Research farm targets carbon footprint 

Source: ONE News

State science company AgResearch says dairy research will benefit from its new Waikato farm.

The 200ha property at Tokanui in the Waikato, 8km south of Te Awamutu, was opened on Friday.

Converted at a cost of $6.5 million, the farm will host research on all aspects of dairy farming, including cow performance, animal health, forages, dairy food and products and farm management.

"This...is the most significant investment in dairy research in the last 20 years in New Zealand," AgResearch chairman Sam Robinson told guests at the opening.

The farm will milk 800 cows, with two rotary milking platforms - a main dairy shed with 60 bails and a smaller 20-bail shed for researchers to use.

Research being targeted by the farm - if it gains funding - includes:

- Reducing nitrogen leaching from farming systems by 15-20 kg nitrogen per hectare per year by 2020;

- Increasing forage productivity by 3-5 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year by 2020;

- Carry four cows per hectare per year by 2010.

The farm's greenhouse gas "footprint" is expected to be about 20% lower than the average Waikato dairy farm.