Wet weather management | Ep. 56

Rain, rain, rain. How are other dairy farmers managing their way through this exceptionally wet winter? Hear from Hauraki Plains farm owner John Garrett, Cambridge farm owner Marc Gascoigne, and Northland herd owning sharemilker Carl MacDonald, who explain how they're trying to minimise soil damage while still adequately feeding the cows. They discuss round lengths, cow comfort, team morale, mental health, lessons from previous wet winters, and more.

Notes
Wet weather management - DairyNZ
Spring Rotation Planner - DairyNZ
Rural Support Trust: Help and support for rural NZ (rural-support.org.nz)
Home - Farmstrong - Live Well Farm Well
Farmer wellbeing - DairyNZ

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Chapters

• 2:05 John’s situation on-farm right now
• 3:15 Marc’s situation on-farm right now
• 4:26 Lessons from previous wet winters
• 6:59 Strategies for minimising pugging
• 8:45 ‘Don’t beat yourself up’
• 9:25 Managing feed – plate walks, Spring Rotation Planner, fertiliser
• 11:12 Minimum covers
• 12:54 Managing different mobs and mob sizes
• 13:27 More breaks in wet weather?
• 14:09 Marc’s mental health story, strategies for coping with stress
• 20:31 How John deals with stress
• 21:57 Hitting the ‘delete’ button
• 22:56 Keeping team morale up
• 25:25 One piece of advice
• 27:27 Carl’s situation in Northland – ‘very wet farm’
• 29:10 Limiting damage to pasture
• 31:09 How Carl’s managing round lengths
• 33:35 Recognising stress, lifting the mood
• 35:23 Carl’s support network
• 36:51 Do your best – don’t punish yourself