FEBRUARY, 2019 ISSUE 100
MURRAY REGION
The Stewart family (back) Donnie, Teagan, Meg and (front) Jed and Zoe.
New dairy invests in future SOPHIE BALDWIN
MEG AND Donnie Stewart from Pyramid Hill are hoping the days of spending nine hours in the shed milking cows, will be a distant memory by the end of the financial year. The decision wasn’t taken lightly as the Stewarts considered all their options but, in the end, they kept coming back to the fact their current 25
swing-over dairy limited future expansion. The couple had been planning to build a rotary on the home farm for many years but droughts, floods, parking cows, uncertain water policy, and a rapidly changing northern Victorian dairy industry during the past two decades had prolonged that decision. In the end, it was a meeting with their farm consultant about their future that finally got the ball rolling. “He managed to get out of me what I really
aspired to do, despite the uncertainty of water availability, into the future,” Don said. The couple has an 18-year-old daughter Teagan who recently completed a Certificate III in Agriculture and is showing signs of being interested in the farm, while son Jed is tractor and machinery mad. “We are looking to the future and to the next generation of our family business and even if the kids end up not interested and we are only milking for the next five years, then so be it; we will
still get a return on our investment,” Meg said. She said a new dairy would be an advantage when recruiting staff. Meg and Donnie spent a lot of time considering the options before them, and where they wanted their business to be in the future. They looked at turning the old dairy into a double-up rapid exit but decided against that because essentially, they would still be milking in a 22-yearold shed Continued page 4 >
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2019
2 // MURRAY REGION
Chair’s message
New year brings opportunities WELCOME TO the new year.
I hope many of you had the opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends over the holiday season and managed to take in some pleasant pursuits; whether that be enjoying the cricket, watching the tennis, or swimming to take the edge off the warm start to the year. As at the time of writing, much of the Riverina and northern Victoria have endured a week of 40°C-plus temperatures, in fact 10 of the first 15 days of 2019 have been over, prompting concerns about increased fire danger, irrigation and stock water demand. Thankfully, to this point, Goulburn-Murray Water has been able to meet all irrigation demands. As we approach the end of summer, many farmers will be looking ahead and thinking about preparing for autumn, weighing up the best feed options for this season and the most valuable use of water. Good feed-base management in the autumn months can provide a great head-start for our farm businesses in spring. Murray Dairy will be running a series of workshops throughout February, with local agronomists and a consultant discussing options to navigate the best way forward. Look out for these dates and locations, and make use of these valuable support tools. At the end of last year our board made the decision to start holding meetings across the Murray Dairy region.
Our final meeting for 2018 was held in Finley, when we welcomed farmers and invited guests from that region to have lunch with the board, ask questions and provide feedback. These opportunities are invaluable, and we thank those who took the time out from their busy days to interact with us. It is quite clear that our region has three distinct sub-regions, all with different issues, priorities and ways of farming. As a board, we look forward to continuing this initiative in 2019 and hearing from other regions. One of my personal priorities for 2019 is also to get to at least one meeting of all our Regional Network Groups. I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible; to stand in “your backyard” and hear what is important to you. Murray Dairy has a few busy months ahead. New Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Jaclyn Symes has announced the Defining Future Dairy Industry Service Sector Skills project which is to be undertaken by Murray Dairy, GippsDairy and WestVic Dairy. This initiative is funded under the government’s Regional Skills Fund and is designed to boost jobs, training and skills across the sector based on current and emerging industry needs. In February, we look forward to the launch of the water trading information videos, a collaborative project with G-MW and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
The videos cover water trade, allocation and a range of other topics dealing with the complexities of water, presented in an easy-to-understand format. Finally, the Regional Dairy Plan (that was commenced in July 2018) will also be released this month. The plan proactively responds to drivers of change in the Murray Dairy region and supports farm businesses to continue to develop and implement practices to improve sustainability and profitability. The five key themes identified will guide effort and investment in our region and will feed directly into Dairy Australia’s new national initiative, Dairy Plan. For more information, go to the webpage at www.dairyplan.com.au In the coming months, Dairy Australia will be undertaking a consultation process so you have the opportunity to contribute to Dairy Plan. I encourage you to take up the opportunity, as this plan will provide a national roadmap for our industry to navigate the immediate, medium and long-term future. I wish you well for the coming year. Karen Moroney Murray Dairy chair
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MURRAY REGION // 3
Region on show at dairy week Australia’s premier dairy event, International Dairy Week, was held at Tatura last month, featuring a showcase of top dairy cows. The Goulburn Valley has again tasted success at International Dairy Week, with three mates taking out top honours at this year’s event. Wallumlands Sunstorm 8th, co-owned by Tennyson’s Daniel Bacon, Dingee’s Ben Govett and Cohuna’s Glen Gordon, was awarded Australian Grand Champion, beating out plenty of tough competition.
