AUGUST 2022 ISSUE 142 // www.dairynewsaustralia.com.au The all-rounder “We expect to milk double the number of cows, with the same number of staff”. John Wilson, Project Manager 4th GEA iFLOW 60-bail rotary installation. For all-round performance like John, watch his story. Ph:GEA.com/australia0388779999 ‘Team Oz’ for world expo. PAGE 11 RAIN BRINGS PAIN PAGE 6 INVESTING IN DAIRY’S FUTUREPAGE19 THE GRASS REALLY IS GREENER Mike Van Der Aa moved from New Zealand to Australia 25 years ago with a ve-year plan. He liked it so much he never le . PAGE 4
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ISABEL DANDO IN A volatile global trade environment, political pressure often leads to hasty and expedient policy decisions, especially when trying to support domestic food security against rising prices.One such measure is the implementation of export Exportrestrictions.restrictions are typically put in place in an attempt to insulate domestic commodity prices against world prices, through protecting domestic supply. While sounding good in theory, this policy measure was shown to have a farreaching negative impact throughout the 2007–08 global food crisis. This is because successive decisions to implement export restrictions by multiple countries exacerbated the increases in world prices and market volatility instead, due to reduced global supply. One form in which trade intervention has shown up in 2022, in response to domestic food security challenges, is through the restriction of wheat exports. India, Russia, Kazakhstan and Egypt have all implemented such policies.
While there is a clear objective around the implementation of export restrictions, in the current trade environment, they are actually more likely to cause an exacerbation of grain and fertiliser price volatility.
Source: Profarmer and Dairy Australia
The increased unpredictability of input markets presents a challenge for both short and long-term farm management. Nonetheless, understanding the influence of market pressures, and more importantly, not making the same sort of hasty mistakes, can aid in successfully navigating through this uncertain time.
Global pain hurts at home
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Due to their collective influence on the global wheat market, this has had significant implications for global supply, and has therefore flowed through to affect the price of wheat here in Australia. In the past 12 months, local wheat prices have increased across all monitored regions by an average of around 50 per cent. In addition to this, the supply and production of fertiliser around the world is currently being impacted by high natural gas prices across Europe, current export restrictions in China and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.Thecombined influence of these factors continues to place upward pressure on world fertiliser prices, due again to restricted supply. Alongside general COVID-19 related supply chain disruptions, this accounts for the sharp increase in fertiliser prices seen in Australia over the past 12 months. In comparison to June 2021, the global benchmark prices for urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) have increased by 76 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. For those reliant on robust world trade, incidences of snap decision making and short-term hysteria across commodity markets can induce a snowball effect. This is reflected through increasingly volatile markets, where prices become vulnerable to unpredictable supply and demand dynamics. Such conditions create a difficult environment for farmers to navigate and hasty decisions around input use change can add to this volatility rather than protect from it. For farmers here in Australia, this could be seen through a continuation of elevated grain and fertiliser prices over several seasons and an increased vulnerability to inevitable shifts in farm gate milk price. With the upcoming Australian grain harvest as an example, if major exporters remain out of play, farmers looking to secure feed on the domestic market may find themselves competing against high international demand that would have previously been met elsewhere. If this scenario persists, the prolonging of inflated feed costs has the potential to undermine margins, even in a high milk price year, and could have implications for the relative viability of different farm systems over time.
Like so many unable to break into farm ownership in New Zealand due to high land prices, Mike bought the Yambuk farm with his brother Pete, now semi-retired in Warrnambool. They had looked at farms in the Heytesbury region but didn’t like them. They fell in love with the Yambuk area where they could farm the way they wanted and enjoy the limestone-based soils that don’t get too muddy over winter. “I’ve never wanted to be an intense farmer,” Mike said. “I like to grow everything we can on the farm and do well with the cows we’ve got. I could milk more cows here but I don’t want to. “What we do now suits the staff we’ve got and our lifestyle.” The farm is 220 hectares and they milk 280 to 300 cows depending on seasonal conditions. They had two small additional farms used as outpaddocks but recently sold one of the properties. Two long-term workers do the milking, with the 30-a-side dairy set up as a one-person operation.Somebits of New Zealand have stayed with Mike; he still uses New Zealand-bred Friesian genetics from LIC. “I like the way they attack the grass,” he said. “We’re predominantly grass-eating. I’ve learned a fair bit about nutrition and it’s about keeping the outside costs down. We don’t feed more than four kilos of pellets.” He also uses some lines from Genetics Australia, but in the same vein of strong grasseatingMikecows.worked in AI for about 20 years after arriving in Australia, which was as much an education as it was a job.
