Dairy News Australia Gippsland Region - June 2024

GIPPSLAND REGION

Bega Cobram Cohuna

Chair’s message

No time to slow down

BY SARAH O'BRIEN

SOURCING FIREWOOD might be an extra job on your to-do list at the moment, it certainly is on our farm.

Autumn is definitely here, evident in the ryegrass taking off in the paddock and the cold mornings at the dairy.

Last week GippsDairy hosted board members of Dairy Australia and our managing director David Nation. Directors James Mann, Alan Bell, Paul Roderick and Paul Bennett were eager to meet and talk with farmers in our region.

Thank you to each of our gracious farm hosts willing to open your gates to host us and other farmers in your neighbourhood.

Our travels took us to farms in Jindivick, Poowong, Inverloch, Nambrok, Foster and Leongatha North. It was a great opportunity to see the beautiful rolling hills of Gippsland.

Thank you to each farmer that attended and shared your honest thoughts and feedback — we value your contributions. In every conversation I heard the dedication and passion our Gippsland farmers have for dairy.

It was wonderful to hear of a particular couple succession planning with their family. They said the arrangement was probably a bit clunky and nothing formalised, but it is what it is, and it works for all of them.

They have continued to build on their parents’ breeding objectives, with some

outstanding results, and strategically set the farm up in a way that currently works, while keeping all possible opportunities and risks in mind to cater for what the future may bring.

They both spoke highly of the value in surrounding themselves with people and service providers that embed their advice in industry-developed research.

As sharefarmers ourselves, it was a great reminder that every arrangement needs to work for everyone in the business, and every business has different triggers and levers that need to be considered.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all arrangement — sometimes it does feel clunky, but good open communication between everyone is a game-changer.

It was a great day out at the recent Ellinbank SmartFarm Open Day. There is plenty of valuable research happening on-farm supported by Agriculture Victoria, the Gardiner Foundation and Dairy Australia.

It was wonderful to hear on the day from our local scientists and then have the science adapted into local Gippsland farming operations. The on-farm results were impressive and backed by research that your levy has contributed to.

We’re fortunate to have such a great resource in Gippsland. Topics covered on the day included a resilient forage project with Grant Williams happily sharing his journey, a First 100 Days project, a Smart Feeding project Stuart McCrae has trialled, and Climate

Preparedness with Graham Nicoll.

To find out more about what was covered on the day please connect with Cindy Morrison at cindy.morrison@dairyaustralia.com.au or view information from the day at https://dairyfeedbase.com.au/ dairy-innovation-open-day/

The next few weeks seems like a slower time of the year on-farm, but there is a lot happening with drying off cows, insemination programs for autumn calving and feeding out conserved fodder.

Together with winding up the financial year and developing budgets for next year, it is in fact a busy time of year.

I hope you’ve had the autumn break you’ve needed and are ready to set your business up for a successful calving and season ahead.

I also hope you manage to prioritise amongst everything else a well-deserved break, however that may look.

– Sarah O’Brien is the GippsDairy chair.

Milking it for a quality day

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

COMBAT MILK FEVER

THE ANNUAL barista day hosted by Gippsland Jersey was held on a dairy farm at Jindivick this year on May 6.

The cows were milked and washed down before a horde of baristas, chefs, sous chefs, roasters, cheesemakers, dairy farmers, café and restaurant owners, and other people, descended on the farm of Steve and Bec Ronalds.

Steve is one of the founders of Gippsland Jersey.

The aim of the day was to learn about Jersey milk, with its high fat content, and the benefits of using it in coffee and food.

“The coffee beans are only half the story of coffee,” Steve said.

“Today is for learning about the other half of the story — milk, particularly Jersey milk.”

The day began with a welcome over coffee and scones with jam and cream, then went on to meet and greet with a herd of Jersey cows, hearing dairy farmers’ stories and the story of Gippsland Jersey.

Baristas participated in milking cows by hand and coffee making competitions, a gumboot throwing contest, before a shared lunch.

For more stories and pictures from the barista day, go to page 8 of the Gippsland section and page 16 of the National section in this month’s Dairy News Australia, as well as online at: https://www. dairynewsaustralia.com.au/

ow health natural systems to elevate during transition sting grown pasture, hay and silage

Stewart, Angus Gibbs, Laura Ferguson and Kate Harvey are baristas and coffee roasters working at Blume Coffee, Abbotsford. Angus said they used Gippsland Jersey milk and closed the café for the day to attend the on-farm event.

