Dairy News Australia Murray Region June 2023

MURRAY REGION

TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Kelly Bleijendaal is loving her role as calf manager for Gorbro Holsteins at Cohuna. Come October, brothers Glen and Drew Gordon hope the milking herd at the farm will be housed in a purpose-built, 750-head free stall barn and the cow comfort they have dreamed of for years will finally become a reality. Story, page 8

BY ANDREW TYLER

AS THE end of the financial year draws near, it is an important time to review financials, budgets and plans for next season.

As part of funding for flood recovery, Murray Dairy has the Taking Stock program which is ideal to assist you with this snapshot of your business.

You can receive confidential, 1:1 support from experienced consultants who can help you best understand your business numbers heading into next season. To register for the program, contact Murray Dairy regional extension officer Russell Holman on 0438 921 904.

On another note, it was invigorating to see so many dairy farmers converge from across southern NSW and northern Victoria to Murray Dairy’s annual conference for farmers, The Murray Muster 2023.

As Murray Dairy’s flagship event, the muster is a great forum for farmers across the region to connect with their local dairying community, hear the latest industry insights, and learn valuable strategies to maximise production.

Held in Shepparton, the theme of this year’s muster focused on ways to attract, retain and train employees in the dairy industry, particularly in on-farm roles.

A skilled cohort of local and national presenters shared key industry insights and learnings, while a number of Murray Dairy primary producers shared existing on-farm practices with positive results.

Time’s ripe to review business Chair’s message

Given the current landscape around attracting and retaining a strong workforce, this was a great opportunity for attendees to leave the event armed with practical tools that can be implemented within farm businesses. Well done to all involved.

Recently members of the Murray Dairy staff, board, dairy farmers and processor representatives had the opportunity to participate in round table meetings with Victorian Government discussing climate adaptation and emissions.

Proactive discussions between government and industry are significant in increasing engagement and helping form how government can support the dairy industry in future action.

The Murray Dairy board and staff will soon host members of the Dairy Australia board to the region for a tour of dairy farm businesses and drop-in sessions with farmers.

This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the range of farming operations we proudly boast, and I acknowledge the Dairy Australia board for their ongoing interest in the region.

YOUNG DAIRY FARMERS TOUR UNITED STATES

Twenty emerging leaders in the Murray region dairying community have been given an exceptional opportunity to explore succession pathways, learn valuable leadership skills and build industry connections on a 14-day tour of the dairying regions of Wisconsin, California and Indiana in the United States.

The Murray Dairy Young Dairy Network Dairy Development program is a tailored program designed to provide young people already employed in the industry the support, network, and development tools to stay and advance their careers within the dairy industry.

A key component of the program includes a tour of the US, where participants had the opportunity to experience the similar farming systems of California dairies, deep dive into irrigation and water issues, connect with University of California Davis and be exposed to corporate operations and large-scale barns.

A visit to Wisconsin uncovered succession planning with a look at family owned, smaller operations.

Murray Dairy would like to thank the following sponsors for their support for the YDN Dairy Development program: Gardiner Dairy Foundation; Pioneer Seeds

(gold sponsors); Bega Group; Noumi; ProviCo Rural; Riverina Fresh (silver sponsors); Genetics Australia; STgenetics Australia; Rex James Stockfeed; Phibro Animal Health Corporation; Reid Stockfeeds; Rochester Veterinary Practice; Eagle Direct; Kyvalley Dairy Group, and Hunters (bronze sponsors).

The US study tour is part of a wider 12-month program designed to present options for succession pathways in the industry.

For more information, visit: murraydairy.com.au

Keep up-to-date with Murray Dairy’s events page, online at murraydairy.com. au to see what opportunities are available to meet with the visiting Dairy Australia Board representatives.

Lastly, the Murray Dairy board is recruiting for three directors (two farmer directors and one specialist skills director) to formally start in October 2023.

It comes as myself and specialist skills director Mark Bailey both near the end of our second terms, which, in accordance with the Murray Dairy constitution, means we will step down from our positions this year.

While this is bittersweet for me, it is a fantastic opportunity for members of the local industry, and I strongly encourage a diversity in applicants for the advertised positions.

