Massey University: Dairy 1 research sites

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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 3 farmlets:

  • Farmlet A – standard pasture under contemporary management
  • Farmlet B – diverse pasture under regenerative management
  • Farmlet C – diverse pasture under contemporary management

Update

A new dairy season has commenced, and the stocking rates have been brought back up to 33 in A, 24 in B and 31 in C. Pasture growth and ground conditions are supporting a 100-day round, which is allowing us to increase pasture covers on each of the farmlets. As the rain has arrived, ground conditions and utilisation will however need to be closely monitored.

Latest pasture covers

Farmlet data

0-point: 1 June 2024

Date 17 June 2026 Farmlet A Farmlet B Farmlet C
(data as on) Pasture Standard Diverse Diverse
Management Contemporary Regenerative Contemporary
Total area (ha) 12.2 12.04 12.08
1-Jun Grass area (ha) 12.2 12.04 12.08
1-Jun Dry cows 33 24 31
1-Jun Days in milk - - -
1-Jun Daily production (kgMS/cow/d) - - -
1-Jun Production - year to date (kgMS/cow) - - -
1-Jun Production - year to date (kg/ha) - - -
19-Jun Liveweight (kg) 555 548 550
19-Jun Body condition score 5.3 5.1 5.1
1-Jun Supplement opening stock (total) kgDM/ha 0 105 30
1-Jun Supplement purchased in  (kgDM/ha) 0 0 0
1-Jun Supplement made (kgDM/ha) 0 0 0
15-Jun Supplement used (kgDM/ha) 0 0 30
15-Jun Supplement in hand (total) kgDM/ha 0 105 0
1-Jun Nitrogen application year to date (kgN/ha) 0 0 0
15-Jun Average pasture cover (APC; kgDM/ha) 2450 2517 2521
15-Jun APC change from previous week (kgDM/ha) 24 121 108
15-Jun Growth rate (kgDM/ha/day) rolling 3 week average 41 26 36
15-Jun Target rotation length (days) 100 100 100
17-Jun Residual (kgDmM/ha) 3 day rolling average 1140 1357 1310
13-Apr Target pasture offered (Drys, kgDM/cow/day) 7 8.5 7
Soil Temp (°C) 11.5
Air Temp (°C) 11.8
Rainfall - MTD (mm) 93

Other Whenua Haumanu research sites

Massey University: Pasture and Crop Research Unit (PCRU)

The PCRU is one of Massey's working farms grazed by sheep and cattle. It 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.