The eight-year-old Illawarra also took out the event’s Grand Champion Illawarra Exhibit, with judges congratulating the trio on a ‘‘magnificent dairy cow’’. Although the exhibitor numbers were down this year, the show still featured hundreds of top class animals, a range of seminars, the regular field days and an inspiring youth show.
Holstein Intermediate Champion Bluechip MH Hero Marion pictured with, from left, Brad Salmon, Declan Patten and Dean Malcolm.
Ash Easterbrook , 12, from Tatura, was taking care of T-Bone Princess, at dairy week.
IDW 2019 Premier Jersey exhibitor was Ben Pedretti, (right), from Tallygaroopna and NAB’s Dave Davis.
Julie Loghman from Finley, cooling off the cows.
Nathan Smith from Zeerust, prepares Solomon Sandalwood, of Hightop Holsteins for the youth show at dairy week.
Charlie Lloyd from Kyabram (right) gets some assistance for an unwilling entry in the Jersey sale at dairy week.
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Family invests in the future <Continued from page 1
They also looked at robots and while they thought the technology was great, future expansion was limited by the number of robots they had. In the end, they felt moving a second-hand rotary was their best investment. “Construction of a brand new rotary from scratch was up around $1.5-$2 million and I would hate to think what a barn and robots would cost. A second-hand dairy helps limit our financial risk if we stop milking for any reason in the short term (five years),” Meg said. “In the back of my mind there is always the option to install a robotic arm; the technology is there but perhaps the demand from the market is not yet. We like the flexibility of a rotary and we feel we can grow our system and our numbers if we want too,” Donnie said. The couple also hopes to construct a 600-cow feed pad at the same time as it builds the rotary, with plans to build a shade shed over the next three years. The feed pad will allow the Stewarts to cut and carry feed to the herd, and remove the need to irrigate pastures when water is limited. The construction of a new dairy is the last piece of the farming puzzle for the family business. The Stewarts have a sharefarmer on a 240 ha dairy farm at Yarrawalla. A former 64 ha dairy farm at Calivil is now used to grow corn. And they recently purchased a 380 ha fodder block. “The purchase of 380 ha gives us lots of options down the track to diversify, and because it was between our two dairy farms it was just too good an opportunity to pass up,” Donnie said. Like many northern Victorian dairy farmers, Donnie said water was the biggest issue the industry faced. “Service and delivery for us is not a problem as we irrigate from backbone channels; it is the delivery costs and the reduced availability for agriculture in the future that is going to be the issue,” he said. The Stewarts own a third of their total water requirements; normally forward purchase a third (not likely to happen at the end of this season); and buy a third on the spot market. “We haven’t grown perennial pasture on this
farm since 2006. We grow 30 ha of lucerne for grazing, but this year we decided to cut and carry to avoid the huge wastage you get from grazing,” Donnie said. The lucerne has been put into silage, hay and green chop depending on the cut and the time of the year. Donnie said he had decided to stop watering his lucerne altogether because of hot weather conditions and the economics of using $500 water. “If it was 28 degrees and we had 2 inches of rain I would be still irrigating, but not when it’s dry and temperatures are in the mid 40s — the return just isn’t there,” he said. The Stewarts are a bit unsure about how to tackle the approaching autumn, especially if conditions remain hot and dry. “We might end up sowing all cereals if it stays this dry. We will irrigate everything once to get some subsoil moisture but there is no guarantee of water availability for spring irrigation of ryegrass, which is a great concern.,” Donnie said. He said one of the future goals of their business was to get to a point where they support 500 cows without irrigation. He is looking at a scenario of being an opportunistic irrigator when water is plentiful. “That may be two or three years out of every five, who really knows? “We need to develop the business to be robust enough to be non-dependent on water availability. “We are hoping to have enough land to grow enough fodder with rainfall. Out here we have the scope to purchase land and be opportunistic to grow a lot of feed. “We want a flexible system that will allow us to grow a lot of fodder when times are good, and conserve it for the years when things aren’t.” This includes a feed buffer of at least a year. Donnie said he wouldn’t be looking to upgrade irrigation infrastructure, anytime in the future even though they have done that on the share farm property. “I believe our capital is better spent on feeding and storage facilities, something we use every day,” he said. Meg and Donnie have always been flexible in their approach to dairying. They have milked lots of cows, no cows, some cows and parked cows. Since 2007 they have always had a contracted milk price.
