Dairy News Australia - February 2020 - With Gippsland Region

FEBRUARY, 2020 ISSUE 112

GIPPSLAND REGION

Family affair See page 8

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2020

2 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Chair’s message

One-on-one help available AS I write this, the East Gippsland bushfires

are starting to be brought under control, but there’s no guarantee that more fires will not have broken out by the time the magazine goes to print.

Our thoughts are with those farmers affected by these terrible fires.

GippsDairy has been working with emergency services and Agriculture Victoria to support their efforts in helping farmers.

With so much pasture and fodder burnt we are also backing the push to restock some of the lost feed reserves, so anyone with good-quality fodder to donate or those requiring fodder should phone 1300 882 833 or email fodder@vff. org.au With the smoke starting to clear, GippsDairy and Dairy Australia is ready to offer one-onone assistance to farmers through the Bushfire

Recovery Support Service, which will see an experienced farm adviser helping in planning and budgeting.

The confidential advice is provided to fire impacted dairy farm businesses, with a focus on feed budgeting, water budgeting, cashflow budgeting, animal health and welfare, infrastructure advice and related advisory services specific to dairy farm businesses.

GippsDairy has already reached out to a number of farmers and milk processors who are assisting dairy farmers and are using tools, such as the Back of the Envelope Feed Calculator, to help look at what their feed options are if they have lost pasture or stored fodder, as well as checking in to offer support.

The fires that have devastated such large areas of Australia have been frighteningly early in the summer, leaving plenty of time for more

problems well into autumn.

I’d urge every dairy farmer to develop a comprehensive fire plan that can protect yourself, your family, the herd, dairy sheds and out-buildings.

You can access Dairy Australia resources at dairyaustralia.com.au while an interview with CFA captain and dairy farmer Mark Billings is essential listening through the Dairy Pod podcast on Soundcloud.

By far the most important thing to remember during the bushfire season is that nothing on the farm is more valuable than people.

Everything else can be bought or rebuilt, but no amount of insurance can replace you or your loved ones.

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GIPPSLAND REGION // 3

WEATHER COOLS FOR DAIRY WEEK International Dairy Week was successfully held in useasonally mild weather at Tatura in January.

The hot weather held off for the five days of competition.

A total of 800 cows, principally from Victoria and New South Wales, competed in the annual exhibition.

The week finished with a bang for the Templeton family from Tarwin in Victoria, taking out Senior Champion and Grand Champion Allbreed of the show with Holstein Avonlea Reginald Jacobina.

Tongala’s Frank Walsh and Brad and Jess Gavenlock from Cherrylock Cattle Co, Tallygaroopna won Champion Jersey Cow and Reserve Grand Champion Allbreed with Windy Ways Galaxies Dawn 7.

Drought, tough conditions and fires did little to deter the quality of cattle on show and while numbers may have been down on average, organisers have been very pleased with the quality and number of cattle on show.

Gippsland’s Jake Mathews teat spraying his cow Munden Farms Burdette Orange post milking.

Holly Anderson, 15, from Gippsland receives a kiss from young Jersey heifer Kings Ville Marie at International Dairy Week held from January 19 to 23 in Tatura.

Bette Hall Power of Women in Dairy winner from Gippsland is Ayrshire Breeder Trish McCraw with last year’s winner Lisa Broad.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2020

4 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Processors offer support to fire-affected suppliers

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

THE JENNINGS family haven’t had to cry over

spilt milk as a result of the Bruthen bushfire.

Their Saputo field officer assured them they would still be paid for dumping 35 000 litres of milk, their main livelihood, after bushfires prevented access for the pick-up tanker.

Saputo communications manager Debbie Jones confirmed with Dairy News Australia that payment to dairy farmers was assured.

The Jennings family — Peter and Sue, son Andrew, son-in-law Adam Hasler with daughter, Ingrid — prepared their farm for bushfire impacts in early December, after a fire began in mountainous terrain to their north in November.

