Dairy News Australia - June 2019

Supporting farmers PAGE 25 RURAL AID MISSION PAGE 22

JUNE, 2019 ISSUE 104

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

NEWS // 3

New season farmgate prices rising MAJOR MILK processors Fonterra Austra-

Police advice on activists. PG.7

Establishing pastures. PG.12

lia and Bega Cheese have both announced opening prices of $6.60/kgMS for the 2019– 20 season.

The opening prices came within days of each other, as processors compete with falling milk supply and an increasingly competitive market.

In a letter to suppliers Bega Cheese chief executive officer Paul van Heerwaarden said it’s opening price was a 12.8 per cent increase on last season’s price.

In addition, northern Victorian farmers will be eligible for an irrigation supplement of a further $0.20/kgMS on top of the opening price to be paid monthly.

Those who take up an additional Bega Supply Premium will receive $0.25/kg MS (two-year premium) or $0.50/kg MS (threeyear premium) for new suppliers.

“Overall northern Victorian farms can earn up to $6.97/kgMS (including $0.17 per three year BSP) in respect of the 2019–20 financial year,” Mr van Heerwaarden wrote.

Bega Cheese has also announced it will shift to a 9/3 payment system.

“This is a simple payment system that increases early season cash flow and encourages farmers to produce milk at a time that suits their farm business. There are only two prices — spring (September, October and November) and out of spring with a differential between these prices of $0.50/kgMS,” Mr van Heerwaarden wrote.

Gunbower supplier Clare Modra said she was hoping for a little bit more money to start the season.

“We have been with Bega for three years and they are always competitive, so hopefully there will be some step-ups through the season,” Mrs Modra said.

She said she liked the idea of the irrigation supplement payment and she was of the understanding that it could be taken early, as an upfront payment.

Fonterra Australia managing director René Dedoncker said that the decision to announce it’s $6.60/kgMS opening price in May would help dairy farmers make decisions on-farm.

“As our industry and business evolve to deal with a smaller milk pool, we have a stronger focus on servicing local demand which

brings greater opportunity for certainty on pricing,” he said.

“The broader global supply and demand picture is positive, with demand expected to remain strong across key trading partners and a favourable exchange rate.

“Importantly, it’s a competitive milk price for our Australian farmers that enables us to maintain a sustainable model in Australia and deliver a return on investment for our business.”

Saputo is preparing a more simplified pricing structure from July 1.

“We will introduce an integrated pricing program and quality standard for our suppliers,” the company said.”

“By combining best practices and taking feedback into account, we believe the new structure is more simple, transparent and fair.”

An announcement about details and the opening price is expected in June.

Beston Global Food company, a South Australian cheese-making company, will offer a base price of $6.80 kg, before flat milk, growth and production incentives, from July 1.

Coles bid on milk Rural aid mission. PG.22

NEWS ����������������������������������������������������3–29 OPINION ����������������������������������������������������� 6 MANAGEMENT �������������������������������� 11–15 MARKETS ������������������������������������������������ 23 CALF REARING ������������������������������30–31 ANIMAL HEALTH ��������������������������32–33 MACHINERY �����������������������������������35–38

AUSTRALIAN RETAILER Coles will soon start sourcing milk direct from farmers in Victoria and central NSW for Coles Brand fresh milk.

The company says it intends to deliver more competitive farm gate milk prices but has not disclosed the price it intends to pay.

Under the new model, dairy farmers can decide between one-year, two-year or threeyear contracts.

Coles has previously relied on dairy processors to purchase milk from farmers to supply for Coles Brand milk, under contracts that

allow the processor rather than Coles to set the farm gate price.

Coles will pay dairy processor Saputo to process and bottle the milk under a toll processing agreement.

Coles will also offer farmers contracts with guaranteed prices for two years and a floor price in the third year with flexible options of supply.

Coles’ chief operating officer Greg Davis said in addition to offering a fair and competitive price, dairy farmers would have more choice regarding the length of their contract

and more certainty around income.

“Over many years Coles has developed direct relationships with thousands of meat, seafood and fresh produce farmers supplying to our stores; it is a successful model, and we think it can work in dairy too.”

Mr Davis said the new sourcing model was an important first step to improve returns for dairy farmers while the industry and government continued to work towards a long-term solution to structural issues facing the industry.

Mr Davis said the price of Coles Brand fresh milk would remain the same.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

4 // NEWS

Feed shortage hits dairy

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

AUSTRALIA’S ONGOING eastern states

drought, with 23 per cent less summer crops sown, has been blamed for the need to import high-protein wheat from Canada.

The recent announcement comes on the back of news that GrainCorp announced an aftertax loss, blaming a low harvest due to ongoing drought. In a company statement, grain deliveries to GrainCorp’s Deniliquin receival facility were down almost 70 per cent year-on-year and by more than 80 per cent at Tocumwal.

Despite a bumper crop being harvested in Western Australia, the total Australian wheat crop production decreased by 19 per cent and the family-owned grain processing and food manufacturing agribusiness, Manildra Group, does not believe there is enough high protein wheat available domestically. It processes this grade of wheat to extract gluten and starch for value-added products at its Shoalhaven Starches facility at Bomaderry, NSW. The directors argued importing wheat in the short term is critical to the viable ongoing operation of the facility until the end of this year.

The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources approved Manildra Group’s permit to import recently — the wheat is expected to arrive

in Australia from Canada in late June or July.

It is one of 11 applications before DAWR to import bulk grain from Canada and the United States— as well as wheat, there are applications for corn, sorghum and canola that have been under consideration since the second half of last year. Some of these applications were made because of the dairy and feedlot industries’ need to guarantee ongoing production of livestock feed products, against the impact of ongoing drought in Australia’s eastern states.

ABARES estimated a 33 per cent reduction in summer crop production Australia-wide; wheat fell by 19 per cent, barley by seven per cent, canola by 41 per cent, chickpeas by 76 per cent and oats by 21 per cent.

A DAWR spokesperson confirmed the remaining 10 applications are in varying stages of assessment. Manildra Group is among the remaining applicants and is the only applicant to contact Grain Growers Ltd, Australia’s grower-member group.

Manildra Group’s principals first advised DAWR in August last year about a potential crop shortfall impacting its business and the viability of its Nowra processing plant. Manildra Group formally advised Grain Growers Ltd of its application to DAWR, on Melbourne Cup Day last year.

Manildra Group’s application was for wheat

to be used to produce value-added and export products, especially to meet its export trade commitments. The gluten and starch extracts are used in producing stockfeed, bakery goods, syrups, baking and dry condiment mixes, noodles and pasta, paper products and ethanol applications including pharmaceutical products, alcohol and fuel.

According to Grain Growers chairperson Brett Hosking, there was sufficient domestic wheat production to meet the livestock feed needs of Australia’s dairy farmers, feedlot operators and pig and chicken farmers. However, Manildra was in doubt there was enough of it’s sourced product being harvested to continue operations at it’s Bomaderry plant in the short term. Hence, the application to import wheat.

“A significant portion of the Western Australian harvest has been transported to the eastern states for the domestic livestock market; and there is ample grain to ensure feed supplies are catered for,” Mr Hosking said.

Grain Growers has been advising DAWR and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud about the need for strict biosecurity around any imported grain and oilseeds.

“We are making sure the minister and DAWR biosecurity officers are informed of growers’ concerns. It is critical to protect our environment — our native wildlife — and our agricultural

production,” Mr Hosking said.

“We’ve also been talking about the social considerations — the effect on grain growers from importing grains and oilseeds.”

The import conditions require the grain is sourced from areas assessed as presenting a low plant and animal biosecurity risk and impose strict movement, storage and processing controls within Australia.

Among the biosecurity risks are rust and other foliage and root diseases, weeds and insect pests that are not part of the Australian landscape.

“We understand Manildra has purchased specialist containers that guarantee the wheat is sealed in transit from port to processing facility. They have assured us the processing facility is closed circuit,” Mr Hosking said.

Manildra Group issued a statement that confirmed the wheat shipment would be heated and processed in a closed loop facility at Bomaderry.

In the meantime, cereal crops sown in Australia’s south on the back of rain in late April and early May, are thirsty for follow-up irrigation.

“Some growers have sown into moisture for the first time in a few years,” Mr Hosking said.

But grain growers in northern NSW and Queensland are still facing a tough sowing season.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

NEWS // 5

Free milk pricing comparison launched A NEW pricing tool for dairy farmers will bring much-need transparency to the Australian milk market, says its developer.

Independent milk services company Milk2Market says its free calculator provides farmers with a transparent and credible source of farm gate milk prices and payment information.

Commercial development general manager Richard Lange said the tool used publicly available data and allowed farmers to compare payment structures and pricing based on their individual farm system.

“Members across the supply chain, as well as government and regulators, have been calling for greater price transparency in the dairy industry,” Mr Lange said.

“Our goal is to make buying and selling milk better for everyone.”

The free tool gives farmers a customised gross annual income estimate based on processor prices in the region.

Another platform, called Milk Exchange, will be released later this year and allow registered users to buy and sell milk directly via an online platform.

“We expect the calculator tool will help buyers and sellers gain a better picture of the market ahead of trading on the new milk exchange,” Mr Lange said.

The Milk Price Calculator compares milk payments of major selected companies in Victoria and NSW. Milk2Market aims to extend the service to South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania.

“We’ve combined industry experience,

published price announcements and publicly available data to produce the best milk pricing tool available,” Mr Lange said.

“Members across the supply chain as well as government and regulators have been calling for greater price transparency in the dairy industry.”

“We expect the calculator tool will also assist buyers and sellers to have a better picture of the market ahead of trading on the new exchange.”

Asked how the program could be offered for free, Mr Lange said the goal was to build relationships with farmers for the introduction of Milk Exchange.

He said the pricing had been obtained through open sources.

He said many companies published their pricing information on-line and some had verified the numbers with Milk2Market.

Asked if the companies would be uncomfortable with the program, he said this was a new world and pricing was an issue the industry had to face.

“We are aware that a lot of people have tried to do this before.”

“We have trialled it and taken on board suggestions.

Asked if processors might say it was not the whole picture, Mr Lange said there were other issues suppliers could advance with their processors.

“After pricing, the conversation moves on to other issues and that’s up to the field service guys.”

For more information and to access the calculator, visit: milk2market.com.au/milkcalculator

Richard Lange speaking at the launch of the new milk price calculator.

A summary page from the Milk2Market calculator.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

6 // OPINION

EDITORIAL

Common threads in dairy meetings

Graziers see out drought in Faraway Domes NSW graziers who took a risk in building luxury accommodation on their property, in the middle of the crippling drought, have been rewarded with an influx of bookings.

Faraway Domes launched to the public in November last year and in the last three months, weekend occupancy rates have climbed to 95 per cent.

So far, guests have come from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, and local areas. There has also been international interest with bookings from Canada, China, the United States and Switzerland.

Owners Jaime and Belinda Munsie

built Faraway Domes alongside their family last year to help to diversify their 2000 ha mixed farming business.

The property, Willunga, is located between Inverell, Goondiwindi and Moree and has suffered under the driest conditions in 100 years.

“It’s been so rewarding to see how many people want to travel to outback Australia and experience what we have to offer, while enjoying first-class comfort,” Ms Munsie said.

“It’s been a tough couple of years on our property, but this personal project has provided a much-needed distraction while we wait out the drought.”

Advertising James MacGibbon 0409 103 745 james.macgibbon@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 Senior journalist Alana Christensen

(03) 5820 3237

Publisher

The interim results of consultation on a new strategic plan for the dairy industry will not surprise anyone who has been keenly following the sector in the past few years.

But it will be uncomfortable reading for those striving to support the industry.

Consultation meetings for the Dairy Plan have already been held in most dairy regions, and, no surprise, farm gate milk price is one of the most popular issues, at a time when most businesses are facing a cost-price squeeze.

Asked about what issues the industry should be focusing on, many of the workshop participants have also nominated industry advocacy as a weak point.

At Cobden one of the findings was: “We need one unified, national body that advocates for dairy farmers across the whole dairy value chain.”

At Lismore: “A farmer-funded levy model to fund a single advocacy body. Similar to the ADF, the body will be a unified voice for all dairy farmers, and those with skin in the game. All other organisations to be abolished.”

At Nowra: “Industry restructure to one body: with more levy money towards united and effective advocacy for farmers (not processors).”

There appears to be a consistent thread emerging, indicating farmer dissatisfaction with the current representative bodies.

Herein lies a frustrating dilemma for those organisations elected to represent dairy farmers.

While seeking to lobby and advocate on behalf of farmers, they are being deserted by their membership.

Some critics may well argue that the decline is because of poor performance, while others will say that it is a lazy response from people who don’t want to contribute to their own future.

Going in to bat for the industry, lobbying governments and facing the mainstream media is going to be harder and tougher for our industry representatives in the future.

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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 JUNE 2019

NEWS // 7

Activists fined for farm invasions

Victoria Police acting Superintendent Peter Greaney

Police tips to curb activists VICTORIA POLICE has assembled a short

guide for farmers faced with property invasions by animal activists.