It has been an incredibly rewarding experience serving the board as a director and chair.

Candidates interested in applying for the advertised positions need to download and fill out the expression of interest form and email it by 5pm on Thursday, July 6 to admin@murraydairy.com.au

Read more about being a board director on page 5. Take care.

Murray Dairy Young Dairy Network Dairy Development program participants in the United States.

Andrew Tyler Murray Dairy chair

As part of funding for flood recovery Murray Dairy has the Taking Stock program, which is ideal to assist with a snapshot of your business.

Plan ahead for drier weather

THE LATEST Bureau of Meteorology Climate

Driver Update shows climate models have remained steady since the previous report in April.

Michael Tausz, who heads up the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (Vic Hub), said the updates provided the latest information on the state of the El Niño — Southern Oscillation — more commonly referred to as ‘ENSO’ — and the likely effect it would have on Australia.

He said following on from the April update, the ENSO Outlook had remained at “El Niño watch”, meaning ENSO was currently neutral.

“A neutral ENSO indicates around a 50 per cent chance of El Niño developing this year — which is in the region of double the normal likelihood,” Prof Tausz said.

“Looking at historical records shows us that El Niño has developed in roughly half the years that the ENSO Outlook reached ‘El Niño watch’ status.

“So a ‘watch’ is no guarantee that El Niño will actually occur, rather it signals that some of the typical signs are in place.”

Prof Tausz said the regular outlooks assessed the ENSO’s likely upcoming evolution as it moves through the different phases of El Niño, La Niña and neutral.

“ENSO is just one of various climate drivers that can influence Australia’s temperature and rainfall patterns,” he said.

“The aim of issuing these regular outlook updates is to caution the Australian population about the likelihood of an El Niño or La Niña occurring via a ‘stepped approach’ based on incremental changes, rather than a sudden announcement of ‘we’re now in an El Niño phase’ for example.”

Time for drought-resilience preparation

Vic Hub is one of eight hubs established nationally through the Federal Government’s Future Drought Fund.

Vic Hub regional director Fiona Best said the current situation highlighted the critical investment and work of the FDF through the hub in drought preparedness for businesses and communities across the state of Victoria.

“The Climate Driver Updates ... help the community plan,” she said.

“We’ve monitored the updates published since mid-February referencing climate drivers in transition.

“We know that there are now typical precursors in place for El Niño, and we know that

El Niño characteristically suppresses rainfall across Victoria — indeed all of eastern Australia — during winter and spring.

“So this makes now an important time for all farm businesses to put various elements of their operation under a ‘drought-resilience microscope’.”

Ms Best, who is also chief executive officer of the Vic Hub’s North-West Node, Birchip Cropping Group, said this process entailed reviewing and assessing the capacity of an entity to withstand extended periods of dry weather, and, should it happen, drought.

She said some elements would be common across all enterprises, with others enterprise specific.

“Some top-line examples are business planning, soil cover and fodder or grain on hand, through to understanding the climate and drought-risk information for resilience — and all of these are focal areas of the Vic Hub’s activities.”

Ms Best listed elements common across farming businesses are being financial aspects — equity ratios, cash flow and reserves and the producer’s ability to access cash.

“Elements specific to different farming sectors include fodder on hand — is there enough, if so, for how long? Will feed need to be bought in? When? What? From where?

Or scrutinising the risk profile of various crop rotations — does a crop type or variety need to be changed?

Does planting time need to be changed? Does paddock preparation need to be approached differently? Do I have a stock containment area established and is it fit for purpose?

“These are just a few ideas, but this ‘drought-resilience microscope’ process is vitally important for farmers to identify areas of opportunity and risk within their business.”

Ms Best said farmers had many resources to avail themselves of, including discussions with banks and financial planners and attending field days to access the latest agronomic information.

Talking with other farmers about strategies they are putting in place in readiness for drier times is one of the best ways to exchange ideas and learn of new approaches.

“On the Vic Hub website, we also have some excellent information about farm finance, springing from our research and farmer consultations, which identified the important role of farm advisors — be they bank managers, accountants, agronomists or rural suppliers — in building strong farm businesses that are drought prepared and drought resilient.”