Gippsland Jersey milk in milkshakes were Antonious Saad, who owns the Daily Drip, a coffee cart, and sisters, Gabby and Flick Mifsud, owners of The Snappy Grump, at Hampton. Gabby and Flick participated in The Amazing Race two years ago, as The Barista Sisters, and they use TikTok to showcase coffee orders and relatable hospitality jokes.

said The Stokehouse, as a restaurant, was very produce driven, and the team liked to get to know the farmers and producers they buy their food from, and re-tell the provenance stories to their customers.

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

eed used in ate blood

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

• Activates her natural systems to elevate blood calcium during transition

The crew from The Stokehouse, St Kilda Beach — chefs, baristas, cheesemakers, and front of house — attended the barista day. They are (back, from left) Larni Mitchell, Abdul Qudor, Javier Beltran, (front) Matteo Gallo, Josh Lewis, Julia Will with Sallie Jones and Steve Ronalds, co-founders of Gippsland Jersey and hosts of the barista day. Julia Will

Nick

Enjoying

The dairy farmers who spoke about their industry at the on-farm barista day, including Gippsland Jersey suppliers (from left) Gippsland Jersey co-founder Steve Ronalds, Luke Wallace, Travor Stammers, Kevin Le Brocq, Mel Wallace, Brenton Ziero, Gippsland Jersey co-founder Sallie Jones, Mark Wilms and Joe Meggetto.

Jersey Fair judge gets ‘excited’

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

THE 62ND Central Gippsland Jersey Fair in April was contested by 76 cattle, from calves to mature cows, across 26 classes.

The Jersey Fair is organised by a committee representing the Central Gippsland Jersey Breeders Group, and occurs each year at Warragul.

In 2025, the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair will be the first event in the World Jersey Fair, held in Australia.

This year’s judge was Roger Heath from Wanstead Jerseys, Bookar, in Victoria.

“Firstly, it was a very very well organised event,” Roger said.

“The committee they have organising this Jersey Fair is unbelievably good. They do a fantastic job.

“Going into judging the Jersey Fair, I was really excited. This was my first time judging the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair.

“It’s fair that’s always up there in importance in the Jersey world and calendar of events. And it was certainly a privilege to be asked to judge at it.”

Roger said each class had a strong showing of quality cattle, prepared and led well.

“It was a really strong cow show,” he said.

“The quality was up there with the best in the world.

“The people who exhibited at the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair are quite well respected in the Jersey world.

“The fact they showed there, made it a good show.

“There were a lot of good heifers and young cattle there.

“The intermediate classes were very strong.

“In the senior classes, the cows that made it to the top were big-framed dairy cows, with big open frames, good soft textured udders, and have the will to milk.

“The aged cow class was quite spectacular. The first four cows were top notch.

“The cow that finished second in that class was 11 years old with nine calves, and she still looked very good.

“And it was really nice to see the amount of kids there, having a go. It’s really exciting. That’s where the future of our industry is,” Roger said.

The results of the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair were spread among the exhibitors.

Junior Champion was presented to Brookbora Standard Lady 366.

Reserve Junior Champion was presented to Lightning Ridge MB Victorious Tesla IMP-ET.

Honourable Mention Junior Champion went to Heartland Chocochip Princess.

Intermediate Champion Cow was awarded to Brookbora Oliver Sleeping Beauty 3. Reserve Intermediate Champion was presented to Cherrylock Dreaming of Olives.

Honourable mention went to Brookbora Bashful Sweet Elfa-P.

The Vic Wallace Memorial Best Udder trophy was awarded to Brookbora Vanahlem Enchantress.

The Champion Type and Production Cow trophy was awarded to Brookbora Eileen 130.

The Group of Three Bred by the Exhibitor award was presented to Brookbora Jerseys. Runner-up was Philmar Dairy Company. Organising committee coordinator Reece Attenborough said this award was keenly contested every year.

“The Group of Three Bred by one Exhibitor is a class that a lot of people like to win,” Reece said.

“Sometimes an exhibitor will have the champion of the show, but someone else has three strong animals they can exhibit.

“It’s an award that shows depth in your cattle.”

The Senior Champion Cow was awarded to Brookbora Eileen 130.

Reserve Champion Cow was awarded to Brookbora Vanahlem Enchantress.

Honourable mention was awarded to Miami Publican Jingle 5857-P.

The Supreme Champion was awarded to Brookbora Eileen 130.

Premier Exhibitor status was awarded to the Bacon family, of Brookbora Jerseys.

Cattle travelled from across Victoria and NSW to be exhibited at the Jersey Fair.

This year’s Jersey Fair included a focus on how dairy is used in food products.