Two police officers addressed the recent UDV annual conference and outlined how to deal with trespassers.

Acting Superintendent Peter Greaney said while citizens had a right to protest they did not have a right to obstruct traffic and emergency services (as happened in the Melbourne CBD) nor enter private property with its inherent biosecurity and safety risks.

Only last week the police were called to a property in western Victoria where four young women were behaving suspiciously on a farm property.

They told the farmer they were on the property to relieve themselves, but police said they suspected the two were attempting to "save" or steal lambs on the farm.

One of the vehicles had a horse float attached.

Supt Greaney said the incident was a good example of what to do: the neighbours first reported the incursion, the farmer attended and told the people to leave, and he obtained the car

registration numbers.

Police are investigating the incident.

Supt Greaney said farms should have a plan for what to do if trespassers came onto the property.

The police recommendations for farmers were: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Remain calm� Call 000� Tell trespassers to leave the property� Gather information like car registration numbers and physical descriptions� Use your phone to photograph them or video their movements� Do not respond to provocation, as activists will sometimes try to provoke a reaction, fi lm the response and then use it in their propaganda� Remove yourself from harm’s way�

VEGAN ACTIVISTS took part in midnight

stealth missions, issued extortion-like demands involving live animals and chained themselves to abattoir equipment, a Queensland court has heard.

Eight activists were each fined between $400 and $600 recently after pleading guilty in Brisbane Magistrates’ Court to trespassing on agricultural properties in April.

None of their convictions were recorded.

Melissa Joan Donald called police just after midnight on April 13 from a farm near Toowoomba complaining she was being chased by a farmer on quad bike who was shooting at her.

Officers found her after an hour of searching in a paddock, where she told them she was “there to see the cows”. Her camouflage clothing and two-way radio suggested otherwise.

“I just want to make clear that Melissa Donald called police herself because she was frightened,” defence lawyer Mark Glaser said.

“She waited for police and was then arrested.”

Donald was fined $400. Five days earlier, staff at a Warwick abattoir turned up to work about 3.20 am to find 21 activists, 18 of them chained to equipment.

Police were called, with the protest group showing them previously taken video depicting the slaughter of livestock.

“A spokesperson told the manager of the abattoir that they would leave peacefully if he would supply them with three lives, being sheep, that they could save,” police prosecutor Kathy Clark said.

“At that time, they did not offer any payment

for the sheep and the manager agreed to provide the sheep to facilitate them leaving the place.”

Seven of the activists — Marilyn Orr, Miranda Welsh Webster, Scott Justin Miller, Jessica Leigh Lunardon, Amie Louise Joseph-Hall, Melanie Ellen Hinckseman and Lyndal Maree Carmichael — were convicted and fined. They were also each ordered to pay the abattoir $180 in restitution. In handing down his sentence, magistrate Jason Schubert considered their lack of criminal history and “otherwise good character”.

“There’s clearly a right for persons to hold peaceful protests. That does not extend to a right to trespass on to another person’s property or interfere with their business activities,” Mr Schubert said.

“The request for … three sheep is effectively an act of extortion.

“After a spate of animal rights protests on farms and abattoirs, the state government last month allowed police and biosecurity officers to issue on-the- spot fines of $652.17 to activists on top of penalties for trespassing.

Mr Glaser said police initially told the group at Warwick they would be let off with a warning but they were “later charged”.

He also said after being handed a curfew as part of bail conditions, Carmichael was visited by police five times between midnight and 4 am “in a short period of time”.

Outside court, Orr, who was recently convicted of similar offending, said she wanted “the focus back on the animals, not the activists”.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

8 // UDV CONFERENCE

Dairy bodies criticised GOVERNMENTS AND stakeholders in the dairy industry need to lift their game, according to UDV president Paul Mumford.

In a tough year for the industry, he has called on governments, processors and Dairy Australia to improve their performance.

“The last year has not been an easy one for anyone in this room,” Mr Mumford told the UDV Conference in Melbourne recently.

“The past five months have been tough — tough for farmers on the ground but also tough for UDV/VFF; tough to secure the attention and response that our industry needs to assist our farmers rise to the many, and growing, challenges.

“Dry conditions, feed scarcity and cost, water prices, returns for milk — all these things have plagued our industry and the recognition and response from those in government and our supply chain has been, quite frankly, inadequate.

“Farmer sentiment has been, and continues to be, extremely low across Victorian farms and an element of fatigue has increased amongst our farmers.

“A welcome relief of state-wide rain in the last week has allowed short-term hope and optimism for many,” Mr Mumford said.

“The rain appears to have had a 90 per centplus coverage over the state, with excess of 100 mm in some parts of the north-east, 40 to 60 mm in the northern irrigation district and 15 to 50 mm in the south.”

Mr Mumford said trading conditions were still extreme and many farmers would still be hurting with overheads, meeting costs of production, and rising debt.

“Dairy Australia data emphasise this, with reductions in milk volumes across Victoria down again for the month of March by 12.9 per cent, bringing Victoria’s year-to-date to -8.2 per cent with expectations for the trend to further decline in the remainder of this financial year,” he said.

“Milk price signals for the forthcoming season have already started with processors reflecting the true value of the diminishing milk pool across Victoria.

“Even though the Australian dollar is weaker against the US dollar and commodity prices on

UDV members at the Melbourne conference.

the global stage are rising, we are seeing guaranteed milk prices of up to $7/kg MS, showing a significant increase on any preceding years’ announcement.

“One would have to question if processors are forecasting the next season price to be at high average levels, why the current season prices don’t reflect this average.”

Mr Mumford said the role processors played in Victoria must be addressed.

“Processors operate in a changing world and we are currently seeing an aggressive milk price to ensure they secure their minimum milk supply.

“This seems likely to continue into the next season and it is anyone’s guess where they will sit in 12 months’ time.”

The conference also heard the UDV was losing membership.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

UDV CONFERENCE // 9

Floor price debated THE IDEA of a floor price for milk received

some support from national dairy advocacy groups at the UDV Conference in Melbourne last month.

Although some reservations were expressed about how it would work, most of the statebased groups expressed the thought that the adoption of a policy by the ALP was a sign that the party was interested in dairy.

UDV vice-president John Keely warned there were some practical difficulties in setting a floor price when there was such a wide range in the cost of production, even within states.

Queensland Dairy Organisation chair Eric Danzi said it was interesting to see the ALP was taking the dairy industry seriously and trying to do something to assist.

West Australian Farmers dairy chair Michael Partridge said the present system was not working so the group supported an investigation into the new system.

VFF president David Jochinke warned conference delegates of the emergence of animal rights groups and their impact on farming. He said the

CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS The following motions were carried by the recent UDV Conference in Melbourne: Colac Branch resolution: The UDV push for the NLIS database to be brought up to date.

Colac Branch resolution: The UDV/ADF to lobby state and Federal Government representatives participating in the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulations Forum to adopt truth in labelling regulations that specifically acknowledge that products marketed as milk must be sourced from mammals, and not plant-based alternatives, as a matter of urgency.

Karrinjeet Singh-Mahil (Wannon Branch) resolution: That the UDV extend its work around simplifying milk pricing to fully investigate the costs and benefits of differential pricing for farmers and the broader industry.

Wannon Branch resolution: That the UDV advocate for the Victorian Government to legislate or regulate as necessary to compel power distributors to upgrade power infrastructure to ensure safety to regional and rural communities and to transport all forms of reliable energy generated to and from dairy farm businesses to meet the needs of our business both now and going forward for the next 50 years.

VFF had been active in running forums prior to last year’s Victorian state election, but since then there had been very little action from the government on the issues discussed at the election.

The conference carried a motion urging changes to food labelling which would limit the use of the word ‘milk’ to the products of mammals. The Colac branch successfully put a motion to the meeting arguing that food labelling had become misleading and other products were trading off milk’s reputation.

“The average consumer is led to believe that consuming a plant-based product has the same nutritional value as milk from a mammal,” the motion from the branch said.

New South Wales Dairy chair Erika Chesworth said the dairy industry had fallen behind in food innovation. “Look at the dairy cabinet,” Ms Chesworth said.

“There is very little innovation. We need new products. We need to be the next smart industry.

“I think it’s our job to be courageous and come up with some innovation. Because where we are is not good.”

Wannon Branch resolution: That taking the Dairy Plan initiative, this conference and UDV call upon all dairy advocacy groups, including Farmer Power and Dairy Connect, to sit at the one table to work together.

Wannon Branch resolution: The UDV lobby to update the structure of FMDs to ensure it is meeting modern needs.

Colac/Corangamite/Warragul branches resolution: The UDV/VFF lobby to ensure that harsher penalties are put in place to deter animal extremists from partaking in activities that falsely discredit animal agriculture and put stock and farming families at risk and provide adequate information to members with regard to laws and appropriate rights of farmers.

These activities include: trespass, putting biosecurity at risk, applying unnecessary stress on stock (which could lead to injury or death), theft and unlawful surveillance (including with drones).

Corangamite Branch resolution: That the UDV advocate to government to ensure that animal activist organisations that are instigating incitements pertaining to farming enterprises, farming personnel and rural communities have their charity status removed.

Milk ‘strike’ motion fails at Victorian conference A SUGGESTION from northern Victorian dairy farmers that they should consider withholding their milk from processors due to poor farm gate prices, failed when put to the vote at the recent UDV annual conference.

UDV members from the Katunga-based No 3 Branch were disappointed but not that surprised when the motion failed to get up.

New UDV member Andrew Schult was critical of the conference for what he called shallow thinking and for not coming up with any solutions to the current dairy crisis.

The motion called for the UDV to establish an acceptable milk solids price and then seek legal advice on collectively organising a withdrawal of milk.

Some conference members believed the motion was calling for a “milk strike” and was too strong, but UDV member Bridget Goulding from Katunga

said the motion called for legal advice first.

“I’m disappointed it did not at least get to the stage of getting legal advice.”

She acknowledged it was a strong resolution and said it had caused a huge amount of discussion at branch level.

“But something has to change because whatever is happening at the moment is not working.

“We’re really in trouble, here in the north.”

Andrew Schult spoke in favour of the motion and acknowledged it was confronting but said the battle had to start somewhere.

“I’ve been an advocate for these type of actions for years because I have been in the pork and beef industries as well.”

He said he was expecting more action from industry leaders, but could see no solutions offered at the conference.

Mr Schult said his view had come about over

the years because he had been through a lot of the past attempts to do what this motion sets out to do.

“I can remember the bad old days when (Premier) John Cain, and farmers threatened to stop supply and he threatened farmers with going to jail, I have seen all this and felt that I had some experience in how to do this.

“A rejection of this motion sends a dangerous message to the processors and to the government that we are weak and a toothless tiger.

“If we don’t go with this, I just don’t see much future for dairy in Australia.”

Another branch member, Greg Brooks, said he had spoken to a young couple working on a farm, forced to take a job each off the farm.

“That should be ringing alarms bells, that that group of people are struggling in the industry.

“If we are not prepared to say where we think

price should be …then that’s a perfect example of why the membership and people are disappearing.”

Referring to a presentation from Dairy Australia on marketing and improving the value of milk products, he said.

“We can improve its value and worth at the retail end, but someone can just simply take that back off us.

“Until we can get back some control at the farm gate we are in dire straits.”

One speaker against the motion said it was difficult to set an acceptable milk price with so many different businesses.

It was also difficult in an industry so influenced by international commodity prices.

Bernhard Lubitz from Leongatha, Gippsland, supported the motion and said it represented a cry for help.

TH1848M 16-7-18

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RECENT FIELD TRIAL RESULTS DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN CLINICAL CASES OF MASTITIS IN EARLY LACTATION IN TEATSEALED HEIFERS Teatseal was used in herds which had never previously used Teatseal in their heifers prior to calving. Records of clinical mastitis were compared to previous calving periods, or in some herds records were compared to heifers in the same herd which were not Teatsealed that calving period.

ANIMALS AND HERDS

GRAPH 2. Spring 2016. 2 herds – Heifer clinical mastitis in 1st 30 days of lactation, before and after using Teatseal 2 n 2015 (Not Teatsealed)

n 2016 (Teatsealed)

16

59%

14 12

(%)

THE TRIAL

80%

reduction in clinical cases

10

reduction in clinical cases

8

• 16 south-eastern Australian Dairy Herds – Victoria and Tasmania • Autumn and Spring calving periods 2016 and 2017 • 79 to 530 heifers per herd per calving period • 3555 heifers in total.

