Dairy News Australia Murray June 2021

JUNE 2021 ISSUE 128

MURRAY REGION

UNIQUE PLAYER A new company buying milk in northern Victoria aims to become a player in the dairy industry. Page 8.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

2 // MURRAY REGION

Good season means plenty of optimism WE HAVE seen some positive seasonal results

this year and subsequently there is plenty of optimism, on-farm investment and forward ­planning occurring — we are looking forward to that trend continuing.

As we move out of COVID-19 restrictions, Murray Dairy has a complete range of services available in animal health, business management, feedbase, nutrition, soil and water, and people.

We encourage you to get in touch to see what is available to help you and your team on-farm.

We recently held our successful Murray Muster event, where more than 100 people took part in the conference and more than 90 people attended the celebration dinner.

The guest speakers provided valuable insight into a range of topics on soils, the changing landscape and growing your business from the ground up.

We also paid tribute to the contributions Jeff Odgers has made to the dairy industry as he ­continues his move to the next phase in his life.

The feedback we received from participants was positive and we are already planning for next year’s event.

Also, the results are in from Murray Dairy’s Grain Sorghum Comparison Trials and we encourage you to keep an eye out for more on that soon, along with developments in our new project Fodder for the Future.

Murray Dairy is also looking to fill positions on the board including a specialist skills ­(service provider) position and a farmer position this year, with the expiration of terms for farmer member Tony McCarthy and service provider member Chris Thomas.

This a fantastic opportunity for farmers and other members of the community with the right

expertise to help continue the great work of the board and see the Murray Dairy region continue to move forward strongly.

If you would like more information about our board positions we encourage you to email us at: admin@murraydairy.com.au And finally, with the end to the financial year upon us, now is a great time to be thinking about your on-farm financials and preparing for the new financial year.

Murray Dairy has a suite of farm business management programs available to assist you in both short and long term financial planning, including online and group offerings. If you want to know, more get in touch via our website or email: admin@murraydairy.com.au X Andrew Tyler Murray Dairy chair

Chair’s message

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

MURRAY REGION // 3

Dairy workforce dilemma DANEKA HILL

DAIRY FARMERS from Pyramid Hill to Nathalia

gathered to talk about migrants recently.

The reason for the gathering was summed up best by Yarrawalla farmer Don Stewart.

“You are only as strong as your weakest link.

A few years ago it was lack of water, now it is lack of staff,” he said.

The Stewarts currently employ six workers, but Don and his wife Meg estimate their operation needs up to 12 full-time staff.

Sitting around a campfire on Peter and Susan Wearden’s Kyabram dairy farm, the attendees got to ask limitless questions of Global Skilled Employment Services director Fadi Malek and Picola dairy farmers Paul and Robyn Lindsay from Lindale Pastoral.

Murray Dairy chair Andrew Tyler was also there, and said the labour shortage was a big concern.

“Backpackers to a degree have paved over the major skill shortage, so the closure of the borders has now made it apparent the ag workforce is in the middle of a major, long-term issue,” Mr Tyler said.

He said the issue stemmed from the city-country divide and a perception among Australians that farm work was hard and underpaid. “(The skill shortage) is impacting farmers’ ­attitudes towards continuing in the industry because people can’t do it on their own anymore.”

The dire situation has led many farmers to one source they likely never imagined turning to 30 years ago — overseas migrants.

Paul and Robyn Lindsay milk cows across two dairy farms.

As their herd size increased job applications started drying up, and they were driven to hiring internationally.

The Lindsays have worked with Global Skilled Employment Services for years and own numerous properties in Picola to house their workers.

“They arrive with a suitcase and that’s it, people need to realise when they make the leap and hire these people they need to provide a furnished home with everything from a kettle to leasing them a car,” Mr Lindsay said.

“We’re not against hiring Aussies, but these fellas are very easy for us. We can be in bed and know the job is getting done.”

Fonterra managing director Rene Dedoncker visited Moama on May 19 and said staff shortages

were also hitting the company’s factories.

“I think a lot about staff shortages we’ve all got,” he said.