The Untethered Chef, Matt Wilson, cooked and prepared a range of food utilising the dairy products of other exhibitors — That’s Amore Cheeese, Gippsland Jersey and Bulla Family Dairy.

More stories from the Jersey fair are on pages 6 and 7.

CENTRAL GIPPSLAND JERSEY FAIR RESULTS

Class 1: Dry Heifer born 01/10/2023 or after

1st Tanjil MLF MB Colton Float-ET; 2nd Rockstar AA Joel Jenny; 3rd Ripponlea Askn Bubbles 3540.

Class 2: Dry Heifer born 01/07/2023-30/09/2023

1st Heartland Chocochip Princess; 2nd Emu Banks Broadway Lassie 14248; 3rd Berryvale Russia 5; 4th Kings Ville Canary 105 P.

Class 3: Dry Heifer born 01/04/2023-30/06/2023

1st Brookbora Standard Lady 366; 2nd Kings Ville Marie 89; 3rd Rockstar SWB Joyride Jenny 3.

Class 4: Dry Heifer born 01/01/2023-31/03/2023

1st Impression Victor Olive; 2nd Miami Tequila Cowslip 7542; 3rd Rivendell Gigawatt Progress; 4th Dylander Park Pop Choc Illumination.

Class 5: Dry Heifer born 01/07/2022-31/12/2022

1st Dylander Park Lovely First Class; 2nd Brookbora Love Lies 882; 3rd I-Star Chocolate Fudge; 4th Heartland CC and Sprite.

Class 6: Dry Heifer born 01/01/2022-30/09/2022

1st Lightning Ridge MB Victorious Tesla IMP-ET; 2nd Rockstar Joyride Adelle.

Class 7: Pair of Dry Heifers by the same sire, born on or after 01/01/2022

1st Avonlea Chocochip Chip; 2nd River Valley Joyride.

Class 8: Handlers 10 years and under 1st Austin Ferris; 2nd Jaxon Collins; 3rd Darcy Blizzard; 4th Talia Ferris; 5th Harvey Ross.

Class 9: Handlers 11-14 years

1st Piper McDonald; 2nd Monata Reid; 3rd Maxwell Ross.

Class 10: Handlers 15-21 years

1st Adele Hanks; 2nd Leah Dickson; 3rd Alexis Allen; 4th Chelsea Atkins; 5th Sienna Ross.

Class 11: Heifer in Milk, born on or after 01/01/2022

1st Kings Ville Petunia 147 P; 2nd and Best Udder, Attaview Bashful Inch P.

Class 12: Heifer in Milk, born 01/07/2021-31/12/2021

1st and Best Udder, Brookbora Bashful Sweet Elfa-P; 2nd Froglands Askn Ranunculus; 3rd Wootanga Park Craze Rustic 7598; Stoneleigh Park Froglands Invincible Belle.

Class 13: Heifer in Milk, born 01/01/1021-30/06/2021

1st and Best Udder, Brookbora Love Lies 839; 2nd Miami Watt Waterfern 7304; 3rd Kings Ville Melmiss 64; 4th Element Megapower Ella.

Class 14: Cow in Milk, born 01/07/2020-31/12/2020

1st Brookbora Oliver Sleeping Beauty 3; 2nd Jackiah Victorious Silverbelle 3196; 3rd Sunshine Farm Lovely 322.

Class 15: Cow in Milk, born 01/01/2020-30/06/2020

1st and Best Udder, Cherrylock Dreaming of Olives; 2nd Homelands Sleeping Beauty 6; 3rd Brookbora Golden Glory 197.

Class 16: Cow in Milk, born 2019 1st and Best Udder, Brookbora Eileen 130; 2nd Miami Publican Jingke 5857-P; 3rd Heartland Crazily Gorgeous Girl.

Class 17: Cow in Milk, born 2018 1st Bercar Passport; 2nd Brookbora Vanahlem Flora 3; 3rd Kings Ville Cowslip 132.

Class 18: Cow in Milk, born 2017 or before 1st and Best Udder, Brookbora Vanahlem Enchantress; 2nd Brookbora

3rd

Vanahlem Estelle;

Jackiah Vanahlem Ella 472; 4th Bluechip Galaxies Rory.

Judge Roger Heath of Wanstead Jerseys said he was privileged to judge the classes at the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair. Photo: Fiona Hanks

The Russ Carroll Memorial award for Supreme Champion Exhibit was presented to Brookbora Eileen 130. Photo: Fiona Hanks

The Central Gippsland Jersey Fair coordinating committee (from left) Kerrie Anderson, Rob Anderson, Reece Attenborough, Luke Wallace, Toni Attenborough, Melanie Wallace, Holly Anderson and Simon Reid. Absent: Mitchell Flemming.

