Details on the New Dairy

Though we're already hearing some stink talk about the new dairy planned for the southside of Kauai, actual details have been slim. Curious, I spent some time researching to find out what's really going down.

Hawaii Dairy Farms is a $17.5 million enterprise funded solely by the for-profit arm of Ulupono Initiative, which is financed by billionaire Pierre Omidyar to work on local sustainability projects.

It's planned for 528 acres in Mahaulepu, about four miles inland from the Hyatt, off the dirt road that runs past the old sugar mill. The acreage has an Important Ag Lands designation and will be leased from Grove Farm. In modern times, it was used for sugar, then a dairy and most recently as beef cattle pastures. The dairy will not affect the Haraguchi taro land lease in the valley.

The dairy is not a feedlot style, as we previously saw in Moloaa. Instead, it is based on a rotational pasture system that is popular in New Zealand, though Ulupono says a similar model has not been been used elsewhere in the U.S. 

The cows, which have a social order, will be kept in “mobs” of about 300-330. In groups larger than that, they tend to get stressed. Each mob will have 18 different pastures that they will rotate through, spending no more than a few days in each pasture. This is intended to spread manure and urea evenly and give pastures a chance to recover. They will spend about 22 hours per day in the pasture and an hour twice a day in the milking area.

Kiwi-cross cows on New Zealand dairy farm.

Waste from the milking parlor will be washed into two effluent holding ponds. One pond will be lower than the other. 

Effluent holding ponds on New Zealand dairy.

Water, containing about 3 percent effluent, will be sprayed from the second pond back onto the pastures. The ponds will occasionally be dredged, with the sediment returned to the pastures.

An irrigation ditch and stream on the property will be fenced off to keep the cows out of the waterways. A large earthern berm runs along the dirt road, which will allow the dairy to control runoff from the site, even during floods. “We are planning for all contingencies, even with super maximum rainfall,” said Ulupono spokeswoman Amy Hennessey.

As for permitting, no EIS is required. The dairy has gotten its Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) permit, which includes a conservation plan for the land. It is now seeking two state Department of Health permits needed for animal feed operations. Since it is a closed loop system, it does not have to comply with regulations imposed on confined animal feeding operations, or feedlots.

Hennessey said she visited a number of New Zealand dairy farms using the rotational model, and was surprised that they didn't smell. The odor did not carry more than 10 or 20 feet from the ponds. She said she was accidentally sprayed with one of the irrigation systems, and even that water didn't stink.

New Zealand pasture irrigation.

The dairy will start with 880 cows, which are a Kiwi-cross breed that is smaller than American dairy cows and produces more milk, with a higher fat content. They also live for 14 to 15 years, as compared to the typical 5-year life span of an American dairy cow. Their hooves are adapted to wetter climates. The cows have been purchased and are currently in Missouri, awaiting transport to Kauai. 

Over time, as the cows are bred, the dairy will expand to about 1,800 cows. Each cow will have an ear tag with am embedded computer chip that gives readings on her health and productivity. The milking operation will be a mechanized rotary system. Each cow will kick off the milking gear and exit the barn when she feels her udders have been sufficiently emptied, and her spot on the milking platform taken by another cow.

Rotary milking platform at New Zealand dairy.

The cows will feed primarily on kikiyu grass, which is now being planted in the pastures. Hennessey said Ulupono spent several years on grass trials to pick the best forage crop for dairy cows. While in the milking barn, the cows will receive supplemental feed, and Ulupono is still trying to determine what that will be. Though initially it most likely will be imported, Ulupono is hoping the dairy will inspire folks to start raising some forage crops on Kauai.

Other details are also still in flux, including what will happen to the milk. “We won't process the milk,” Hennessey said. Instead, it most likely will be sent to Oahu for pasteurizing. The dairy is expected to produce about 37 million gallons of milk annually, which is roughly equivalent to the output of the two Big Island dairies. In the future, the dairy may venture into value-added products, such as dairy and cheese.

Another topic still under discussion are the cow-calf and bull operations, which will be off-site and perhaps contracted to Kauai ranchers. Some of the female calves will become dairy cows, while the males will be sold into the beef market. Though some folks have expressed concern about how the steers will impact the local ranching business, Hennessey said the operation is intended to help expand and supply the market for local grass-fed beef. The goal is to eliminate the current practice of sending young steers to mainland feed lots and then importing beef back to Hawaii.

The cows will consume about 50,000 gallons of water per day, and additional water will be used for irrigation as needed. The water will come from the Waita reservoir, which is the largest in the state.

The dairy will employ 10 to 15 workers, in two shifts, and Hennessey said “women are more effective herders than men.”

Construction will be minimal, and county building permits are being sought for concrete pads, a milking parlor with solar panels on the roof, two newborn calf sheds and related electrical systems. Groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for March, with calving and dairy operations possibly set to begin in December.

Though Ulupono hopes the dairy will eventually be profitable, Hennessey said it's intended as a model that will be refined, with the goal of having it replicated elsewhere in the Islands to improve food sustainability.

“If we can prove its viability, it will encourage other people to get involved,” she said.