“Whether it’s on farm or in our factory at Stanhope — I’ve got vacancies now I can’t fill, and I know that there are farms out there that are looking for support and can’t get the right kinds of links.

“That’s not going to change overnight … we need to use the time we’ve got now, the peacetime if you like, to make sure that we’re investing for that future (to secure the workforce).”

Mr Malek said Global Skilled Employment Services handled 100 to 180 workers each year.

“The majority of our workers come with a Bachelor of Ag Science … we also screen them before presenting their file to you so you know they qualify for a visa,” he said.

“The majority of our workers are from the Philippines. They have a different mentality, they leave high school and get their bachelors because they want to work on a dairy farm or in a piggery. So for them this is the career they want.”

Mr Malek said currently the business was waiting a week for the nomination to be approved and a month for the visa to pass.

“The real delay right now is booking the flights. From New Zealand it is not as much of an issue but from the Philippines, yes it is hard,” he said.

“Overall give it 10 to 14 weeks from the start of the process to them landing here.”

Costs are numerous when dealing with ­immigration — a four-year visa costs an employer $4800 on top of nomination costs in the range of $500.

Using immigration companies also attracts a commission.

For Global Skilled Employment Services the commission is 8.5 per cent of the annual salary stated on the worker’s contract. This commission only needs to be paid once.

“In the first six months if you aren’t happy with the worker, we will replace them with no extra charge … also we remain in contact with the worker to help them settle,” Mr Malek said.

Many farmers are finding success with migrant workers who come with relevant skills, are committed to staying on the farm, ask for more hours and don’t attract superannuation on their overtime.

Global Skilled Employment Services director Fadi Malek broke down the immigration process and costs for farmers.

Picola dairy farmers Robyn and Paul Lindsay shared their struggles finding workers at a recent event in Kyabram.

FROM THE FARMER’S MOUTH Don and Meg Stewart, Yarrawalla.

“We’ve been short staffed for a long time.

We’ve got six workers at the moment but in reality we need more like 12 to run the farm.

“We have two migrant workers coming, and they’re our first overseas workers.

Something had to give and it was either hire them or scale back the business.”

Joe and Susan Prior, Kyabram.

“We are struggling to find someone willing to do just a weekend.

“We’ve been discussing with people today and we’re now thinking about putting a notice up at the local school because I know the office lady in there.

“I don’t think people at school realise how much money they can earn doing it.

It’s not that hard of a job in our smaller dairy. I am only milking 120 at the moment which takes about an hour but you will get paid for three hours work.

“Three hours is the minimum time you have to pay a milker.

“I know a lot of people who have kids working at the supermarkets and they say the family wants to go away for the weekend but the kid can’t get out of the roster. So long as we get a bit of notice, we’re pretty flexible.

“I reckon the only sales pitch that would actually work is our last worker, when she turned 18, she bought a brand new LandCruiser and paid for it in cash. Got her licence and bought the exact car she wanted.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

4 // MURRAY REGION

Happy to give dairying a go SOPHIE BALDWIN

SLADE HALL has hit the ground running after

The 16-a-side swing-over dairy caters for the 220-head milking herd now, but may be too small if numbers expand.

Slade Hall and partner Maddie Kane are enjoying their new lives as dairy farmers.

buying his first dairy farm last year.

Along with his partner Maddie Kane, they milk 220 mixed breed cows on what was a former organic farm near Cohuna in northern Victoria.

Despite neither of them having a direct dairy background, they have taken to the industry and are enjoying the many challenges coming their way.

“I have done a lot in my life from working in a feedlot to driving road trains, carting stock and hay, but I never really had any plans of buying a dairy farm,” Slade laughed.

Initially Slade was going to set up a beef feedlot, but the cost of grain at the time was prohibitive and considering the farm he bought had a functioning dairy, he decided to purchase some cows and start milking.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing and the couple has faced a few challenges along the way, including a batch of dodgy grain that killed a couple of cows and made 120 sick.

They were able to treat the majority of the milking herd and the damage was minimised, however, it wasn’t a cheap process and it was stressful.

“Lucky a lot of the milking herd were dry at the time or we really would have been in trouble.