For more information on the Vic Hub and its work, visit https://vicdroughthub.org.au

A state-wide collaboration of 10 organisations, the Vic Hub is led by the University of Melbourne, with headquarters at the university’s Dookie Campus, and includes five farming organisations

(Birchip Cropping Group, Food & Fibre Gippsland, Mallee Regional Innovation Centre, Riverine Plains and Southern Farming Systems), four universities (UM, Deakin, Federation and La Trobe), and the Victorian Government (through Agriculture Victoria).

Now is the time for farmers to look at their drought resilience approach for this spring and summer.

The El Niño forecaster is currently set at ‘watch’, meaning that El Niño is a possibility later this year.

Photo: Vic Hub

Cobram Cohuna

Colac Corryong Dumbalk

Eskdale Finley Foster

Heywood Kiewa Koroit

Korumburra Leongatha Maffra

Simpson Swan Hill Wangaratta ALL THINGS RURAL VISIT OUR WEBSITE agwarehouse.com.au

Warragul Wonthaggi Yarram BLUE TAG EOFY SALE 12 PAGES OF EOFY SAVINGS! CATALOGUE OUT NOW

Private and public burns rising

HUNDREDS OF Victorians are continuing to undertake private burn-offs as fire restrictions have eased across the state.

Country Fire Authority and partner agencies will be making the most of cooler autumn conditions to conduct fuel reduction burns to lower bushfire risk for communities, while farmers and private landholders will also take the opportunity to ignite stubble burns on their properties.

Combined with weather conditions that will prevent smoke from dispersing into the upper atmosphere, it’s predicted that smoke may hang over the city and parts of Victoria throughout these periods.

CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said although CFA and Forest Fire Management Victoria work closely with the Environment Protection Authority and Bureau of Meteorology to keep smoke impact as low as practically possible, smoke in our regional and rural areas can come from a number of sources.

“Along with the important planned burns that are conducted in our forests, parks and reserves led by FFMV and the many kilometres of road, rail and grassland burns that are led by the CFA, this time of year also sees a large amount of smoke coming from the necessary burn-offs that our farmers and rural property holders complete,” he said.

“These are part of traditional farming practices where burning off of crop stubble is often needed to kill off weeds and return nutrients and carbon back into the soil.”

As the weather cools, smoke will also come from the many thousands of wood heaters

households rely on for their autumn and winter heat source. Smoke from wood heaters will often settle in the local area from where they are burning.

“This localised smoke or smoke haze can often be misinterpreted as coming from planned burns from a long way away, but this is not always the case,” he said.

“As the weather conditions continue to become favourable for lower intensity burning, we will look to conduct the most suitable burnoffs to ensure that our dependant native bush and grasslands are benefiting and avoid much more devastating high intensity bushfires.

“We rely upon all Victorians to spread the message and continue to support us in the delivery of our burning programs.”

Although fire restrictions are coming to an end, Victorians are urged to continue registering their burn-offs at www.firepermits.vic. gov.au so that if someone reports smoke to Triple Zero, the incident will be cross-checked with the burn-off register.

For the latest information about when and where planned burns are occurring near you, residents are encouraged to sign up to Planned Burns Victoria at www.plannedburns.ffm.vic. gov.au and download the App.

If you see smoke and want to know if it is a planned burn or a fire, visit emergency.vic. gov.au, check the VicEmergency App or phone the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226. Visit EPA AirWatch for information about current air quality throughout Victoria. Keep your burn off safe and legal: Check fire restrictions in your area and always

* Low Birth Weight * Ease of Calving *

*Guaranteed Prices * Long term Partnerships*

register your burn at www.firepermits.vic.

gov.au or by phoning 1800 668 511. Check and monitor weather conditions — particularly wind. To avoid unnecessary calls to emergency services, notify your neighbours beforehand. Leave a 3m fire break, free from flammable

materials around the burn. Have sufficient equipment and water to stop the fire spreading.

Never leave a burn-off unattended — stay for its entire duration.

If your burn-off gets out of control, call ‘000’ immediately.