After three-and-a-half years of drought, the pasture is fairly short on most of their 192ha dairy farm and 110ha of outblocks.

There is 130 acres of irrigation under lateral sprays, from which they harvest silage.

The milking herd is 400 head. The dairy has a 10 000 litre vat, so with production at 7000 litres per day, the farm is on daily pick-up.

The family and workers prepared their fire plan in early December.

“In mid-December, we made sure the 1000 litre fire fighting unit was on the ute and working,” Mr Jennings said.

“We have a 6000 litre water truck, so we kept that filled and ready with 5000 litre. On December 30, we sat it near the dairy.

“We parked the machinery outside the shed and we have a foot valve system in the nearby Tambo River, as a back-up.

“We had containers of water around the house and garden for spot fires and we kept clean the roofs and gutters on the sheds and house.”

Cattle were put in a paddock where they could run around, in case of spot fires.

“Everyone’s got their own threat from bushfire,” Mr Jennings said.

“I think we had to be more alert for spot-fires than a fire front.”

He patrolled throughout the day and night of December 30, as fires broke out on neighbouring farms and in local communities.

A spot-fire put paid to 2ha of their farm.

“In our worst scenario, we would retreat to the dairy, because it’s all concrete,” Mr Jennings said.

“You can eat breakfast in the dairy, but you can’t milk cows in the kitchen.”

As it was, the major problem they had to deal with was the product of 10 milkings, which were drained daily into the effluent pond.

“The milk truck, even with a permit, wasn’t allowed in,” Mr Jennings said.

“Saputo will pay us for the dumped milk, but it’s such a waste. We shouldn’t be doing this.

“The milk made a fair old pong in the dam, but it’s all gone now.”

He is dealing with animal health issues as a result of the fire.

“I think it’s the stress of smoke and heat felt

by the cows,” Mr Jennings said.

“At the moment we do have a bit of a rise in the cell count, nearly 100 000 in the last week.

“We’re hand stripping the teats.”

Ms Jones said Saputo suppliers affected by bushfires were in touch with the processor through field officers.

“We are donating dairy products to affected areas through FoodBank Australia,” she said.

Saputo has also set up a fundraising appeal in support of the Australian Red Cross, matching dollar-for-dollar every financial donation made

by Saputo employees.

Bega Cheese chair Max Roberts said the processor’s milk loss because of dumped milk was quite small compared to overall production.

Bega Cheese has lost about 700 000 to 800 000 litres of milk that’s been dumped on farm, in a milk pool of about one billion litres.

The main reason for dumping milk has been lack of road access by trucks to pick up farmers’ main livelihood.

But he said the loss would not have a major impact on supply; although the stock market had responded by downgrading the company’s share value.

He said the biggest challenge for farmers was ensuring a reliable power supply, so dairies can operate and cows can be milked.

“In our pickup area, we haven’t lost any cows to the bushfire,” he said.

Fodder donations have also ensured many people have been able to look after their cows.

“Police escorts have been able to provide escort to milk trucks to pick up supply,” he said.

Bega Cheese support to individual farmers is to identify the best value for support — fencing is a priority and a permanent temporary electricity source is the next item on the list.

Some farmers are hopeful large generators will be available from the ADF, along with the skills to connect dairies to this power source.

Robert Miller, Milton, NSW, dairy farmer, (in the Shoalhaven area), produces about 10 per cent of the milk supply to Woolworths in NSW. After weeks of bushfires burning around his five farms and outblocks up to 300 km away, he is also dealing with a dry herd that is aborting calves, lost and injured heifers and dumping milk.

“Some of the dry herd are aborting calves,” Mr Miller said.

“They’re heat affected and stressed and we’ve got vets helping us.

“We’ve had to euthanise milking cows and heifers that got injured.

“This is despite putting the cows under irrigation to protect them during the southern NSW bushfires.

“We’ve had a lot of country burnt.