Photo: Fiona Hanks

‘Dairyness’ impresses judge

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

IT WAS a successful day out for the Brookbora Jerseys Stud show team at the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair, on April 14.

Brookbora Jerseys took out the overall Premier Exhibitor Award, along with winning the Senior, Intermediate and Junior championship.

The Premier Exhibitor Award was sponsored by World Wide Sires Australia.

Brookbora principal Daniel Bacon said he exhibited 12 Brookbora cattle at the fair.

“We took eight cows and four heifers,” he said.

“We had an incredible result. We didn’t expect a day like that.

“I’m thankful to the show team for their time preparing and showing our cows and heifers.

“We took a bigger team of cattle and people than usual.

“We’re fortunate to have a really good team at home, and fortunate to have some great young people working for us at the shows.

“Some of them travel from interstate to support us.”

Brookbora, at Tennyson in northern Victoria, has been exhibiting at the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair for the past 10 years.

“It’s an incredible show and the people who organise it do an outstanding job.”

Senior Champion Cow was awarded to Brookbora Eileen 130. This award is sponsored by Rabobank.

Brookbora Eileen 130 impressed judge Roger Heath among a tightly contested class.

“There can only be one champion cow,” he said.

“There were six or seven cows at the show I could’ve picked as champions.

“The cows that made it to the top were big framed dairy cows, with big open frames, good soft textured udders and have the will to milk.

“I could’ve picked any one of these cows.”

Brookbora Eileen 130, classified EX91, was seventh in the four-year-old class at International Dairy Week this year.

She was previously exhibited at the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair in 2022 and achieved Intermediate Champion, following her status as Reserve Intermediate Champion at IDW 2022.

“Eileen is a very strong cow, a very correct cow, and has got so much width through her,” Daniel said.

“She’s always been one of my favourite cows.”

Brookbora Vanahlem Enchantress took

home the Reserve Champion status in the Senior Cow class.

Honourable mention went to Miami Publican Jingle 5857-P, owned by Philmar Dairy Company and Miami Jerseys.

Brookbora Vanahlem Enchantress was also awarded the Vic Wallace Memorial Best Udder, sponsored by Wallacedale Jerseys and Alta Genetics Australia.

The Intermediate Champion Cow is Brookbora Oliver Sleeping Beauty 3. This award was sponsored by Lely Center Gippsland.

“She’s one of my favourite young cows, and has a very, very bright future,” Daniel said.

“She won the Junior 2yo class at Gippsland last year, was All-Australian 2yo in 2023 with Jersey Australia.

“That family seems to be going from strength to strength for us.”

Reserve Champion was conferred upon Cherrylock Dreaming of Olives, exhibited by Ben Pedretti from Froglands Jersey.

Honourable mention went to Brookbora Bashful Sweet Elfa-P.

This young cow was second in the Junior 2yo class at IDW 2024 National Jersey Show.

Roger was singularly impressed by Brookbora Oliver Sleeping Beauty 3.

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“This cow just blew my mind when she came out here today,” he said.

“She’s a cow that has so much style and so much dairyness. This cow is going to grow into something special.”

He was also impressed with the line-up in this class.

“They’re top quality cows in every right and deserve their place out here on the arena,” Roger said.

“The cow in reserve has been milking since September and she’s a cow you have to admire because of her strength. This cow is so wide from her hip.”

The Junior Champion Cow was bestowed upon Brookbora Standard Lady 366. This award is sponsored by Leading Edge Genetics.

She also received first in the autumn calf class.

The Reserve Champion Cow is Lightning Ridge MB Victorious Tesla IMP-ET, owned by the McGrath family.

Honourable mention was awarded to Heartland Chocochip Princess, exhibited by Michaela Thompson and Hayden King.

Many of the cows and heifers exhibited at the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair are sired by Vanahlem.

“Vanahlem works for us,” Daniel said.

“Of the eight milkers we exhibited, they were by Vanahlem or their dams were by Vanahlem.

“Which I didn’t realise until we loaded them onto the truck to take to the Jersey Fair.”

The results are on the back of the Bacon family of Brookbora Jerseys recognised as one of the inaugural awardees of Jersey Australia’s Elite Master Breeders Award, late last year.

Most of the cows and heifers exhibited at the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair were for sale at Brookbora Jerseys on May 28.

Nine of the 12 cattle were in the sale. The two aged cows and Eileen 130 weren’t in the sale, but they had daughters in the sale. Brookbora Oliver Sleeping Beauty 3 and Brookbora Standard Lady 366 were for sale.