6 4 2 0 Herd 1

GRAPH 1. Autumn 2016. 11 herds — Heifer clinical mastitis March to May 2016 1 n Not Teatsealed (n=1759)

GRAPH 3. Autumn 2017. 3 herds – Heifer clinical mastitis in 1st 30 days of lactation, before and after using Teatseal 3

n Teatsealed (n=926)

8

n 2016 (Not Teatsealed)

80%

91%

n 2017 (Teatsealed)

69%

25

reduction in clinical cases

20

reduction in clinical cases

reduction in clinical cases

Herd 1

Herd 2

100% difference in clinical cases

(%)

(%)

10

n 2015 (Not Teatsealed) 30

14 12

Herd 2

15 6 4

10

2

5

0

0 Herd 3

CLINICAL CASES OF MASTITIS IN EARLY LACTATION WERE REDUCED BY 59-100% ONE HERD WENT FROM 25 CASES PER 100 HEIFERS CALVED TO NO CASES AT ALL! THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. GET YOUR HEIFERS TEATSEALED BEFORE THEIR FIRST CALVING SPEAK TO YOUR LOCAL VET ABOUT THE BEST WAY TO ADMINISTER TEATSEAL IN YOUR HEIFERS References: 1, 2 & 3. Zoetis data on file. Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd. Level 6, 5 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes NSW 2138. © 2018 Zoetis Inc. All rights reserved. June 2018. ZL0925.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

MANAGEMENT // 11

Deans Marsh dairy farmer Leighton Hart says it’s been an expensive season relying on bought-in feed because of dry conditions. He talks to journalist Simone Smith about his situation on page 12.

“Two speed” autumn in western Victoria

BY SIMONE SMITH

FARMERS KNOW better than anyone the power of Mother Nature.

In western Victoria, the weather has played a huge role in the fortunes of dairy farmers this autumn.

Early rain for some, has delivered pasture to calve cows on, while others had to painstakingly wait until the middle of May for their first falls. Every day without pasture has added cost to their business.

Notman Pasture Seeds sales representative, Andrew Allsop, based in western Victoria, described the local season as a “two speed economy”.

Due to this he said those who got late rain were looking for short-term feed, as quick as possible. Anyone sowing perennials would have to be prepared to wait until spring to graze them as the soil temperatures had dropped, he said.

At a business level, the late rain has cost a

lot for those who are still relying on homegrown feed or having to buy it in, according to western Victoria farm consultant Paul Groves.

“Last year was one of the worst autumns we’ve seen in western Victoria; for many it’s better than last year, but that’s only just for over half,” he said.

“There’s still 40 per cent whose season is similar to last year and they have less options for how to fix it. Last year you could go and buy stuff, this year it is hard to source it.

“Farms that have grass are now feeding less silage because they have pastures, that’s a big advantage.

“Farms that haven’t got grass are drawing down on fodder reserves and that could impact on milk production later.”

Mr Groves said it was difficult to calculate potential milk production losses, but estimated if the weather situation got “ugly” another 300 kg of purchased feed per cow would be needed.

At “today’s prices” he said that would be $150/ cow and across an average 300 head herd, that

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would be $45 000.

“That’s the immediate impact, the long-term impact is that you don’t get the milk production,” he said.

“So double that loss, in feed costs, with the milk production. So, it’s $45 000 again and then there’s unpaid bills on the farm.

“That’s become a big issue which means some don’t have access to find that $45 000 they want because they can’t get it.”

Those with pasture cover going into a winter have traditionally better-avoided local issues such as soil pugging.

“With better pasture cover, you get better growth in the winter,” Mr Groves said.

“You get 10 to 20 per cent higher growth rates if you have pasture cover going into June.”

Landmark Timboon agronomist James O’Brien said his region got 90 mm in March, 40 mm in April — which dried-off emerging pastures — but they recovered with rains in May. But he recognised there were areas not far away which missed these rains and were in a

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completely different seasonal situation.

For those who planted pastures in March, he said many in his local region were grazing them in the middle of May. However, mid-May, he said soil temperatures at Simpson were 10.5 to 11.5°C and he was “surprised” it was that cold.

The onset of cold soil temperatures would mean the start of gibberellic acid applications, according to Mr O’Brien.

He said applying certain broadleaf herbicides at the same time as the gibberellic acid would not only assist with killing weeds, it would also promote pasture growth.

Popular crops in the Timboon region this year had been tillage radish, something he described as like a forage rape or turnip, great for “hardpan soils” or for quick feed.

Ryecorn has also been popular for quick winter feed, according to Mr O’Brien.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

12 // MANAGEMENT

Leighton Hart sowed annual pastures at Easter time. Normally his farm at Deans Marsh “flukes” showers then, but rain didn’t arrive until early May.

Late break hinders pasture establishment GREEN SHOOTS of annual rye-grass are just

peeking through the topsoil at Leighton Hart’s dairy farm in western Victoria.

This leaf emergence has been the result of about 40 mm of rain at the start of May, the only decent soaking his farm has received since last spring.

A week later, the second week of May, the farm received about 51 mm, “good rain on top”, Mr Hart said.

He welcomed the rain, but pasture growth will be too late to calve cows onto grass.

“We sowed at the end of March, we try and get everything in before Easter,” he said.

“It is pretty dry and it only started to come up because of the last rain we had which was close to 40 mm.

“Obviously the seed is only just germinating

“We might get on some of the earlier perennials that have lasted, but we don’t want to start too early and run out of grass before spring.” and we are about six weeks away from grazing these paddocks, we have a lot of ground (like this).”

Mr Hart, wife Karen and children Lachlan, Maggie and Lucas lease a 400 ha farm at Deans Marsh about 27 km inland from the coastal town of Lorne and 34 km east of Colac.

Traditionally, Mr Hart said they would “fluke” showers around or before Easter which prompted the start of sowing. They dry-sowed this year and rain didn’t arrive until a few weeks later.

The region is home to a few dairy farms,

but land use is predominately sheep, beef and more recently it has become a “lifestyle property” region.

The Hart family milks 550 crossbred cows, calving from May 1 until the end of August, across a milking platform of about 250 ha to 260ha. The business has been pasture based, feeding in a “normal year” 1.8 tonne/cow/lactation of supplements in the bail. This year, because of the dry season, it would be about 2 tonne/cow/lactation.

Up to 85 per cent of the total 400 ha farm has been sown this year, this includes a “top-up” or “complete sow” of all the milking area. This

has been necessary due to the long, dry and hot summer, according to Mr Hart.

About 40ha, used as an out-block, has been sown to oats and rye-grass and this would be made into silage in spring.

Mr Hart said the mass-scale pasture renovation across the farm was a big expense and this was in addition to buying-in more feed, something he said was “difficult”.

The farm includes about 80 ha of permanent pasture which “has lasted” through the drier period.

“We are probably about six to eight weeks away from a full rotation,” Mr Hart said.

“We might get on some of the earlier perennials that have lasted, but we don’t want to start too early and run out of grass before spring.”

The 51 mm in the second week of May would

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

MANAGEMENT // 13

New annual pasture emerges following recent rain at Deans Marsh near Lorne in western Victoria.

help pasture establishment with the combination of warmer weather.

“In a week’s time, when the new grass is up to two leaves we can put some urea on it to push it along,” Mr Hart said.

But until pastures have established for grazing, the herd relies on a diet of bought-in feed.

Freshly-calved cows receive 6.5 kg/day of grain mix, including canola, in the dairy.

On top of this, they are fed wheaten hay, which cost $385 a tonne delivered, and a little homegrown silage. The latter, Mr Hart expects to run out of shortly.

Sourcing bought-in feed during a dry season has been expensive for their farm business.

“It means a high cost of production because we are putting more bought-in feed into the system on an already stretched budget,” Mr Hart said. “This is because of our grain is $150 – $180 tonne more expensive (than average years) and bought-in feed has increased by 30 to 40 per cent because you haven’t got that grass in the paddock.”

Following an autumn break, and promise of follow-up, Mr Hart hoped soil temperatures remained at more than 11°C to promote pasture growth.

“If we get really, really cold, the growth rate of these new plants is going to be slow as well,” he said. “It is a bit of a catch-22, we want a bit of rain but obviously some warmer weather in between it. If it gets down to, or close to, 11 (degrees Celsius) or a bit lower, things sort of start to stall. We have been up to 13–14 (degrees Celsius in early May) but it has been dropping away for some parts of the farm with the colder mornings, because we do get some frosts down on the flats.”

At the beginning of May, Mr Hart recorded a soil temperature of 12.5 to 13 °C. “We’ve had a number of years like this, with the dry conditions, it is starting to repeat itself all too often really,” he said.

“It is something we definitely have to look at, in terms of our systems, and find something that works in these conditions.”

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Freshly-calved cows will have to wait until at least June for pasture at Leighton Hart’s Deans Marsh dairy farm. The season break didn’t arrive until May.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

14 // MANAGEMENT

Early rain gives good start for pastures A CHANCE thunderstorm in February deliv-

ered much-needed moisture for one Dixie dairy farm to establish its newly renovated pastures earlier in the season.

This western Victorian pasture would be set for grazing by the end of May, providing the cheapest and best source of feed for the Glennen family’s freshly-calved mostly Holstein herd.

Matt Glennen said the 60 mm at the end of February was a “luck of the game” thunderstorm which benefitted just a localised region east of Warrnambool.

He farms with his parents John and Helen,

partner Lucy Collins, full-time employee Tom Stuart, with some casual milkers, between Terang and Cobden.

Following a hot, dry autumn and summer last year, the Glennens used this autumn to re-establish their long-term pasture base after most of it died, except for 30 ha of a rye-grass perennial called Base.

“We lost all our grass last year, pretty much all the perennials, so we had sown a lot of Italians last year because we needed the feed,” Matt said.

“That provided the balance between feed

A thunderstorm in February provided moisture for Matt Glennen and his family at Dixie in western Victoria, to sow pastures in early March.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

MANAGEMENT // 15

Matt Glennen, from Dixie in western Victoria, said his family has had to re-establish its perennial pasture base this year after most of it died last year due to hot and dry conditions.

availability and timing and we couldn’t do everything in perennial last year, we would have been on struggle-street in winter.

“So, this year, we had a fair old plan. It was probably the first week of March when we started sowing … it was then a bit dicey late March and some of it was a bit sick-looking, but we got enough rain.”

The family normally “takes the punt” and starts sowing in early March, but this year the plan was slightly different.

“We normally start with Italians early and then perennials,” Matt said.

“This year we did the same thing, but went straight in with perennials in mid-March – March 20. Now (early May) they are probably three-tofour weeks off grazing.”

Perennial rye-grass is the Glennens’ pasture of choice, but they planned to drill some wheat into the sacrifice paddocks at their Boorcan outblock. Matt said this out-block, near Camperdown, was “early country” and didn’t get as wet as the home farm.

Rating the season, in May, as a six or seven out of 10, Matt said Mother Nature had almost

entirely co-operated with his sowing plans.

“Like everything would have been better to have the last couple of weeks (early May) rain earlier, but if we didn’t get that thunderstorm in February, we wouldn’t be like we are now,” he said.

Four years ago, he rated the season a “10 out of 10” with the herd entirely fully fed on pasture by May 10. This was the result of much earlier rains.

In the middle of May this year, Matt said much of the perennial renovation had been fertilised once and would be ready for grazing by the end of the month.

The Glennens milk 600 cows across 300 ha with the 180 ha Boorcan out-paddock.

Calving used to be split but it is now only once a year, in autumn. Heifers kick-off calving, starting on March 10, with the cows entering the dairy a fortnight later.

Looking forward, the Glennens want to push the cow-calving back two weeks.

Matt said the seasonal calving had improved so much that it had tightened to ensure 65 per cent of the cows and 80 per cent of two-year-old

heifers calved within six weeks. While this is a great result, he said there were now too many cows coming into the dairy too early. This change to calving would also ensure calving better matched pasture-growth.

“Calving onto grass is best form of firing cows-up and best form of feed and cheapest feed,” Matt said.

“Tightening the calving pattern and doing it (calving) quicker, we still have our cow numbers in early to match our grass growth over autumn and winter but also production fits a flatter curve with the factory and we get the higher price. We are not calving early to achieve that (the higher price) but we are calving quicker, so we are still going to hit that curve.”

In mid-May the herd was being fed “just over” 6 kg of wheat/cow/day — crushed at the Glennens’ dairy farm — with some lupins left-over from last year and a mineral pellet supplied by stock feed manufacturer Ridleys.

On-top of this, the herd was receiving about 6 kg to 7 kg of grass/cow/day, about 3 kg of grass silage/cow/day and 4 kg maize silage/cow/day.

Matt predicted pasture consumption would

increase to about 10 kg grass/cow/day by the end of May. As pasture consumption increased, grass silage would be cut out of the diet first before production was accessed to determine what would be cut next, maize silage or grain.

“They are milking okay,” Matt said. “With the purchase of new block at Boorcan we bought another 75 heifers. There’s probably 230 heifers out of the 540 that’s in at the moment and doing about 1.9 kg of milk solids/cow/day at the moment, the heifers are pulling that average back, but you expect that.”

The Glennens have retained much of their silage produced last spring and are thankful they haven’t had to buy-in feed.

“We had a good spring last year and didn’t have to start feeding silage until December and then the cows started going out in January-February,” Matt said.

“Lucky we are not buying any feed in. All silage made at Boorcan stayed over there and there’s still another 400 bales sitting over there. If you didn’t have any fodder at the moment, you’d be in a world of pain the way fodder prices are.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

16 // NEWS

Board seat Freedom vacancies at seeks dairy Dairy Australia equity input DAIRY FOODS processor Freedom Foods is ramping up its production facilities in Shepparton and is embarking on a $130 million equity raising offer for the group.