NEW BIOSECURITY NEWSLETTER FOR FARMERS

Agriculture Victoria has launched a new monthly biosecurity e-newsletter to provide Victorian farmers with biosecurity updates.

Victorian Biosecurity Matters will feature a diverse range of content, including new developments in emergency animal disease.

The newsletter will be a source that farmers, small landholders, animal owners and veterinarians can use in the event of an EAD outbreak.

The newsletter will provide updates on foot-and-mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, varroa mite, pest animals and marine pests.

It will also cover plant diseases and pests and weeds.

Profiles and success stories from within

the industry will feature for farmers to learn from the experiences of others.

Biosecurity Victoria executive director Katherine Clift said the newsletter would be a valuable resource for the industry.

“Our goal is to ensure everyone understands the importance of biosecurity and the role they can play in maintaining a healthy and sustainable agriculture industry,” Dr Clift said.

“Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility and by staying informed and following best practices, we can all contribute to protecting our industry, environment and economy from the threat of pests and diseases.”

Subscription to the free newsletter can be found at agriculture.vic.gov.au/ support-and-resources/newsletters/ victorian-biosecurity-matters

Land owners and CFA will be conducting burn-offs across the region now that cooler weather has arrived. Photo Keith Packenham.

Agriculture Victoria’s new online newsletter will provide updates on pests such as varroa mite, and is aimed to give the agriculture industry information on all animal and plant biosecurity news.

Be part of a bigger picture

WITH MORE than three years’ experience as a Murray Dairy board director, Blighty dairy farmer Rachael Napier is a skilled and wellrespected voice for her industry.

Building on two decades of industry involvement, Rachael joined the Murray Dairy board in 2020.

What started as a six-month co-opted director position soon revealed a keen passion for achieving best industry outcomes and a natural leadership ability that saw her quickly elevated to deputy chair — a position she holds today.

“For me, it’s the opportunity to be a part of the bigger picture. To have a say and be heard when it comes to developing new resources and working to achieve best outcomes for farmers,” Rachael said.

“I’ve developed a better understanding of how and why decisions are made, and how funding is secured. So many of the skills I have acquired since joining the board have transferred into other areas of my life, including other committees.”

Now, as Murray Dairy opens applications for two farmer director positions to join the board, Rachael is encouraging farmers to bring their perspectives to the board and apply.

“A farmer levy should include a farmer’s voice and that is what is great about the  specialised farmer director position,” she said.

“Farmers bring a grass roots view and decades of real experience. I have seen a very

high calibre of farmers represent their peers since joining the board. Dairy farmers truly are industry leaders.”

Rachael’s advice for someone considering applying: “If you are thinking about joining the board, you are halfway there. There are a lot of skills we master on our own farms which transfer into the board room”.

Rachael also reiterated Murray Dairy’s encouragement for a diversity of applications for the advertised positions.

“There are amazing women out there, who have a lot to contribute to the board, busy running their own businesses. Sometimes it’s about timing,” she said.

“The amount of time required to sit on the board is by no means demanding. Admittedly, some times are busier than others, which is why we have several farmer directors from all walks of farming.

“Not everyone can be available for everything, but between us all we manage to cover it.

“Not only is it a chance to represent your peers, but in terms of what you get out of the role in your own personal and professional lives is so rewarding. Dairy Australia, through Murray Dairy, invest a lot of resources into developing people.

“I completed my AICD company director training last year and attended other training days focusing on strategy and people skills.

“There are always networking opportunities, I now have connections to farmer peers in every state of Australia.”

Candidates interested in applying for the advertised positions need to download and fill out the Expression of Interest form on the

murraydairy.com.au homepage and email it to admin@murraydairy.com.au by 5pm on Thursday, July 6.

the best quality products start with the best quality milk

Bulla is an Australian made and owned business which has been around for over 110 years and our strategy is simple, to create a sustainable family business for generations to come.

At Bulla, we are extremely proud of the exceptional quality of the milk supplied by local Victorian farms which enables us to bring award-winning dairy products to tables across Australia.

To support Bulla’s continued growth from new products we have an opportunity for a number of farms to join the Bulla family as milk suppliers.