“It is unrelenting pressure to deal with on a daily basis. I’d estimate we’ve lost $100 000 of fencing. Two-thirds of farm pastures and fences are burnt.

“We’ve got 240 of 400 heifers locked up and being fed emergency fodder; and the remaining

Spilt milk at Jennings dairy, Bruthen, where the product of 10 milkings, or 35 000 litres, had to be dumped in the effluent pond.

160 head is running with neighbours’ livestock because there are no fences in the district.”

Mr Miller is sourcing opportunities to sell some of his young cattle to export markets, so

he can get some cash for urgent needs.

“I’ve asked supermarkets to raise their price to $1.50/litre to support farmers,” he said.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2020

GIPPSLAND REGION // 5

Speaking out

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

THERE IS a new calendar available this year,

starring many dairy farmers from Gippsland. Each month, one of the farmers is the pin-up.

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

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

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

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

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

Ms Jones’ father took his own life on the farm after a long battle with his mental health. He was well respected in the community and, as well

as the farm, had built a successful value-added dairy business. He left behind a bereft family who have become passionate advocates for breaking the stigma of silence around mental health and depression.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tameeka and Max Vera, with daughter Hannah, dairy farmers from Dennison.

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

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

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

“Talking about financial pressures and sharing our stories, you find things that work. Our biggest feed bill is our grain bill. You need that feed.

When you talk to other people about it, you find out you’re not the only one struggling and worrying about how to pay it,” Mrs Vera said.

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

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

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

“Sometimes it feels like a brick wall.”

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

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

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2020

6 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Sharing his battle to help others JEANETTE SEVERS

AARON THOMAS was hiding a secret that

almost cost him his life.

The Binginwarri dairy sharefarmer had been battling depression for many years, but masked it with his community activities and alcohol.

It has cost him his marriage and meant he

had to negotiate a new relationship with his young children.

“I lacked self respect,” said Mr Thomas, who was a nurse before he became a dairy farmer.

“As a nurse I saw people through trauma.

I had the skills and advice for others, but I didn’t know what I was dealing with.”

Mr Thomas began as a farm worker, moved into the role of farm manager and for the next

several years was sharefarming with Lisa and Paul Mumford, at their Binginwarri dairy farm.

Mr Thomas and his wife were building equity in the herd and had a clear plan to continue as sharefarmers in the medium term.

He was a finalist in the 2014 Farmer of the Year awards.

But the Mumfords were witnesses to both his marriage and his mental breakdowns, were

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trying to help and, when that didn’t work, were standing by to help him when he asked.

Mr Thomas admits he should have accepted the offers of help from his wife and employers, but was stubborn.

When he finally admitted he needed help, “I was dead inside. I was physically and emotionally spent and mentally exhausted,” Mr Thomas said.

“I was a shell of a person.”

Mr Mumford took him to a doctor and explained what was going on.

That story included Mr Thomas planning and attempting to take his own life.

Part of the problem of accepting help and admitting to being depressed, was Mr Thomas’ perception of himself within the community.

He was the bloke who turned up to help everywhere, at the drop of a hat.

He played a lot of team sport. He helped organise a lot of community activities.

“I was on a pillar in the community and I didn’t want people to know what was going on,” Mr Thomas said.

“That was a way of me disguising what was going on. It was also a subtle call for help.

“I kept my garden all right because I thought if people saw it was neglected, they’d know there was something going on.

“I was alcohol dependent and I drank for pain relief, but it was making me more depressed.”

For most of the first year after diagnosis,

Aaron Thomas is featured in the new calendar, The hands that feed you, featuring Gippsland dairy farmers talking about mental health.

He was a guest speaker at the launch of the calendar.

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Dairy farmers Casey and Jason Bermingham, Dennison, were at the calendar launch with their daughters, Chloe and Sophie.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2020

GIPPSLAND REGION // 7

Mr Thomas was under the direct supervision of Paul and Lisa Mumford, who helped him manage his daily routine and responsibilities.