Recently there was a shift from rye-grass to cocksfoot.“We’d have a flat patch from the end of September. We put in rape but it wasn’t quite ready to bridge the gap until the irrigation kicked in,” Mike said. Mike and his nephew Stephen at the dairy, which is set up as a one-person operation. The farm’s well-designed laneways are all about making it easy to manage.
MIKE VAN Der Aa moved from New Zealand to Australia 25 years ago with a five-year plan. He liked it so much he never left. As he walks across his well-developed farm near the ocean at Yambuk, and as he hosts mates in his renovated 1840s stone ‘Gentleman’s Club’ and sees his family at home in the local commu nity, it’s easy to see why Mike thinks he’s blessed. “This was the first farm we bought and we liked it so much we stayed put,” he said. “We like the people around us, the area we’re in and it’s not so intensive out this way.” At 54, Mike and his wife Clare and their chil dren Jack, 19, and Hannah, 16, are all about enjoying the good things in life — and dairying in Australia has given them that opportunity. “We worked hard when we were young, now we can enjoy the fruits of our labour,” Mike said. “I like it here. To me it’s like an adventure. I got here at 29. The house and farm needed a lot of renovation but Clare and I decided stay and we got married in 2000. “I love the wide open spaces. I never dreamed I’d be living on the coast and involved in the footy club, the surf club and the local hall committee.”Clarehasworked with Moyne Health Services in Port Fairy for more than 20 years and they are both volunteer members of the local CFA. Mike keeps close contact with his family back in New Zealand and will be returning three times later this year for weddings. “We stayed here on the proviso that we could regularly go back to New Zealand, because I’m very family orientated.”
The whole farm was renovated. It was refenced, water added to every paddock and the sprawling paddocks reduced to five-hectare lots that were easier to manage. The laneways were designed to split the farm and make it easy to access all paddocks. They re-grassed everything, used plenty of fer tiliser and brought in a rock crusher, improving the farm-able land from about 50 to 95 per cent.
“When we started, we had cows doing big litres but they didn’t suit what we were doing,” Mike“Theysaid.demanded a lot of grain and when we came in, we had to shave costs because of the size of the mortgage.”
“It paid off,” Mike said. “People are willing to pay for good land like this. When we worked up some of the paddocks at the back of the farm, it was so sandy we won dered if grass would come back but it did.”
“It was like going to a discussion group every day — you’d go around and see how different farmers do things,” he said.
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The property has been transformed since 1997 and the results have been worth it. The herd now achieves about 500 kg/MS per cow, protein is 3.6 to 3.7 and fat is 4.6 to 4.7, peaking at around 24 litres.
The grass really is greener
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“Everything went to seed so we planted cocksfoot, which was a bit slower through winter but it lasts longer into spring and can handle the dry. The rye-grass we couldn’t keep past two years. Now it’s like carpet with the cocksfoot.”In1997 the farm had a bore but no water licence.Mike and Pete applied for licences and the farm now has a 20 m x 20 m x 7 m deep hole holding one megalitre where water runs in during the day and is pumped out at night and a fourmetre deep bore that can pump 50,000 litres an hour, 24 hours a day. It’s used every night through summer. Mike’s priority today is to improve herd quality and health. “I’m happy with production,” he said.
They looked at buying a neighbouring farm a few years ago but it didn’t eventuate. In retrospect, Mike’s happy: “I work to live, not live to work and I work smart.”
The whole farm was renovated. It was re-fenced, water added to every paddock and the sprawling paddocks reduced to five-hectare lots that were easier to manage. The laneways were designed to split the farm and make it easy to access all paddocks.
Mike continues to use New Zealand-bred Friesian genetics.
