27 November 2013 Farm Open Day opens up the dairy industry

Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF) opened its gates on Saturday to the Canterbury public to showcase the operations of a commercial dairy farm, with 540 visitors taking the opportunity to learn about the transformation of ‘sunshine into food’. 

Visitors to the farm were able to get a glimpse into the complex world of modern dairy farming: looking at everything from the science behind photosynthesis, soil types; irrigation; fertiliser; grass and cow digestion; breeding; milking;  right through to the collection and transportation of milk and on-processing, finally reaching the many international markets the New Zealand dairy industry serves. 

New Zealand-based end users such as EasiYo and boutique cheese and yoghurt makers provided tasty examples of where the milk ends up, and Fonterra provided Primo and CalciYum milk drinks and Tip Top Fruju’s and Trumpets in return for donations for the Philippine’s Disaster Relief, raising $350.

“The purpose of the day was to expose people to the transformation of ‘sunshine into food’ and answer some of their questions around the detail in the science and technology of producing milk on farm,” says Ron Pellow, Executive Director of SIDDC.

The 630 cow Lincoln University Dairy Farm is operated by the South Island Dairying Development Centre (SIDDC) and is run as a fully-commercial demonstration farm, showcasing best practice dairy farming. SIDDC is itself a partnership between seven key New Zealand organisations involved in South Island dairying: Lincoln University, DairyNZ, Ravensdown, LIC, Plant & Food Research, AgResearch and SIDE. 

“LUDF operates as both a demonstration farm for other farmers, and a commercial entity.  We also have the stated aim to increase productivity on the farm without increasing the overall environmental footprint.   This makes the information that comes out of SIDDC very relevant for farmers and the farm the perfect place to open up to the public to show them how it all works,” says Ron Pellow.

Mr Pellow was pleased with the near 600 turn-out saying “this is the first time we have run our own Farm Open Day for the public of Christchurch.   We planned the day to appeal to people seeking more information so they may better understand how their food is produced and the industry as a whole.  We are very pleased with the numbers (of attendees) and will build on this year’s event to run an annual Farm Open Day.”