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The old 25 swing-over dairy will soon be replaced by a rotary which will significantly reduce milking times for the 500-cow herd.
The family is hoping to build a new 600-cow feed pad at the same time it constructs the dairy. Down the track, the Stewarts will build a shade structure over the pad.
“We haven’t always had the highest milk price but it does give us the ability to forward buy hay and grain, and budget and plan our business,” Meg said. The couple run a predominately Friesian herd with a few cross breeds, but under the new system every cow will have the capacity to maximise dry matter intakes. A key focus will be pregnancy rates to ensure each cow in the system is converting feed efficiently. They are in the process of changing their
calving pattern to year-round and are just learning their way around the collar technology they installed in November. It might be a busy six months ahead for the Stewarts, but they agree they are looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and the opportunities the new dairy will bring them. “We still get a lot of satisfaction out of the industry and we are looking forward to where this development will take us and our business,” Meg said.
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MURRAY REGION // 5
Dairy advocate steps up to new role COHUNA DAIRY farmer John Keely has taken
on the role of interim vice president of the UDV. Mr Keely has a long history in advocacy after serving on the UDV policy council for the past 10 years, and he is excited about the possibilities his new role will bring. While Mr Keely said he had no desire to become involved in mainstream politics, he felt it was important to have people fighting for the dairy industry. “Dairy is a big industry and Victoria is the biggest milk producer in Australia. If we don’t have anyone in there fighting for us, we are in trouble,” he said. “The UDV is only a phone call away from the premier, and we do have the opportunity to influence the decision-makers and be part of that process.” Mr Keely believes the UDV has an important role to play. “If we don’t have a peak body, then it becomes left to small, different groups to do the fighting; and only the loudest voice will be heard,” he said. “In the UDV we have a broad range of opinions across different issues but we are always
collectively working for the best outcome for the industry, and we always represent our members first and foremost.” Mr Keely said former Agriculture Minister Jaala Paulford called in to the UDV Christmas gathering. “This just shows the respect the UDV has within government, and in particular the respect people have for retiring president Adam Jenkins,” Mr Keely said. His 21-year-old son Harrison works on the family farm and Mr Keely is also determined to see a future for Harrison. “I am lucky that I am in a situation where I can get involved. I have a good staff at home and because I am financially invested in the industry myself, I certainly want a sustainable future.” The Keely family milks 310 split calving cows on 420 ha just outside of Cohuna. They are currently in the process of drying off their autumn calvers. Mr Keely described the 2018–19 season as fair so far. “Even though we had a dry winter, the cows have milked well and remained in pretty good
Cohuna dairy farmer John Keely has taken on the role of vice-president of the UDV after 10 years in the advocacy space.
condition. The big thing will be what happens to production after Christmas.” Mr Keely said setting up the farm for a good autumn was his first priority. “You have to get water onto those pastures in
autumn to set yourself up for winter and spring. We can’t rely on rainfall, so it is important to have a plan to move forward.” Mr Keely said he would sow cereals and ryegrass clovers this autumn.
