Dairy News Australia - April 2020

Milk recovery

Page 21

Farm Generations Page 11

APRIL, 2020 ISSUE 114 // www.dairynewsaustralia.com.au

TASSIE TURNAROUND The ‘mistake’ that changed a system, see page 14

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 3

Farmers sort realities of restrictions DAIRY FARMERS are wrestling with

Once-a-day milking a useful ‘mistake’. PG.14

Issues shared across the globe. PG.18

Patriot updates. PG.29

NEWS ���������������������������������������������������� 3 – 28 OPINION ������������������������������������������������������� 6 MARKETS ���������������������������������������������������10 ANIMAL HEALTH ��������������������� 24, 27, 28 MACHINERY �������������������������������������29 – 31

unprecedented new staff management restrictions and sorting out new guidelines for farm visits from vets to milk tankers, as the coronavirus threat increases.

Although farms are classified as essential industries because of food production, new regulations are forcing farmers to implement separation between employees and increase hygiene practices to prevent the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile processors are looking for more milk as spot demand increases from panic buying and stockpiling.

The Australian Dairy Industry Council has convened a task force to speak on behalf of the industry and to provide advice to governments.

The group comprises representatives from Australian Dairy Farmer, Australian Dairy Products Federation and Dairy Australia.

As containment measures around Australia continue to escalate, governments have acknowledged that food and agriculture businesses, including dairy and all supply components, are essential services and are implementing measures to keep supply chains operating.

The working group has developed advice on issues including: ■■ how to milk cows while maintaining

social distancing; how to manage staff coming on and off farm; ■■ how to address supply issues that may disrupt operations for farms and factories; ■■ protocols for managing milk collection and ■■ questions consumers may have regarding the safety of dairy operations.

To see the library of resources, visit the industry’s Dairy Industry COVID-19 Directory pages online at www.dairyaustralia.com.au/ about-dairy-australia/about-the-industry/ dairy-industry-covid19-directory The ADIC has also written to all federal and state agriculture and health ministers for their support to ensure dairy operations across Australia remain open during escalating restrictions.

The VFF has welcomed the announcement

by Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes that agriculture is an essential service.

VFF president David Jochinke said the VFF had been working closely with the Victorian Government to ensure that agribusiness could continue to operate.

Victoria produces more than $13 billion of milk, fruit, vegetables, meat, fibre, eggs and grains and support a processed food industry valued at $38 billion, according to recent Victorian Government data.

■■

GETTING ON WITH THE JOB While the Coronavirus outbreak is impacting lives across Australia, dairy farmers are getting on with the job of food production at Katandra West in northern Victoria.

Laurie and Gayle Clark milk about 540 cows on the 250 ha home block, with the assistance of four staff, and supply the independent processor, Riverina Fresh based in Wagga Wagga.

In March the Clarks were concentrating on autumn calving, managing the feeding and care of young calves and introducing new milking cows into the 48-stand rotary dairy. Over-sowing of pasture to ensure there is enough feed in the months ahead is also a priority.

FARM TRAGEDY CLAIMS LIFE Dairy Australia chair Jeff Odgers has temporarily stood down following the tragic death of his son in a farm accident in March.

Mr Odgers’ son, Jonathan, 23, was working on the family property at Mooroopna north, near Shepparton, on Friday, March 20 when a grain silo collapsed on him.

Worksafe is investigating the death.

Mr Odgers has taken temporary leave of absence. Dairy Australia board director James Mann has been appointed acting chair.

Dairy Australia has expressed condolences to Mr Odgers and his wife, Robyn and their family.

James Mann has been involved in the Australian dairy industry for over 25 years and was appointed to the Board

of Dairy Australia in November 2015. He previously served as chair of the DairySA Regional Development Program from 2002 to 2015.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

4 // NEWS

Dennnington factory to re-open FEED COMPANY ProviCo is buying the Fon-

terra's Dennington manufacturing site.

The two companies have signed an agreement to complete the sale by April 22.

Dennington closed down last year, forcing about 70 people out of work.

ProviCo is an Australian-owned animal nutrition company established in 2003.

It is Australia's largest supplier of calf milk replacers, manufacturing a range of feed and vitamin fortified products for animals including cattle, dairy, sheep, horses and pigs.

Fonterra Australia managing director René Dedoncker said the sale is good news for Dennington and its surrounding community.

“Since we announced the factory's closure in May, we've been working with potential buyers to find a commercially viable and sustainable future for the site, and we're pleased to be selling the factory to ProviCo with all of its operational capabilities and assets intact.

“The sale creates a new chapter for the factory, which has been an important part of the Dennington community for more than 100 years,” Mr Dedoncker said.

ProviCo Australia managing director Andrew Paterson said the sale would create new jobs for the Dennington community and provide environmental benefits for the agriculture industry.

“Active in the circular economy, our business

is focused on salvaging raw materials and turning them into animal nutrition products. This helps the food industry minimise their waste costs and ProviCo's products improve farm performance and health of animals and soils.

“We'll be employing local people and will work with local training institutions to provide on-thejob skills training to create further employment opportunities for the community.

“As well as creating local jobs, we're committed to sustainability and sustainable initiatives are a big part of our plans."

Mr Paterson said the Dennington site would be a hub for sustainability programs around renewable energy and sustainable farming products.

ProviCo will use the site to manufacture a range of animal nutrition foods that deliver health and performance benefits for infant and production animals. As part of the sale agreement, ProviCo will also take over the responsibility of the Dennington memorabilia hall and its content.

The Dennington church and its hall are not included in the sale.

Fonterra is in discussions with the Warrnambool Council on the future of the church and its hall and hopes to have an outcome soon.

A2 reports strong growth THE A2 Milk Company has experienced growth

in the Australian fresh milk market of 11.3 per cent, according to its recently released half-year interim report.

Liquid milk sales in Australia and the United States totalled NZ$104 million, up 28.7 per cent, with Australian sales accounting for $74.7 million.

Strong performance in the key product segments of infant nutrition and liquid milk, and across core markets, has seen the company make substantial gains in revenue and earnings, with infant formula up 33.1 per cent for the same period last year and growth into Chinese-labelled infant-nutrition products increasing 100 per cent to NZ$146.7 million.

Improved price yields and a shift to infant formula has seen gross margins increase to 57.2 per cent, resulting in a closing cash position of NZ$618.4 million.

Looking to the future, the company will continue to work with Fonterra on development of milk pools within Australia and New Zealand in an effort to build capacity and support future growth.

The company is also anticipating continued strong revenue growth in 2020 across all key regions, supported by increased marketing investment in China and the US. Globally the potential impact to supply chains and consumer demand in China surrounding the coronavirus will continue to be monitored, with the company unable to quantify any impact, either positive or negative, for the full financial year.

The company has donated $480 000 each to the University of Queensland School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity — a joint venture between University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital — to assist in the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus.

The money will support research teams that are playing a leading role in the international effort to develop a vaccine.

The a2 Milk Company managing director Geoffrey Babidge said the company was pleased to be able to help.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 5 Inputs

Production downturn recovers

Fertiliser

Hay and grain prices

Australian dairy regions

%

%

Urea

DAP

MOP

215 US$/t ↓ -17% LY ↓ -7% 5Y

265 US$/t ↓ -31% LY ↓ -19% 5Y

245 US$/t ↑ +14% LY ↑ +3% 5Y

(granular Black Sea)

(US Gulf)

(granular Vancouver)

1

South-west WA

$324

-

0

$355 ↑

+14

2

Central districts SA

$304 ↓

-14

$320 ↓

-4

3

South-east SA

$324

↓

-14

$305

↑

+4

4 South-west Victoria

$336

↓

-15

$308

↑

+4

Price is January 2020 average, compared to the 2019 January average (LY) and 5-year (5Y) January average.

5

Goulburn/Murray Valley

$351

↓

-12

$323 ↓

-8

Source: World Bank

6

Gippsland*

$346

↓

-23

$267 ↓

-13

↓

↑

-4 $300 +94 $451due to effective quickly co-operation between have been arrested in the latest national figures authorities, milk and industry ↑ bodies.

-7 $475 +6 8 Bega Valley $421 ↓ processors available to Dairy Australia.

Globally, milk production remains subdued in ↑ Europe Rainfall in 9 manyCentral regions offsetted the impact key$385 regions ↑ including United States, +7the $470 +8 west NSW of dry conditions and are helping to check higher and New Zealand. Dairy demand continues to ↑ dairy ↑ grew +4 import $492volumes +154.1 10 North coast NSW March grow $445 feed costs, according to Dairy Australia’s and global per cent over the past 12 months.

Situation and Outlook. ↑ +2 $495 ↓ -1 11 Darling Downs $449 After a difficult start to the 2019–20 season Australian domestic demand for dairy for many farmers, falling milkTablelands production has remains * - with ↑ for $455 robust 0 growth $388reported +11all 12 Atherton moderated to a decline of just 3.7 per cent to dairy categories in retail and higher average date. unit prices.

Shedded cereal hay: mid-range product without Volumes in both December and January Dairy Australia research suggests this growth weather damage, of good quality and colour exceeded expectations, with December seeing is supported by consumer trust in the industry strengthening from 68 per in cent to 70 per cent, the first year on year increase in milk producThe relevant stockfeed wheat available a region tion in 18 months. and trust in dairy foods and products as healthy (ASW, AGP, SFW1 or FED1) Dairy Australia industry insights and analysis and wholesome growing from 81 per cent to 84 aresaid estimates in $/tonne February 2020. cent over the past year.Compared to manager JohnPrices Droppert many farmers had per at date February been able to equivalent capitalise on favourable weather2019. Dairy Australia continues to forecast a drop *Note thathigh all farm-gate regions prices, other than Atherton Tablelands conditions and continued in national milk production of and between 3 per Gippsland is cerealrecovery hay. Atherton is for with the bulk of the milk production cent andTablelands 5 per cent to and 8.3 to Gippsland 8.5 billion litres pasture the full 2019–20 season. centred on Gippsland andhay.