We invite interested suppliers to contact one of our field officers to discuss your milk supply profile and Bulla’s milk contract.

Features of Bulla Milk Supply Contracts

• Simple flat payment model for better cash flow in spring & easier annual planning

• A history of prices to our suppliers that are above market average

• No stop charge, volume charge or milk collection fee

• A guaranteed minimum price each year, no step downs

• Step up reviews during the year

To register your interest go to www.bulla.com.au/farmers

If you have any questions, please contact FieldServices@bulla.com.au

Contact our field team for information:

Blighty dairy farmer Rachael Napier encourages anyone thinking of joining the Murray Dairy board to do so.

Steady but sure growth pays

BY SOPHIE BALDWIN

DAIRY FARMER Rebecca (Beck) Robertson can remember taking a scraggy heifer to her first ever dairy show when she was just a kid.

Now her four kids are doing the same, all though the quality of the cattle these days is far better and there is not a scraggily cow in sight.

Beck farms with her husband Stewart (Stew) and their four children Lukas, 12, Dakota, 10, Isla, eight and Peyton, four, on a soldier settlement block at Yarroweyah.

Their farm purchase six years ago was the culmination of years of hard work by the couple who were chasing their dream to one day own a dairy farm.

“The ultimate aspiration was to always have our own place. I don’t come from a long line of dairy farmers — my Mum and Dad were the first generation,” Beck said.

Having previously farmed in the western districts and the Hunter Valley, the couple chose to purchase a dairy in northern Victoria because the soldier settlement blocks were affordable.

After purchasing the farm, both Beck and Stew worked off-farm for a period of time until they had built up their herd numbers.

“We only milked 70 cows at the start because that was all we were able to hold on to after the Murray Goulburn milk price drop,” Beck said.

As time has gone on Beck has been able to

focus solely on the farm, while Stew still does a bit of fodder contracting for additional income.

Things were pretty tough for the family at the start, but the last few years of good milk prices and affordable water have allowed them to get on and do a few improvements around the place, including fixing up a shed and replacing the old vat.

“We were able to get a pretty good second hand 10,000 litre vat because at the time there were quite a few people exiting the industry which worked out well for us,” she said.

The 58ha home farm is now supported by an additional 53ha which is leased to run stock and a few beefies, along with fodder production.

Currently the hay sheds are full and there are two pits of silage in the ground.

The recent corn crop yielded about 20 tonne/ha. Even though it is down on last year’s harvest, Beck said considering the season and the late start, they were pretty happy.

“We currently have a couple of year’s worth of fodder up our sleeve which will helps reduce risk, especially during the next drought, and we are off to a good start this season too, so hopefully we can continue to add to the feed bank,” she said.

Beck said having the lease blocks nearby made it easy to walk stock to and back, while allowing them a bit of flexibility.

The 140-cow herd is calved year-round (except over the heat of summer and over September/October) to create a flat milk

As time has gone on Beck has been able to focus solely working on the farm, while also raising their family.

pays o for family

supply which suits their Bulla contract and their workload.

“We are always feeding a handful of calves which are the kids’ responsibility to look after. This gives them an interest and keeps them involved in the farm,” Beck said.

The kids are also invested in showing cattle and have attended International Dairy Week, the Winter Fair and many local shows.

Lukas loves clipping and the presentation side of showing, while Dakota likes the handling and Isla and Peyton are the stock workers.

The kids are looking forward to attending the Winter Fair at the end of June and are working on the heifers already.

Beck said one of the best things about the

dairy industry was the willingness of people to share their knowledge and help out the younger generation.

“Lukas is now learning off Andy Cullen, but when Andy was young, he used to help us. The dairy industry has some pretty great youth programs and it is such a great environment for kids,” she said.

Personally, Beck said she got a lot of enjoyment out of working with stock and seeing her cows producing well.

“It’s taken a bit, but the cows are milking well now and we are sending around 1.2 million litres a year — it is so rewarding,” she said.

Beck said the hope was to expand the business in the future.

“Hopefully we can get a neighbouring property and milk 200 cows with a bit of cropping on the side, but I guess that will depend what happens with the kids in the future,” she said.