A large percentage of the funds are expected to be spent on expanding it’s Shepparton dairy processing factory.

The Shepparton site already includes a large UHT milk processing plant.

The equity raising is split between an offer of one new share for every existing 18 Freedom Food shares and an instituional placement of new shares at an offer price of $4.80 per new share to raise about $65 million.

The company says it wants the money to accelerate Freedom Foods’s growth strategy, for nutritional ingredients and for more capital to meet demand growth.

In a statement released to the stock market, the company said the Freedom Group was

leveraging its significant and growing dairy capabilities to build a branded high margin product portfolio in specialty nutritional products.

“Freedom Foods is well advanced in completing the first stage of a specialised nutritionals platform aligned to the dairy UHT operations at Shepparton. The platform will provide for protein standardisation and the ability to manufacture high grade protein components for use in our branded products and for sale to strategic customers.

“The new product and revenue streams will be derived from a dairy milk input already utilised in the UHT operations.”

According to managing director Rory McLeod, the company projects 2019 financial year net sales revenues to be in the range of $480 million to $490 million, an increase of $127 million to $137 million or 36–39 per cent on the previous year.

DAIRY AUSTRALIA is calling for nominations to fill three vacancies on its board of directors, ahead of elections at its annual general meeting in November.

Three serving directors’ board terms are expiring this year.

Chair Jeff Odgers and Professor Paul Wood have indicated that they plan to stand again for election, while Jan West has indicated that she will be retiring from the board.

In line with Dairy Australia’s constitution, one of the vacant positions must be filled by a milk producer, with the other vacancies requiring a director with skills in agribusiness, innovation and adoption and one with extensive experience in finance, auditing and risk management.

Dairy Australia Board Selection Committee chair David Lord said the board must comprise of a mix of skills that represented all sections of the industry.

“With the industry going through particularly

tough times, there has never been a more important time to get involved and we are looking for new leaders from right across the supply chain, to take up critical roles in helping dairy meet the challenges we are facing,” Mr Lord said.

To stand for election, applicants must undergo a selection process overseen by the selection committee, which is made up of one Dairy Australia board director and four other Australian dairy industry representatives — two nominated by Australian Dairy Farmers and two by the Australian Dairy Products Federation.

Alternatively, candidates may stand for election if their nomination is endorsed with the signatures of at least 100 current Group A members.

Milk producers interested in standing for election should review the instructions received in the post and apply by 5 pm on July 1.

For more information about the roles, phone Rimfire Resources’ Mick Hay on 1300 380 701 or (07)3878 3411.

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Dairy Research Foundation 2019 Annual Symposium 10 – 11 July 2019 at Bega Valley Commemorative Civic Centre, Bega NSW

H ome-Grown FEED: B ASE of the dairy business Focusing on efficiency gains in FEEDBASE; the largest impacting factor on milk production costs in any system type!

Day 1 (10 July): Industry Forum, Symposium Day & Symposium Dinner, Bega Valley Commemorative Civic Centre, Bega NSW

Day 2 (11 July): Farm Day & Emerging Scientists Program at ‘Cedar Grove’, a 1200-cow dairy owned by the Kimber family in Angledale

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We have an outstanding list of invited speakers including: • Dairy Feedbase in the future environment – Int’l expert Dr David Chapman (DairyNZ, NZ)

• Managing Feedbase in TMR systems – Brad Fischer (Dairy farmer, SA)

• The ABC of margin over feed costs — Frank Tyndall (Dairy Farm Consultant, VIC)

• Managing Feedbase in Pasture-based Systems – Brodie & Kevin Game (Dairy farmers, NSW)

• Quality milking for quality milk – Int’l expert Edwin Kreykes (GPS Dairy Consulting, USA)

• Maximising home-grown feed through innovative nutrient & effluent management – Todd Whyman (Dairy farmer, NSW)

Also with NSW farmers Colin Thompson, Ashleigh Rood, Andrew D’Arcy and Will Russell.

And our ever-popular Farm Day featuring 3 platforms, 4 keynote speakers including US specialist Dr Edwin Kreykes, Marguerite White, David Rowlings and Pauline Brightling, plus 9 emerging scientists, presenting on nitrogen losses, grazing management, robotics, automated detection of lameness, heat stress, and more!

REDUCED ADMISSION FEE FOR DAIRY FARMERS AND STUDENTS Tickets on Sale Now! Register Today for Early Bird Discount at www.drfsymposium.com.au

For further information: Phone: (02) 8089 1388 Email : tara@ejmevents.com.au Online: www.drfsymposium.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

18 // NEWS

A little cow makes a mighty mark THE JERSEY cow shouldn’t be dismissed as

a little brown cow, she should be known as the mighty brown cow.

That’s the message from president Chris MacKenzie after Jersey Australia’s national conference in south-west Victoria on May 21 to 23 was described as one of the most successful in history.

The conference included tours of local Jersey farms and a dinner to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Western District Jersey Breeders.

Mr MacKenzie said the atmosphere was positive.

“We had really good numbers for all farm visits, meetings and dinners which reflects confidence in the breed,” he said.

“People were prepared to come long distances to be part of it and go home uplifted from having attended.”

The AGM was told of plans for a major marketing campaign to grow the Jersey breed.

“It’s not just a little brown cow, it’s a mighty brown cow,” Mr MacKenzie said.

Fourth generation Jersey breeders Roger and Amanda Heath from Wanstead Jerseys received a 75-year stud award during the Jersey Australia annual conference.

the next few years.”

One of the main attractions of the annual conference is the opportunity to see what other farmers are doing and the cows they breed.

Delegates visited Alan Carson’s farm at Colac, Chris MacKenzie’s farm at Curdievale, Greg and Lisa Bryce’s farm at Nullawarre, Wanstead Jerseys at Boorcan owned by Roger and Amanda Heath, Murray Brook Jerseys run by the Lenehan family at Crossley and Daryl, Sue, Tim and Kate Bryce’s Mt Pleasant Jerseys near Allansford.

“Breeders like to see good cows and they were impressed with what the region has to offer,” Mr MacKenzie said. “The south-west has some green pastures but we have to be realistic and realise that some people are doing it hard, especially in the north of the state.”

The Jersey Australia executive remains the same with Mr MacKenzie returned as president.

Two new board members were elected, Wayne Kuhne from south Gippsland and Jamie Drury from Tamworth.

“For the breed’s sake, it’s encouraging that people are prepared to nominate for the board,” Mr MacKenzie said.

About 100 people attended a dinner to celebrate the Western District Jersey Breeders 75th anniversary where several local studs received awards.

Fourth generation Jersey breeders Roger and

“There’s a strong feeling that we have a wonderful cow for the times and users would like to see more for our product.”

Mr MacKenzie said the Dairy’s Finest marketing campaign would highlight the premium taste and nutritional value of Jersey milk.

“The calcium and potassium levels and nutrient value of a glass of Jersey milk are higher than any other breed,” he said. “We’ve got something good to market.”

The campaign will particularly target baristas and coffee drinkers who see the advantages of creamier Jersey milk.

Jersey Australia aims to get 25 per cent of the Australian dairy market and Mr MacKenzie said the goal was achievable.

“There is strong enthusiasm amongst Jersey breeders,” he said.

“There’s growth in the breed and demands for Jersey products will push that forward.

Years ago, Jerseys were only four to five per cent of the national herd. We’re now at 15 per cent and think we can reach 25 per cent over

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Amanda Heath from Wanstead Jerseys received a 75-year award, and 50-year stud awards were presented to Greg Bryce from Green Pine Jerseys and Alan and Janine Carson from Cairnbrae Jerseys.

Mr MacKenzie also received a distinguished services award during the conference. He has been a member since 1987 and a key driver of research and development for the Jersey breed and supporter of local and major shows.

Platinum member award was presented to Luke and Melanie Wallace of Wallacedale Jerseys and gold awards went to Alan and Janine Carson — Cairnbrae Jerseys, Lindsay and Jacinta Anderson — Kings Vista Jerseys and Patrick Anderson — Kings Veldt Jerseys.

Tasmania’s Samantha Johns received a member encouragement award.

The winners of the Semex-Jersey Australia 2018 Great Australian Challenge were: ■■ Great Australian Challenge Supreme Champion: Woolvie 2276, O Barry ■■ Two-year-old: Darryn Vale Tequila Satin, Darryn Hourigan ■■ Three-year-old: Araluen Park Vanahlem Beauty 2, T Saunders and A Day ■■ Four-year-old: Winvarl Plus Diamond, Marks family ■■ Five-year-old: Mikandan Vanahlems Belle 2259, GC and RG Sprunt ■■ Mature cow: Woolvie 2276, O Barry

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

20 // NEWS

Pasture and dairy systems in spotlight FEED ACCOUNTS for more than 50 per cent

of cost in any production system and unlocking the true feed base potential of pasture and intensive dairy systems is one of the questions proposed at this years’s annual Dairy Research Foundation Symposium.

Held in Bega from July 10 to 11, the symposium is the Dairy Research Foundation’s signature event, recognised throughout the Australian dairy industry as a showcase of science.

Chair professor Yani Garcia said it was an event not to be missed, especially considering every dairy farmer had an interest in pasture.

“An efficient home-grown feed base can have a massive impact on the bottom line of individual farms, achieving that is not an easy task,” Dr Garcia said.

“It is not just about the forages, but also the water and nutrients to grow them and their conversion into milk.”

The symposium includes guest speakers from around the world, with differing production systems. Dr David Chapman from DairyNZ is a true world expert in feed base research while Dr Edwin Kreykes is a renown veterinarian consultant in Iowa, specialising in milking management.

These international speakers will be joined

by Australian professionals and top dairy farmers from a range of production systems including pasture-based and TMR. Farm Day will be at Cedar Grove, Angledale,

where Ken Kimber and his family will showcase their advanced farming practices. The family runs an 800-cow TMR — home-grown feed produced under a biological farming system plus purchased concentrates.

Consultants and researchers will lead an interactive question-and-answer session on topics ranging from irrigation to nitrogen to adoption of technologies to milking management.

Other features of the event include: ■ Young dairy farmers innovation panel: Ashleigh Road, Andrew D’Arcy, Will Russell ■ Dairy feed base in the future environment: David Chapman, Dairy NZ ■ Quality milking for quality milk: Edwin Kreykes, GPS Dairy Consulting, United States ■ Managing feed base in TMR systems, Brad Fischer, Meningie West, South Australia ■ Rural Adversity Mental Health Program, Jennie Kelsokie (Women in Dairy breakfast) ■ Microwave heat treatment of forage: Md Safiqur Rahaman Shishir, University of Queensland ■ Virtual fencing: Patricia Colusso, University of Sydney ■ Automatic lameness scoring: John Gardenier, University of Sydney For more information or to register to attend the symposium, visit www.drfsymposium.com.au

Soil health focus to reduce on farm costs KIMBER FARMS are five years into an eightyear plan to reduce the use of synthetic fertiliser on its Bega dairy farm.

The business milks 1200 cows and calves all year-round.

The herd is split in two – the early lactation herd (less than 220 days in milk) is run across pasture first to ensure it consumes the better quality feed while the second herd comes along after and cleans up what is left.

Todd Whyman helps run the family business along with his parents-in-law Ken and Judy Kimber.

He said the business had been focusing on soil health for the past five years.

“We run the farm with a biological focus, we are not organic but we are aiming to cut our nitrogen use right back to help reduce onfarm costs,” Mr Whyman said.

The business is focusing on using its own farm resources of effluent and compost (with some corrective additives) to improve soil health.

“We wanted to utilise the nutrient base we have on farm and it is something we have been focusing on as a priority over everything else for the past five years.”

The irrigation system — a centre pivot, travelling irrigators and solid set irrigation — is all capable of having liquid effluent pumped through it.

“With all the effluent and compost we

produce, we shouldn’t really need any other inputs,” Mr Whyman said.

The manure is run through a separator screen and the solid manure is mixed with old bedding from the calf sheds and composted.

Mr Whyman is deputy chair of the local dairy development group and is passionate about spreading his knowledge on reducing synthetic inputs.

He recently set up a 5ha trial plot on the farm to see the effects compost and effluent can have on pasture growth.

The trial was set up on land that hadn’t seen fertiliser for at least 30 years and consisted of a control plot, a conventional plot and additional compost and effluent plots.

“Each plot was split in half to enable us to compare results and, five weeks in, there is an extreme difference – the compost and effluent plots have at least 60 per cent more pasture cover.

“We set this plot up for our own peace of mind but I am keen to share what we do with others and this trial creates a tangible thing for others to look at.

“As we all know dairying is getting harder and harder as costs continue to rise and whatever we can do to keep those costs down is very important.

“Something like this is sustainable and can help all dairy farmers,” Mr Whyman said.

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ABV TABLES NEWS // 21

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

22 // NEWS

Suzie on mission for Rural Aid SUZIE JACOBS knows what it’s like to struggle.

