Otaitai Dairy is located on 425 hectares of land at Otaitai Bush east of Riverton, Southland and is in the bulk milk dairy farming business. For owners Vaughan and Megan Templeton, sustainability involves maintaining competitive advantage and the key resources upon which the farm relies. As Vaughan explains, his approach is to undertake basic research on what can be done to improve his farm’s operation, “then taking a long term view for payback as I see the cost of all energy continuing to rise at rates significantly faster than my product prices.” Vaughan’s long term aim is to design processes at Otaitai Dairy that minimise the use of diesel, as he anticipates fuel prices to continue rising as supply becomes constrained.  

In the milking area, solids from the cows are separated using a ‘weeping wall’ which utilises a pond capable of storing liquids for 90 days. The resulting effluent can then be applied throughout the farm at a slow rate using a K-line system. This has led to reduced fertiliser requirements at Otaitai Dairy. After this, and other initiatives, Vaughan and his wife Megan were recognised for their environmental efforts as supreme winners of the 2009 Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Vaughan explains that his biggest challenge has been the very poor perception of dairying held by the general public. However, Otaitai Dairy has gone some way to changing this; both by winning the Ballance Farm Environment Award and through their cooperative work with Environment Southland on improving the environmental performance of the local dairy farming sector.

Business background

Otaitai Dairy is located at Otaitai Bush in Riverton and is in the business of bulk milk dairy farming. The farm has been operating in the dairy sector for 6 seasons and supports 6 staff, including owners Vaughan and Megan Templeton. The farm covers 425 hectares of land east of Riverton. The main markets for the business are Fonterra, followed by Asia. Vaughan explains that key factors affecting the success of the farm include commodity prices and the New Zealand dollar; it is noteworthy that these two variables fall outside the control of the business.

What sustainability means at Otaitai Dairy

For Vaughan and his farm, sustainability involves maintaining competitive advantage and the key resources upon which the business relies. The central motivating factor behind the implementation of sustainability initiatives at Otaitai Dairy is long term economic profit. In order to achieve the sustainability goals Vaughan has set for himself and his team, they are always looking for the next improvement.

Sustainability in action

In terms of electricity usage, Vaughan has initiated several changes already, with more plans to be implemented in the future. A variable vacuum pump, heat recovery system and waste water recycling are all going to be installed within the short-term. Vaughan’s approach is to undertake basic research on what can be done to improve the farming operation, “then taking a long term view for payback as I see the cost of all energy continuing to rise at rates significantly faster than my product prices.” He expects the ongoing costs associated with the initiatives being put in place to be very low.

The long term aim is to design systems and processes at Otaitai Dairy that minimise the use of diesel, as Vaughan anticipates fuel prices to continue rising as supply becomes constrained. “To this end we aim to maximise the grass and winter fodder the cows harvest directly themselves,” says Vaughan. This reduces the need to transport feed to the animals; an approach already saving money through reduced fuel usage.

The farm is located on the Riverton coastline and has a range of soil types with varying depths of top soil and sand. For this reason, the animal stocking rate is kept low in order to avoid damage to these soils. Vaughan and his team are very conscious of water quality and nutrient management, so try to ensure nutrients remain in the plant rooting zone and out of nearby waterways. 

Recently the amount of concrete used in the lead-up races on the farm has been increased and is being used to collect rain water. “Re-using this water to wash said concrete should ... lead to a large reduction in total consumption (of water) and the cost of pumping,” explains Vaughan. In addition, solids from the cows in this area are separated using a ‘weeping wall’ which incorporates a pond capable of storing liquids for 90 days. The resulting effluent can then be applied around the farm at a low rate using a drip-line system. This has led to reduced fertiliser requirements at Otaitai Dairy.

In 2009, Vaughan and his wife Megan were recognised for their environmental efforts as supreme winners of the Southland Ballance Farm Environment Award (refer to http://www.ballance.co.nz/in+the+community/ballance+farm+environment+awards/winners+-+2009/#southland for further detail). The key objective of these awards is to demonstrate to farmers that profitability need not come at the expense of environmental values. Award judges described Vaughan and Megan as farmers “who are safeguarding the land for future generations by running a productive and sustainable farming operation.”

This award led to the farm hosting a public field day. As Vaughan explains, “we are trying to make open our farm to members of the public ‘warts and all’ to reassure that dairying can be environmentally friendly and sustainable.” Otaitai Dairy also boasts a Flax Mill Museum which caters to approximately 1000 visitors per year and Vaughan intends to open a farm nature walk to the public.

Vaughan and his team could be described as leaders in sustainability for the New Zealand dairy-farming sector. They are working jointly with Environment Southland on the environmental rules the industry will be subject to. As Vaughan says, the aim is to develop a self-policing model, with Environment Southland as the final arbiter. 

Challenges involved in seeking sustainability

Vaughan explains that the biggest challenge associated with developing sustainable practices in the dairy farming sector is the very poor perception of dairying held by the general public. However, Otaitai Dairy has gone some way to changing this; both by winning the Ballance Farm Environment Award and through their cooperative work with Environment Southland on improving the environmental performance of dairy farming. 

Advice for other businesses

For other farmers interested in improving the sustainability performance of their farms, Vaughan recommends seeking out others who are interested in clean dairying and other farming practices. The ability to share ideas with like-minded people is a significant advantage when pursuing new initiatives Vaughan says. He has also found value in the research and resources provided by AgResearch (see http://www.agresearch.co.nz/ for further detail).