“Our long-term plan is to develop the dairy and a beef sideline.”

Beck said living on a dairy farm was a great way to bring up a family and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Dairying is wholly and solely our life and I always wanted to have my own farm so I could split my time between working and looking after the kids,” she said.

“We can plan farm jobs around the kids’ activities and get the best of both worlds.”

Four-year-old Peyton loves helping out around the farm.

The Robertsons hope to grow the herd to milk 200 cows as well as develop a beef sideline.

Beck has always wanted to have her own farm and says it’s a great life for bringing up a family

Focusing on

BY SOPHIE BALDWIN

COME OCTOBER, Gorbro Holsteins of Cohuna is hoping its milking herd will be housed in a purpose-built, 750-head free stall barn and the cow comfort it has dreamed of for years will finally become a reality.

Glen and brother Drew said the barn was the result of five hard years of hard work researching and refining detail with the goal to take animal welfare to the next level and protect their herd from climate extremes.

“This development is all about cow comfort and the theory the more comfortable the cow is, the better she will milk, the higher her fertility will be and the more cows we can get in calf,” Glen said.

“We have one of the top genetic herds in the country and we wanted a facility and a system to match.”

The 200m free stall barn was started in January.

Once completed the brothers expect the herd to spend the majority of their day in the barn comfortably eating, drinking and resting.

“The cows will leave the barn twice a day for about an hour and a half for each milking. There will be a lot of work droving the separate herds to and from the shed and cleaning the beds when they are gone,” Glen said.

The brothers haven’t ruled out letting the cows graze at certain times of the year, but that

will depend on the weather and what happens in the vat.

“We will just wait and see how all that works out — the cows might end up spending all their time in the barn,” Glen said.

Glen said they were expecting to run three separate herds — a sick herd, a fresh herd and possibly a young herd but again they would have to wait and see.

The decision to build a barn wasn’t taken lightly, however they are confident in their decision to build a free stall barn complete with undercover sand beds and a 90m compost loafing area.

“It will be like the cows are sitting in their own cubicle at the beach,” Glen laughed.

The decision to use sand for bedding is a more expensive option but the fact bacteria can’t grow in sand was a huge driver behind the choice.

They purchased a 80 horse power tractor whose specific job will be to rake the sand beds every day.

“We have also invested in a sand trap that is designed to reclaim 95 per cent of the sand we use and because sand will be a significant cost to the business, we want to reduce that cost where we can,” Glen said.

In simple terms, wastewater from the barn will flow into the trap and the sand will accumulate in the top section where it will be dragged aside and into a pile, while wastewater will flow into a pond and be reused and recirculated across the farm.

The sand trap will hopefully allow 95 per cent of the sand used in the barn to be recycled.

Gorbro is hoping its 200m free stall

will be in action by October. The shed will be capable of housing 750 cows.

on elite cow comfort

COMBAT MILK FEVER

The barn will have its own 100kW solar system which will generate enough power to run the 64 fans placed throughout the facility.

Without Effort

This is the second solar development on the farm.

“Dad is a big believer in solar and we have had a 100kW system on our dairy for the last five years and it has certainly helped reduce our power costs.”

Despite completely changing the management of their farm and the herd, Glen is looking forward to what the future will bring for their operation.

They plan to increase the milking herd from 680 split cows to 880.

There are no plans to change the existing 60-unit rotary dairy, although a concrete laneway will be constructed to link the dairy to the barn.

“Animal welfare is going to be a huge issue for the industry moving forward and we are passionate about ensuring a sustainable future — this investment is all about ensuring we have happy and content cows,” Glen said.

“Dad always said if we stayed in the industry long enough we would reap the rewards and the last few years we have had record prices and there is a lot of confidence in the industry at the moment.”

The milk tanker has been a game changer when it comes to feeding calves, heating the milk up to 39 degrees. Calf rearer Kelly Bleijendaal just drives it along aside the pens and fills the troughs up without having to lift a single bucket.