She also knows what it’s like to come out the other side of adversity and move forward, even if it is only a step at a time.

Suzie has just taken on the role of community representative for Rural Aid and will be travelling the state calling in on farmers and rural communities, offering help through Rural Aid’s services which include Buy a Bale, Farm Army, Farm Rescue and counselling services.

“I can see farmers struggling. Some won’t ask for help, while others don’t know what help is out there; I know because I used to be one of them myself,” Ms Jacobs said.

When Ms Jacobs along with her husband Marshal bought their own farm at Ballendella and began a career in the dairy industry seven years ago, she had no idea of the hardships they would endure.

Droughts, floods, low milk prices, high inputs, clawbacks and selling their beloved Jersey herd.

Not to mention stress, fatigue and a loss of identity.

But amongst the negativity there have been times of real joy and happiness.

When the family was nominated for a ‘farm

rescue’ by the farming charity Rural Aid the couple was blown away by the kindness of others.

They were fortunate to get a shed lined to create a sleeping space for their eldest son.

“To be a recipient for a farm rescue really lifted a black cloud for us. It was totally amazing to see such lovely people volunteer to help us,” Ms Jacobs said.

“We didn’t realise how isolated we had become as things got tougher and tougher and it really lifted our spirits and made us feel blessed with everything we had.”

As things on the farm became tougher, the couple made the hard decision to sell what was left of their milking herd.

“We went through a real grieving process when we sold the herd. We were no longer dairy farmers and we didn’t know who we were anymore; we have had to redefine ourselves.”

And for Ms Jacobs this has been taking on the community representative role after she was approached by the charity.

“So many people are leaving the industry, they are stressed and fatigued and many are at the end of their tether but Rural Aid can provide some real help and options.”

Rural Aid was established in 2013 beginning

Former Ballendella dairy farmer Suzie Jacobs has taken on a role as a community representative for charity Rural Aid. Suzie will be travelling the state offering support to farmers and communities struggling through drought, flood or fire.

with the Buy a Bale campaign — a simple concept where Australians donated funds to purchase hay and truckies delivered the hay, leaving farmers with their own funds to purchase essential household items.

This program now provides assistance for drought, fire and flood, throughout the country.

The Farm Army and Farm Rescue divisions were then set up and involves tradies and

volunteers staying and completing on-farm jobs for rescue recipients.

Counselling services are also available through the organisation and primary producers can apply for a one-off $1500 payment to put towards bills.

To be eligible for assistance through Rural Aid register online at www.buyabale.com.au/canwe-help-you/ or contact 1300 327 624.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

NEWS // 23

Farmer sentiment challenged

BY HEATHER JONES, DAIRY AUSTRALIA MARKET INSIGHTS MANAGER

OVERALL 2018–19 has proved to be one of the hottest and driest years on record.

Challenging seasonal conditions have been felt across the country and farmers are feeling the pinch as a result.

Despite a relatively high milk price, in historical terms, reduced pasture growth and high costs for grain, hay and water have placed severe pressure on profitability.

Dairy Australia’s latest National Dairy Farmer Survey, conducted in February 2019 amongst 800 farmers nationwide, highlights how these challenges have impacted farmer sentiment.

The results show the lowest number of farmers feeling positive about the future of the dairy industry since the survey began in 2004.

There are now more farmers feeling negative, rather than positive, about the future of the industry in all dairying regions, except for Tasmania.

Early indications suggest that sentiment has improved since February in most regions, thanks to autumn rainfall and positive pricing announcements.

Dairy Australia’s latest Situation and Outlook report, due to be released on June 19, will highlight more of the survey findings. This helps the wider industry gauge the impact of current

conditions, as this is critical information for international markets, dairy processors and industry bodies to help understand what lies ahead.

What drives farmer sentiment?

Analysis of the NDFS survey results since 2004 shows that the farm gate milk price accounts for about 80 per cent of the variability in how farmers feel about the future of the industry. This means that sentiment often follows a similar pattern to the milk price at the time of the survey.

However it is worth noting that milk price is not the only thing that affects how farmers are feeling about the future.

It is apparent there was a range of factors in play during the three periods of lowest sentiment.

In 2019, despite slightly higher farm gate pricing, a more favourable exchange rate, plus recent announcements of higher supermarket milk prices, sentiment is at the lowest level since 2004.

Current drought conditions, and the resulting impact on feed costs and supply, have had a significant impact on farm businesses and how farmers view the industry.

How does sentiment compare across the country?

Overall, sentiment about the industry’s future has declined across all eight dairying regions this year. There are however regional differences: the

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most positive regions are Western Australia and Tasmania while farmers in South Australia and the Murray Dairy, Dairy New South Wales and Subtropical Dairy regions are the least positive.

The widespread drop in sentiment reflects the common challenges faced by all farmers — especially related to the cost and availability of feed.

What does this low sentiment mean for the current state of the industry?

Many farmers report being in a “wait and see” stage. About a third are contracting or in a holding pattern to manage current cost challenges and are waiting to see what the next season brings.

It is interesting to note that low sentiment does not suggest more farmers are intending to leave the industry. In fact, the proportion of farmers reporting to be in a ‘winding down’ phase remains fairly low and stable.

Survey data also indicates that low sentiment correlates with the share of respondents wanting to change milk processor.

There has been a significant increase in farmers wanting to change processors in 2019, compared to 2016 when more farmers were positive about the future of the industry.

While some farmers have only changed due to their previous processor being bought out by another company or closing down, the majority have moved because of the price offered by another company.

What does low sentiment mean for the industry in the years ahead?

Looking ahead, the ongoing impact of current conditions, combined with widespread lower levels of profitability, has a number of consequences for farmers: a majority of farmers will maintain their reduced herd size in the next 12 months; while production declined on a third of farms in 2018–19, the majority of farmers are optimistic of production growth in the next three years if conditions improve; and on-farm investment, while still likely to be undertaken on most farms, will probably be at lower levels compared to previous years.

Farmers around the country are no doubt looking for positive signs from the autumn break, easing of feed costs and improvements in pricing to inform their planning for next season and beyond.

Early signs of a well-balanced global market, and a competitive domestic market potentially lifting farm gate prices, could also have a positive impact on sentiment in the season to come. Sentiment can change quickly if the circumstances are right.

For more information, look out for the latest Situation and Outlook report to be released on Dairy Australia’s website on June 19.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA MAY JUNE2019 2019

24 // NEWS

Dairy farmer confidence remain dampened

40% 20% 0% -20% -40% -60%

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-80% Sep-03

update by rural bank Rabobank in Kyabram recently were shown a glimmer of hope.

Rabobank senior dairy analyst Michael Harvey said 2019–20 should be a profit year for dairy farmers.

But Mr Harvey also pointed to continuing challenges from high water prices, depleted water storages and the cost of purchased feed.

The profit forecast for next year was predicated on the hope of more home-grown feed being available.

“The water market will remain heated,” he said.

He also acknowledged northern Victoria was undergoing structural change which would result in lower production and fewer farmers.

Rabobank has forecast an average price of about $6.40 kg/milk solids in the southern region for the 2019–20 season.

Mr Harvey believes there will be intense pressure on processors to find milk supply — but they will also be challenged to find efficiencies in their factories as throughput is reduced.

But he said it was unlikely they would attempt to rationalise assets in northern Victoria, as many of them had invested heavily in updating and renewing their equipment.

Since Rabobank’s review issued in April,

several companies have indicated opening prices for the new season.

Mr Harvey acknowledged a dramatic reduction in supply from northern Victoria which had been reinforced by the most recent production data.

“The February and March figures look pretty ugly as well,” he said, pointing out that this was the hardest hit region.

Northern Victoria remained a “first port of call” for northern processors seeking supply for fresh milk but there could be a five per cent production cut next year in the region.

Globally there were some signs that the fundamentals were good and continued to improve.

“There has been a good price rally since the start of this year,” Mr Harvey said.

“We see a period of sustained higher pricing which will follow through to better farm gate prices in the 2019–20 season.”

New Zealand milk production had declined in recent months and he expected flat production growth from New Zealand next season.

Only modest growth was expected from the United States next season.

The EU was expected to increase supply but the growth would be less than one per cent.

“We have some confidence that Europe will not flood the market in the short term.”

60%

Mar-04

DAIRY FARMERS attending an industry

80%

Mar-03

Hope for new season

Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey – Dairy trends

4

Source: Rabobank

Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey – Dairy Trends

The big question is whether the North can bounce back?

Annual % change in milk volume – Northern Victoria and Southern NSW 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

-5% -10% -15% -20%

Source: Dairy Australia, Rabobank forecast

Annual % change in milk volume – northern Victoria and southern NSW

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

NEWS // 25

Farmer Relief a community mission JEANETTE SEVERS

THE STATISTICS grab your attention first — 142 farming families, $50 000 in Visa cards, $55 000 in groceries, 75 volunteers, 55 500 km. Then there is the passion of those 75 volunteers, committing themselves to a weekly, fortnightly or monthly contribution.

This is the data and passion underpinning Gippsland Farmer Relief, which has grown from one woman’s commitment to helping dairyfarming families during the dairy crisis, to become a registered charity supporting 142 farming families affected by drought.

Melissa Ferguson began Gippsland Farmer Relief in her spare room in 2016. Now boxes of groceries are packed and distributed from a warehouse in Traralgon, supported by St Vincent de Paul Society. It is also here the charity is administered.

No-one is paid for their time or mileage.

Some volunteers commit to helping weekly. One volunteer drives 700 km to deliver groceries each month to one farming family.

“I made a general callout to the community in 2016,” Ms Ferguson said.

She received donations of time and money and established, initially, an incorporated community organisation that recently was registered as a charity. In that first year, 54 dairy farming families were assisted — with two boxes of groceries monthly, pantry staples with a retail value up to $200. There are many well-known brand names in the grocery boxes — Kelloggs, SPC, Campbell, Kraft. The charity also buys food from FoodBank. In January, school supplies are added to the groceries, for those families with schoolaged children.

Referral for assistance is wholly word-ofmouth. Some farmers have self-referred, others have been referred by a third party.

“Confidentiality was something we focused on from the start,” Ms Ferguson said.

“We have a dedicated staff member who contacts the farmers. We try to do it with the utmost respect for farmers.

“We advise why we’re phoning and invite

them to participate in the scheme.

“We continue our ethos of respect through the system. The 20 packers don’t know who they are packing boxes for. The 49 people who deliver the boxes drive their own private vehicles and only receive the names and addresses of the farmers they are delivering to.”

The Visa cards are delivered by registered mail. Recently, some fresh fruit and vegetable retailers have come on board, providing vouchers so families can supplement their staples with fresh food.

All product is paid for from funds raised by several Rotary and CWA clubs, schools and other groups in Gippsland.

A major fundraising initiative, driven by the retail sector, has been Parma for a Farmer. It was set up as a single fundraising initiative but Ms Ferguson said many hotels and motels had continued it beyond the initial month and that ensured a regular flow of money into the charity.

All of the money raised is spent on groceries and $50 and $100 Visa cards.

“The Visa cards mean people can buy things they need in their local community, helping their local businesses and rural economies,” Ms Ferguson said.

“One hundred per cent of our fundraising goes to farmers.”

In the last quarter, $50 000 of Visa cards were distributed and $55 000 of groceries were delivered to farmers, with volunteers driving 55 500 km.

The charity established a facility called ‘Track my Donation’, so donors could receive a report about what their donation had been spent on.

Periodically, Ms Ferguson puts out a social media call for donations of specific products — these are generally toiletries, women’s hygiene products, baby needs such as nappies and formula and laundry products.

“I’ll specifically identify what we need. Often the service clubs assist with those donations,” she said.

In the past year, the number of farming families being assisted by Gippsland Farmer Relief has grown from 98 to 142, as drought bit deeper into the regions east of the Latrobe River.

Many hands make light work — a few of the 20 volunteers who pack grocery boxes at Gippsland Farmer Relief every week.

Tori Watson and Paula Hughes are dairy farmers from, respectively, Boolarra South and Inverloch, who volunteer to pack groceries at Gippsland Farmer Relief’s warehouse in Traralgon.

Ms Watson and her partner, with four children at school, have been receiving assistance from the charity. “Each month the kids are happy to see the boxes arrive. I volunteer here every week because it gives me a sense of pride to put back in. It’s my day off the farm,” Ms Watson said.

Michele and Peter Halsall, Morwell, moved from Melbourne and, looking for volunteer activities in their retirement, contacted Gippsland Farmer Relief to offer their help.

They deliver groceries monthly to four dairy farming families in the Latrobe region.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

26 // NEWS

Water bid to save dairy A GROUP of innovative dairy farmers looking for a solution to retaining water and wealth in the Torrumbarry irrigation district are in the process of establishing a water platform.

The group, Gannawarra Water Guardians, is looking at a long-term solution where retiring farmers, business owners or anyone with a water entitlement (lessors) can put part of, or all of, their entitlement onto the platform, to be leased

by active irrigators (lessees) within the Torrumbarry zone.

Lessors will receive an annual dividend for their water.

