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Dairy 1 is one of Massey's working farms. It borders the Manawatū River, within the city boundary. This research site is grazed by dairy cows and includes three farmlets:
- Farmlet A – standard pasture under contemporary management
- Farmlet B – diverse pasture under regenerative management
- Farmlet C – diverse pasture under contemporary management
Update
Pasture growth rates were sitting around 60 kg DM/ha/day currently with average covers (kg DM/ha) of around 2800 for A, 3100 for B and 2900 for C, with soil moisture trending down slightly with soil moisture around 40% with current losses of about 8% per week.
Summer crops are growing well with the view to graze them at the end of January. The crops are Turnips for the contemporary systems and a mixed species crops for the 2 diverse pasture systems. Mating concluded just prior to Christmas so pregnancy testing is to be conducted in February.
Latest pasture covers
Farmlet data
0-point: 1 June 2024
| 1/16/2025 | Farmlet A | Farmlet B | Farmlet C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pasture | Standard | Diverse | Diverse |
| Management | Contemporary | Regenerative | Contemporary |
| Cows In-Milk | 30 | 24 | 24 |
| Cows Dry | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Days In-Milk | 148 | 141 | 141 |
| Daily Prod (kgMS/day) | 1.49 | 1.53 | 1.57 |
| Production - YTD (kgMS) | 239 | 243 | 239 |
| Liveweight (kg) | 496 | 511 | 509 |
| BCS | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| Supplement Fed - YTD (kgDM) | 9600 | 9970 | 9755 |
| Supplement Fed - YTD (kgDM/cow) | 374 | 415 | 406 |
| Supplement Made - YTD (kgDM) | 8580 | 6710 | 15180 |
| Nitrogen - YTD (kgN/ha) | 27 | 9 | 31 |
| APC (kgDM/ha) | 2713 | 2945 | 2813 |
| Growth (kgDM/ha/day) | 50 | 51 | 50 |
| Rotation Length (days) | 30 | 50 | 37 |
| Residual (kgDM/ha) | 1756 | 2144 | 2250 |
| Target Pasture Offered (kgDM/cow/day) | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Supplement Offered (kgDM/cow/day) | 0 | 0 | |
| Crop Offered (kgDM/cow/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Soil Temp (°C) | 16.2 |
| Air Temp (°C) | 14.6 |
| Rainfall - MTD (mm) | 42 |
Other Whenua Haumanu research sites
Massey University: Pasture and Crop Research Unit (PCRU)
The PCRU is one of Massey's working farms. This research site is grazed by sheep and includes 4 farmlets: standard pastures under contemporary and regenerative management, and diverse pastures under contemporary and regenerative management.
Lincoln University: Field Research Centre (FRC)
The FRC is Lincoln University‘s hub for applied plant, soil science and ecology research. This research site is grazed by sheep and includes four farmlets made up of 20 plots each.
