My family's been farming for 100 years in Matamata
My parents converted their conventional farm to organics, about 20 years ago.
I've essentially come on board and continued that in Manawaru, close to Te Aroha
We started a small processing business, Jersey Girl Organics
Where we process white milk, and that's sold domestically
Over the last 12 months, we’ve started exporting that to China
As a New Zealand organic dairy farmer.
I'm very motivated to produce and sell high quality, nutritious organic milk.
Our goals for the 25/26 season is to reduce the cases of mastitis
And our bulk somatic cell count below 150
Which is quite a challenge organically.
We installed the iSPRAY-VISION about six months ago
To improve cell count and milking speed
And reducing labour in the cow shed.
Prior to installing the iSPRAY-VISION, we were hand spraying with drop down wands
The reason that we chose the iSPRAY-VISION over others
Is because of the new camera technology.
It's meant to be more economical in it's spraying.
Since cell count has dropped by 100
Our mastitis cases have dropped compared to this time last year
And teat condition is better.
We've reduced our milking time by half an hour each milking.
We've removed a staff member from the cow shed
Which has meant more jobs have been able to get done elsewhere.
It's improved safety in the cow shed
It doesn't disturb the cows.
We have also installed an Intelliblend
Which has meant that we no longer need to bulk mix our teat spray.
It's all automated.
Our cows now are getting sprayed the correct amount.
We're using the FIL Iodoshield Active and Organic Teat Conditioner
We've always used a teat spray with Mānuka honey for its health benefits
Such as its antibacterial properties.
We’ve found the service from GEA and FIL super easy
And just a dream to work with.
Because of GEA and FIL’s close relationship, it’s been seamless integration
Using both products and technologies.
We're already seeing the benefits coming through now in animal health
Which ultimately will lead to better milk quality.