Three years later, he has a different outlook on life.

He wishes it did not depend on medication, but accepts it is necessary.

“I tried to go off medication, but that was a disaster,” Mr Thomas said.

“Three years on, I’m living a good, somewhat normal, life.

“The past 18 months have been really stable.”

As well as his three children, his employers Paul and Lisa Mumford are still integral in his life, and his counsellor is also his life coach.

He is building a new relationship with his ex-wife.

They co-parent their children, who live with one parent on a rotating weekly basis.

“When I was married, I wasn’t talking to my wife. I wasn’t doing anything I should have been doing in a marriage. I blocked Vanessa out,” Mr Thomas said.

“I now have an amazing support crew.

“I talk about my mental health.

“I don’t want anyone to feel as bad as I did.

“I was struggling just to stay alive.

“And the amount of energy it was taking up to put on a show and not let people know — that was exhausting.

“Tell people they are your go-to when you need help.

“Together as a crew, we can smash the stigma around talking about our mental health.”

He has switched his team sporting interests to road cycling and joined a local group of cyclists.

He also makes himself available to speak publicly about depression and mental health.

“Talking about it has kept me stable and focused,” Mr Thomas said.

“I share my story.

“And I ride regularly with a group of people who are also interested in cycling.

“I ride a few hundred kilometres very week.

“Both interests are part of my therapy, along with medication and counselling.”

Mr Thomas shares his story in a new calendar focused on Gippsland dairy farmers, talking about financial stresses, mental health and drought.

Mr Thomas will be part of a panel at the Australian Dairy Conference in February.

If you or someone you know needs help, contact your doctor or phone Lifeline on 131 114 or BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636.

Smashing the stigma — the dairy farmers and their families and supporters who are featured in the 2020 calendar, The hands that feed you.

Sam and Dennis Reynolds, dairy farmers at Orbost, with their sons, Fletcher and Hudson, at the calendar launch.

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8 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Trevor and Oak Henry, Tinamba, third and fourth generations of the dairy farming family.

Passion for breeding runs in family

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

THERE IS a new generation coming through

the ranks on the Henry dairy farm at Tinamba.

Oak Henry is the fourth generation of the family in Gippsland’s Macalister Irrigation District.

He is also, like his forebears, specialising in breeding genetics.

Trevor Henry’s passion for breeding dairy cows has infected his family, with his son and nephew sharing his commitment to breeding for continuous improvement.

Trevor, is a third-generation dairy farmer who began his career at 12 years old, helping his father choose and breed bulls.

His parents bought him his first Holstein stud cow when he was 15 and he registered his stud prefix, Wilara Holsteins.

Trevor and Tracey Henry milk 450 to 500 Holstein cows off 364ha.

Most of their farm is leased country, with a summer water right on 145ha and year-round irrigation available on 110ha.

Among the irrigated blocks, 13ha is sown to maize and 12ha to turnips.

“We focus on producing silage from maize,” Trevor said.

The number of milkers varies depending on seasonal conditions and cost of feed.

Lactation ranges from 300 to 400 days.

The herd is joined using artificial insemination and 10 to 15 cows are recipients of embryo transfers each year.

“We use the income from the bulls registered with Genetics Australia to pay for ET,” Trevor said.

He is particularly proud of the three bulls, out of three separate cow families, that are high ranking with GA. He credits his approach to patience and his idle time is spent studying genetics and breeding tables.

“We’re quite fortunate to be able to build a really strong base over time,” Trevor said.

“We’ve focused on breeding high-producing cow families, with secondary traits of mastitis resistance, fertility, feed saved and heat tolerance.

“The heat tolerance breeding value will become more important.

“Breeding is very fulfilling work.

“Cementing high daughter fertility and feed utilisation in families gives me confidence I’m producing a really high-production value in the resulting calves.”

Since 2017, all heifer calves have been genomically tested.

While the business only needs about 110 heifers each year, an annual excess of 70 to 90 are sold as yearlings into the export market.

