how you can successfully include them into your system.

Shed smarts

How many hours do you spend in the shed each day? Josh Wheeler, QCONZ, and Nick Dowson, farmer, will share practical ways you can smarten up your act to benefit you, your cows, and your bottom line. This session will include: possible cost-effective labour-saving strategies, such as MaxT, options to streamline your milking routine, optimising your milking machine to improve milking speed, and how a change in milking interval e.g. OAD or 3n2, might work for you.

Make the most of every ha

Andrew and Vicky have 15 ha of hilly bush land. They are investigating the best options for making the most of this area. Graham Smith, dairy farmer and NZ Farm Forestry member, has successfully gained carbon credits for areas of his farm, he will explain the process and how he achieved it.


EVENT DETAILS

Date: November 4th

Start time: 10:15 a.m.

End time: 1:00 p.m.

Venue: Andrew and Vicky Booth, 17 Erceg Road, Mata, S/N 12752

Any queries, please email: contact.smashnz@gmail.com


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Event Details

Date: November 04, 2025

Start time: 10:15 a.m.

End time: 01:00 p.m.

Venue: Andrew and Vicky Booth, 17 Erceg Road, Mata, S/N 12752

Email: contact.smashnz@gmail.com