From the GM
This is my first newsletter as General Manager, having joined the Hub in July, and I’ve had a lot to learn in my first few months in the role. I’m hugely grateful for the support I’ve had from the farm team, our Board, Dawn Dalley and Nicole Hammond from DairyNZ, Luke and Claire from SDDT, and many other friends and supporters of the Hub. It’s encouraging to have such a wide range of people committed to seeing the Hub achieve its promise and potential.
Plenty has been happening on farm over the last few months. After a relatively mild and dry winter, the Hub team, like all farmers in the district, has had to grapple with some challenging weather over the past two months. The bulk of calving and early milking were done in atrocious conditions, but hats off to the farm team, who tackled each day’s tasks stoically, with animal health and care always front of mind. While it has been tough, as you’ll hear from farm manager Michael Berkers and DairyNZ senior scientist Dawn Dalley in a video discussion below, we’ve got through the challenges well, which can largely be put down to good planning and sticking to our processes.
Our Future sustainable herd comparison project is now well into its next season, and we continue to collect a range of metrics to test the strategy against a control herd farmed in a more traditional manner. Recent visitors to the farm, Andrew Hoggard, Minister for Biosecurity and Food Safety and Associate Minister of Agriculture, and Miles Anderson, MP for Waitaki, were impressed and supportive of this project and its potential insights in support of more sustainable dairy farming practices. I know many of you are eager to see the results too. We’re currently working through a final assessment of the financial comparisons between the Future and Standard herds and will share the results at our summer field day.
It was great to have our standoff pad up and running in time for calving, and we’re extremely proud and delighted to have achieved a 100% survival rate for all calves born on the standoff pad. That alone was worth the investment.
And, for those who missed the recent Dairy Country podcast, Anne Lee spoke with me and Dawn about the latest results from the demonstration farm. Check it out here.
A big thank you to everyone who continues to support the important work taking place here at the Hub. We really appreciate it.
Greg Delaney, SDH General Manager
On the Ground at the Hub
It’s been a busy couple of months on-farm, with plenty happening across feed management, pasture, herd health and planning for the season ahead. Here’s a snapshot of what’s been happening at the Hub.
Wet and windy conditions have challenged pasture utilisation and caused some soil and pasture damage, but the team has continued to follow the spring rotation plan and use supplements to meet cow demand. As conditions have dried out and pasture growth increased, nitrogen fertiliser has now been applied, with further applications planned as conditions allow.
Cow condition has remained a focus, with visual BCS assessments during milking being used alongside camera data to identify cows needing priority in-shed feeding. The Standard herd has also been split into two mobs based on age and condition.
Calving and calf management have kept the team busy, with the calving pad being used during periods of poor weather and the first calves now outside. Older calves have been weighed, with weaning underway for those above 90 kg.
The team has also been looking ahead, finalising mating plans, the 2027 winter feed plan and spring regrassing plan. In spite of the recent challenging weather conditions, sticking to the regular farm walks and the spring rotation plan have helped keep the farm in a good position.
Fundamentals matter
It’s been a challenging season weather-wise, but the Southern Dairy Hub team has stayed focused on the fundamentals and stuck to the plan. The result? Really good farm performance, despite the conditions.
In this video, our GM Greg Delaney chats with Farm Manager Michael Berkers and DairyNZ Senior Scientist Dawn Dalley about the season so far, what’s working and why getting the basics right continues to matter.
Future herd provisionally qualifies for emissions incentive
Exciting news! The Future herd has provisionally qualified for Fonterra’s Customer Funded Emissions Incentive, subject to a farm audit. The incentive provides 10 to 25 cents per kgMS to some of the Co-op’s lowest-emissions farms, in addition to the Milk Price. Audits are due to be completed by the end of November, with final eligibility and payment confirmed following the audit.
What makes our standoff pad project different?