Some of the Holstein herd bred by Trevor and Oak Henry.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2020

GIPPSLAND REGION // 9

Some of the Holstein herd bred by Trevor and Oak Henry.

“We’ve found the export heifers averaged 150 BPI,” Trevor said.

“There’s no differential premium for what you get paid.

“For me, it’s about the personal rewards of breeding, knowing those heifers could go into Australian herds.

“The ideal would be if the market was able to genomically test all animals at three months old.

“That gives the farmer opportunities to make better decisions.

“The strength of my cow families keeps being consistency in the progeny they’re breeding.

“That results from depth in the herd from years of breeding.

“Our ABV is about producing a cow that is the most efficient at converting feed into milk solids.”

Trevor runs the farm with son, Oak, who completed his apprenticeship last year, and nephew, Damien, as assistant manager.

Oak and Damien are building equity, breeding their own registered cows in the herd.

Oak’s responsibilities on the farm include milking, feeding cows and calves, helping to make hay and silage and sharing responsibility around breeding decisions.

Since November 2017, Oak has been in partnership with his parents in Wilara Holstein stud.

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at Stewart McRae’s commercial sale,” Oak said.

One of the heifers Trevor and Oak bought in 2017 is Gallrae Flamer Lola, a heifer, paying $10 000.

She was four months old with a BPI of 325. She has 11 generations of dams from the Lucky family in her breeding. Lola has proven to be the highest

BPI heifer to sell in Australia.

“She had her first calf at the end of August last year, a heifer calf, Wilara Geronimo Lolly, who has tested currently at 379 BPI,” Oak said.

“She’s the second highest BPI female 2019 born.”

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10 // GIPPSLAND REGION Lola’s production is good, with lactation averaging 31 litres per day and a recent herd test showing four protein and 4.8 fat.

“Lolly is in an intensive feeding system on the farm here at the moment, to encourage growth, so she can be flushed two or three times before she becomes in-calf,” Oak said.

“We want to increase the number of offspring available to us.”

They plan to keep all the embryos to use in their own recipient cows.

In spring last year, Oak spent a month in Britain on the Holstein Australia Youth UK Exchange.

He stayed on farms and visited shows, including the All Breeds All Britain Calf Show at Peterborough.

On farm, he was milking and feeding cattle.

Because of the time of year, all the cows were in barns.

It was a totally different farming experience to what he was used to in Australia.

But the show preparation and ring was the same, although Oak was only involved in preparing calves for show until he got to Peterborough.

He was able to lead a heifer in the Calf Show.

“When I was there, it’s the time of year when the cows are inside,” he said.

“Barns were held at an ambient 15 to 25 degrees Celsius. Because of the feeding system, lactation was consistent; rather than the peaks and troughs experienced in Australia where

Oak Henry with some of the milking herd.

cows graze outside and experience new pasture every day.”

He noted different animal health challenges because the cows were housed in barns.

“The cows get dermatitis on the feet, so they have to go through a foot bath every day,” Oak said.

A scraper ensures manure is regularly cleared in the barns, either with an automatic or manual system.

The herd size was smaller, averaging 90 to 100 cows on the Holstein dairy farms he was working on and visiting.

From a genetics perspective, the two nations have different breeding philosophies, based on how they are paid for milk.

“They get paid on volume,” Oak said.

“They don’t get paid bonuses for protein, so they have a different focus on breeding.

“In our system, we can get paid bonuses for high protein in our milk.”

Oak’s focus now is to keep improving the genetics of the Wilara Holstein herd.

“I’m aiming to breed the animal with the number one BPI rank in the country,” he said.

He is on the way, with many cows in the Wilara Holstein herd continuing to test in the top 100 genomically in Australia.

“We also want to keep breeding bulls that test high in the EBVs in Australia and people wanting to use that semen in their AI programs,” Oak said.