Our vet was really helpful and has continued to be a great source of information for us,” Slade said.

While the couple shares the workload, Maddie is in charge of the book work and herd recording and it has been a pretty big job making sure every animal has its own identification, including a name.

“Every second cow is now a pet of Maddie’s,” Slade said.

They both milk and rear the calves and they have the help of an employee a couple of days a week who milks and does odd jobs to take the pressure off.

The herd was purchased from a few different places and includes Friesians, crossbreeds and a few Jerseys, Brown Swiss, Montbeliarde and Slade’s favourite, Aussie Reds.

“I was lucky I was able to buy my herd for a pretty reasonable price compared to what they are selling for now and I hope to end up with some more Aussie Reds — they are a great hardy cow and perform well in our herd and have great fertility.” ”The cows are milked in a 16-a-side swingover dairy, which Slade predicts will be a bit small if they expand herd numbers in the future.

“The dairy had a renovation a few years ago and it works well for our herd size at the moment,” he said.

“If we expand numbers I can see we will have to do some extensions in the future but we will worry about that when the time comes.”

“The use of good bulls — including Friesian, Aussie Red, Speckle Park and Santa Gertrudis — has suited the couple’s management for the time being.

“I have always bought good quality bulls and over our last joining we had six cows not in calf out of 130,” Slade said.

“This year the cows will calve all year round, but we will tighten that up in the future.”

“They keep all their calves, including the bulls, which are reared on a separate property as an additional form of income.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

MURRAY REGION // 5 The biggest problem Slade and Maddie have faced to date is getting on top of the weed burden after a few years of neglect, and they expect that process to continue for the next couple of years.

“Everything here on the home farm is grazed so it has been a priority to get on top of the burrs and weeds,” Slade said.

Growing annuals including oats and barley, and sorghum and millet over summer, has been their focus so far and they are hoping to plant some lucerne down the track.

Slade’s father also grows silage, which has been fed to the cows.

The couple bought the farm without permanent water and rely on the temporary market.

So far the water price has been kind and hasn’t been an issue.

The recent purchase of an adjoining block across the road has increased the total farm footprint to about 405 hectares.

The new block will be used to grow crops and run the dry cows.

“If we ever wanted to sell down the track we have a fairly big chunk of land now, which could be suitable for cropping or some other enterprise,” Slade said.

However, Slade firmly believes there is a strong future for the Australian dairy industry — especially after so many people have left over the past few years.

“I was able to buy my cows for a pretty reasonable price compared to what they are selling for now and I am happy with my choice to become a dairy farmer.

“I am enjoying the challenge and the monthly milk cheque and I can’t wait to see what the next few years bring.”

The property is a former organic farm near Cohuna.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

6 // MURRAY REGION

Fonterra wants more local milk for Stanhope FONTERRA’S STANHOPE factory has more

than 15,000 tonnes of untapped capacity, with Fonterra managing director Rene Dedoncker turning his focus to sourcing more local milk for the factory.

Speaking in Moama on Wednesday, Mr Dedoncker said despite the excess capacity, the factory was “cash positive” in its third year since its expansion.

“This year, this season we’re running about 40,000 tonnes of cheese through steel,” he said.

“There’s about another 25,000 tonnes of other production … so it’s about 65,000 tonnes in total.

“And the view was you could never be cash positive in a factory like that, that’s actually going to do 80. Well, I can tell everyone they’re wrong.”

Mr Dedoncker said the company had “cracked the code” and brought together the right shift patterns and the right amount of milk to deliver a positive financial result.

And as a result is being more selective with what is produced at the factory.

Yet, he conceded the company still needed to move milk to the factory to keep production on track, a practice he’d like to see end.

“Sometimes we do need to move milk through our network, and move it from other regions to the north, which is not cheap.

“But to be able to do all of that, and have a facility that is cash positive — it’s quite remarkable.

“The good thing is we do have head room, but I don’t want milk for milk’s sake. I don’t want just any cheese opportunity going through Stanhope either.”

Mr Dedoncker said he hoped an early price announcement would deliver certainty to suppliers, which will ultimately see supply to the factory lift, meaning less milk brought in from across the state.

