Overview

Curious about what it takes to run a “healthier farm and modern farm”?

Curious about what it takes to run a healthier farm and modern farm focusing not only on environmental protection but also the wellbeing of cows and people? Come along to our Integral Health Dairy Farm Open Day and get hands-on with interactive activities that showcase how we have designed a fully holistic farm integrating the health of the soil, plants, cows and people.

? Dairy Overview

• Try your hand at milking with our milkable udders!
• Test your knowledge: What does healthier milk mean for us?
• Learn the uniqueness of the cows on this farm compared to those farmed conventionally.

? Browsing & Nutrition

• Explore a real pasture and discover what cows love to eat.
• Participate in our food choice experiment. Cows on this farm are offered diverse and healthier diets - see how having choice matters.
• Experience the Pasture Poem Challenge and forage for different feeds and medicines.

? Pasture & Technology

• See how much less cows on this farm impact the environment and how we measure it.
• Learn about the role of medicinal trees, shrubs and aromatics and how to manage them.
• Join a scavenger hunt to explore the latest dairy technology for cow, human and environmental health – and be in to win!

Society is increasingly aware of the connection between the health of the land, of animals and humans. Visions of ‘foodscapes’ and ‘healthscapes’ are eclipsing the conventional view of landscapes focused solely on production. Aotearoa’s dairy farming systems must co-evolve with this thinking.

Lincoln University has designed and is implementing the Integral Health Dairy Farm to test and communicate these new and transformational systems views. Its objective is to innovate, demonstrate and manage a tangible transition from current practices to a system designed to enhance health from the ground up. This includes measured improvements in soil, plant, animal, human and community health.