• X-Zelit allows springers to calve on homegrown feed such as directly grazed pasture, ryegrass silage and pasture hay

• Add it to your existing concentrate feed used in the dair y or tip it into your mixer wagon

• Activates her natural systems to elevate blood calcium during transition

Rather than feeders, milk is fed via a trough in the wet area. The trough also doubles up as a grain feeder as well.

The show area of the pen.

The 112m long, 22.5m wide dual purpose calf and show shed is being put through its paces for the first time this season.

Planning her farm’s future

BY ANDY WILSON

AGRICULTURE VICTORIA’S Female Farmers of the Future are being recognised for their innovation in using technology to make their farms more sustainable.

Sally Rowe operates her family’s dairy farm at Girgarre and took advantage of the awards scheme to install more adaptable moisture content gauges to help minimise irrigation.

Sally said the moisture sensors had not been installed for very long but were already influencing her farming decisions.

“The sensors are a real eye-opener on how far water penetrates the soil and how long it took to get down there,” she said.

“They also measure the temperature changes while irrigating and afterwards.

“They are amazing.”

Sally manages 70 dairy cattle in a seven-aside double-up herringbone enterprise.

Part of the farm’s irrigation strategy is to maintain a permanent pasture instead of an annual one.

“I was looking for a probe that I could put in myself that I could also remove myself and when we do eventually reseed, I want to do this without reliance on others.

“What’s different about these is that for the larger farmers, the company they buy these products from require the company to come in and put them underground, generally, when doing large crops.

“That isn’t necessary for us.”

Sally previously relied on a simple method to determine when it was time to irrigate.

“We went on the premise that if one of my temporary fencing posts could not go into the

ground, then it was time to irrigate,” she said.

“But now I can see what my levels are going to be, and I can forward plan my irrigation.

“The soil and grasses will be working at their optimum level.”

Spoil sensors used on Sally Rowe’s dairy property are installed for later ease of removal before re-seeding the pasture.

Photo: Andy Wilson

Sally Rowe attends to one of the soil sensors installed to minimise irrigation on her dairy farm. The sensors were funded by the Female Farmers of the Future project.

ACM works on e uent upgrade

BY GEOFF ADAMS

GIRGARRE DAIRY processor ACM is planning to build two more storage pond dams on its property.

The company will build a 52 Ml raw water storage lagoon, and a 52 Ml wastewater winter lagoon on land that is currently a farm paddock.

According to written plans currently before Campaspe Shire Council, a key reason for the development is odour mitigation.

ACM wants to work towards the installation of an anaerobic treatment plant to address any future high organic loads due to unforeseen product spills or losses.

To get the anaerobic project going, ACM said it was necessary to build new and larger capacity winter storages.

However, a neighbour of the business, Jim Stewart, is worried the works will not improve the odour problem emanating from the site.

Mr Stewart has complained to ACM and the EPA about the odour from the treatment pond which he said was sometimes so bad that his visiting grandchildren and great-grandchildren can’t stand it.

He said the EPA had told him they had been in contact with the factory and were working to resolve the problem.

Mr Stewart said the factory should not be allowed to put in any more ponds until the current odour problems had been addressed.

“The smell is so bad sometimes I wish I could sell the place, but I don’t see why I should move,” Mr Stewart said, who has lived at his Winter Rd address for 27 years.

According to the planning application, the company proposes the raw water lagoon will allow operations to continue during winter (May to August), when the Goulburn Murray Water system is shut down.

The wastewater lagoon will handle waste over the winter months, prior to it being

discharged onto a neighbouring farm property. In the long term, the company proposes to create a covered anaerobic lagoon to enable the factory to eliminate odours associated with any spill events.

The odours would be contained under the cover and burnt off through a biogas flare. The company consulted with local people through a meeting with the Girgarre Community Development organisation in February.

The proposed site layout for the lagoons at ACM’s Girgarre factory.

Source: CAF consulting.

Jim Stewart’s property in Winter Rd, Girgarre.

TOP OF THE CLASS

The recent Holstein Australia National Judging School held at Victor Harbour in South Australia, has been deemed a great success. More, PAGE 4

Healthier cows are proven to stay in your herd for longer. And thanks to CowScout heat and health collars, you can act faster than ever before if there are potential health problems.