Corson

Peter Davies owns a 140 hectare farm and currently manages a pedigree herd of 400 Jersey cows on target to produce 200,000 kg of milk solids this year - about 500 kg milk solids per cow.

Peter maintains that talking to his cows has enabled him to achieve some of the best levels of milk production in the country. 
Peter's more proven secret however is the Corson TENDERLEAFY® range of maize hybrids which he exclusively feeds "on the pad" for his herd.
Peter has been feeding cows for close to 30 years and, through a willingness to experiment, has knowledge of animal nutrition and health that few could match in the dairy industry. Peter is passionate about the health of his cows. "Our philosophy is ‘balance'. We balance the soils, the cows' diet - everything is worked on balance".

"To get the best return, you need your stock in prime milking condition ensuring that most of the food is utilised for milk production. Our cows' diet is 40% on the pad and 60% in the paddock. Because they can only fit so much grass in their stomachs, Maize is like a concentrate. It enhances their use of the grass and improves their ME (metaoblisable energy) levels."

"There is maize and there is maize. I have always tried different things. In changing to Corson TENDERLEAFY® we got a 2 litre per cow lift in the spring and we haven't looked back. I've now made a complete switch to Corson hybrids."

Peter has 30ha of Corson TENDERLEAFY® maize hybrids planted this year. It's a large crop for any dairy farmer but he prefers to control the quality of nutrition for his cows than buy feed from contract growers. "Digestibility and compatibility to the cow is critical - that's where the Corson TENDERLEAFY® has got it right. We get great utilisation and the cows run to the pad for it!"

Willie and Melissa Duncan and their two young sons own and operate 810 hectares of family farm in Kairanga, Manawatu. "It's a busy life," says Willie.

It's a big operation, with Willie running a dairy herd of around 1000 cows, a sheep and beef fattening operation and 100 hectares of crops - 60 hectares of cereal crops (wheat, barley) and another 40 hectares of maize for both grain and silage.
Willie has been growing maize silage for many years and four years ago switched to the Corson Tender Leafy CTL96 to "give it a try" - testing Rob Shannon's (from Corson) claims about the performance of CTL96.

Four years later Willie is very happy with the result and agrees that Rob was right. "CTL96 is a strong durable plant with a big leaf, creating more bulk. I get good quality and the quantity of dry matter is much better than previous hybrids. The yield is also reliable", says Willie.
Not only is Willie happy with the results he sees in relation to the dairy side of his operation, he says that with the steer operation the feed gives his animals good bulk over the winter months. This reduces the time he needs to feed them on grass in the spring to get them to a killable weight. The turnover is much better.

Willie says that the CTL96 plant suits him and fits into his system of paddock rotation. "It's about 140 days from planting to harvest. The timing is great for me, not too long and not too short. It works".