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MURRAY REGION // 7
Summer heat advice PROVIDING LIVESTOCK with shade and water during extreme heat is ‘‘paramount’’ according to an owner of a northern Victorian veterinary practice. Keith Fletcher, of Rochester Veterinary Practice, provided some tips on the best way to handle livestock to prevent heat stress. ‘‘A combination of shade and water is the
most important thing,’’ Dr Fletcher said. ‘‘For beef cattle, farmers should select the paddocks so they will have shade during the day and put them in open paddocks at night when they are less likely to get overheated. ‘‘For dairy cows, sprinklers in yards and sheds and in some cases fans can work. ‘‘Also watering concrete before they stand on
it (is an option).’’ For other livestock, such as sheep, Dr Fletcher said the same protocols should be taken. ‘‘It holds true for all them — shade and water. Sheep are a bit more resistant to heat but still need to get out of direct contact with the sun.’’ Dr Fletcher said farmers should avoid moving livestock during the hottest part of the days.
‘‘Avoid management jobs like yarding in hottest parts of the day,’’ he said. ‘‘Certainly, the cattle are feeling the heat but I haven’t had to handle any cases (yet). ‘‘The dairy cows are not producing as much milk and the beef cattle are going slowly and not putting on a lot of weight.’’
Comment sought on water resource plan A NEW northern Victoria water resource plan has been released for comment, finalising another piece of the puzzle towards implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The 1022-page document said there should be “no immediate changes” to how water is managed in the region. “Victoria has already done the heavy lifting for the environment and has recovered or contracted more than 800 Gl of water for the environment. That is over 70 per cent of the total water recovery required under basin plan,” the document reads. “Victoria’s share is a long-term average annual volume of 1075 Gl, which is about 40 per cent of total basin water recovery.” Although most states, including Victoria, are on track to deliver their water resource plans, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority said NSW was currently behind schedule, will all of its 20 water resource plans yet to be finalised. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has indicated complex issues — including an independent review to regulate and licence floodplain harvesting in NSW which is due in April 2019, and work on new measures to protect environmental water — that need to be included within the water resource plans as reasons for the delay. The plan also assessed the risks to the region, Freecall: 1800 039 047 www.genaust.com.au with climate change and extreme drought cited as big concerns. With significant wetlands scattered across the region, including Barmah-Millewa Forest, Gunbower Forest, Hattah Lakes and Kerang Wetlands, the plan said water for the environment was a key part of the basin plan. “The water recovered to improve the health of our rivers and land includes water saved by upgrading and modernising irrigation systems, as well as water recovered from farmers by the Federal Government in return for modernising and upgrading irrigation systems on their farms,” the plan reads. DELWP will hold several public consultations across the region including at Shepparton, Wangaratta and Kerang in mid-February. For more information about consultation or to submit feedback, visit: engage.vic.gov.au/ water-resource-plan-northern-victoria
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2019
8 // MURRAY REGION
Boxes ticked for next generation of business PAT AND Michelle Quinn have ticked all the bigticket infrastructure items to take their 650-cow dairy herd into the future. The couple built a new rotary dairy in 2016, a feed pad in 2017, and this year they are about a third of the way through building a shade structure over the pad. The couple is happy with its three-year contract to supply Freedom Foods and with son Gregory, 24, returning to the farm, the future looks pretty good for the Quinn family. “Of course, there are things in the industry out of our control but as far as our own business goes, I am pretty happy with where we stand,” Pat said. “Gregory is all fired up, ambitious and keen to get numbers up around 700 — the herd number our dairy system has been created to support.” Pat said the farm had come a long way from the days when it was first settled by his family back in 1948. “We are heading into the third generation on this land. “Years ago it was considered the end of the earth for dairy farming, but now we are one of the biggest dairy farms in the area and it has always been my ambition to succeed and leave a viable
business for the kids to take on in the future.” Pat attributes their business success to the farm’s ability to being able to expand their land holdings relatively cheaply while growing high yielding, water-efficient crops to suit the soil type including lucerne, vetch and corn. Of course Pat said he would be unable to do what he does without water and a high reliability water allocation is an extremely important management tool. “I have always had a culture of investing in water and even though I have traded some, I have always replaced it. Our high and low entitlements have always been enough to provide us with enough water in an average year.” Pat remembers a time when farmers were urged not to invest in water, but he is glad he ignored that advice. He also firmly believes growing high yielding annual crops like vetch, cereals and corn are the way of the future. “These types of crops provide the highest return per megalitre and can be cut and carried to the feed pad. I think grazing is a luxury that is now in doubt, unless it is assisted by good rainfall.” Hence the building of the feed pad.