“The big focus is more milk, locally, if we can; if I can stop moving as much milk but be even more profitable, and that’s even more shared.

“But like I said, if we need to move we can work out how to do that. The idea is that every year we move just a little bit less.”

In 2018 it was announced the Stanhope factory would double in size as part of a $165 million expansion.

The investment in a new cheese plant and aligned facilities saw cheese production increase by a further 35,000 tonnes at the site for a range of cheeses including cheddar and mozzarella.

Fonterra is hoping recent incentives will get more local milk flowing through the Stanhope factory.

BOARD NEEDS NEW MEMBERS Two positions are currently available on the Murray Dairy board.

Members of the board have the opportunity to provide their expertise and knowledge to ensure dairy investments meet the needs of the dairy industry in our region.

Murray Dairy is looking to fill a specialist skills (service provider) position and a farmer position this year, with the expiration of terms for farmer member Tony McCarthy and service provider member Chris Thomas.

The new appointments will start their board duties in October.

“This a fantastic opportunity for farmers and other members of the community with the right expertise to help continue the great work of the board and see the Murray Dairy region

continue to move forward strongly,” Murray Dairy board chair Andrew Tyler said.

“We are looking for people who can help lead the region into the future and we encourage anybody who thinks they may fit this need to apply.

“We also acknowledge the dedication of both Tony and Chris who have provided such a valuable contribution to the Murray Dairy board and industry in this region over many years.”

For more information, refer to the position description and selection criteria on the Murray Dairy website www. murraydairy.com.au or by emailing the Murray Dairy Office at admin@murraydairy. com.au Closing date for applications is 5 pm on Monday, July 12.

Murray Dairy chair and Tongala dairy farmer Andrew Tyler is encouraging people to apply for two positions on the organisation’s board.

Planning for future success DAIRY AUSTRALIA continues to equip dairy

farmers to plan for their futures with the farm performance initiative ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’.

Designed to help farmers identify longterm goals, improve business performance and manage volatility, ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ was developed by Dairy Australia, with support from Gardiner Dairy Foundation and DairyNZ. ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ uses a simple ‘now, where, how, review’ planning process and provides one-on-one support for farmers over two

years to assist them to put their plan in place and into action.

By involving all key decision makers in a farm business, ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ is designed to equip farmers to prioritise where they will put their effort, clarify their long-term business and personal goals, identify actions needed to achieve goals, and to better manage uncertainty and risk.

“Long-term goal setting and business planning have never been more important for Australia’s dairy farmers,” Dairy Australia’s farm performance lead Neil Webster said.

“Everyone has plans in their head — getting them down on a page means they’re understood and owned by the key people in a farm business.

“In most cases this is a couple, but might include other family members or business partners.

“The process helps everyone in the team to be on the same page with a clear plan that can be shared, communicated and measured.

“We hope all farms will give it a go.”

To increase uptake of ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’, Dairy Australia has launched a campaign to raise

awareness of the program across the country.

With the tagline ‘Have you got your game plan?’ farmers are urged to enrol in the program.

The campaign will run across larger agricultural print publications, online advertising and social media.

For more information on ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ and how to get started, go to dairyaustralia.com.au/ofop or contact Murray Dairy’s Lachlan Barnes on 0438 092 352 or at lachlanb@ murraydairy.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

MURRAY REGION // 7

Holstein heifer sells for $21,000 AN “OUTSTANDING” line-up of dairy cattle

has seen the Sprunt family from Kaarimba achieve a top price of $21,000 at the family’s on-farm auction.

Auctioneer Brian Leslie said there was ­“tremendous” demand for top end lots, helping deliver an average price of $4458.

Dubbed the “once in a decade” sale, buyers from all over Victoria attended the sale online and in person.

Nine-month-old heifer Kaarmona Nacash Destiny 19 attracted a flurry of bids to ultimately fetch top price.

Kaarmona owner Rohan Sprunt said they’d never had a heifer with so many credentials, and said their herd is something they’re “really proud of”.

A descendant of Markwell Blackstar Raven, Destiny 19 recorded a BPI of 469 in the April 2021 Australian Breeding Values release.