Tasmania.

“A recent recovery in national milk producThis incorporates the potential for further Source: AFIA, Profarmer tion, together with substantially more favourable improvements in the event of a favourable weather conditions across many dairy regions autumn, but also recognises the patchy nature have been positive developments at a time of of the recovery and ongoing challenges in many strong local and global dairy market fundamen- areas. tals,” Mr Droppert said.

The March report found New Zealand contin“These have come amidst a tumultuous back- ues to track close to 2018-19 production levels, drop combining global disease with local drought down 0.5 per cent for the season to January and bushfires. (though up 0.5% in milk solids terms).

“Despite relatively stable supply and demand Unfavourable summer weather for many conditions, international trade faces the dual farmers has slowed intakes and led to reductions challenges of the ongoing African Swine Fever in full season expectations. outbreak, and still-escalating Covid-19 crisis.”

Dry conditions have caused soil moisture Bushfires in parts of NSW, Victoria and South deficits across much of the country’s dairying Australia affected 128 dairy farms — but the regions, with the exception of the south of the overall impact on milk production was minimal. country – and also the West Coast which has The loss of milking cows was limited and most seen flooding, the report found. affected dairy farms were able to resume milking 7 DAIRY North-west Tasmania PLUMMETING production appears to

Cows Cull cows

412 c/kg ↑ +16% LY ↑ +18% 5Y

84,262 head ↑ +9% LY ↓ -1% 5Y

Dairy cattle exports

↑ +70 % LY ↑ +49% 5Y

109,341 head

Price is January 2020 average, compared to January last year (LY) and 5-year (5Y) average. Number of head is last 12 months (cull cows to January 2020, dairy cattle exports to December 2019) compared to year earlier (LY) and 5-year (5Y) average.

Source: NLRS, ABS

Water Northern Victoria

Murray Irrigation System

614 $/ML ↑ +137% LY ↑ +138% 5Y

554 $/ML ↑ +122% LY ↑ +210% 5Y

2,077,103 ML ↓ -4% LY ↑ +2% 5Y

54,294 ML ↓ -62% LY ↓ -61% 5Y

Price of water traded is 12 month average and volume of water is 12 month total, both to January, 2020, and compared to year earlier (LY) and last 5 year (5Y) average.

Source: Victorian Water Register, Murray Irrigation Ltd

Tables from Dairy Situation and Outlook report, March 2020

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

6 // OPINION

EDITORIAL

Society learning not to take things for granted At the time of publishing, Australia is facing an uncertain time and by the time this article is published the situation may not have changed much.

As the dreaded coronavirus takes hold across the nation, we have become almost observers of our own misfortune.

The fear of the unknown and the feeling of powerlessness can be debilitating sometime. The unseen enemy is sneaking into our communities and snatching away the health of our friends, neighbours and even family.

For many of us the threat is a remote one; isolated on farms and rural properties the vision on the television seems to be happening in a foreign country, a place that surely cannot be home.

Surely, if we step away from the crowds, shun the supermarkets and close the door, the threat cannot be real.

“Social distancing,” one farmer remarked. “I’ve been doing that for 20 years, out here on my own!”

Fake milk under fire: Dairy Connect The on-going disruption and general uncertainty caused by coronavirus may have an adverse impact on production of so-called ‘milks’ manufactured from plants� Dairy Connect president Graham Forbes said non-dairy liquids marketed nationally as ‘milks’ include soy, cashew, almond, oat, hemp, rice and coconut extracts, to name but a few� Graham Forbes said the coronavirus disruption provided an opportunity for dairy milk marketers to recapture market share for the naturally fresh nutritious product� He described plant-based drinks as being extruded from crushed nuts with added water and fortifi ed by vitamins and minerals artifi cially added from external sources� “There is no question that the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals that are an integral part of the dairy milk offering were the essence of natural nutrition, particularly during times such as now,” Mr Forbes said� Dairy Connect chief executive Shaughn Morgan said Dairy Connect fi red the fi rst shots against plant-sourced liquids sold to consumers as ‘milks’ in January 2017� “We called on consumer and agriculture ministers nationally to ensure a uniform standard for labelling that would preclude plant drinks from being described as ‘milk’ and thus restore ‘truth in labelling’,” Mr Morgan said� “It is time for the State and Federal Governments to deliver what has been promised and ensure ‘truth in labelling’ and protect the iconic term ‘milk’� “These plant products are hijacking the look and feel of dairy, while claiming to have the nutritional

values of fresh and nutritious cows’ milk�” Dairy Connect believes the coronavirus disruption is an opportunity for dairy milk marketers to strengthen relationships along the supply chain from processors, distributors and retailers to dairy consumers� Mr Morgan said dairy milk contained higher levels of protein and a far greater range of vitamins and minerals than plant-based drinks� “Children need suffi cient levels of protein and energy for normal growth and development,” he said� If liquids like almond or rice extracts are a regular part of a young child’s diet, other food sources of protein and energy are needed to replace that otherwise provided by milk� Mr Morgan said some plant products contained protein, but the quality was not comparable to animal protein as they did not contain all the essential amino acids� “Fresh liquid milk is a premium quality, short shelflife food of immense nutritional value� “Milk contains eight nutrients essential to human health and putting fresh dairy on the table at mealtimes can play an important role in healthy eating and wellbeing�” Mr Morgan said these included B vitamins for energy, vitamin A to help maintain a healthy immune system and calcium which helped build and maintain bone strength� “They also deliver minerals such as iodine, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus,” he said� “In addition to the unique nutrient content in dairy, evidence is showing that there is a synergistic effect that demonstrates their health benefi ts�”

Advertising Max Hyde 0408 558 938 max.hyde@dairynewsaustralia.com.au Editor Geoff Adams (03) 5820 3229 editor@dairynewsaustralia.com.au Dairy News Australia is published by Shepparton Newspapers Pty Ltd� All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher� Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of Shepparton Newspapers Pty Ltd�

Regional editor news@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

But the tentacles do reach out and no-one is guaranteed safety.

Threats such as these tend to strip away the trivia in life.

When the distractions are seen for what they are, we tend to see with a little more clarity.

The iron on the shed flapping in the wind, the peeling paint on the cowshed, even the irritating neighbour who calls by and boasts about his new tractor or the out-block that he has snapped up.

For our city cousins the phenomenon of hoarding, stockpiling and ensuing shortages has been a profoundly stirring experience; something almost primitive in the bid to secure the basics of life, in cities filled with distractions.

The images of empty supermarket shelves poured through social media streams as we discovered the things that we took for granted may not always be so.

In a curiously savage way, the population is being reminded that our food is not something that we can take for granted.

While our farm leaders have been reassuring the population that we have more than enough, deep down many people have been fretting to see random shortages of meat, milk and rice.

It’s a stark reminder that we should not take for granted the things we enjoy.

“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” Arthur Golden

Publisher Shepparton Newspapers Pty Ltd Printed by Newsprinters Pty Ltd Head Office 7940 Goulburn Valley Highway Shepparton, VIC 3630 Phone (03) 5831 2312 Postal address PO Box 204 Shepparton, Victoria 3632 Australia

WWW.DAIRYNEWSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

Dairy News Australia welcomes contributions from stakeholders in the dairy industry, and particularly from organisations wishing to advance the industry.

Contributions and photos can be sent to: editor@dairynewsaustralia.com.au Letters to the editor on topical issues are also welcome� Letters should be concise and carry the name and town address of the author, as well as a contact phone number, not for publication�

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 7

Farmers learn ugly truth of workplace harassment DAIRY FARMERS were faced with some ugly

truths about harassment on farms at the annual Australian Dairy Conference.

Facing a packed audience of about 500 people, a young woman outlined her experience of harassment on a remote farm and appealed for change.

The attentive and respectful audience gave her a sustained applause (probably the strongest of any presentation at the two-day conference) and some stood to applaud her courage.

Tiffany Davey said she had travelled Australia when she was 19 and trying to decide what she wanted to do.

“I worked for some of the best and some of the worst and they helped me work out what I wanted to be and also what I never wanted to become,” Ms Davey said.

She told how one property manager had offered $1000 to the first woman to have sex with him.

Ms Davey said in the face of harassment and bad behaviour there was often a feeling that it was something that had to be endured or put up with, but since her experiences, she had come to understand that it was not acceptable and should never be excused.

Ms Davey, 23, based in Western Australia and now based on her family’s broadacre and lamb production property, said she had devoted her life to working in the agricultural industry.

But in 2018 she was confronted by a research paper which said that seven out of 10 women would face sexual harassment in their careers.

She had earlier dismissed her bad experiences and didn’t think much of it.

“If it’s not okay in an office in the city, why is it okay in the paddock or on a property?”

“I should have reached out to someone for help, but I didn’t have a voice.”

She warned that if the industry was not cleaned up, in today’s environment, the industry would earn a bad reputation.

Ms Davey said she was trolled on social media

Tiffany Davey.

after she first went public with her experiences, facing accusations of “whining” and inflating the problem.

“This is not an issue about man versus women.

“This is an issue we have to resolve together.

It’s not about man hating.

We need to call out bad behaviour. It’s about identifying issues and putting in place the steps to rectify it.”

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She urged the industry to work together to create a safer place for everyone’s sons and daughters.

In his introduction, conference MC Tom Newton said men still dominated management of many farms and women were not always treated the way they should be.

Mr Newton said sexual harassment in farm workplaces was “the elephant in the room”, and it was about being fair, decent and respectful.

An Associate Professor of Law at the Australian National University, Dr Skye Saunders published the 2015 book Whispers from the Bush — The Workplace Sexual Harassment of Australian Rural Women.