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GIPPSLAND REGION // 11

Reminders for March

Stock ■

Hay and silage stocks ■

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Check your levels of hay and silage and do your sums on potential hay and silage use for the balance of the year. Allow for milking cows, dry cows and young stock.

It is often a challenge to feed the best feed you can and make use of the feed you have on hand. Feed test your silage and hay to help you make decisions around a balanced diet. Balancing the diet with all the right feeds is great, but using the feeds you have on hand and getting the diet balance in the zone might come with lower cash costs and still achieve target production.

Baled silage is a great example of a feed with a use-by date and when not fed for whatever reason it can turn out to be costly wasted feed.

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Be on the lookout for the effects of mycotoxins, such as facial eczema (looks similar to photosensitisation), affecting exposed areas of pale skin. If facial eczema is suspected contact a veterinary practitioner for advice on prevention or treatment. Information is available on the Dairy Australia website http:// www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Animalmanagement/Animal-health/FacialEczema-Monitoring.aspx Plan your transition diet for autumn calving cows. The aims are to prevent milk fever, ensure the cow’s energy requirements are met, and introduce grain to the diet

if a high level of grain is being fed in the milking herd. A properly-formulated lead feed ration or the use of anionic salts in the water troughs should be considered. Learn more at www.dairyaustralia.com.au in the feeding and nutrition section.

Young stock ■

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Poorly fed young stock will impact your business when they calve down and become milking cows with low in-calf rates, higher mortality rates and generally are likely to produce less milk.

Some good targets for young stock are 70 per cent in calf after three weeks of joining with heifers due to calve two

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weeks before the cows in the herd. To join young stock this early they have to be well fed and have reached the target joining weights you can see in the Heifers on Target manual on the Dairy Australia website http://www.dairyaustralia.com. au/Animal-management/Fertility/Heifermanagement.aspx.

Monitor the replacement heifers’ growth. They will require high-quality supplementary feeds as available pasture is reduced. They need feeds containing a minimum of 10 MJ/kg DM and 13 per cent crude protein to grow adequately.

Fertiliser ■

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March is a good time to apply fertiliser to pasture in preparation for the autumn break.

Superphosphate and Muriate of Potash do not require rain to release into a soil, rainfall after an application increases the risk of nutrient loss.

Dairy effluent is a good alternative to traditional fertiliser on areas of the farm.

When applying dairy effluent be careful not to have any runoff or to overload soils with nitrogen and potassium. This will also empty effluent ponds to maximise capacity for the wetter months of the year.

Pasture renovation and oversowing ■

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All soils that are sown should be soil tested to determine any limiting factors for plant growth and develop a plan to improve or maintain the soils and pastures on the farm.

When planting pasture always check for pest activity and control if required.

March is an ideal time for checking your paddocks for pasture density and making some decisions on what areas of the farm if any need renovation or oversowing.

If pastures have root mats consider working the paddocks up and allowing some time for the root mat to rot before sowing the new pasture or plan a summer crop in this paddock for next year.

If pastures are just thin and have no root mat oversowing is a good option.

Consider the type and variety of seed to put in the ground. Where rye-grass is concerned it’s good to try to simplify the process using three categories for seed types: • Perennial — permanent pasture (sow once you have dealt with any soil issues in the paddock such as drainage or root mat issues).

• Short rotation — two to three-year varieties that tend to establish with more vigour than perennials, after being well sown and can last two to three years when conditions and management allow. Great plants for developing paddocks that may need to be sprayed out in the future while increasing productivity in the short term.

• Annual — one-year varieties (May to November) that are very vigorous after sowing, strong winter performers, but will not produce once they have gone to seed in spring. Great for a low-performing paddock that will be summer cropped the following year.

2020 GA CONFERENCE

WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKER JUAN MORENO, ST GENETICS 18th MARCH - CONFERENCE, TABCORP PARK, MELTON 19th - 20th MARCH - TOUR, SOUTH & WEST GIPPSLAND For moreDETAILS details visit genaust.com.au MORE COMING SOON

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2020

12 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Dates to remember Rearing Healthy Calves

Lameness Day

Rearing Healthy Calves workshops will have Dr Jamie McNeil working though the latest developments and best practice in pre-calving care, colostrum management, nutrition residue risk management, health management and weaning management.