Gregory Quinn (left) has decided to make his future on the farm and has returned home to farm alongside his parents Pat (pictured) and Michelle.
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2019
MURRAY REGION // 9
Before 2017 the farm did have a feed pad, but it wasn’t a permanent structure and the wet winter of 2016 left them with a $50 000 repair bill. “We were always going to build a concrete pad, but that wet winter motivated us to bring that job forward and make something more permanent.” The feed pad is located close to the dairy and the cows access it via a concrete driveway. The 175 m long pad is designed to feed more than 600 cows. The shade structure will be built over three stages with stage one just about complete. “Cow comfort has always been important to us and once the roof is finished, we will get on and add sprays and fans.” Pat said feeding cows in a lot environment has the potential to produce an extra four litres per cow per day. “Those extra litres add up to a fair bit of milk over time and go a long way toward paying the interest on our investment in tough years; we will worry about principle payments when times are good.” Pat said the 2018–19 season had been one of the tougher ones. “It was clear back in August after we had no rain that things were going to be tough. Water was expensive and the coming year was looking scary at its best.” He said sitting down with consultants and developing a good solid plan had been the key to getting through this year. They decided to water 160 ha of vetch, all the cereal and the pasture received three waters. “You get your best return on water when you
The family are in the process of constructing a roof over the feed pad over the next three years. The completion of the pad will be the last of the big ticket infrastructure items.
get the best growth and that’s in spring,” Pat said. “Everything we do is about getting the most value out of water, and if the returns aren’t there, we stop watering.” The business has conserved enough vetch and grass silage and with 32 ha corn growing, they should meet their silage requirements. Maintaining cow numbers is the focus so the business is ready to capitalise when things turn around: feeding cows for production has been one
of the ways the farm has been able to minimise grain use and control costs. “We are aiming to break even, but at the very worst we will carry some small loss, and I am prepared to carry that loss to have stock numbers for when things turn around.” The cows were collared in 2000 but when the dairy was upgraded in 2016 they decided to upgrade that system as well. “Collars offer the most valuable technical
Building the roof over the structure will help keep the cows comfortable over a long hot summer.
support on the farm and the new system has just taken that to another level,” Pat said. “Feeding in batches allows us to feed according to production and helps reduce grain wastage while they also help us pick up sick cows and mastitis. They are also great when it comes to joining; we can get that timing right down to the hour.”
Continued page 10 >
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2019
Repairing and servicing hydraulics for the dairy industry
10 // MURRAY REGION
After-hour breakdowns can be very costly. GV Hydraulink’s new rotary dairy drive system can be very cost effective and suits most brands and operates by a flick of a leaver.
The rotary dairy was constructed three years ago. < Conitnued from page 9
Pat said he doesn’t regret spending money irrigators to continue to maintain it that is of concern. There has been such a huge exodus of on infrastructure. “For a very brief time we did wonder about good farmers but these factors, while a concern, building a rotary, but the old one was done in are out of my control. “We have ticked the big boxes and we have and we knew we had to invest. With Gregory coming home we are confident the business will a good contract with Freedom Foods. Freecarry on in the future, although water really dom is full of confidence in the dairy industry does worry me and it is scary to think where and they share that confidence and investment in us — I am looking forward to seeing where our things could finish up. business goes.” “There will be water in the system but it FROM FROM will be whether the system will have enough
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2019
12 // MURRAY REGION
Study tour on the cards for Amabel A MUCKATAH dairy farmer will travel across
the ditch this month as part of the 2019 New Zealand Study Tour. The eight-day tour provides successful applicants, including Muckatah’s Amabel Grinter, with development opportunities to engage and learn from Federated Farmers of New Zealand representatives. Organised by UDV and funded by the Gardiner Dairy Foundation, the tour includes visits to farms, processing companies, research and extension facilities and networking with farmer groups. Ms Grinter said after finishing university her passion was to better understand the dairy industry in Australia and across the globe. “Last December (2017) I graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences,” she said. “This course gave me a great broad understanding of Australian agriculture and related sciences. “In these past 12 months I have been focusing on strengthening my understanding of the dairy industry, both nationally and globally.