The book drew upon 107 interviews Dr Saunders conducted with women, detailing their experiences of sexual harassment in rural workplaces.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

8 // NEWS

Genomic technology helps choosing polled animals BREEDING NATURALLY polled animals

doesn’t come at the expense of other vital health and production traits thanks to advances in genomic technology.

It’s also simple to breed hornless animals as the polled gene is a dominant trait.

The rise of genomics — DNA testing — has meant most bulls on the market have been tested for polled genes if the gene is in the pedigree.

As a result, there’s been a rapid increase in the number of polled, high Balanced Performance Index bulls on the Australian market and they are easier to identify.

In DataGene’s December 2019 Australian

Breeding Value release there were 87 polled or polled carrier Holstein bulls in the Good Bulls Guide list, 10 of these were in the top 100. There were 10 Jerseys.

The uptake of polled genetics has also increased; the National Herd Improvement Association reported a 21 per cent increase in the sales of polled semen last year.

Breeding for polled is straightforward, according to DataGene’s Michelle Axford.

“The polled gene is dominant over the horn trait which means that calves that inherit the polled gene from either parent will not require disbudding,” she said.

“Genomic (DNA) testing identifies whether an animal carries zero, one or two polled genes.

Animals that have been tested are given a genetic code on DataGene’s data base.

“An animal that has no polled genes is coded POF (tested free of polled) and it will have horns. An animal that is tested true polled (POS) carries two copies of the polled gene and this animal won’t have horns. If a POS sire is used over a horned cow, all his offspring will be polled.”

But most polled bulls only carry one polled gene (POC) and about half of their progeny are horned.

To breed polled replacements, select bulls from the Good Bulls Guide with the genetic code POS or POC. “The strategic use of polled bulls can increase the prevalence of the gene in a herd. Once the polled trait is dominant in a cow family, horned bulls can be used while maintaining the polled characteristic,” Mrs Axford said.

For more information, contact DataGene on 03 9032 7191 or enquiries@datagene.com.au or www.datagene.com.au

BEGA IN THE BLACK Bega Cheese has reported a half yearly earnings of $39 million, despite softening Chinese demand for infant milk formula which has impacted the Tatura Milk division.

The company reported first half year revenue of about $741 million, compared to $649 million in the comparable period last year.

“Severe drought across many dairy production regions has resulted in an increased cost of farm inputs and national milk production has continued to decline, putting sustained pressure on farm gate prices and availability of milk for

processing,” the company reported.

“This has particularly impacted our Tatura operations in northern Victoria.

Total milk processed from direct supply and through toll manufacturing arrangements was 4.6 per cent below the prior year.”

The company’s Vegemite brand grew slightly and Bega peanut butter increased market share.

Bega Cheese pointed to its purchase of the Koroit factory and the construction of a new lactoferrin plant, due for commissioning in April, and the signing of a three-year supply agreement.

Overall, revenue is up by about 14 per cent compared to the same period in 2019 and earnings before income tax is down 12 per cent, to $17 million.

“Bega Cheese remains in constant discussions with domestic and international suppliers and customers regarding the potential impact of COVID-19 on ours and their businesses,” Bega Cheese said in a statement.

“At this stage, our supply chain and customer shipments have not been materially impacted by the virus; we continue to monitor any potential direct or indirect impacts.”

In an overview of the business, the company pointed to its moves towards diversity in the business, including its divestment of a spray dryer at Tatura and a facility in Melbourne in 2017 and the acquisition of the Koroit dairy factory in western Victoria.

The company also purchased the Mondelez Grocery business in 2018.

The Bega share price slipped to about $4 when the results were announced on March 2, but recovered to about $4.40 last week.

The company announced a 5¢ dividend.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

10 // MARKETS

Can Australia satisfy Southeast Asia’s growing dairy demand?

ASEAN region has intensified over the past year with an increase in free trade agreements ratified along with product being re-directed from the United States.

At the peak of the trade war last year, the US sought alternative dairy markets for products originally destined for China, with some of these shipments targeting Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Australia’s decline in milk supply reduced product availability for the export market.

The recent signing of the ‘Phase 1’ trade deal between the US and China has been favourable for American dairy exporters. The agreement reduces the need for China-specific inspections to US dairy facilities, prompting greater access to the Chinese market.

As a result of this trade agreement, some products re-routed to the ASEAN countries last year might be directed back to the Chinese market.

Assuming the US-China deal holds up in the face of renewed political tensions, this could open up more market opportunity for other exporters in the future.

Competition in Southeast Asia has also increased as a result of newly executed free trade agreements. Whilst Australian exporters have benefitted from long-standing trade agreements with countries within the region, the European Union has recently secured several bilateral trade agreements.

As a result, Australia’s ability to maintain strong business relationships with key contacts in these markets will become even more important going forward.

Southeast Asia, in particularly the ASEAN region, continues to become a key consumer of global dairy. Strong income growth is driving consumers to premium dairy products and demonstrate future opportunity for exports to these markets.

Whilst fundamentals for dairy exports are strong, Australia’s key limitation has been the ability to produce enough milk to capitalise on these opportunities. For coming years, this will remain the biggest challenge in securing international market share in the ASEAN region.

12,000

60%

10,000

50%

8,000

40%

6,000

30%

4,000

20%

2,000

10%

Domestic

Exports

(p )

8

20 18 /1 9

20 17 /1

20 16 /1 7

20 15 /1 6

20 14 /1 5

20 13 /1 4

2

20 12 /1 3

20 11/ 1

20 10 /1 1

20 09 /1 0

20 08 /0 9

20 07 /0 8

20 06 /0 7

20 05 /0 6

20 04 /0 5

0% 20 03 /0 4

0

Percentage

Australian production and exports (milk equivalents)

20 01 /0 2 20 02 /0 3

export markets upon which the Australian dairy industry relies heavily.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asia continues to emerge as an international hotspot for dairy demand, as economic growth improves living standards in the region.

Following a year of trade turbulence in many key export markets, it’s worth accessing how Australia’s dairy industry is positioned to capitalise on growing demand out of the Southeast Asian region.

Southeast Asia ranks second to Greater China (China, Macau, Hong Kong), as Australia’s largest export market by value. Last year, approximately 272 000 tonnes ($857 million worth) of Australian dairy products were sent to the region.

Whilst this represents a drop in volume, overall value remained steady due to an increase in sales of higher value products.

A growing middle-income population across the region is driving this trend, as some of these consumers seek products that are considered to provide an easy and convenient way to stay healthy.

A strong socio-economic divide remains present in the region; however, education and income are improving exponentially in many areas.

Within Southeast Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an organisation comprised of 10 countries working to improve political collaboration and increase economic growth in the region.

These countries already account for a large portion of demand for Australia dairy, with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand accounting for 32 per cent of Australia exports by volume collectively.

However, as these regions continue to grow, a wave of higher income, millennial consumers, increase their appetite for higher-value food products.

20 00 /0 1

GREATER CHINA and Japan are well-established

Global demand for dairy from the ASEAN region is expected to improve as proportion of the population in the ‘middle-class’ bracket expands.

In the next 10 years, 65 per cent of the ASEAN population is expected to be middle-class compared to 29 per cent in 2010. These consumers (190 million which are expected to be millennials) will ask more from their food suppliers, looking for healthy, safe and fresh food that is convenient for them to consume.

This trend has already begun to play out in some categories; last year the volume of Australian yoghurt exported to the ASEAN region increased 12 per cent, while in the same period, value growth improved 17 per cent.

Along with yoghurt, the volume of milk and cheese exported grew three per cent and six per cent respectively.

For areas with less cold storage infrastructure such as Thailand, the convenience and accessibility of long-life products has allowed dairy products to become a staple component to local diets.

Competition for market share within the

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 11

Farming women doing it for themselves DANIEL HUGHES

THREE GENERATIONS of women from the

same family are now working at the Finley dairy farm Glenbank.

Helen Clark has fostered a love of the industry in her daughters Kristen Clark and Donna Lucas, and now Donna’s daughter Eliza is working at the dairy to earn a little extra money.

Kristen has worked on the family farm for the last 11 years, and said their story helps highlight that there are “plenty of opportunity for women in the dairy industry”.

The produce from their Tuppal Rd dairy is supplied to Riverina Fresh.

Family succession is actively in play at the farm, with Kristen and Donna slowly taking over “front of house” duties from their mother.

Helen has run the dairy for more than 40 years and has acted as a mentor for her daughters.

“Donna and I share the management and our mum oversees the whole thing,” Kristen said.

“The dynamics work well.

“There are some things I’m better at and there’s some things Donna’s better at, so by sticking to our strengths we complement each other well.”

The sisters also have help from seven full-time employees on the farm, and have 900 cows and 1000 ha of land to manage.

They have faced their fair share of challenges during the last few years, including reducing the

herd size and changing feeding methods due to the ongoing drought and water availability issues.

“We currently produce about eight million litres of milk a year under drought conditions,” Kristen said.

“Before the drought we were increasing our production, with plans to reach nine million litresplus, but because of the drought we’ve cut back.

“We had to reduce our herd size because of the cost of feed.

“We feed our cows conserved fodder on the feed pad.

“We can’t grow any grass because of the zero general water security allocations (in the NSW Eliza and Kristen Clark are part of the multi-generational farm at Finley.

Murray Valley) and it’s too expensive.

“In spring we harvested some of our crops and bought a lot of the neighbour’s failed crops, and industry, and has watched it evolve to offer more dairy farming as a career path, I’d say it’s hard work prominent roles for females in the industry. we just feed that to the cows.” but there’s a good career path in it if you’re willing Kristen said while she was always drawn to “My favourite part of the dairy industry is per- to get in and have a go. There’s a lot of opportunidairying because of the passion shown by her haps the community and the support within the ties for the right people.” mother, it was not the first career path she dairy industry. If you’ve got a problem you can just Eliza graduated from Finley High School last followed. go to another dairy farmer and they’ll help you out. year, and while she cannot see a full-time career She returned to the family farm 11 years ago “There’s a network of dairy farmers and we all in dairying in her immediate future, she won’t disafter moving to Sydney straight out of high school. support one another. count it altogether.