The on-property and online sale on May 28 commemorated Brookbora Jersey's 60th anniversary, with 45 females from the stud for sale, representing 60 cow families across the herd.

There were 30 additional females on offer, by invitation, from other studs.

Brookbora Jerseys also offered 15 bulls for sale.

The sale was a feature of the Jersey Australia annual general meeting, held this year in northern Victoria and supported by various farm visits.

Team Brookbora Jerseys – Georgia Doull, Malcolm Douglas, Brook Hewett, Kelsi Barclay, Mal Nikora, Chelsea Atkins, Sienna Ross, Anna Dickson, Kieren Coburn, Kaitlyn Wishart, Simon Tognola, Leah Dickson, Daniel Bacon, Michaela Thompson and Hayden King – with the winning cows and heifers they took to the Central Gippsland Jersey Fair.

Photo: Fiona Hanks

Brookbora Vanahlem Enchantress was awarded the Vic Wallace Memorial Best Udder, sponsored by Wallacedale Jerseys and Alta Genetics Australia.

Photo: Fiona Hanks

Youth show o their class

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

YOUTH WERE encouraged to participate, with specific classes for them to enter, at this year’s Central Gippsland Jersey Fair, held at Warragul on April 15.

Ariat sponsored five encouragement awards, that were presented to Holly Anderson from Drouin West, Alexis Allen from Cobargo, Bonnie Ross from Heath Hill, Tana Reid from Trafalgar and Jackson Collins from Kyabram.

“We wanted to place an emphasis on encouraging the youth to show cattle,” Jersey Fair Organising Committee coordinator Reece Attenborough said.

Of the 20 classes on show at the Jersey Fair, some were specific for youth handlers.

“There was a class each for the junior, intermediate and senior age groups,” Reece said.

“Cattle shown in the three Heifer in Milk classes were handled by junior handlers.”

Many young handlers participated in leading in most of the classes.

There were also classes for specific age groups.

Handlers 10 years and under was awarded to Austin Ferris. Handlers 11 to 14 years was awarded to Piper McDonald. Handlers 15 to 21 years was awarded to Abbie Hanks.

Holly Anderson from Drouin West is on the coordinating committee for the Jersey

“At the Jersey Fair, Bonnie was noticed because of her marked enthusiasm, keenness and development during the day.”

Tana Reid from Trafalgar showed cattle at the Jersey Fair and has become well travelled, participating regularly in other shows.

“You can see a fair spark in Tana for what she’s doing,” Reece said.

Jackson Collins from Kyabram, at nineyears-old, was the youngest participant to receive an encouragement award.

Hands-on with trading places

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

A MILKING contest during the barista on-farm day at Jindivick, hosted by Gippsland Jersey, enabled chefs and baristas to team with dairy farmers and learn how to handmilk cows.

Teams of two people contested the milking competition, with dairy farmers showing the technique, to then be copied by their team partner.

Men and women participated.

After each team gained about 30ml of milk in a jug, they were on to the next stage of the contest — dairy farmers making coffees.

Each dairy farmer was coached by a barista in their technique to prepare the milk, pour it and create an artistic froth.

Kayne Allan, a barista from Melbourne with experience judging coffee competitions, judged the technique of each dairy farmer.

Johnny Lau, a microroaster with Point Five-Zero, Wagga, Travis Pearson, the owner of South Brew café in Warragul, and Luke Wallace, a dairy farmer at Poowong North and supplier to Gippsland Jersey, won the milking and coffee making contest.

For more stories and pictures from the barista day, go to page 3 of the Gippsland section and page 16 of the National section in this month’s Dairy News Australia, as well as online at: https://www. dairynewsaustralia.com.au/

Podcasts for Australian dairy farmers

Johnny Lau, a microroaster with Point FiveZero, Wagga, Travis Pearson, owner of South Brew café in Warragul, and Luke Wallace, dairy farmer at Poowong North and supplier to Gippsland Jersey, won the milking and coffee making contest. They flank Gippsland Jersey co-founders Steve Ronalds and Sallie Jones.

Antonious Saad, a barista from Melbourne, learns the hand milking technique.

Gabby Mifsud, a barista who owns The Snappy Grump at Hampton, coaches dairy farmer and Gippsland Jersey supplier Trevor Stammers, in his milk technique during the contest.

Travis Pearson, a barista who owns South Brew café in Warragul, coaches dairy farmer and Gippsland Jersey supplier, Luke Wallace, in how to pour milk.

Some of the baristas and dairy farmers who successfully completed the hand milking contest, with their jugs of milk.