“My hope is that this trip is going to further my passion for dairy both on-farm and in a leadership role within the industry in the future.” Ms Grinter said she hoped to learn if any issues facing farmers in Victoria were reciprocated in New Zealand. “I am really interested in animal welfare and public image,” she said. “I am looking forward to seeing how the dairy industry in New Zealand is working towards managing the ever-increasing customer pressures in regards to animal production, environmental changes, and overall social sustainability. “With water security a prominent topic of concern within northern Victoria and NSW, particularly, I am also interested in seeing how much of a concern water is for New Zealand agriculture going forward. “Alongside this, I am curious to discuss the future direction of feeding cows in a grazing system.” Ms Grinter is looking forward to the opportunity in February. “I was extremely grateful to the selection
panel and entire dairy industry for supporting me and giving me opportunities that will in the future help me to support the industry,” she said. “I still feel very humbled to know that people see me as someone who could be a strong voice in the Victorian dairy industry going forward.” Ms Grinter said she was particularly looking forward to meeting the other recipients and expanding her professional network. Other successful applicants who will join the tour are: Danielle Walker, Panmure; Leica Manners, Denison; Majella Ryan, Grassmere; Rachael McGrath, Orford; Thomas Ryan, Birregurra; and Thomas Stuart, Dixie.
Muckatah’s Amabel Grinter is off to New Zealand in February as part of the 2019 New Zealand Study Tour.
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2019
MURRAY REGION // 13
Grants boost drought infrastructure NEARLY 200 dairy farmers are among more
than 1600 Victorian farm businesses that have applied for On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Support Grants since October 2018. The grants, which are still open, provide eligible individual farm businesses up to $5000, with applicants required to fund at least half the project. The Victorian Government established the $13.2 million grants program to assist farm businesses implement on-farm infrastructure that improves drought management and preparedness, and puts the business in a better position for the future. Agriculture Victoria Dairy Services South East regional manager Del Delpitiya said farmers in East Gippsland had been proactive in seeking advice about using grants to help manage dry conditions. “For farmers looking to put in a feed pad, upgrading feeding systems or stock containment areas, coming up with a workable plan for managing the effluent is a priority.” Mr Delpitiya said Agriculture Victoria had expertise in managing effluent, and had been helping dairy farmers with developing effluent use plans. This process involves taking samples to determine the nutrient value of effluent and
providing on-farm application rate recommendations to address agronomic requirements. “Using effluent wisely means farmers make the most of the nutrients they already have onfarm,” Mr Delpitiya said. “By working with Agriculture Victoria and doing an effluent use plan, dairy farmers can save between $7000 – $10 000 per annum on fertiliser costs. Workshops led by Agriculture Victoria in conjunction with Dairy Australia regional development programs have taken place across the state, covering topics such as the climate, fodder shortages and global markets. But support isn’t just limited to business investments. Agriculture Victoria has several personal and family support options, including a pool of $1.25 million to help drought-affected families with kindergarten fees. There is also a camps, sports and excursion fund, as well as back-toschool support for families in the Wellington and East Gippsland shires. For more information on the assistance available, visit www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/ dryseasons Visit www.ruralfinance.com.au/ for application forms and guidelines, or phone Rural Finance on 1800 260 425.
Who can apply for On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Suppo
rt Grants?
• Those who own, lease or share
farm businesses in the following local government areas can apply: Wellington, East Gippsland, Swan Hill, Gannawarra, Loddon, Campaspe, Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton, Moira, Strathbogie, Benalla, Wangaratta, Wodonga, Indigo, Alpine, Towong, Mildura, Hindmarsh, Yarriambiack, Buloke, Horsham and Northern Grampians.
• Eligible participants must derive at
least 51 per cent of their gross annual income from the farm business or made a minimum farm-related capital investment of $50 000 (excluding land purchase) in the farm business.
• The grant amount must be 50
per cent of the total cost of the project — applicants must match the grant amount with their own funding.
• As a guide, it is anticipated that farm
turnover would exceed $50 000/year under normal business conditions (with no adverse climatic conditions).
• Applicants must be registered as a
primary producer with the Australian Tax Office and have an ABV and be registered for GST.
• Applicants must contribute more than
51 per cent of their labour to the farming enterprise.
What are eligible infrastructure improvements? • Items to construct a new, or upgrade an existing, stock containment area.
• Reticulated water systems using
pumps, piping, tanks and troughs for livestock.
monitoring, weather stations).