She said it made her realise where her true “There’s a lot of couples that run dairy farms “I watch Aunty Kris and Mum and they work passion lay. out there and the wives are pretty hands on. really hard; it’s inspiring to see them,” Eliza said.

“I used to work as an engineer in Sydney, but “There are a few like ours too — female only “It’s a little bit hard at the moment to see a an office job wasn’t for me,” she said. enterprises. future in dairy especially with the drought, but “I decided to come back to this because I like “It’s probably changed a bit over the years hopefully things will improve. the variety of the job. that women are more actively involved in the “Maybe somewhere along the line I’d like to “The city life just wasn’t for me.” management. come back to the farm.”

Kristen said she enjoys the culture of the “To all the young women who are looking at

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

12 // NEWS

Report argues for slower water recovery A NEW report on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has called for a slowing down of water recovery in a bid to address socio-economic impacts on rural communities and to save costs.

The report, conducted by an independent panel, is critical of consultation and engagement over the plan and acknowledges an uneven impact on regional communities. “ … significant transfers of wealth and opportunity across industries and regions have taken place — some communities have watched jobs dwindle away, communities decline, and in some cases nearly disappear,” the report said.

Recovering the 450 Gl of upwater by 2024 would cost more than $4 billion at current water market prices, while slowing the pace of recovery may bring down costs to the Australian taxpayer.

“Slowing the pace of recovery will enable implementation of programs that address pressing socio-economic concerns, especially under the current drought, and help maintain community support for basin water reforms,” the report said.

“Without clear evidence of the environmen-

tal, social and working river benefits of achieving the 2024 recovery targets, the potential costs imposed on irrigation communities are not justifiable.

“Slowing recovery will allow time for the Australian Government to work with basin communities to show better evidence of the enhanced environmental, working river and social wellbeing benefits of past and future water recovery.”

The panel delivered a finding which strikes at the heart of the purpose of the plan and the work of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

“The panel considers there is insufficient evidence that future water recovery is being implemented to deliver water in the places needed to effectively achieve enhanced environmental outcomes, working river systems and improved social wellbeing in the basin.

“Research commissioned by the panel found future water recovery is likely to lead to significant falls in water use and production by irrigated cropping, pastures, rice and dairy sectors.

“While increasing dryland production will offset some of these falls, towns and communi-

ties in these regions will still be impacted negatively, especially under drought conditions.

“The panel also notes the long time it can take communities to recover from the impacts of drought.”

The report also points to a lack of publicly available evidence on environmental outcomes that is supposed to be the focus of the plan.

The panel urged a slowing down in water recovery for the environment and speeding up of efforts to relax delivery constraints.

The panel wants funds to co-ordinate efforts to monitor and evaluate environmental benefits, and research to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental watering.

The report has numerous references to the damage caused to rural communities by the loss of water.

“In previously vibrant communities, volatility, rapid change and uncertainty are resulting in sharp falls in investment and a loss of confidence,” the report said.

These outcomes have contributed to widespread farm exits, social dislocation, vulnerable

supply chains, small town decline and downstream processors and employers contemplating their future in the basin.”

The panel report also found complaints that people were “over-consulted and under-listened to”.

“As a panel, we were disheartened to see communities at a crossroads despite countless studies, reviews and inquiries.

“Visions and policies in our irrigated communities focusing on overall gains have not dealt fairly with those left behind, nor worked hard enough to be fully inclusive.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

14 // NEWS

Once-a-day milking a useful ‘mistake’ DAIRY FARMER Brett Ford laughs as he says

he came about milking the herd once a day by what was ultimately default and consequent observation.

Located in the rolling hills of Paradise, Tasmania, on the family property owned by his parents Arthur and Beverley — the 170-head, spring calving three-way cross herd have been milked once a day for the last 15 years.

And with a cell count consistently under 100 000 (with spikes above if mastitis isn’t addressed) a calving pattern of about six weeks and 98 per cent conception rate, Brett has certainly got the management supporting the decision down pat, although it did take some mistake making to get there.

Production sits around 1250 kg milk solids a hectare.

“Milking once a day makes life easier but it is not for everyone; but if you do it right there are certainly rewards and lifestyle opportunities,” Brett said.

It was after a tough winter and calving period in 1998 where Brett faced calving paralysis, repeat cases of milk fever and he had lost a few cows, that he decided to put that particular group of sick cows on once-a-day milking.

Initially it was just to let them heal so he could at least get chopper value for them but after pregnancy testing, he was surprised when seven of the nine cows were in calf.

“These were all cows that I thought shouldn’t have got pregnant,” Brett said.

And it was at that moment something clicked in his mind and a seed was sown.

The following year with 26 per cent of the two-year-olds in the milking herd still not in calf, Brett remembered the conception rate of the once-a-day herd and in particular the conception rate of the heifers in that group.

In 2001 he decided to hold an on-farm trial with the newly calved heifers, placing odd number animals on once a day and even numbers on twice a day.

The odd-number herd experienced a two per cent reduction in milk production and a fertility

Lochlan Ford, 16, is looking forward to a career in dairying after leaving school to commence an apprenticeship.

rate of 95 per cent while the twice-a-day heifers still had a conception rate of 76 per cent.

The following season all heifers were put on once a day and the then three-year-old group had a production loss of three per cent and a conception rate of 95 per cent.

In the 2003–2004 season the family decided to put the entire herd on once a day.

“We did a lot of things first off we shouldn’t have, and a lot of our mistakes were management decisions rather than cow related,” he said.

Initially cell count was a problem and in hindsight Brett said he should have just culled the high cell count cows straightaway because they really struggled under the once-a-day system.

“Cows with a count of around 150 000 dropped and we now have a lot sitting between 20 — 40 000 while those with high counts we should have just sold.

“Managing grass has always been the key and even more so on once-a-day let alone looking outside the box of what we are told.”

Brett eventually found giving the herd a third of the paddock in the morning and the other two thirds at night prevented problems like pugging, especially in wet weather.

“This system complements our grass growing of around 14 tonne a hectare without the use of nitrogen, less cows walking on laneways and dairy time equals greater efficiency of nutrients.”

Brett said while the farm isn’t organic, they do use some organic principles based on what suits their management.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 15

“Milking once a day makes life easier but it is not for everyone; but if you do it right there are certainly rewards and lifestyle opportunities.”

Brett has been managing the breeding side of the operation for the last 20 years and doing his own AI and that of a few other farmers for the last 28 years — he is looking to hand that side of the operation over to his 16-year-old son Lochlan who has left school and is in the process of completing an apprenticeship.

“Lochlan has his AI ticket and I have got him still developing the finer skills of the art of which I have him learning from a few of the good techs from Tassie and New Zealand, developing a broad range of habit and techniques,” Brett said.

Lochlan said he loves the cows and has a goal to breed the best dairy herd he can.

“I like the farm and I can’t think of anything else I want do,” Lochlan said.

Joining starts dependent on weather conditions about the October 28 to November 1 and the herd has usually cycled three times before mating which gives Brett a submission rate of about 99.5 per cent; there might be a couple of cows that don’t cycle at all in those first three weeks.

The three-way cross herd is based around Jersey, New Zealand type Holstein and Swedish Red genetics.

“I started with the Kiwi cross and how they complemented our system (a once-a-day index) which made breeding decisions a little easier at the start.

“I liked the health traits of the Swedish Red and the components of the Jersey breed and we didn’t want a big-framed Holstein cow either.”

Brett aims for 550–600 kg animal with a production peak of about 26 litres with 9.5–10 per cent milk solids.

“Cash flow was a problem in the early days until a once-a-day milk curve was understood;

the cows don’t really peak they have a much flatter milk curve but after Christmas it’s pretty good,” he said.

“At the end of the day it is about understanding the bottom line of your business and the profit you can make within the cows.

“The lifestyle is the bonus if you can get your head around the process and look at the management process from the cow’s perspective.”

The dairy component of the farm sits at about 49 ha and supports calves and the dairy herd for the 305-day lactation while the other 40-odd hectares supports a beef component, cuts a small amount of hay and grows out the heifers.

“We don’t grow any silage and we only feed out three quarters of a bale of hay per cow per year, we just grow grass because that is what our farm is suited to.”

The cows are fed grain in the bale most seasons around 100–150 kg but this year’s poor season pushed consumption up about 700 kg.

“We have had a very good autumn break, so we are knocking that number back now,” Bret said.

About 60 per cent of the farm is irrigated by laterals — half the laterals are pumped while the other half are gravity fed.

At 76 years of age Arthur still looks after all the irrigation/weed control while Beverley does the books and watches the calving cows like a hawk.

“Mum and Dad are still very active on the farm and I am proud to be involved alongside them,” Brett said.

“The dairy industry needs family farms and if we are not careful, they will be a thing of the past as corporate farming swallows the dairy industry like it has in other industries.”

Once-a-day milking suits the topography of the farm.

Cooper and Lochlan Ford with one of their pet cows in the three-way Jersey, Holstein, and Swedish Red herd.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

18 // NEWS

Issues shared across the globe JEANETTE SEVERS

IT APPEARS there are similar issues and con-

The group of farmers from Finland who visited two robotic dairy farms in Gippsland, standing in a paddock of Oxford barley at Forge Creek, near Bairnsdale. The group visited eight farms on its tour of Gippsland in October. Far left is Forge Creek grain grower, Trevor Caithness.

The milking herd is mostly Holsteins, with a few Ayreshire cows.

The couple have grown the farm in the past few decades; in particular, by buying forestry land and redeveloping it for pasture. It is a system that is difficult to proceed through now, with limitations on land clearing.

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“We bought 250 ha of forest and took the wood out of it; we grow grass on 175 ha, on turfland,” Mrs Harmoinen said.