The lessee will have access to reasonably priced water over a three- to five-year lease to mitigate business risk, with the idea the wealth generated by irrigation stays in the local community instead of lining the pockets of corporate

investors in another state.

The group has been working on this concept since last year and has received funding and help from Murray Dairy and a local philanthropic organisation.

Committee member Skeeta Verhey said water had long been looked at as a problem just for farmers but the reality was, it was a whole community issue.

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“Water and irrigation underpins the success of us all — from agriculture to local business, schools, hospitals and our sporting clubs,” Mr Verhey said.

The group is looking at leasing terms of three to five years with a cash-flow-friendly scenario of payments over a 12-month period.

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FOR THE past six years, The National Herd Victorian Winter Fair has attracted a high calibre class of autumn cows through the show ring.

Held at the Bendigo Exhibition Centre from July 2 to 4, the event has always had a strong focus on encouraging youth in the industry and this year will certainly be no different.

Organiser Clare Modra said sponsorship for this year remained strong and support continued from farmers across the country, despite the tough economic climate.

“We are expecting good numbers and we have no doubt that the quality of the animals on show will be just as good this year as they have been previously,” Ms Modra said.

The core of the fair has always been to support the industry’s up-and-coming young farmers.

“The Victorian Winter Fair is a youth-orientated event held during the school holidays to allow for extra family involvement, and it is heartening to see so many young people involved in the junior judging and handling events,” Ms Modra said.

The popular youth section will be sponsored this year by Lely and will get under way on Tuesday, July 2.

A new initiative this year will see the youth entrants participating in both the junior judging and handling classes awarded points — the youth with the highest points will then go on to win a clipping crush donated by Belrue Farms.

The dry heifer classes will commence on Wednesday, July 3, followed by the in-milk classes on Thursday, with the intermediate section kicking off at 10 am and the senior section at 1.30 pm.

This year’s judges both hail from Victoria with Matt Templeton from Tarwin taking on the top job assisted by associate judge Jo Holloway from Lockington.

The Red Holstein show was introduced in 2014 and remains a popular addition to the event with numbers sitting steadily around 40 head.

For the latest information, visit Victorian Winter Fair on Facebook.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

NEWS // 27

Advocacy and water policy head Dairy Plan worries BETTER ADVOCACY for the dairy industry has been a recurring theme for many of the Dairy Plan meetings being held around the country.

Western Victorian farmers want their voice to be heard more strongly as part of future planning for the dairy industry.

More than 150 farmers and dairy industry personnel have given a mixed response to the first of the Australian Dairy Plan workshops in western Victoria.

A total of 161 people attended the workshops at Koroit, Cobden and Colac, with about 75 per cent of participants being dairy farmers.

Cobden had the biggest turnout with 70 people attending.

The top issues at the three sessions were advocacy, how the industry could be best represented to government and other decision makers and how farmers’ views can be heard.

Water was the key issue for the dairy industry moving forward in northern Victoria according to farmers who attended an Australian Dairy Plan consultation session at Tatura on June 4.

The nearly 50 farmers who attended, were surveyed on what needed to change for a

sustainable dairy industry in the future, with 82 per cent of the room saying a stronger water policy and a larger water pool for dairy farmers should be a priority of the plan.

Other priorities included getting a clearer picture from governments on where they see the industry heading, streamlining dairy advocacy organisations and increasing the value of the end product.

Dairy farmers at the Cohuna meeting weren’t interested in what has been, but more what was going to be done in the future for their industry.

The majority of dairy farmers and service providers in the room (68 per cent) listed water and water policy as their main concern.

Cohuna dairy farmer Jodie Hay said the meeting was well run and facilitated but she wanted to see clear objectives, goals and strategies in the plan.

“We don’t want to see the plan ticked off and put away in some glossy folder. We had some forward thinking people in the room with some really good ideas who identified their concerns and issues well,” Mrs Hay said.

Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin.

Irvin ill BEGA CHEESE executive chairman Barry Irvin is taking a break from some of his duties while he recovers from an illness.

In a letter to suppliers last week, Mr Irvin acknowledged he had not been paying enough attention to his health and had undergone surgery.

He has told suppliers he was unable to attend a round of upcoming supplier meetings as he expected it would take a few months to recover from the surgery and to

receive further treatment. ‘‘... I am confident of a recovery and am looking forward to catching up with you all in a few months,’’ he has told his suppliers.

He also urged his friends and colleagues not to put off getting a health check-up. ‘‘I guess I am an example of what not to do, and please be sure to have a check-up.’’

Mr Irvin has been driving the Bega Cheese expansion and pursuing new business interests for the company.

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28 // NEWS

Agrifood tech event in Melbourne AGRIFUTURES AUSTRALIA will host Asia Pacific’s largest agrifood tech event, evokeAG, next year.

Early-bird tickets are on sale now for the 2020 event, which returns to the iconic Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne on February 18 to 20.

Next year’s event also has new ticket types for primary producers and students.

AgriFutures Australia managing director John

Harvey said “evokeAG. 2020 would deliver new speakers, a fresh program and more opportunities for collaborative thinking to change the future.

“This is our opportunity to showcase on an international stage all that is great in agrifood tech across Australia, but it’s also an opportunity to really shape our culture of innovation,” Mr Harvey said.

“evokeAG. 2019 taught us that we need to build our culture of sharing and collaboration within our agrifood tech ecosystem. We can’t work in silos if we want to elevate our innovation system and become more competitive.”

The Festival of Food, the highly rated networking event, will make a return and once again evokeAG will attract the entire agrifood tech ecosystem — leaders, farmers, innovators,

accelerators, researchers, universities, corporates, government and investors.

Co-founder and Platfarm chief executive Oli Madgett from McLaren Vale, South Australia, said evokeAG. was where serendipitous connections took place.

“The digital ecosystem of agtech start-ups were finally in the one spot and I could make these important connections face-to-face. We are now actively collaborating with people we met at evokeAG. The event cemented important relations, which is critical for any start-up.”

For more information about evokeAG 2020 and to buy tickets, visit evokeag.com/

Dairy projects from Feds Over 40 years of working with LIC has helped Dornauf Farms achieve 600kg milk solids per cow.

But every year is a fresh challenge.

It’s all about finding better, smarter ways of doing things for Dornauf Family Farms, LIC’s oldest customers in Australia.

55 years ago they started out with 71 cows averaging 100kg of milk butterfat per season. They soon realised that the traditional Australian cow did not suit their Tasmanian dairy farm. So in the early 1970s the Dornaufs started working with LIC, focusing on breeding long lasting cows with great fertility and production capacity. And they have never looked back. Today their business has grown into four farms, with 2100 cows producing an outstanding 600kg milk solids each per season.

For three generations Dornauf Family Farms have been pushing the boundaries and their business is thriving, but they know there’s always room for improvement.

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

1800 454 694 | admin@licaus.com.au | licnz.com.au

There’s always room for improvement

AUSTRALIAN DAIRY Farmers will receive $450 000 for two projects to benefit farmers as part of a $22 million funding package for the dairy industry.

The package was offered by the Coalition as part of its pre-election commitments.

Among the promises is $300 000 to develop a real-time dairy payment system and supply chain sharing platform using blockchain technology, and $150 000 to develop with processors a simple standard form contract that incorporates requirements of the industry’s mandatory code of conduct.

ADF president Terry Richardson said the organisation supported the “windfall” for the dairy industry.

“It is fantastic to see a real plan for the dairy industry and deliver on a number of key imperatives that we know will assist the industry,” he said.

Further funding would include $10 million to support dairy farmers investing in more energyefficient equipment and $8.1 million to extend the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s agriculture unit.

Farmer groups would also receive $3 million to assist them to establish co-operatives, $500 000 would be given to Dairy Australia to improve legal and financial literacy for contract negotiations with processors, and a dairy industry specialist position would be created in the ACCC’s agriculture unit.

The election promise builds on a $560 000 commitment for ADF to facilitate the development of a new dairy industry trading platform, as well as the implementation of a mandatory code of conduct.

“This is a timely and welcome announcement that will ensure the mandatory code of conduct is appropriately resourced, and the decision to appoint a dedicated dairy industry specialist within that unit is an important step in the process,” Mr Richardson said.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

NEWS // 29

Young farmers going to Europe THE FIRST ever Australian team has been

chosen to compete at the European Young Breeders School in Belgium in August.

The five team members are: Brady Hore from Leitchville, Victoria; Julia Paulger from Kenilworth, Queensland; Ricky Nelson from Irrewillipe, Victoria; Sam Hall from Australind, Western Australia; and Zoe Hayes from Girgarre, Victoria.

Holstein Australia, Jersey Australia and The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria made the announcement in May. The team members were selected after a rigorous application and interview process, from five dairying regions across three states and represent a number of dairy breeds.

The team reserve is Alexzander Crawford from Daltons Bridge, Victoria, and the team will be led by Justin Johnston of Glomar Holsteins.

Team leader Justin Johnston, said this was something he’d wanted to get off the ground for a while, and with the backing of Jersey Australia, The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and Holstein Australia, as well as other industry partners, it had been made possible.

“This is the 20th year the European Young Breeders School has taken place and it has become the international reference point for training and show preparation, with many countries entering teams year-on-year. It will be a great learning experience for our team members, and a real opportunity to showcase the talent of Australian dairy youth on the world stage.”

The team is being supported by a number of Australian enterprises and industry bodies including Dick Smith, ST Genetics, Dairy Australia, Genetics Australia, Smyth Seeds and Gippsland Dairy Youth.

Jersey Australia general manager, Glen

Support for farmers in the north THE VICTORIAN Government will provide

an additional $2.7 million in support for northern Victorian dairy farmers, who continue to be affected by seasonal conditions and high input costs.

The extra support will put additional financial and business counsellors on the ground for farmers and small business in Shepparton and Swan Hill.

The funding boost will also support Regional Development Victoria to partner with Murray Dairy to re-establish the Rural Skills Connect program — with over $315,000 to support dairy farming families and farm workers seeking offfarm income to develop new skills and use their existing expertise to gain new employment. ‘‘Our dairy farmers in northern Victoria are still doing it tough after extended dry conditions,’’ Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes said. ‘‘This funding boost will ensure they continue to get the support they need to make their farm businesses more resilient.’’

The government’s On-farm Drought Infrastructure Support program has received more than 3400 applications since it began in late 2018.

Barrett, said Brady, Julia, Ricky, Sam and Zoe were five outstanding young individuals selected from a group of 25 high-calibre applicants, which was an amazing response.

“The selection and interview process were far from an easy task and it is a credit to the highly talented and capable young breeders across Australia that they made this process so challenging.

“The European Young Breeders School is a great opportunity for this group, and we look forward to following their progress through the competition.”

Holstein Australia chief executive officer Graeme Gillan said full marks went to Justin for getting this project up and running.

“The selection panel has put together what I

think is a strong cross-breed team from a number of different dairy regions throughout Australia.

“The experience will enable them to really hone their skills, already at a high level, and benchmark themselves against some of the best young dairy men and women from Europe, the UK and Canada.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

30 // CALF REARING

The bull calves are sold ready to work at 14 months of age.

Welfare key in rearing calves know about rearing calves, after all he has been doing it for most of his life and has got the skill down to a fine art these days.

Mr McManus and his wife Carol milk 130 spring calving Jerseys on their dairy farm just out of Lockington, annually they rear 40 heifer calves and a dozen bulls.

Bernie claims their set-up is simple, but it does the job and has done so for many years.

It begins with the vaccination of the milking herd at dry-off with an injection of Rotavec Corona to protect the new-born calf from E.coli and scours — a process Bernie has been following for many years.

“The most important piece of advice I can give to anyone is to make sure the person rearing the calves is the person with a genuine interest in their being well. If you don’t, that’s when you start to run into trouble,” Mr McManus said.

Mr McManus loves his cows.

His herd Bercar, features regularly in the top ASI Jersey herds in the country and his care and

love for his stock begins from the moment the calf hits the ground.

His calf rearing is based around nurturing young calves individually and moving them through a series of stages as they grow.

“We take the calves off their mums within 12 hours of calving,” he said.

Bulls and heifers are reared separately and everyone starts their lives in their own individual pen.

Calves are fed colostrum for the first four days and each calf is tattooed with their own ID number.

“Keeping calves housed, warm and fed well is a very important part of their welfare,” Mr McManus said.

The calf sheds are cleaned out annually before each spring and disinfected with Viral FX — a broad spectrum viral, bacterial and fungal disinfectant and cleaner.

Mr McManus spreads a bedding and litter conditioner called Deltasec over the concrete floors, which is ultra - and user-friendly.

The heifer calves start out in individual pensand then move into pens of five before heading outside.

The bull calves are bucket fed individually.

THERE IS not much Bernie McManus doesn’t

The floor is then covered with rice hulls and Mr McManus has found he can sprinkle Deltasec again over the top of the rice hulls, if they start to get a bit wet toward the end of the rearing period.

The calves are fed two litres of fresh milk twice daily and they drink from individual buckets.

“The calves are in the shed for a period of around six weeks, depending on the weather,” Mr McManus said.

