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New Zealand dairies make homes in U.S.Kiwi transplants bring new practices, boost efficiency MONETT, Mo. (AP)--The farmers at Grasslands Dairy have more than just unusual accents separating them from their milking brethren in southern Missouri. Most of the farm's employees hail from New Zealand, a global dairy powerhouse. After considering spots around the world, including Europe and South America, Grasslands Dairy relocated to Missouri because of cheap land and abundant grass, a perfect combination for their profit-driven dairy philosophy. Grasslands oversees a 700-cow pasture-based operation, far larger than the typical 150-cow farm. North of Harwood, another New Zealand operation, Focal Dairy, has a herd of 2,500 cows and wants to eventually graze 3,500. State dairy officials say the Kiwis could revolutionize Missouri's dairy industry, eventually lowering milk prices in grocery stores and increasing production to the point Missouri no longer must go out of state and import a billion pounds of milk per year. New Zealand-style dairy operations add around $35 million to the state's economy, a figure that should double next year as the farms' influence trickles down within their communities. "This is huge," said Jim Hahn, a regional chief for Dairy Farmers of America. "The impact the New Zealanders will have on the state's farm economy is tremendous--employees, milk processors, vets, truck drivers, people who sell dairy equipment. "And we can certainly use the milk." Industry experts say the New Zealanders are successful because they are so driven by making money that they have streamlined most of the fat out of their operation. For instance, they rotate their cows every day through a grid system of fenced pastures--or paddocks--that allow the grazed grass to recover more quickly. They also feed their cows rye, which is harder to grow but doesn't cause the cows to overheat in the summer like traditional fescue grass. And a hot cow is an unproductive cow. On that front, the New Zealand farms use a mix of cows, not just the standard Holsteins, also looking for the best mix of profitability. "I don't care if a cow gives 8,000 pounds of milk or 108,000 pounds," said Gary Townsend, managing partner of Grasslands Dairy. "What I do care about is if she can make a thousand dollars." Townsend said he is making only $616 per cow this year because he's just starting out. Other Missouri dairies make that much on fewer cows, but others lose money. Josh Kenyon, a recent animal science graduate from Missouri State University, is working for the New Zealanders at Grasslands and will soon get additional training in New Zealand. "One word: efficiency," Kenyon said. "They are the best in the world at getting milk from cows. They have changed this from being a dairy farm to a milk factory." New Zealanders have a long history with the dairy industry but not a lot of room for it. The country, a series of islands off the coast of Australia, has 4 million people sharing space with 4 million dairy cows and 12 million sheep. With land going for $12,000 an acre (0.4 hectares), dairy farmers have gone elsewhere, setting up operations in Australia, South America and Europe. Missouri, with $1,500-an-acre grazing land, seemed an obvious fit. Nearby dairy farmers have gone from watching the New Zealand-style operations with amusement to envy, said Angie Moore, who visits dairy farms in southwest Missouri as a tester for the regional Dairy Herd Improvement Association. "At first, it was just curiosity because they do things differently," Moore said. "Now they're looking to get ideas." That was apparent at a recent dairy conference held in Monnett, which was moved from its original spot at a small building in Mount Vernon with farmers from 22 states showed up, including ones from Wyoming, Virginia and Minnesota. "I'm sure the New Zealanders had a lot to do with that," said Tony Richard, a Missouri dairy specialist who helped plan the event. "We're all interested in what they are doing," said longtime dairy farmer Charles Fletcher. "Let's face it, when it comes down to it, dairy farming is about growing grass, and nobody in the world does it better than them." Date: 8/21/06
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