#28 - The joy in ‘giving it a crack’ with Shane Birchall and Meghan Schutt

Father and daughter duo Shane Birchall and Meghan Schutt have changed their whole dairy and beef system, just south of Rotorua. Shane’s ‘tried it all’ throughout his lifetime on the farm, with nudges from Meghan in recent years steering them to focus on creating self-sufficient and low waste operations.

The two share their experiences implementing herd homes, multi-species crops, combining mobs, high-density grazing management, low inputs, and most recently, halter collars. The benefits to soil and animal health, the team’s well-being and enthusiasm, and the overall flexibility of the farm system are unquestionable. And they’re not stopping here!

Enjoy the episode.

“We’ve had a massive change in farming really, in the last three years.”

“The whole system has changed completely. We’ve gone from running two mobs to one mob.”

“One herd now which has made things so much simpler. I forgot how easy heifers can be when they’re mixed in with the old girls. So that’s a huge labour saving.”

“Multiple shifts, really focusing on keeping that residual 16, 17, 18 instead of 15, so making that grass grow more grass.”

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