“We wouldn’t be able to do it easily now, we would have to get a permit from our local government,” Mr Harmoinen said.

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expand their dairy platform so they can increase their herd, to ensure the farm is viable for two of their sons to join them in the business.

“Succession is an issue in Finland, trying to make enough income for the next generation to farm also,” Mrs Harmoinen said.

They have five sons, aged 18 to 28; two of

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cerns for dairy farmers in the northern hemisphere, going on the input from a group from Finland who toured a number of Gippsland farms during five days in the region in October.

Succession planning, animal welfare, environmental stewardship, intensive feeding systems, silage, subsidies and weather were some of the subjects discussed between Australian and Finnish farmers. Sixteen of the group were dairy farmers and the remaining 40 per cent were mostly beef breeders, with a grain grower and two chicken farmers.

In contrast to Australia, where dairy is primarily a pasture-based industry with the cows outside, dairy cows in Finland are housed in barns all year round.

“It is because of the weather,” said Unto Harmoinen, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Finland.

“To maintain production year round, the cows stay in the barn. It is too cold for them to be outside.”

Mr Harmoinen milks 160 cows, using three robots, on a 330 ha farm which uses 250 ha to grow pasture. His herd produces 12 000 kgMS/ cow/pa. Milk payment is based on protein, fat content and somatic cell count.

“Only dry cows go outside, in the summer,” Wilma Harmoinen said.

When Mr Harmoinen took over the farm as an 18-year-old, just after his father died unexpectedly, the dairy farm was 50 ha, including a 20 ha field and 30 ha of forest. All pasture is grown for harvesting as silage, fed to the cows year-round in the barn.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 19

Gippsland Hosts calf sheds and toured several paddocks on the property.

“We showed them where some cows were ROBOTIC DAIRY farmers, Trudi and grazing chicory and that was an opportunity Darryl Hammond, Buln Buln, hosted the to discuss tonnages and why we were doing tour group and found them very keen to it,” Mrs Hammond said. exchange information about a host of topics.

When the discussion turned to water As at all the farms, many of the questions and the dam that was reconstructed on the were about land value, water security, Hammond property to enable irrigation of production systems and pasture tonnage. crops and pasture — to produce silage — much “They had three pages of questions they was made of the amount of government regasked us,” Trudi Hammond said. ulations that overshadowed the earthworks “They were very interested in comparing and use of the dam. what they do with our systems.”

“They were very interested that we have The group looked around the dairy and to pay for everything; that we have no subsidies,” Mrs Hammond said.

JEANETTE SEVERS

Anna Okkonen, agrologist and tour organiser, brought 26 farmers to Australia to tour Gippsland farms.

those sons want to work on the farm. To do that, Mr Harmoinen said they would need to double the current herd numbers and install two additional automatic milking systems. Fortunately, they applied successfully many years ago for a permit to build an additional barn out of wood from their forest. That barn will house two milking robots and the additional cows.

The onus is on farmers in Finland to meet auditable criteria in order to earn subsidies that offset low income due to food being sold at prices lower than the cost of production.

According to many of the Finnish farmers, these subsidies are earned by complying with consumers’ expectations around animal welfare and environmental standards; expectations that have now become law.

For example, bull calves are generally not castrated; and if they are, the operation has to be performed by a veterinarian. The same goes for dehorning. In both instances, pain relief must be used.

Dairy farmers raise bull calves to six-monthsold, when they are sold to bull farms, intensive feedlot systems where the bulls are grown out to two-years-old and slaughtered for meat.

In some instances, dairy farmers will sell their bull calves at two-weeks-old to farmers who will raise them to six-months-old, before they are on-sold to the feedlot system.

“It’s most economical to keep the bull calves until they are six-months-old, because the European Union pays you money,” Mr Harmoinen said.

The same system applies to beef and dairy cattle. These intensive systems are outside and utilise silage and concentrated feed products.

While heifer calves can also be sold into this system, there is a strong market for selling crossbred heifer calves to breeders.

Annemarie Saderstrom, Lapland, milks a 37-cow barn-housed Ayreshire herd using a robotic dairy.

“All the cows are AI, 75 per cent with Ayreshire semen, 25 per cent with Blonde d’Aquitaine,” Mrs Saderstrom said.

“I use sexed semen for all my heifers.

“I join cows to Blonde d’Aquitaine because I can sell the cross-bred heifers to beef breeders and to feedlot farms. It’s a common system in Finland.”

She sells all her bull calves to the bull farms.

Mrs Saderstrom and her husband grow crops and pasture between June to August, utilising the midnight sun to push growth.

Traditionally they grew barley and oats to

make silage; the harvested grain has a moisture quotient of 20 which has to be reduced to 12.

They do this by heating the grain, using oil to power the drying machine.

“Oil has now become too expensive, so we can’t harvest grain and dry it,” Mrs Saderstrom said.

They now grow peas for silage, which are stored in a pit, in layers with grass.

“We sow 5 kg/ha Meadow Fescue, 15 kg/ha Timothy grass and 5 kg/ha red and white clovers.

We harvest that for silage,” Mrs Saderstrom said.

“We still sow barley and oats [on a river flat], but we now graze it.”

All the group members were interested in a grain growing farm they visited at Forge Creek near Bairnsdale, where about 1300 ha is sown to barley, wheat, oats — harvested as silage and grain — and forage crops.

There was considerable discussion comparing time of sowing, given the short season available to grow crops and pasture in Finland that is enhanced by 24-hour daylight during summer time. Seeds are sown in late May and June for an August harvest in Finland.

The group toured paddocks of Moby and Oxford barley, sown in May and grazed in July for four weeks; with an expectation of harvest at the beginning of summer in Australia.

“The barley is forming grain now. A feed test of the Moby barley a week ago, yielded ME of 11.8,” Trevor Caithness said of his crops.

While farmers in Finland are also diversifying their income streams and looking for ways to optimise cash flow, some of them are looking at tourism opportunities.

“Our farm boundary is 10 m from a lake on the peninsula,” Mrs Harmoinen said.

“We have built a guesthouse that currently returns about 10 per cent of our income. I want to concentrate on increasing its use. It will give us another income when our sons come back onto the farm.”

Anna Okkonen, agrologist with Travel Agency Farmimatkat Oy, said the farm tours are an opportunity for farmers to take a break and improve their wellbeing, while seeing what farming in other countries was like. The 26 farmers visited two dairy farms with automatic milking systems, an olive farm and processor, a beef stud, a beef farm, a sheep and wool growing farm, a beef and wool growing station, and a cropping and beef property, while they were in Gippsland.

The remainder of their visit to Australia was spent visiting tourist attractions in NSW and Victoria.

Buln Buln dairy farmer, Trudi Hammond, hosted the farmers from Finland. The Hammond/Hewson family have a robotic dairy.

The Finnish farmers were interested to compare time of sowing and harvest in Australia with their country, with its three-month growing season.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

20 // NEWS

Funding boost for disease testing THE FEDERAL Government has awarded a

Queensland biotechnology company $2.4 million to help it further develop its revolutionary disease-detecting technology.

XING Technologies has been granted funding under the Co-operative Research Centres Projects to develop a world-first on-farm disease detection platform for livestock.

The rapid and low-cost screening system would allow farmers to conduct their own mastitis testing of dairy cattle and is one of nine research projects that have been funded by the Morrison Government under round eight of the CRC-P funding.

The platform is designed to be utilised in future to detect a wide range of on-farm diseases affecting livestock and plants XING chief executive Tom Esplin said the portable technology could also be utilised in the future at airports and seaports to test incoming and departing passengers for viruses, such as the novel Coronavirus, and help contain deadly outbreaks.

“The technology was developed to identify pathogens, including viruses and bacteria,

without requiring a laboratory or an expert to operate. It can positively identify specified diseases and produce accurate results within 40 minutes,” Mr Esplin said.

“Our scientists and manufacturing partners are working on an updated version that is smaller and will provide a diagnosis within 15 minutes.

This could be used at entry and departure points without disrupting passenger flows,” he said.

“We routinely screen for dangerous weapons — why not routinely screen for dangerous diseases?”

“The key is having a non-intrusive and non-invasive method of detection, which is very fast and allows passengers to continue to move through international ports with minimal disruption.”

Mr Esplin said the platform currently detects diseases in humans, animals and fish and will shortly be trialled on plant material and human cancers.

“It has been designed in such a way that it can incorporate detection of new viruses as they emerge in the future,” Mr Esplin said.

“We could assist the Federal Government and

Tom Esplin in the XING lab.

health agencies to positively identify viruses such as coronavirus,” he said.

Key features of the new generation Genosis diagnostic test are: ■■ A cartridge half the size of a mobile phone, which uses XING’s patented Rapid DNA extraction technology.

■■ Genetic information from a blood, urine or saliva sample is extracted within seconds for analysis.

The cartridge is then inserted into a reader that makes a fast diagnosis available within 15 minutes.

With standard disease testing, samples are sent away to a laboratory for analysis and results are usually not available for hours and sometimes days.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 21

Wanted: agri-tech pitch from high school girls IT’S THE time to shine for female high school

students interested in agriculture, technology or entrepreneurship — or all the above!

The Women in Agri-Tech pitch competition is now open, offering small groups of Years 7 to 10 female students from remote, regional and rural Australia the opportunity to share in $5000 of prize money and a free trip to Brisbane.

To enter the competition, students will need to develop their own agri-tech solution to a problem faced by the agricultural industry. They won’t need to actually build anything just yet, but come up with a great idea that will work in theory.

Once the students have worked out their solution, they need to present a three-minute pitch to impress the judges.

To help entrants get started, CQUniversity has developed an interactive learning module that can be used by teachers in classrooms or individual students. The module can be accessed at http://womeninagri-tech.com/ The team with the winning pitch from each year group will travel to Brisbane to participate in a two-day bootcamp where they will learn even more about advancing their pitch and becoming an entrepreneur.