While in the sheds they have access to hay and fresh water.

Interestingly, Mr McManus places a bucket of fresh dirt in each pen to stop the calves from fossicking around in their bedding.

The heifer calves move from individual pens into pens of five while in the shed — when they move outside they still have access to shade and shelter.

“Once the calves go out into the paddocks they are fed an 18 per cent calf pellet for at least three months,” he said.

Mr McManus has 11 paddocks he regularly rotates the calves through.

During this period they are accordingly drenched and vaccinated by Mr McManus whilst the de-horning is completed by a vet.

Growing out his stock well is an important part of herd management.

The bulls need to be well grown for sale to dairy farmers to join heifers at 14 months of age, while the heifers are agisted off-farm on a neighbouring property from yearlings to the point of calving.

The heifers are freeze branded two months before they calve.

“It is very important to have well grown heifers entering the milking herd at two years of age — the care you show them from birth must continue right through their lives.

“We use good semen and we have a herd of great cows but it all starts with what you do with your calves,” Mr McManus said.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

CALF REARING // 31

Designing calf housing THERE IS no single “right” way to rear calves and no “best” housing system.

Good management is essential to the success of any system. However, badly designed and managed housing systems can definitely pose risks to calf health, welfare and growth rates.

A well-designed housing system, whether it is a set of temporary pens under a hayshed or a purpose-built facility, will minimise these risks and make management easier.

Initial planning The health and welfare of the calves are paramount when planning calf housing: ■■ Review relevant legislation and industry guidelines to ensure compliance with best practice and standards for the welfare of calves.

Ensure that housing design complies with the principles of disease control programs such as bovine Johne’s disease. Good sources of information include: • industry and government animal health and welfare websites (for example, Dairy Australia, DAFF, your state DPI) • cattle veterinarians • government extension advisers • milk factory field officers.

Cost When planning your calf housing system, consider initial capital, operating, maintenance and repair costs, and durability of the system.

Systems with lower initial costs may have higher maintenance and repair costs, and be shorter lived. For example, plastic cladding will ■■

Calf housing should be clean and dry with sufficient room for the intended number.

have a much shorter lifespan than aluminium cladding.

Shed capacity Overcrowding should be avoided, but underuse is inefficient especially for purpose-built buildings.

Allow enough space for all calves at maximum capacity plus an allowance for destocking and complete sanitation between batches. That is, operate at only 75 per cent capacity, so that 25 per cent of the space is vacant, on a rotational basis, at all times.

Location Locate calf rearing facilities to protect calves from sun, rain, wind and extreme temperatures.

Also consider the needs of workers.

Orientate housing to provide protection from

prevailing winds and shade from the sun in hot weather, but also allow wet areas to dry out in cold, wet weather.

Location of calf rearing facilities should also take into account: ■■ Proximity to extra bedding materials.

■■ Availability of water and electricity.

■■ Convenience.

■■ Easy disposal of effluent or bedding material (ensure effluent does not leave the property, or adversely affect air, soil, water resources, community amenity).

■■ Ease of handling and treating calves.

■■ Drainage and access.

■■ Protected from farm effluent.

—— Dairy Australia

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

32 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Farm security preparation APIAM ANIMAL HEALTH GEMMA CHUCK WITH THE intensification of farming and threat

of emerging antimicrobial resistance in animals and humans, the demand for more preventative health measures is increasing. This includes proactive planning around biosecurity. Biosecurity is defined as the risk of disease entering a herd.

Biocontainment manages the spread of disease once it exists within a herd.

The aim of biosecurity and biocontainment planning is to mitigate the risk of new diseases and to manage the existing diseases within the herd. Diseases such as salmonellosis, bovine

johnes disease, bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV, “pestivirus”) and Mycoplasma pose a significant biosecurity risk if inadvertently introduced. The consequences can be dramatic if the herd has not been exposed previously to the disease and thus overall herd immunity is low. Along with the animal health implications of these diseases, there is sometimes a significant risk to human health. Some strains of Salmonella are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans (and vice-versa), with Salmonella typhimurium being a major cause of salmonellosis in humans and cattle in Australia every year. In such herds, biocontainment of these zoonotic diseases is essential to avoid adverse effects on the human population.

There are four pillars which support the disease status of the herd and the cattle within it.

Biosecurity alone cannot ensure herd health, but must be supported by robust surveillance, maintaining resilience of the animals within the herd, and control of disease within the herd. If all these

Calving Cows

Delivering superior health and welfare outcomes for calving cows and their offspring

pillars are strong, any infectious disease can be effectively managed and the disease status of the herd and the animals within it will be good. Any weak pillar may be supported by strengthening the others, but the overall disease status of the herd will inevitably be compromised.

When considering “farm biosecurity”, we frequently refer to a set of measures designed to protect a property from the entry and spread of pests and diseases. There are many resources available to assist farmers with biosecurity planning. Australia’s Farm Biosecurity program is a joint initiative of Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia (http://www. farmbiosecurity.com.au ). Producing an on-farm biosecurity plan should be relatively simple yet the vast array of resources available can lead to confusion and non-compliance.

Veterinarians are well placed to advise producers about biosecurity, particularly as it pertains to animal health but in the past most have not been actively involved in this process. Vets can either endorse a plan that has been created by a farmer or create a customised plan for the farmer from scratch. Farmers might make their own plan using an advisor or using resources themselves. Vets would need to ensure that the plan covered the major recognised risks and be

satisfied that the plan matched the purpose for which it was designed.

The Australian Cattle Veterinarians, a special interest group of the Australian Veterinary Association, has produced a software tool called BioCheck® that incorporates the standard biosecurity principles and risks from Australia’s Farm Biosecurity program. A guided conversation looks at each biosecurity principle, the major risks and the actions that are undertaken to mitigate those risks. Each risk is then assessed as either controlled, partially controlled, or uncontrolled and agreed actions are documented. This process develops a customised biosecurity plan which is agreed upon with the individual farmer in an efficient manner. If you would like more information on biosecurity plans and the use of BioCheck, contact your local veterinarian (Please note: in order to have access to the BioCheck® tool, your veterinarian must be a member of the Australian Cattle Veterinarians).

(With special thanks to Dr David Beggs author of BioCheck).

■ By Dr Gemma Chuck, a veterinary consultant for Apiam Animal Health, where she designs and delivers technical training programs for dairy farmers and veterinarians.

Swine fever impact Apiam Animal Health’s “Calving Cows” program: • Identifies risks in key management areas • Provides tailored farm medicine advice • Establishes specific written treatment protocols • Provides training for common periparturient diseases and perinatal conditions APIAM DAIRY SERVICES CLINIC NETWORK Border Veterinary Clinic: Cohuna, Leitchville, Barham, Kerang Deniliquin Veterinary Clinic Echuca Veterinary Clinic Finley Veterinary Clinic Gippsland Veterinary Hospital: Maffra, Sale

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THE UNPRECEDENTED contraction in the supply of pork from China, due to African swine fever, will have a spill-over impact on the global dairy sector, according to a new report from global agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank.

The report, African swine fever losses to complicate the global dairy complex, says with the current ASF epidemic expected to reduce China’s pork production by up to 35 per cent, there are both positive and negative price implications for global dairy.

A resulting rise in demand for beef in China could see an increased culling of dairy cows to fill some of the gap in animal protein supply, constraining China’s milk production and putting positive longer-term pressures on global milk prices.

However, with China the world’s largest pork producer — accounting for about 50 per cent of global pork production — and the world’s largest market for dairy-derived animal feed, the decline in feed demand is expected to have a more immediate negative impact on farm-level

milk prices in key exporting countries, the report says.

For Australia though — while the rapid pace of the ASF epidemic in China presents a risk factor for the global dairy outlook which needs to be watched — the overall global fundamentals in the dairy market remain firm and supportive of higher milk prices in the coming season in Oceania, according to Rabobank’s Australian senior dairy analyst Michael Harvey.

And at present, the bank has not altered its view of global and local milk prices.

“A potential upside factor resulting from African swine fever remains the impact on Chinese milk production and whether increased imports will be required to meet Chinese dairy demand,” Mr Harvey said.

“While another spin-off benefit for local dairy producers could be the potential for Oceania beef prices to increase on a rising tide of protein prices globally — a factor that would add to their businesses’ options.”

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

ANIMAL HEALTH // 33

Is your water just water?

WATER IS a basic resource. On a dairy farm

it is used to grow feed, provide drinking water to stock, for washing, cleaning and a myriad of other tasks.

And water is just water, right? Well, yes, but no!

Water sources are many and varied on farms, and each source usually comes with its own particular variations in what it adds to water, including sediments, minerals, organic matter, bacteria, etc.

Three recent cases highlighted what this can mean in a milk quality and mastitis control situation.

All three farms experienced a rise in the number of clinical cases of mastitis, and were finding many cases difficult to treat successfully.

Two of the three farms were well used to dealing with the risk of environmental mastitis, often associated with feed pad use, and responded by upgrading the wash and dry regime at cups on, including the use of a teat scrubber (one farm purchased the teat scrubber specifically for that reason).

The results were disappointing for them — the more they washed and scrubbed, the higher the number of mastitis cases!

The third farm was experiencing a consistently

high level of clinical cases that didn’t respond well to treatment.

Our first response on being consulted was to insist on milk cultures from clinical cases on these farms.

Cultures on the first farm revealed E.coli to be the main cause of the clinical cases — perhaps not that unusual. On the second farm, more than 60 per cent of cultures were Serratia, and on the third farm a similar proportion were Nocardia.

If this was a result of general environmental contamination, then there would likely be a range of environmental bacteria appearing in the cultures. And whilst E.coli is not that unusual, Serratia and Nocardia are very uncommon in the most recent survey of Australian mastitis bacteria a few years ago — each was less than two per cent of the samples taken.

Clearly something was happening here, and it was highly likely that there was a “point source” of these bacteria coming into contact with cows’ teats.

The most likely culprit would be the water at the dairy, where it is used to wash udders, teats, cups and milkers’ hands, and sometimes to mix teat disinfectant, all of which come into regular contact with cows’ teats.

You might think that it would then be easy to

Beware of feed risks FARMERS WHO are using alternative feed sources as a strategy to manage dry seasonal conditions are urged to be aware of potential risks.

Agriculture Victoria animal industries development officer Richard Smith said with the reduction of available fodder sources due to dry conditions, producers may be turning to alternative feed sources.

“These bring their own risks, but there are some simple checks producers can make to avoid exposing livestock to feeds containing unacceptable and harmful levels of chemical residues, or feeds which could contain restricted animal material,” he said.

Mr Smith said there were three simple things for producers to think about when purchasing alternative stock feeds: never feed restricted animal material, be aware of chemical residues, and ask for and provide the required vendor declarations.

He said producers should make certain that purchased feed did not contain restricted animal material such as blood meal, meat meal, meat and bone meal, fish meal, poultry meal and feather meal, and compound feeds made from these products.

Agriculture Victoria said producers should undertake their own due-diligence about the suitability of the feed being purchased, as some chemicals registered for use in crops, fruit, and vegetables may not be registered for use in stockfeed or for livestock.

“Some chemical labels prohibit the grazing and/or feeding of stubbles, wastes, and products to livestock, while others might have no maximum residue limits (MRLs) set for animal products and so any detectable level of the chemical in the livestock product could breach food safety standards,” Mr Smith said.

“Other chemicals may not have prohibitions on use of treated crops as stock feed, however stock may still accumulate unacceptable residues as they can eat larger volumes of treated crops than humans.

“This risk can be addressed by appropriately rationing treated stock feed.”

As dry seasonal conditions continue, and traditional fodder or roughage sources are expended, producers may seek byproducts to feed stock.

Byproduct material — which is defined as any plant material not produced primarily for livestock consumption, such as citrus pulp, fruit pomace, grape marc and outer leaves — can have concentrated levels of agricultural chemicals which could increase livestock residue levels.

Mr Smith said producers needed to declare if they had fed byproducts on their National Vendor Declaration within 60 days of selling livestock, with details of what produce was fed.

To meet obligations under the Livestock Production Assurance program, and Primary Production and Processing Standards for Dairy Products, producers need to obtain a vendor declaration for all stock feed/fodder purchased.

get a sample of the water and culture it to test for these bacteria, but the real world doesn’t work like that. You might be lucky, but experience has shown that there are many factors that often make this approach unrewarding — it is rare to culture the specific bacteria in this situation.

With the E.coli farm, we used a specialist water quality laboratory in Melbourne to demonstrate high levels of the E.coli that was causing the problem in the water tank at the dairy.

On the Serratia farm, we advised the farm to try ceasing all washing of teats etc., and minimise water use in the dairy. Almost instantly, all cases of mastitis stopped and the bulk milk cell Count dropped back to 50 000 cells/ml.

On the third farm we superchlorinated the water tank at the dairy with swimming pool chlorine and the cases immediately stopped.

While that was interesting, and showed the likely source of the bacteria, that was the easy part.

Every situation is different, and the hard part is trying to define the part of the water supply system that is causing the problem, and then to isolate it, by-pass it, or treat it.

