Owl Farm sources its water from both the school supply and a bore near the dairy farm.  Total water use is telemetered using the HALO system from the main water lines coming into the dairy, and stock drinking water is telemetered from the Dosatron.  We use these two meters to calculate dairy shed water volumes.

A new pump and yard configuration as well the use of hydrofan nozzles has led to more efficient water use at an average of 30-40 m³ per day (70-95 L/cow); this is a 20% reduction on where it used to be but further potential efficiencies from the platform can be identified. All cooler water is also recycled back into the washdown tanks.  The farm purchases water from a scheme which holds the resource consent (covering Variation 6 water allocation for the Waikato region).

All water used on farm is paid for, costing approximately $34k in the 2020/21 season using 87 L/cow/day for shed use (along with another 92 L/cow/day for drinking water). Water is a precious and valued resource that we will be exploring how we can use more efficiently in 2022.  Our goal is to get shed use down to 55 L/cow/day average for the year.