Women in Agri-Tech program lead, CQUniversity Research Fellow Amy Cosby says the competition is an amazing opportunity for students to learn about a rapidly growing part of the agricultural and technology industries, as well as how to be an entrepreneur.

“The agri-tech space is already an exciting and rapidly expanding part of the agricultural industry,” Dr Cosby said.

“Jobs in this sector will continue to grow in importance and number as the world’s population grows and the demand for food and fibre increases.

“We want to ensure that young women who are starting to think about their futures are aware of the opportunities and are equipped to take part in the boom and start their careers in the sector.”

Dr Cosby said the competition is targeted at

female students to encourage and motivate them to consider a career in the agricultural industry where women are currently under-represented.

“While women represent 50 per cent of the broader workforce in Australia, in agricultural industries they make up just 30 per cent of

employees,” she said.

“The disparity is even greater when we look at management roles — only 14 per cent of people managing agricultural businesses are female.

“We are aiming to change this statistic because we know young women all over

Australia, and the world, have much to contribute to agriculture. They just need the confidence, skills and knowledge that they can have a rewarding career in the industry.”

Entries close on April 27 at http://womeninagri-tech.com/

“Thanks to Automatic Milking System, we now have more free time and more milk” Symone and Phil Vines SouthWest Victoria, Australia

COVID-19 ADVICE For practical advice on implementing the guidelines under COVID-19 response you can find up-to-date information by going to the dairy industry’s directory: www.dairyaustralia.com.au/aboutdairy-australia/about-the-industry/dairyindustry-covid19-directory or simply go to the Dairy Australia website and click on the panel which has the directory’s name.

Explore the possibilities Stepping back and considering the future can be the first step towards a more fulfilled life. Only you know what you’d like your “possibilities” to be. What would you do if you could free up time? Focus on being a better farmer, a better partner or both? Explore your possibilities by sharing your ambition with the local milking and feeding expert in your area.

The advice includes: ■■ How to milk cows while maintaining social distancing; ■■

How to manage staff coming on and off farm;

■■

How to address supply issues that may disrupt operations for farms and factories;

■■

Protocols for managing milk collection; and

■■

Questions consumers may have regarding the safety of dairy operations.

Bright farming is yours by choice.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

22 // NEWS

Calendar crew has message JEANETTE SEVERS

THERE IS a new calendar available this year,

starring many dairy farmers from Gippsland.

Each month, one of the farmers is the pin-up.

But the subject matter is unusual. Each month, the farmer tells their story about financial stress, relationship breakdown, the impacts of drought and their mental health battle.

Their reasons for being involved is to smash the stereotype of the silent farmer, gritting their teeth and stoic in the face of adversity. For some of those involved, that is part of their story. For others, they share the reality of how they negotiate their lives so they are not consumed by stress.

Titled, ‘The hands that feed you’, the project is a collaboration between Sallie Jones, one of the owners of milk processor company, Gippsland Jersey, and Sue Medson, CEO of Gippsland Lakes Complete Health.

“Good mental health equals regional prosperity,” Ms Jones said.

“At Gippsland Jersey, mental health is a key pillar of our brand. We need to create change in our society and our communities so we don’t have suicide.”

Ms Jones’ father took his own life on the farm after a long battle with his mental health. He was well respected in the community and, as well as the farm, had built a successful value-added dairy business. He left behind a bereft family who have become passionate advocates for breaking the stigma of silence around mental health and depression.

“When farmers struggle, their communities struggle economically and socially,” Ms Medson said.

“Without farmers in Australia, we are not a food secure nation.”

Pat Purcell, of Marlo, is the oldest dairy farmer in the calendar. Blair Austin, of Orbost, is one of the youngest. Thirteen dairy farmers were happy to answer the call to feature in the calendar.

For Jason Bermingham, of Dennison, his involvement is about raising awareness about mental health.

“We’re well aware there are people around us who are struggling. We want to get away from there being a stigma about talking about our mental health,” Mr Bermingham said.

Dennis Reynolds, of Orbost, would like his children to have the choice to work in the dairy industry.

“With the price of fodder and water, we’re in survival mode. We want to keep working in our industry, but when the NSW Government offers freight subsidies, that makes fodder prices rise and increase inequities between farmers,” Mr Reynolds said.

“At the end of the day, I have two young boys.

We need to get young people into the industry, but the cost of buying land makes it hard; especially when we’re not getting paid a fair price.”

For Max and Tameeka Vera, of Dennison, sharing stories helps people to find new ways of managing their dairy business.

“Talking about financial pressures and sharing our stories, you find things that work. Our biggest feed bill is our grain bill. You need that feed. When you talk to other people about it, you find out you’re not the only one struggling and worrying about how to pay it,” Mrs Vera said.

Craig Calvert took on the family dairy farm at Mossiface during drought. He admits it can be a struggle.

“Drought is bloody hard work. Money rolls out and there’s twice as much work in a drought, keeping water and food up to the cows. You can’t forego production,” Mr Calvert said.

“I’ve got to think about the kids, my family and micromanage every process on the farm to minimise the impact on our equity. I’m constantly preparing for the drought to break, so we can recover.

“Sometimes it feels like a brick wall.”

The calendar was launched just prior to Christmas, at the Gippsland Jersey milk factory at Lakes Entrance. Most of the farmers involved attended, along with their families.

The calendar is available online through Gippsland Jersey and Gippsland Lakes Complete Health.

To Dairy Farmers of Australia Despite the current circumstances we find ourselves in, we will continue to publish Dairy News Australia every month unless enforced sanctions or commercial implications on our valued advertisers dictate otherwise.

Our team will not waiver in their commitment to keep you well informed and up to date via our print, social, and online platforms.

If you have a ripping yarn to share, we would love to hear from you.

Simply contact us via editor@dairynewsaustralia.com.au Whilst feedback via industry stakeholders suggests dairy farming is largely unaffected, we empathise with our valued clients and readers that are.

As you continue to provide Australians with the milk that finds its way to the table and fridges of every Australian home, in some way, shape or form, we ask you consider supporting our valued clients, a number featured in this edition.

We take this opportunity to wish you, your families and staff, all the very best during this pandemic. Stay safe and well.

From the team at,

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

24 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Pain relief spray takes calf welfare to new level WHILE PRODUCTIVITY and profitability

are important drivers of the Homebush Pastoral business in South Gippsland, Victoria, good animal welfare sits above all as a critical factor.

The Hanrahans milk 900 cows on 338 ha at Homebush Pastoral near Stony Creek, with a split calving of a third in the autumn and two thirds in spring. Pat Hanrahan says the balance between the various factors driving their business is simple to explain.

“We get paid for milk on a cents per litre basis, so happy, healthy cows are a fairly big production driver for us, because happier and healthier cows produce more milk,” Mr Hanrahan said.

“Animal welfare is also a massive issue for us, we love our cows and we want to look after them and give them the best treatment in life that they can have.”

Gippsland Veterinary Group veterinarian Dr Karienne Black works with Homebush Pastoral providing best practice pain relief for dairy calves during disbudding. The process is an important husbandry procedure involving removal of the horn bud.

“Disbudding is vital because as these calves grow and go into the dairy, they can harm each other and harm themselves with the horns,” Dr Black said.

“When we disbud calves, we need to be conscious that as we are the custodians of these calves and their welfare, we’re giving them effective pain relief. A lot of studies have also shown

as we maintain effective pain relief, we maximise productivity of the calves.”

The emphasis on animal welfare saw GVG be an early adopter in Australia of a multimodal disbudding protocol, already used widely in New Zealand, which includes anaesthetising calves before disbudding.

“Sedating the calves means we don’t have to handle them extensively, they have no memory of the process, and it ensures effective pain relief,” Dr Black said.

“Once we’ve burned the buds to remove them, we give the calves a spray on the site with Tri-Solfen from Bayer to maximise pain relief.”

Dr Black said once GVG started using TriSolfen after it was registered for use in calves for disbudding, they quickly realised how well it complemented its existing procedures.

“Tri-Solfen is a good product because it’s got both short and long-acting forms of anaesthetic,” she says.

“It also has adrenaline to help with the bleeding post-burning, and an antiseptic product as well, so those four elements mean we’re giving calves effective pain relief. We’ve got haemostasis, and we’re keeping the site clean so it’s not getting infected after the process.

“Since we’ve been using Tri-Solfen, our farmers find their calves are a lot less head shy after disbudding, so they are obviously more comfortable and get drinking sooner, so overall TriSolfen helps with the recovery process.”

It’s an observation echoed by Pat Hanrahan at Homebush Pastoral, who has been impressed with the impact Tri-Solfen has had not just on pain relief, but on improved productivity.

“Pain relief is a big aspect for us in terms of production; if a calf is slow to eat or drink because it’s feeling pain, then it doesn’t grow and we don’t meet the performance indicators we need,” he said.

“Most importantly, from my perspective as a dairy farmer, we love our cows. They’re our whole livelihood and we want them to have the best they can have.”

While Mr Hanrahan said he still had to make business decisions for his herd, Tri-Solfen and pain relief fit into what his business did because the animals were more productive, so it helped the business as well as look after its animals.

“I’d definitely recommend Tri-Solfen to other producers. It’s been really easy to use, just requiring two squirts on each horn site immediately after disbudding,” Mr Hanrahan said.

“The support we had from the Bayer rep was also really good, we had a couple of phone calls to see how it had gone on the day, and then a follow-up a couple of weeks later to ensure the calves had received the best treatment from the product.

“Moving forward we’ll definitely continue to use Tri-Solfen in our disbudding process to provide a high standard of animal welfare for our young stock, as well as from a business point of

The Gippsland Homebush Pastoral farm.

view to maintain production and increase growth of our calves.”

Mr Hanrahan believes the use of Tri-Solfen by the broader industry into the future is critical, given the economic and animal welfare pressure they face.

Dr Karienne Black agrees, saying the use of pain relief in calves is a key component of the broader social licence to farm.