Second highest price was for Kaarmona Slamdunk Destiny 6-ET, the dam of the number

three domestic sire in the Holstein breed.

The cow, who has two sons in the top five genomic sires in the country, was purchased for $15,000.

Mr Leslie said the cow was “very well bought”.

Closely followed behind was a cow from the Kaarmona Kingdoc Amaretty family that sold for $13,700.

Mr Leslie said the Sprunts offered their very best for the day.

“It was an outstanding line-up cows,” he said.

“Lots of bidding online came in from all over the place, with buyers from most parts of Victoria.

“The cattle looked tremendously well, in great condition. The line-up of heifers was very true to type. I’m sure they’ll all go away and do a ­terrific job for their new owners.”

The April ABV release saw the Sprunts’ herd named in the top 10 Holstein herds in the nation.

They also achieved fifth place in both the HWI and BPI indexes for Jersey herds.

Owner Rohan Sprunt said he is very proud of his herd.

Nine-month-old heifer Kaarmona Nacash Destiny 19 attracted a flurry of bids to fetch a top price of $21,000.

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Second highest price was for Kaarmona Slamdunk Destiny 6-ET who was sold for $15,000.

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Buyers from across the state attended online and in person. The sale averaged $4458.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

8 // MURRAY REGION

New dairy company in GV GEOFF ADAMS

A NEW company buying milk in northern

Victoria aims to become a unique and niche player in the dairy industry.

GV Milk has 13 suppliers and about 50 million litres under management after 12 months in operation.

Although it’s not the first company to buy and on-sell to processors, its founder Mark Ryan wants to build a company that sets it apart from others.

He wants to create a business that forms long-term relationships with processors, extends ­support services to its suppliers and enhances the public perception of the industry.

“We think it’s unique in Australia; we ­certainly haven’t heard of anyone else doing it this way,” Mr Ryan said.

The support services the company intends to provide include milk quality, nutrition, hay and silage making, irrigation and water efficiency, calf rearing, farm safety and business decision making.

The company has a mental health professional with a business background on call and is negotiating for the provision of veterinary services.

To be successful, supply companies have to be able to successfully negotiate with processors,

and Mr Ryan said he had already had conversations with the major companies and a range of smaller processors and they have been supplying companies under a deal.

He said the companies were chiefly interested in quality, volume and security of supply.

“We’ve been talking to them about next year’s contracts and we’ve had a positive response.

I think they understand we’re different and not just brokers.”

Asked about what the company was paying, Mr Ryan declined to disclose the exact price but said it was competitive with the market.

“It’s not all about getting the most money in just one season, but it’s about sustainability for both parties in the long term.”

The company has had a humble start, being managed from Mr Ryan’s Harston home without a full-time staff member and with advice from Echuca-based business consultant and nutritionist Dan Hoch.

“Our goal is to keep processors and farmers happy and in doing that to grow organically,” Mr Ryan said.

Mr Ryan has been dairying for about 25 years, during which time he shifted the business emphasis to livestock, but in the past eight years moved back to largely dairying with a herd of about 300 cows.

GV Milk national sales manager Dan Hoch (left) with chief executive officer Mark Ryan.

About three years ago he joined a supplier group which encouraged him to think about how processors and suppliers could work together.

“I think suppliers and processors have been growing apart in recent years, due to a range of factors.

“We should be talking together about how we can make the industry better.

“I’m pretty positive about the dairy industry but I think we can achieve more if we work together.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

MURRAY REGION // 9

Murray Muster digs deep GEOFF ADAMS

DAIRY FARMERS dug deeper at the annual

Murray Dairy Murray Muster conference at Moama on Wednesday, May 26.

The theme was around soil health, so the sessions kicked off with scientists who laid the foundation for the rest of the day.

The theory was supplemented by real-life experience of farmers like Grant Sims from Pine Grove, who has been applying environmentally advanced principles on his property.

The long tentacles of the Melbourne COVID19 outbreak touched the conference, as one of the guest speakers, a scientist, had attended the Collingwood-Port Adelaide game at the MCG on the previous Sunday, which was attended by an infected person.