In this short video, SDH GM Greg Delaney chats with Donna McBeath from RES about some of the compliance requirements and unique aspects of the standoff pad project that sparked plenty of interest at our field day in July.
It’s a practical look at what’s involved in developing and managing a standoff pad, and some of the considerations that may be relevant for other farmers exploring similar options. For more info, visit www.southerndairyhub.co.nz/padconsent.
DairyNZ leaders visit the Hub
It was great to welcome DairyNZ Chief Executive Campbell Parker and Deputy Chair Cameron Henderson to Southern Dairy Hub last month. During their visit, they toured the farm and saw the standoff pad, calf shed, milking shed and effluent pond. In this short video, our GM Greg Delaney gets their impressions of the standoff pad project and what stood out to them.
Join us at this year’s AGM
Join us on Friday 23 October for Southern Dairy Hub’s 2026 Annual General Meeting at the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill (Cnr Tay Street & Racecourse Road).
Come along from 10am to mix and mingle, with the AGM starting at 10.30am. The meeting will include a look back at the year by SDH Chair Simon Flood, an overview of current research and an update from General Manager Greg Delaney, followed by lunch at 12pm.
For more information, visit southerndairyhub.co.nz/events or send an email to admin@southerndairyhub.co.nz to confirm your attendance.
We look forward to seeing you, catching up, and sharing what’s been happening at the Hub.
Reintroducing Nicole Hammond
After more than a decade working across agricultural research, Nicole Hammond is bringing her expertise back to SDH, supporting research and demonstration that helps deliver practical, science-based insights for southern farmers.
Nicole previously worked at DairyNZ in Research Technician and Graduate Developer roles, including supporting a range of trials at the Hub. Since then, she has completed a Master's in Agricultural Science through Lincoln University investigating the difference in performance of pasture cultivars at SDH, and recently finished her PhD, supported by a DairyNZ Postgraduate Scholarship.
Her doctoral research explored how different plantain cultivars perform across a range of environments and their potential to reduce nitrogen losses from dairy systems. The research involved trials across four locations throughout New Zealand, including Southern Dairy Hub, evaluating different plantain cultivars on a variety of soil types and investigating the plant traits linked to environmental performance.
“There's growing evidence that plantain can help reduce nitrogen losses, but much of that research has focused on individual cultivars,” says Nicole. “My research looked at the differences between cultivars and aimed to provide greater clarity around which traits contribute to nitrogen loss reduction.”
As a daughter of Southland dairy farmers, Nicole is passionate about applied science that delivers practical outcomes for farming businesses.
“The research happening at SDH is incredibly valuable because it provides robust data generated under southern conditions,” she says. “That gives farmers confidence that the findings are relevant and can support real on-farm decision-making.”
Southern Dairy Hub's research covers a wide range of farm systems challenges, helping build an evidence base for dairy farming in the lower South Island. By testing ideas and innovations under real farming conditions, the Hub generates independent insights that support practical decisions around productivity, profitability and environmental performance.
Now based in Invercargill as a Postdoctoral Scientist in DairyNZ's Farm Systems Science team, Nicole is looking forward to reconnecting with colleagues and continuing to contribute to research that supports productive and sustainable dairy farming.
Outside of work, Nicole enjoys reading, gardening, playing the piano and spending time on her family's dairy farm, where one of the residents is Pet, a friendly 12-year-old cow from Southern Dairy Hub who is now enjoying retirement after being adopted by the Hammond family.
HubWatch
Want to know what’s really happening at the Southern Dairy Hub each week? HubWatch is your glimpse into research and demonstration in action. Visit www.southerndairyhub.co.nz/hubwatch to find out the difference between the standard and future herds, and how our data can help your own decision-making on farm.
Sign up to get HubWatch straight to your inbox at and keep an eye on our Facebook page for regular video updates from the farm.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for updates or visit www.southerndairyhub.co.nz to find out more.
Warm regards,
Greg Delaney, SDH General Manager