“When farmers talk about return on investment for Tri-Solfen, it’s not just about how well those calves grow after the process, but we’re also talking about how comfortable and happy those calves are, and also how society perceives that process,” she said.

“If you start talking about social licence to farm, that consideration has to be included in the Tri-Solfen return on investment for farmers.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

NEWS // 25

Laura nourishes her will to lead LAURA SUTHERLAND was raised on a family

dairy farm and now lives on the runoff property, five minutes from the home farm run by her father Chris and brother Jordan at Tallandoon in the Mitta Valley in north-east Victoria.

“Growing up on the farm gave me freedom to explore and work things out on my own,” she said.

“Kids can go outside and play and develop skills you don’t get in town.”

She wants her children and future generations to have the same experiences and hopes a leadership program will give her expertise to help strengthen the local dairy industry and the broader community.

Laura is being sponsored by Gardiner Dairy Foundation to undertake the Alpine Valleys Community Leadership program and says it will have lasting benefits for herself and the community.

“The dairy industry is something I feel strongly about.

“The Mitta Valley was once all dairy but there are hardly any dairy farmers left now. I hope through this course we can find different ways of doing things and try to improve the industry to make sure it has a positive future in this region.”

Although now working as a physiotherapist as well as raising two young girls, Eleanor and Rosie, Laura helps the family farm with administration and occupational health and safety.

“I am passionate about the dairy industry and would like to get further involved in some form,” she said.

Laura has always enjoyed country living and hasn’t ventured too far from the region, studying at Charles Sturt University and working at Align Work Health in Albury.

She moved back to the farm six years ago to be closer to family and friends and enjoy “a lovely place to live”.

Now she’s learning a lot more about the region she loves while developing her personal skills in the leadership program.

“I’ve done local community work through the netball club and Mitta Mitta Muster; I like to participate and volunteer but I need the skills to do it properly,” Laura said. “This program is helping with that.”

When the Gardiner Dairy Foundation scholarship opportunity appeared on her Facebook feed, she knew it was an opportunity too good to ignore.

“I plan to be in this community for a long time so I’m sure I’ll be volunteering, and I want to do what I can to support farmers with healthy lifestyles and increased opportunities to develop their businesses.”

Laura said the first half of the program had taught her to understand what type of leader she is, how to communicate with people and different types of leadership skills.

“There are little bits and pieces that make you a better and more effective leader, such as governance and chairing meetings and better understanding other people’s skills,” she said.

“This course is about empowering people and making them better at the processes so we can go back to help our communities.”

Laura is also appreciating a bigger picture of the Alpine Valley, its industries and its people.

“One of the good things about the program is the people you meet,” she said.

“There are 28 people from different industries and at different stages of life that I would not normally connect with.

“They all bring different skills and you can see different leadership styles at play.”

She also finds the program very accommodating.

“Rosie was 12-weeks-old when the course started so I took her along with me for the first six months. The course facilitators and participants were really helpful and supportive.”

Laura had previously received a Gardiner Dairy Foundation scholarship during her first year at university.

“I follow the dairy industry because I have

a great interest in its future and I couldn’t have done this program without the Gardiner Foundation support,” Laura said.

Applications for the Alpine Valley Community Leadership Program opened on March 16.

For more information please visit www.gardinerfoundation.com.au/ or email Richard Meredith at richard.meredith@gardinerfoundation.com.au

y r i a d y r e v reaching e y r t n u o c e h farmer in t

MAY ISSUE

ABVS: SPECIAL REPORT Dairy farmers who want to breed for improved fertility and workability will be keen to investigate the May release of the Australian Breeding Values (ABVs). The new fertility ABV is a better indicator of the fertility of a bull’s daughters because it draws upon the data for several traits, including lactation length, mating and pregnancy data. This is something farmers have been asking for and Dairy News Australia will investigate how it can impact on-farm breeding programs. We’ll also examine the bulls with the highest Australian Profit Rankings and how they could influence your breeding program.

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS: Should be sent direct to the editor Geoff Adams at editor@dairynewsaustralia.com.au by April 23 BOOKING DEADLINE: April 23 AD MATERIAL DEADLINE: April 30 PUBLISHED: May 12 CONTACT: Max Hyde | T: 0408 558 938 E: max.hyde@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

26 // NEWS

End of an era for Holstein sire MVP, ONE of Australia’s most enduring

ABS bull 29HO16888 Seagull-Bay MVP.

Holstein sires has died.

ABS bull 29HO16888 Seagull-Bay MVP entered the Australian market six years ago and was the only sire in the past decade to sell more than 50 000 units of semen in a year.

The Salters have some high targets for Clear Springs Dairy.

We're here to lend them a hand.

The US-bred MVP came into the Australian market based on his genomic breeding values.

He climbed to the top of the Australian Breeding Value proven rankings in 2018 — the pinnacle for Australian sires.

As one of the first popular Holstein bulls from the start of the genomic breeding era in Australia, MVP quickly amassed offspring throughout the country.

At six years and three months of age, he became the youngest bull in Australian history to have 1000 milking daughters in his proof.

ABS Australia business operations manager Bruce Ronalds said this phenomenal statistic showed that dairy farmers had confidence in the emerging DNA-driven breeding technology.

“MVP broke through ceilings with genomics in Australia and, still today, he pulls his weight on-farm where it counts,” Mr Ronalds said.

“There are so many of his daughters making money for Australian dairy farmers.

“There haven’t been many bulls like MVP, he was one of the first to deliver high type with moderate stature and without compromising any health or production traits.”

MVP’s lifetime semen production included 708 945 does of conventional semen and 27 252 of sexed semen.

This puts him in the top 25 per cent of global Holstein semen sales.

Australian farmers loved MVP, with almost 20 per cent of total straw production purchased locally. There are still some straws of MVP available.

Mr Ronalds said MVP’s popularity came from high semen fertility, the fact he was an A2 sire, his genomic results and type consistency.

In the December ABV release he had a Balanced Performance Index ranking of 294, the highest ranked proven bull with more than 1000 milking daughters.

GA CONFERENCE Award-winning farmers Tim and Fiona Salter have already made a huge impression on their North Tasmania dairy farm.

After just three years at the helm, they’ve picked up the prestigious 2019 ANZ Dairy Business of the Year award. Part of that success has been their decision to change their genetics to a New Zealand-style animal that would suit their farming conditions better.

Together with LIC, they are improving their breed mix to create cows that are efficient feed converters, producing their weight or better in milk solids and easy to manage throughout the seasons… and it’s paying off.

Production for the 2018-2019 season exceeded their forecasts, so next season they reckon they can reach their goal of 500kgMS per cow.

The herd is still young, so the Salters know there is plenty of room for improvement yet, even with their high expectations.

Contact us to learn more about how LIC can help with improvement on your farm.

LICI_780_DairyNews_B

1800 454 694 | admin@licaus.com.au | licnz.com/australia.cfm

There's always room for improvement

Genetics Australia has been forced to postpone a forum planned as part of its GA2020 conference because of COVID-19.

The GA2020 conference forum was due to be held on March 18 at Tabcorp Park Melton but a number of key speakers were unable to attend because of travel difficulties caused by the virus.

Genetics Australia chief executive Anthony Shelly said the decision to postpone was unfortunate but unavoidable.

“The forum has been postponed until a date to be advised. We were hoping to continue with the tour which was heading to Gippsland on Thursday and Friday however they could not go ahead,” he said.

“We apologise for this inconvenience but I’m sure people will appreciate that it’s beyond our control.”

The conference aimed to examine future directions in genetics with a horizon of 2030.

People who registered for the conference will be refunded.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

ANIMAL HEALTH // 27

Consistency is key: Liquid feeding options for calves THERE’S A myriad of options when it comes

to feeding calves, and a whole raft of factors that will likely influence your decision.

While whole milk is easily available on farm, it may be more economical to use a good quality calf milk replacer when milk prices are high or when milk pathogen load puts calves at risk of transferrable disease.

Milk should always be fresh and clean, and collection/storage/feeding equipment needs to be maintained to the highest of standards. Feeding milk from sick or mastitic cows increases the risk of transferring pathogens or antibiotic residues to calves and may increase the risk of antimicrobial resistance in your herd.

CMRs usually supply somewhere between 22 to 25 per cent protein and 18 to 22 per cent fat (both on a dry matter basis).

Most CMRs are based on skim-milk powders. Protein may come from sources such as wheat and soy, however milk-based proteins are much easier to digest for newborns.

When it comes to CMRs, consistency is key. Any sudden change in product or mixing rate could be harmful to your calves if you do not allow their digestive systems time to adapt.

If using a CMR, it is likely your product selection will depend somewhat on your calfrearing system; but always read the label, mix according to manufacturer’s directions, and prevent scavenger access.

Fortified feeding Fortifying milk (adding a CMR to fresh milk) can produce a liquid feed higher in nutritional value and has the potential to improve heifer growth and health outcomes.

In south-west Victoria, a study comparing calves fed 4 litres whole milk with those fed four litres fortified (whole milk + 150 g of a 25prot:20fat CMR) found the calves fed fortified milk gained significantly more height and weight by eight weeks of age.

There are numerous factors to consider before switching to a fortified feeding system; it would not be advisable to do so without further investigation.

Temperature With temperature, consistency is again the most important factor.

Warmed (38°C) and chilled milk can both have good results, but don’t swap between the two. In colder climates, cool milk has the potential to lower a calf’s body temperature such that they will need to divert extra energy away from growth and development towards returning to a normal body temperature.

Low-volume feeding If following low volume feeding recommendations of 10 to 12 per cent body weight per day (4 litres/day of whole milk or a 20:20 commercial milk replacer in a 40 kg calf), you can expect average daily gain of approximately 0.25 to 0.4 kg in a comfortable thermal environment.