• Grain and fodder storage. • Internal re-fencing to better match
property layout with land capability.
• Irrigation system upgrades.
• Shelter belts for shade.
• Permanent repairs to fixed water
• Upgrading of areas, such as laneways,
infrastructure.
• Improve water infrastructure for stock management.
• Long-term drought management efficiencies (e.g. soil moisture
to deliver lasting productivity and profitability benefits.
• Feeding system upgrades. • Adoption of precision farming techniques.
14 // MURRAY REGION
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2019
MURRAY REGION // 15
Former dairy farmer honoured LIZ MELLINO
FORMER TOOLAMBA dairy farmer Raymond Luscombe has been honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia for his work with the community. In early January, Mr Luscombe received a letter confirming his OAM, which came as a shock for the humble retired dairy farmer, who has spent most of his life on the land. “I was a bit taken back, it’s an honour that not everybody receives and there are probably many people more worthy than me to get it, but it is an honour,” he said. Recounting the moment, Mr Luscombe said he had a suspicion it could have been his wife of 58 years, Judy, who nominated him for the prestigious award. “Bruce Lloyd (former Federal Member for Murray) said to me that Ray had been doing a good job with the new building for the Shepparton Uniting Church and getting things going, and said I should fill in a form to nominate him.
So then I had to look around for his good bits,” Mrs Luscombe said with a laugh. “I did it nearly two years ago but I didn’t tell him because you’re never sure whether that’s the criteria they want. “It is very good, he is leadership material.” After 72 years living in Toolamba, the Luscombes moved to Shepparton, selling their dairy farm in search of a quieter life in town. However, it appears Mr Luscombe has done the opposite, volunteering his time each week for countless organisations and churches around Greater Shepparton. His CV reads like a comprehensive collection of the area’s committees and community groups. Mr Luscombe has worked for the Toolamba Cemetery Trust, Shepparton Uniting Church, Waranga Uniting Church Council, Toolamba Uniting Church, Toolamba Memorial Hall and the Shepparton Table Tennis Association. He was a convenor for the Toolamba branch of the National Party for 15 years, has been a Justice of the Peace in Toolamba and Shepparton for the past 38 years and regularly attends
the Shepparton Police Station for document signing. “We’re now so heavily involved at the Shepparton Uniting Church Op Shop, we’re there every day,” he said. “I retired here for a quiet life but it hasn’t actually worked out that way.” Turning 80 this year, Mr Luscombe said volunteering at the op shop was one of his greatest pleasures, giving him the opportunity to mix with community members from all walks of life. “We’re both fortunate to have reasonably good health and be able to do things, so it is important to do what you can where you can to help others,” he said. “If you work on the theory that at the end of your life if you can leave the place a bit better than when you came, that’s the aim.” Mr Luscombe said he was pleased he had been able to spend many years of his life giving back to small clubs and associations. He admitted his achievements were a strong team effort by him and his wife, adding everyone should experience the sense of accomplishment and reward that came with volunteering.
Former dairy farmer Raymond Luscombe has been recognised with an OAM.
“It’s a rewarding experience to volunteer,” he said. “The country would come to a standstill if it wasn’t for the voluntary work by so many people in so many fields. “These awards are very nice but you don’t actually ever aspire to one; if it comes along, well, it’s an honour and I’d like to think we’re sharing it with all the other volunteers that do such good work — it’s just a symbol of recognition.”
Free Dairy Business Management Support Murray Dairy and AgBiz Assist are facilitating free consultations for dairy farmers in the following areas: Taking Stock Access a free one-on-one session with a trained adviser through Dairy Australia’s Taking Stock drought response program.
For information or to organise a session, please contact: Lachlan Barnes Regional Extension Officer Farm Business Management P: 0438 092 352 E: lachlanb@murraydairy.com.au
The consultation will help you work through key business decisions and identify actions to take, as well as other support available. The sessions are confidential and personalised to address your individual situation.
Succession, Growth and Transition Consultations A one-on-one consultation for those looking at transition, during which you will discuss your business goals, review your position and understand your options going forward. The aim of this consultation is to help you feel more confident to make decisions about your farm business transition, whether that be buying or selling, expanding or contracting, succession or exit.
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