Power to farm podcast
Episode 1: Rearing healthy dairy replacements
Rearing healthy replacement heifers helps maximise the genetic potential of your herd. Canterbury dairy farmers Ben and Allie King join Natalie Hughes from Seales Winslow to share their learnings and expertise.
“By measuring their weight gain we can get an accurate picture of how they’re doing in general. A lot of farmers probably under utilise weighing, but it can tell you immediately if they’re thriving or if there’s something that’s hindering them."
Ben King, Dairy Farmer, Canterbury
Meet the host:
Mark Harris - Gallagher Animal Management Global Marketing Manager & Dairy Farmer.
Mark has been with the Gallagher team for nearly 20 years. He grew up on a farm, got a mechanical engineering degree from the ‘big smoke’, and in his spare time runs a 200-hectare dairy operation in the Waikato.
Safe to say, Mark knows a bit about farming. He also understands what farmers need to run a thriving and resilient operation in today’s challenging environment.
With hands-on experience, technical know-how and a great sense of humour, Mark is the podcast host with the most. He brings out the best in our guests to deliver truly entertaining and informative podcasts for our listeners.
On the Panel:
Natalie Hughes - Nutrition & Quality Manager, Seales Winslow Ltd
Natalie’s philosophy is “It all starts at the grass roots”. Starting with what an animal is eating and the quality of that feed is the basis for great production. As the Nutrition and Quality Manager for SealesWinslow she carries out the feed formulations, looks after the quality systems, and supports the technical development for the national sales team. Her love of ruminant animals, further education and connecting with others are her key passions.
Natalie has both a Diploma in Agriculture and her bachelors in Agricultural Science from Lincoln University. She has been awarded AARN by examination, which is a Ruminant Nutrition qualification in Australia, she has completed a Calf and Heifer course as well as Transition Cow Management through Cornell University and Advanced Ruminant Genetics through Penn State University. To aid in supporting farmers with interest spiking in the environmental space, she has completed both the Intermediate and Advanced Sustainable Nutrient Management courses through Massey University.