Andy McAllister from Agriculture Victoria told the conference via a broadcast from his computer, that he could not attend the Moama conference after getting advice.

Mr McAllister gave the conference an overview of the changing landscape for dairying in northern Victoria, describing how water use and the number of dairy farm operations had decreased in recent years.

The Zoom broadcast included information and mapping slides and at the conclusion Mr McAllister was able to take questions on the screen.

Susan Wearden from Kyabram, Michael Acocks from Rochester and Sue Milne from processor ACM at the Moama conference.

One of the goals of the Sims farm at Pine Grove, illustrated on a slide at the Moama conference.

Dairy Australia’s Karen Romano talks with Lockington farmer and Murray Dairy board member Dustin Kemp at the Moama conference.

Scientist Andy McAllister speaks to the conference via a Zoom broadcast.

ACID SOILS CREATE PROBLEMS The Murray Muster conference was warned about the impact of low pH levels on agricultural production across northern Victoria.

Scientist Cassandra Schefe gave a presentation on optimising soil health in line with the day’s theme of ‘Digging Deeper’, focusing on better soil performance to drive enterprise success.

Dr Schefe’s research has found soil pH is a key parameter driving the soil’s ability to increase soil carbon, with low pH soils having reduced microbial activity and organic matter turnover.

She said most of northern Victoria was subject to acid soils.

Key soil chemistry constraints were soil pH, fertility or nutrition and organic matter.

Dr Schefe said agricultural production resulted in the export of nutrients from a paddock and these had to be replaced.

“For example in hay production, if we pull off one tonne of lucerne hay from a paddock, we need to replace that with about 60 kg of lime.

“When you start adding it up, it’s not a small issue.”

As well as lime application rates often being inadequate, there were issues with incorporation of the lime into the soil. The lime was frequently broadcast and had to be water soluble.

“It’s broadcast, may hit the surface and react there and not move,” Dr Schefe said.

Deeper soils may not get the benefit of the applied lime, and this may not show up unless good sampling techniques were used.

“We have been broadcasting at low rates and speeding up the rate of acidification,” she said.

At the Murray Muster were (from left) Jane Heyneman from Riverlea, Corowa; Veonica McLeod from Reids Stockfeeds, Echuca; and Caroline Purcell from Riverlea, Corowa.

About 150 people attended the Murray Dairy Murray Muster conference at Moama.

At the Murray Dairy conference at Moama on Wednesday were (from left) Tom Acocks from Rochester, Rachel Napier from Deniliquin and Tony McCarthy from Tatura.

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Dr Cassandra Schefe talks about the acidification of soils in northern Victoria at the Moama conference.

“We really need to target a higher pH value to ensure we have enough lime in the system.”

She urged farmers not to “fairy dust” their paddocks with light lime applications.

“While the cost of lime is not cheap, the opportunity cost of not buying it and not maintaining the pH value is worse.”

Dr Schefe urged the conference to incorporate with care and be aware of the best testing techniques.

“If you have a fixed budget for lime application, try increasing the rate on a smaller area and do it properly and then next year move onto another area.”

She suggested some of the fertiliser budget could be shifted across to lime application, as a better pH-balanced soil would be able to respond better to fertiliser application.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

10 // MURRAY REGION

How healthy is your business?

MURRAY DAIRY, as part of Dairy Australia,

has launched an online self-assessment tool that helps dairy farmers evaluate their farm business performance.

The new Farm Fitness Checklist is part of Dairy Australia’s flagship farm business management initiative ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’, which uses a simple ‘now, where, how’ planning cycle to assist dairy farms to identify and achieve long-term goals.

It also adds to the range of resources already available through its farm performance analysis platform DairyBase.

Since its launch in 2015, DairyBase has gained 2500 users and generated more than 12,000 data sets, providing Australian dairy farmers with a unique opportunity to analyse and benchmark their farm performance by region and farm type.

A new DairyBase budgeting feature enables farmers to estimate annual operating cash surplus using milk income, fodder and water costs, and livestock numbers “Our online Farm Fitness Checklist is a new tool for farmers to assess themselves where they are at now and to identify opportunities for improvement,” Dairy Australia’s farm performance lead Neil Webster said.

