Farm Tour 2025

Insights. Conversations. Practical tools for the season ahead.

Southern Dairy Hub Farm Tour

Managing second-round grass and milk urea

Wednesday 8 October, from 11am to 1pm
SDH Cow Shed, 611 Ryal Bush Wallacetown Rd

Come along for a wander around the Hub with the SDH team and guest speakers, chat about pasture management, and enjoy some kai.

Dr Charlotte Westwood (PGG Wrightson Seeds) will cover managing pasture quality for the second round, how to test pasture quality, and what milk urea tells us at this time of year.

She’ll be joined by Leo Pekar (FarmWise), who will cover how to balance pasture quality intakes before mating, the key trigger points to watch, and how the feed wedge supports decision-making.

This is a free event – all farmers welcome!

Download SDH Farm Tour 2025 Booklet pdf

Download Feed Wedge Report pdf

Guest Speaker: Charlotte Westwood

Charlotte is a veterinarian and nutritionist with a special interest in the links between forage nutrition, ruminant reproduction and animal health. After graduating from Massey University, she worked in large animal practice in Te Awamutu before completing a PhD in dairy cow nutrition and reproduction at the University of Sydney. She then spent seven years in farm consultancy, based in both New Zealand and southern NSW, before returning to NZ in 2009 to join PGG Wrightson Seeds.

Download Dr Charlotte Westwood's Presentation pdf

Guest Speaker: Leo Pekar

Leo is a farm consultant supporting dairy farmers across Southland and South Otago. With strong farming experience and knowledge, he focuses on getting the basics right in pasture-first systems to lift production and profitability while keeping things simple and sustainable. He works alongside farmers to turn challenges into opportunities, from fine-tuning feed plans and improving financial performance to building resilient businesses. Leo is passionate about people on farm and delivering practical solutions that work in the paddock.

Download Leo Pekar's Presentation docx