Venue: TAFE Gippsland, Leongatha Date: February 18, 9.30 am – 2.30 pm

Go beyond the basics of treating lameness and learn the skills for the early detection and management of lameness and better outcomes for cow welfare and productivity.

Venue: 615 Buffalo-Tarwin Lower Road, Middle Tarwin Date: February 26, 10.30 am – 1 pm

Farm Business Fundamentals Farm consultant Matt Harms will deliver Farm Business Fundamentals, which will take you through the concepts and terminology of farm finance, helps you get set up and prepared to meet with your banker or accountant and assists with doing a budget.

Venue: Korumburra Showgrounds Date: March 4 and 11

Fast Track Your People Skills The Fast Track Your People Skills workshops will help you deal with dairy workplaces that are morphing faster than ever. Research shows that

SILVER BULLET

New Produc

t

organisational success is now heavily dependent on employees with effective people practices.

Internationally renowned expert on people in the workplace, Mandy Johnson, explores practical ways to navigate effectively in this rapidlychanging world.

Venue: South Gippsland Bass Coast Local Learning and Employment Network, Leongatha Date: Monday, March 16 from 11 am – 2 pm Venue: Duart Homestead, Maffra Date: Monday, March 16, from 6.30 – 9.30 pm Venue: Warragul Country Club, Warragul Date: Tuesday, March 17 from 11 am – 2 pm

Farm Business Analysis Farm Business Analysis assists farmers and their advisers to better monitor, analyse and understand farm business performance. It covers the importance of getting annual farm physical and financial numbers right, how to interpret farm performance and understand cash, profit and wealth for a dairy farm business using DairyBase reports.

Venue: Tinamba Community Centre Date: April 16, 23 and 30 Venue: Agriculture Victoria — Ellinbank Date: May 13, 20 and 27

Feeding Pastures for Profit

Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass

FPFP is about managing pastures and crops to optimise hectare efficiency and DM consumption. FPFP develops dairy farmers’ skills and decision making with pasture management and supplement use. Program Delivery: Two days ’up-front’ classroom style delivery plus six onfarm group days over the next 10–12 months.

Location: West Gippsland Dates: Day 1: April 28 Day 2: May 5 Location: South Gippsland Dates: Day 1: May 7 Day 2: May 14

• Highly Palatable • Exceptional Winter & Spring Production • Trialed Across Gippsland • Late Maturing

Exclusively Available at: Call Graham’s Seeds today 1300 660 213 or visit www.grahamseeds.com.au

The pasture solution you’ve been looking for!

Location: MID Dates: Day 1: May 8 Day 2: May 15

Fert$mart Fert$mart programs are being offered in the Lake Wellington and Gormandale/Merrimans Creek area and in the Corner Inlet Catchment.

Fert$mart offers you the chance to make positive changes to fertiliser methods, helping to save money and improve pasture performance through soil and effluent pond testing, one-on-one farm visits and group workshops and the development of a nutrient management plan. Contact Caroline Purcell on 5623 4788 to register for Gormandale/ Merrimans Creek or Gerard Murphy on 0400 632 648 for Corner Inlet.

Location: Lake Wellington and Gormandale/ Merrimans Creek Date: February, March and April

Gippsland Irrigation Expo The Gippsland Irrigation Expo will return next month at the Sale Showgrounds.

Building on the success of the 2015 and 2017 Gippsland Irrigation Expo Events, Agriculture Victoria is holding the Gippsland Irrigation Expo once again.

If you are keen to showcase the very latest innovative irrigation techniques and technologies to irrigators from across Gippsland and beyond, please lock the date into your calendar.

Venue: Sale Showgrounds Date: March 4