It takes time, effort and a fair bit of thought to work through the various permutations and combinations to arrive at the best answer.

Suffice to say, the first farm has now installed an in-line ultraviolet water steriliser, which while expensive to install, is very cheap to run, and the results have been outstanding. It is easy to use — the system advises the user when the filter is getting blocked, when the UV lamp needs replacing, and is very low maintenance.

The only water source on the second farm is river water, and the only source on the third farm is dam water. On both these farms, the water goes through a series of header and supply tanks before being used at the dairy.

Can we define a specific tank or line being the problem? Can this then be treated or can it be by-passed? Can the water be treated?

River water obviously varies dramatically in quality and sediment throughout the year, while the dam water is always high in sediment and tannins, etc., all of which make consistent, effective treatment on these farms more difficult.

While we have effective “workarounds” in place on both these farms, the final answers are yet to be determined.

Which just goes to show that while water is “the essence of life”, it is rarely completely pure, and sometimes brings unwanted complications.

Rod Dyson is a veterinary surgeon and mastitis adviser at www.dairyfocus.com.au

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

34 // MACHINERY

New look for Melbourne Show A NEW-LOOK dairy section is coming to the

Royal Melbourne Show for 2019.

The all-new format features the introduction of breed-specific in-milk classes for Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, Illawarra and Ayrshire, along with a healthy $10 000 prize pool.

The Dairy Youth Handlers Classic will continue to run.

Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria chief executive officer Paul Guerra is excited about in-milk dairy cattle classes returning to the Royal Melbourne Show.

“The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria is delighted to announce the all-new Royal Melbourne Show Dairy Cattle Competition after consultation with past and current exhibitors,” Mr Guerra said.

“The Royal Melbourne Show is Victoria’s largest and most iconic annual community

event, attracting around 470 000 patrons over 11 days, which provides dairy cattle exhibitors with a unique and valuable platform to connect, engage and educate consumers about the Victorian dairy industry.”

Communications manager Grant Coverdale said dairy was one of the most popular spectacles of the show.

“People want to see the cows, they want to know where their milk comes from and they want to support dairy farmers,” Mr Coverdale said.

Entries are now open and exhibitors are encouraged to visit www.rasv.com.au/dairycattle to view the schedule and timetable.

The 2019 Royal Melbourne Show will be held from Saturday, September 21 to Tuesday, October 1 at Melbourne Showgrounds.

Entries will close on Friday, July 26, 2019.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

MACHINERY // 35

The front of the new Haeusler’s building.

New JD site MACHINERY DEALERSHIP Haeusler’s

reached a milestone on April 2 as the business held the opening of its new Shepparton location.

Having moved further north of Shepparton at the end of last year, director Martin Haeusler said it was evident that a bigger business space was needed.

“We saw the business would grow once we put the right things into it and we knew that where we were would not suffice into the future,” he said.

“We always knew that the business would grow, so that’s why we purchased the land back then (in 2003) and now we’ve hit the fruition of the project and our dream was to get the place built and we’ve finally got it built.”

Mr Haeusler said while John Deere made up the most of its product line, the company also sold Kuhn, Goldacres, Gason and Wacker

Nueson products.

“It’s all about the customer,” he said.

“That’s why we’re here. If we can engage with the customer and service them a lot better (it’s a positive) because they are the most important thing to us.”

Speaking at the opening, John Deere Australia and New Zealand managing director Peter Wanckel said technology was a game-changer for the industry.

“We are continuing to build and develop products but what we are really excited about are the new technologies that we are bringing to the market, which just provides more opportunity for farmers to become more productive and efficient in their operations,” he said.

Haeusler’s Shepparton is now located at 375 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Shepparton North.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

36 // NEWS

Agronomist Jim Laycock recommends careful calculations of application rates.

Safeguard your canola with a fertiliser rate check A SIMPLE check on fertiliser rates may be

Tow and Fert the Science

Which is better?

Liquid Foliar Fert or Granular Fert?

Does applying fertiliser in liquid form in a Tow and Fert get better results over the long term than granular application?

At Tow and Fert we have known about the benefits of foliar applied fertiliser for some time and we wanted to prove it.. The following test, Paddock 13,, was conducted by our own Tow and Fert Manager, Michael Smith, when he was contracting as an applicator using a Tow and Fert Multi 4000 in the South Island.

Foliar application of fertiliser can save you time, money and look after the environment. It’s a win-win which ever way you look at it.

You’ve seen the case studies now read the science!

THE TEST:

METHOD:

PADDOCK 13: The less is more test: Does applying less fertiliser in liquid form in a Tow and Fert render the same or better results than granular application?

RESULTS: PADDOCK 13: After 33 days, the dry matter produced was 22% higher than that of granular Urea using 35% less fertiliser. However when you look at the grass grown per unit of Nitrogen applied (NRE) you will see the response of 332% more than granular application (NRE of 22.2 for the Tow and Fert and 6.6 for granular).

By day 90 and after the 2nd application of fertiliser, the NRE of foliar applied Nitrogen was 570% higher than that of the area fertilised by granular Urea suggesting there was residual Nitrogen in the ground from foliar applied Urea.

1.

Paddocks were selected based on the average from soil tests of the property. A 18x6 metre test area was fenced off and divided into three sections; the granular square, the control square and the Tow and Fert square.

2.

Each area was mown to 1500kg/DM/ha and fertilised in the two areas: — 100kg/ha of granular Urea.

— 65kg/ha of foliar applied Urea in a Tow and Fert.

3.

Once the paddock was due to be grazed a plate meter was used to measure each section (minimum 100 readings).

4.

Each section then had a one square metre area mown and the clippings collected to be weighed.

5.

The weight was taken and recorded.

6.

Each section was then left until the next grazing when the process was repeated.

Hokonui Dairies Ltd

PADDOCK 13: The Less Is More Test PADDOCK 13

Day 1

Control square Granular square 100kg/ha of granular Urea Tow and Fert square 65kg/ha of foliar Urea – Tow and Fert

Application on 1500kg/ DM/ha

CONCLUSION

Day 33

Day 54

DM: 1,259

DM: 975

DM: 1,164

DM: 1,565 NRE = 6.6

DM: 1,386

DM: 1,607 NRE = 9.6

DM: 1,923 NRE = 22.2

DM: 1,675

Day 62

Application on 1500kg/ DM/ha

Day 90

DM: 2,803 NRE = 54.8

More Grass for longer, for less.

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CALL 1300 630 279

the difference between delayed or reduced crop emergence and achieving target plant populations this season.

Incitec Pivot Fertiliser’s technical agronomist for broadacre Jim Laycock has urged growers and their advisers to calculate safe rates of fertiliser with the seed before sowing, or separate seed and fertiliser, particularly for canola.

“Canola is notorious for its sensitivity to fertiliser in the seed bed and can suffer damage ranging from reduced vigour to complete crop failure,” Mr Laycock said.

He said crops varied in their tolerance to fertilisers, with oats, barley and wheat being more tolerant than lupins and chickpeas, while canola was the most sensitive.

Mr Laycock said the damage to the seed could be caused by high levels of ammonia or from fertilisers drying out the soil around the seed.

He said growers were more likely to see issues where there was low soil moisture and on sandier soil types rather than heavier clay soils.

“Fertiliser type plays a role, with urea more likely to cause damage than DAP, and DAP more likely to cause damage than MAP or Granulock fertilisers,” he said.

“Even superphosphate has been seen to have a toxicity effect on sensitive crops like canola and lupins when it is used at high rates with the seed.”

Mr Laycock said the solution for growers and their advisers was to calculate the seed bed utilisation (SBU) percentage and be guided by safe seed rate guidelines.

“The SBU percentage is a risk analysis tool that can be used to determine the potential for emergence damage,” he said.

“It is a measure of how concentrated the fertiliser band is, based on the width of the seed spread in the furrow and the row spacing.

“Problems often arise when growers change to a wide row spacing and keep using their usual fertiliser rate, because the concentration with the seed is higher.”

Mr Laycock said once the SBU percentage was known, growers and their advisers could look up safe rates by crop type, soil type, soil moisture status and the intended fertiliser.

Because damage is so common in canola, he suggested growers ran a test strip comparing no fertiliser in the seed row with the rest of the paddock.

“This will show whether your usual fertiliser rates with the seed may actually be resulting in reduced vigour and lower plant populations,” he said.

Mr Laycock encouraged growers to consider application systems that separated seed and fertiliser when making machinery upgrades.

“There are some excellent options available to separate seed and fertilisers at sowing, such as double row systems, which give growers greater flexibility with fertiliser applications,” he said.

For more information, contact your local Fertcare accredited adviser before sowing.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

MACHINERY // 37

Upgrades to Patriot sprayer range for 2019 A BIGGER tank and upgraded components are

among the latest updates to the Case IH Patriot self-propelled sprayer range.

The 4542 litre fuel tank on the Patriot 4430 has been replaced with a larger 6000 litre tank.

Customers still have the option of the 4542 litre tank which comes with certain tyre sizes.

The addition of the larger tank has meant lighting changes to accommodate the increased height of the tank.

Light reflection back into the cab has been eliminated and the boom lights have been moved forward, above the cab, allowing for better lighting of the full boom.

An increased focus on suspension components has resulted in the bushing material being replaced with high strength nylon (greaseless).

Additionally, a centred pin design allows for sev per cent greater bearing area, improving the life of the component.

“The Case IH Patriot sprayer range continues to be a top choice in the self-propelled sprayer market,” Case IH sprayer product manager for Australia/New Zealand Alyx Selsmeyer said.

“Our 2230, 3330 and 4430 series comfortably meet the demands of a variety of environments, while integrating technology and ergonomics for optimal productivity.

“These updates are in response to feedback from Case IH customers and designed to make the Patriot even more reliable and efficient in the field, giving producers the peace of mind they need when it comes to the demands of running a profitable business.”

The Patriot product line-up will continue to offer Non-Aim Command, Aim Command Flex and Aim Command Flex S technology options, with boom size options of 24.4 m or 27.4 m on the Patriot 2230 and 30.5 m or 36.6 m on the Patriot 3330 and 4430 models.

The new Patriot sprayer features a larger tank.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2019

38 // NEWS

Permit dropped on tractor movement

FARMERS WILL now be able to move tracked

tractors on Victorian roads, following regulatory changes to bring Victoria into line with other states.

Victorian Farmers Federation grains group president Ashley Fraser said it was critical for Victoria to have common sense agricultural machinery regulation which removed the unnecessary red tape that hindered efficient grain production.

“We have been working with VicRoads and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator to amend outdated regulation that prohibited rubber tracked tractors from moving on Victorian roads without a permit,” Mr Fraser said.

“The updated regulation means that grain farmers can now more easily move their tracked tractors efficiently between paddocks without needing to apply for a permit every time.

“These changes bring Victorian requirements in line with other states, and significantly reduce the regulatory burden for farmers during key production times such as sowing and harvest.

“We thank VicRoads and NHVR for their partnership in updating and improving the regulations, and look forward to continuing to work together on improving agricultural machinery regulation.”

Tracked tractors are an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional dual rubber tyre

BUILT TOUGH

tractor as they minimise the impact on soils and crops.

The NHVR has updated the requirements for rubber tracked tractors operating in Victoria, as follows: travel at a maximum speed of 30 km/h; and where practicable, avoid turning movements on road surfaces, particularly sealed pavements, to minimise road damage.”

More information can be found in the NHVR’s National Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle and Combination Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice Operator’s Guide at www.nhvr.gov.au/ files/201904–1043-national-class-1-agriculturalvehicle-and-combination-operators-guide.pdf

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dairy industry should be one of four steps taken to improve the management of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, according to a leading think-tank.

The Australia Institute has released its fourstep plan which includes pausing the basin plan, holding a federal royal commission or federal Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation and developing policies to ensure diversity in basin agriculture.

The Australia Institute senior water researcher Maryanne Slattery said there were no “easy” solutions, but the reforms would be a first step.

“Pausing the basin plan means pausing accreditation of water resource plans and other changes to water recovery, but should not affect environmental watering, indigenous collaboration or development of policy on constraints and environmental water protection,” she said.

The think-tank is advocating that the pause not be lifted until: emergency relief for southern basin irrigators and communities is delivered; a policy framework for regional economic development, including the structure of the agricultural industry, is developed; and the findings of a federal royal commission is completed.

More water also needs to be made available to dairy farmers according to the body.

“Efficient family dairy farms that have passed down through generations are at immediate risk due to high water prices driven by drought and new demand at the SA border,” the think-tank said.

“Water should be made available from the South Australian deferred entitlement account as an opening allocation in the 2019 water year.

“Without a new approach to regional economic development, industries such as dairy and rice will be lost, while almonds and cotton dominate.”

The Australia Institute conceded that while many of the ideas have support “inside and outside the basin”, changes must occur by those with “political will”.

In the southern Basin, there are state-of-theart, multi-generation family farms that rely on permanent water that are unlikely to survive this current water year. These irrigators all survived through the eight-year millennium drought and many droughts prior to that.

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