“It is designed to be used on any device, including mobile phones, and provides a great way get started on the ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ journey any time, anywhere.”

The checklist prompts thinking and discussion about all aspects of the dairy farm business, including the people involved.

“It automatically saves all your answers in one spot and allows you to share the results with the right people like your partner, farm team or trusted adviser.

“Support is available from our regional teams, online or farmers can contact us on 1800 548 073.”

Dairy Australia managing director David Nation said action to build farm business skills and improve profitability was a key commitment of the Australian Dairy Plan.

“Our aim is for all dairy farms to have a long term business plan in place within the next five years. ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ provides a straightforward process for farms to identify and document long-term goals, as well as better manage risk,” Dr Nation said.

“It includes a one-on-one follow up for farmers participating in the program over 24 months to support them to embed and implement their plans.”

Business Planning As we come to the end of the financial year and get accounts in order, it is a great �me to assess your business’s performance by using Dairy base.

Plan the year ahead with various milk price, water price and herd size scenarios using the Murray Dairy Business Tool.

Learn more about reviewing and planning business performance with a an Our Farm, Our Plan or Dairy Farm Business Fundamentals.

For more informa�on contact: Lachlan Barnes lachlanb@murraydairy.com.au 0438 092 352

Dairy farmer and Dairy Australia director Tania Luckin said the new farm business management tools could make a big difference to farm profitability alongside achieving lifestyle objectives.

“The ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ goal planning process helps to distil what farm businesses are trying to achieve and over what period of time, so farmers are in control of the direction of the business as well as the

things they would like to achieve off the farm,” she said.

“If our goals are a destination, then the plan on a page we create in ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ is the roadmap that will help us to get there.”Information on the Farm Fitness Checklist and ‘Our Farm, Our Plan’ is available via: www.dairyaustralia.com.au/OFOP For more information about Dairy Base, visit: www.dairyaustralia.com.au/dairybase

Murray Dairy, as part of Dairy Australia, has launched an online self-assessment tool, Farm Fitness Checklist, that helps dairy farmers evaluate their farm business performance.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2021

MURRAY REGION // 11

Stanhope factory turns 100 DANEKA HILL

NOTHING REALLY says “you’ve made it” like

reaching triple-digits and joking about letters from the Queen — and it’s no different for the Stanhope dairy factory.

In July the site will herald in 100 years of operation, and current owner Fonterra is keen to capture the moment in history.

On May 26, a roundtable of retired workers and long-time Stanhope stalwarts gathered to review mystery photos unearthed by Fonterra.

Most of the faces lost in time were named immediately by the group — cheese supplier John Murphy was one, while young Harry Jensen who always visited with a question right when breakfast was being served was another.

The aim was to harness their collective memories (which add up to nearly 430 years) and pin down what happened and when in the leadup to a big historical display at the 100-year celebration.

The group recalled a worker who drove a red Mercedes with three dogs in the back, when residents could buy petrol and supplies from the factory store, and when their employer used to send them home with a bottle of milk, a pound of cream and cheese.

Fonterra operations manager Steve Taylor said the company wanted to celebrate the centenary by highlighting how well the factory had thrived throughout decades of dairy downturns and multiple recessions.

“The Stanhope factory will never move,” Mr Taylor said.

“The cheesemaking knowledge in town is too valuable, it’s why Fonterra has committed to this site … the only thing which could shut this factory down is if we lose the dairy farmers.”

Fonterra will continue on its fact-finding mission until July 25, when the Stanhope Community Hall hosts a historic display, lunch for former and current workers and a plaque unveiling ceremony.

The brains trust gathered to verify historical details and help name people in pictures from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. The group was organised by Ian Coote, who agreed to do it after mishearing Mr Taylor over the phone. "I was driving, I couldn't hear much so I just agreed ... two weeks later he called up asking me how many people I had. I joked and said 50."

A mystery photo yet to be solved - what were these managers announcing at their press stand up? Some say the Cheesemaker II, others say expansions to a factory building.

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