However, if environmental temperatures are excessively hot or cold, these same calves can actually experience weight loss at this rate of feeding as they burn energy to maintain their thermoneutrality. Calves will begin to consume concentrates and fibre to increase their energy intake, although their digestive ability and therefore intake is limited in the first few weeks of life.

High-volume approaches (increased volume per feed, feeds per day, concentration or fortification) has the potential to increase calf satiety, weaning weights, lifetime milk production and fertility, and reduce disease incidence pre-weaning.

Higher volumes can however come with higher associated costs, and increased need for individual monitoring — good hygiene is essential.

Frequency Although the jury’s still out on exactly how frequently calves should be fed for optimal growth and development, traditional calf rearing operations in Australia usually work around twice daily feeding systems. This allows for close observation and early detection of signs of disease.

Calves can be successfully reared on either teats or buckets; although teat feeding helps calves satisfy their natural desire to suck, thus reducing the incidence of cross sucking and cross-sucking associated diseases.

Automated feeding systems mimic the natural feeding patterns of the calf on a cow, providing set amounts of milk at intervals chosen by the calf.

Auto feeders have the potential to reduce nutritional or non-infectious scours if properly

managed, but just as easily can become a source of rapid disease transmission amongst a group of calves.

The best way to determine whether your current approach to calf feeding is optimal for your operation is to monitor both height and weight of around 10 per cent of the group (recording weight alone may give misleading information on growth as it may not be a true reflection of skeletal growth and muscle/fat deposits).

A recent study from south-west Victoria found that for every additional 0.1 kg body weight gained per day during the pre-weaning period, an increase of 345 litres, 6.1 kg of fat and 7.5 kg of protein resulted at 250 days into their first lactation.

As always, engaging in the services and advice of your local veterinary and nutritional advisery team is recommended if you are looking to make any changes or wish to discuss your calf rearing system in more detail.

For more information, you can attend a Rearing Healthy Calves workshop in your region or download a copy of Dairy Australia’s m a n u a l a t w w w. d a i r y a u s t r a l i a . c o m . au’rearing-healthy-calves-manual-2nd-ed -Dr Lucy Collins Lucy Collins works as an on-farm veterinarian in Kyabram with Apiam Animal Health, and alongside her partner on his 600 cow dairy farm in Dixie. Dr Collins is completing her dairy residency with The University of Melbourne

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

28 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Aussie seal breakthrough IN A first for Australian farmers, Jurox Animal

Health has launched a non-antibiotic dry cow intra-mammary teat sealant.

U-Seal was developed in Australia by the Jurox team, in collaboration with Australian dairy farmers, who have, until recently, been unable to source a teat sealant owned and made locally.

Jurox head of regulatory affairs, Sharon Duguid said confidence in the product was critical, so providing a product that was developed and extensively trialled in Australian conditions gave the dairy farmer assurance that it would perform to their expectations.

Feedback from Australian dairy farmers required Jurox head of chemistry, Campbell Scott, and his team, to focus on the formulation and usability of U-Seal.

"To ensure that the product stays in place

and creates the best barrier during the dry off, we needed U-Seal, to have suitable viscosity, while also allowing it to flow out easily and steadily,” he said.

The syringe was also designed in collaboration with farmers.

"Our work resulted in our unique U-Seal Easy Flow syringe that includes a larger plunger end, with a short plunger travel, minimising air in the barrel, helping to avoid air being blown into the teat," Mr Scott said.

Jurox head of sales and marketing Joe Bown said having the product manufactured locally allowed for supply at dry-off time with the flexibility and adaptability to respond quickly to changes in market dynamics.

U-Seal is made at Rutherford in the NSW Hunter Valley.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

MACHINERY // 29

Patriot updates A NEW year brings some important changes to

one of the most popular members of the Case IH machinery family.

Case IH Australia/New Zealand has announced two key updates to MY2020 Patriot sprayers in the form of a new boom option and an upgrade to their automatic boom height management system.

The Patriot 4430 will now come with the option of a larger 41.14 m boom, offering increased productivity and better compatibility with a Controlled Traffic Farming scheme, among other benefits.

The automatic boom height upgrade applies to the Patriot 3330 and 4330 and is known as AutoBoom XRT, the industry-leading, latest version of Raven’s AutoBoom boom height control suite of products.

The most notable difference from the previous AutoBoom system is radar sensor technology replacing ultrasonic technology, and where previously there was no chassis sensing, now the XRT system offers chassis pitch and roll sensing.

Case IH Australia/New Zealand product manager for patriot Sprayers Alyx Selsmeyer said for customers the new AutoBoom XRT meant greater levels of boom control and protection, with other features including simultaneous ground and canopy detection, lighter and smaller sensors, and smoother movement and quicker reaction time compared to other systems on the market.

These most recent changes follow the launch of a 6000 litre product tank for the 4430 in 2019, and in 2020 this larger stainless-steel tank will be shipping from the United States as standard.

“All of these changes have been driven by

NEW DISTRIBUTOR FOR DITCH WITCH Leading agriculture and construction equipment distributor CEA are set to become the Australian distributor of Ditch Witch directional drills and excavators and Komptech waste recycling shredders after purchasing well-known equipment distributor ELB Equipment.

CEA will also become the distributor of Diamond Z, Screenpod and TrackStack adding high-speed grinders, stacking conveyers and modular wind sifters to its expanding portfolio of products for clients operating in the infrastructure construction, utility maintenance, waste management and recycling sectors.

CEA, part of the CFC Group of Companies, is a privately-owned business with nine branches, more than 90 dealer outlets and more than 280 employees.

Providing sales, parts and service Australia-wide through a network of branches and dealers CEA is well positioned to further develop and build on the strong market position ELB has built over its extensive time within the industry.

feedback from the Australian market, which is something we’re very proud of,” Ms Selsmeyer said.

"This ensures the latest Patriots offer what

local farmers are looking for in a self-propelled sprayer and are ideally suited to the demands of local conditions.

“Patriot sprayers are still constructed in the US at Benson, Minnesota, where the first Patriots were designed, tested and built more than 25 years ago and running parallel with that proud heritage is the legacy of superior performance and outstanding durability.

"These latest changes only enhance that reputation.”

For more information on the Patriot sprayer range and the latest updates, speak to your local Case IH dealer.

There are a few changes to Case IH’s Patriot 4330 and 3330 series boom sprayers on the Australian market.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

30 // MACHINERY

Top CASE IH dealer named CASE IH dealer O’Connors has once again

claimed the title of Case IH Dealer of the Year for dealers with three branches or more, presented at an awards ceremony in Tasmania last month.

It’s the fourth year in a row O’Connors has claimed the top award, topping off a big 12 months for the company, which saw it undergo significant expansion of its dealer network last year.

Started in Birchip in 1964, the business is now the largest dealer in the Case IH network, with branches in Birchip, Warracknabeal, Horsham and Shepparton in Victoria; Corowa, Forbes, West Wyalong, Grenfell and Condobolin in NSW; and Bordertown in South Australia.

It now employs more than 200 staff across its 10 dealerships.

O’Connors’ chief executive Gareth Webb said the award was recognition of the hard work of all their staff and the commitment to their customers.

“Last year was a massive year for us, taking on an additional four outlets and to make it happen we needed so much from our executive team and they delivered and we can’t thank them enough," Mr Webb said.

Case IH’s Australia/New Zealand general manager Pete McCann said the award was well deserved and congratulated the whole O’Connors team.

“To win this title four years running says a great deal about this business and the team

Case IH's Australia/New Zealand general manager Pete McCann, O'Connors group sales development manager Tom Sheridan, O'Connors group operation manager Rowan Bennett, O'Connors HR and marketing manager Lisa Day, O Connors chief executive Gareth Webb, O'Connors chief financial officer Michael McGough, central west manager Daniel Speed, O'Connors group sales operations manager David Hair and Case IH managing director of agriculture for Australia and New Zealand Brandon Stannett at the presentation of the Case IH Dealer of the Year Awards in Hobart.

they’ve assembled across all their dealership locations," Mr McCann said.

The Dealer of the Year results rely on an

objective ranking, based on factors including finance and business management, performance in sales and marketing, and parts and servicing,

Advanced Farming Systems Certification and total market share.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2020

MACHINERY // 31

SAVE HAY Kuhn expo success & MONEY 26-09-2019 8:24:09 am rpt from sept dna export 26-06-2019 9:12:17 am

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Australia experienced an influx of Kuhn dealers and customers in early March, who were attending the Kuhn Farm Machinery Expo 2020.

With almost 400 registered attendees during the March 4 and 5 event, the expo was a unique opportunity for attendees to see first-hand more than 30 of Kuhn’s cutting edge hay, silage, tillage, spraying, spreading, and feed mixing machines that are available on the Australian market.

The highly anticipated Kuhn SB 1290 iD large square baler was the highlight of the expo and Kuhn Australia marketing manager and baler product specialist Michael Murer said the live demonstration of the baler was a tremendous success.

“The baler has exceeded sales expectations in the Australian market, and on the back of the expo I anticipate that sales will only continue to grow.”

Also, on display for the first time in Australia was the show stopping Optimer L12000 disc cultivator.

“The Optimer L12000 is wider, stronger, faster and meets the requirements of largescale farmers looking for high work output, optimal comfort and a perfect ground tracking system without compromising work quality,”

Employing locals, all our feeders are made in Australia, using Aussie steel, we are sure to have a feeder to suit your requirement.

The highly anticipated KUHN SB 1290 iD large square baler was the highlight of the expo, according to Kuhn Australia marketing manager and baler product specialist Michael Murer.

Mr Murer said.

Throughout the expo, attendees and dealers were able to see the Kuhn difference through the company’s strength and technology in design and manufacturing.

In addition to live demonstrations and machinery displays, Kuhn also offered product workshops, presentations, exclusive access to special finance offers, and a competitive silent auction.

For more information, and to learn more about Kuhn, visit www.Kuhn.com.au

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