/ system
Mike Van Der Aa restored an 1840s stone building on his south-western Victoria dairy farm into the ‘Yambuk Gentleman’s Club’ as a COVID project.
The farm has changed significantly since this photo was taken 20-plus years ago.
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“It makes it easy to manage,” Mike said. “When I was doing the AI run, I’d see so many farms with a sick paddock and it’s a lot of work.” He has split calving, with more than 60 per cent in autumn and the rest in September. They looked at buying a neighbouring farm a few years ago but it didn’t eventuate. In retro spect, Mike’s happy. “I’ve got to the stage in life when I want to kick back and do a bit of travelling and spend time with my kids. I work to live, not live to work and I work smart.”
“I believe that if you try to get too much out of your cows, you have to counteract it with speciality feeds and it gets too hard to get heavymilking cows back in calf.” Any cows with feet or health problems are sold to cash in on good cull prices.
SINCE MARCH last year, 20 per cent of Peter Jennings’ and Sue Croton’s dairy farm at Bruthen has been Fifteenunderwater.floodshave ensured there has con sistently been waterlogged paddocks and one hectare ‘puddles’ impacting Peter’s farm man agement over the past 16 months. Peter says for the first time in his career as a dairy farmer, he has questioned if he should be farming on the Bruthen flats in East Gippsland. “We’ve had 1100 mm, and it’s got nowhere to go. The ground is soaked,” he said. Peter and Sue employ their son Andrew, son-in-law Adam Hasler and farm worker Brian Winfield full-time, along with contract milkers Shane Worseldine and Emma Elliott. The dairy farm is 150 ha of dryland country and 53 ha of irrigation country under lateral sprays with a 200 Ml water right. About 11 ha of the farm is irrigated from the effluent pond a couple of times a week. There are also dryland out-blocks, where steers and heifers are raised and dry cows graze.
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Continued, page 8
The herd is drying off and is down to 280 head, being fed vetch and oats every day, and some green pick coming through on paddocks that are drained of floodwater.
Since March 2021, 40 ha of the 203 ha Bruthen farm have been flooded 15 times.
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Rain on the plain brings pain
Peter Jennings grows out steers and heifers to give himself options. That includes export heifers to sell and springing heifers to replace chopper cows.
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“There’s not a plant left in the lucerne pad docks — there’s still sheets of water on those pad docks and the ground is saturated,” Peter said. “But in some paddocks the clover’s coming through, so the cows have got a green pick.” He’s waiting until August to take stock, and hoping there’ll be less rain and more wind and sunshine to dry out the ground, so they can get tractors onto paddocks.
“I’m a bit shy and reserved about making any changes and improvements yet. “When the ground dries out, I’m hoping the worms will come back and start working up the ground.“When the air warms up, we’ll resow rye-grass.”He’srelying on the hill country to feed his cows, with kikuyu holding the country together under increased hoof pressure. He’s pleased the laneways are coping with being flooded regularly. “The laneways are feeling the pain but coping. We’ll need to tidy them up.”
Peter has heifers and steers on lease blocks in the district. “I haven’t had to de-stock but I’ve been ruth less about retaining chopper cows — we’re down 10 per cent on cow numbers. “I’ve decided not to treat cows with mastitis and have sold them as chopper cows instead.”
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 Letterswelcome.should be concise and carry the name and town address of the author, as well as a contact phone number, not for publication.
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The split-calving Friesian milking herd is down to 280 head, with cows drying off for spring“Dailycalving.production is 4400 litres and 360 to 180 kg milk solids, on 280 cows,” Peter said. “Production is down. I work on an average of 20 litres/cow each milking. Production needs to increase to 5600 litres. “Since we’ve dried a few more cows off, pro duction per cow has increased because there’s more green pick available in the paddock for the remaining milking herd.” Since March 2021, 40 ha of the 203 ha farm has been flooded 15 times. That’s 75 per cent of the 53 ha of irrigated paddocks, which is supported by dryland country, some of it low but steep hills. There are advantages to farming on a flood plain and the hills surrounding it — semi-regu lar flooding ensures a full soil moisture profile, which Peter utilises by growing lucerne, maize and pasture on the flat country. There are also disadvantages when a flood comesPeterthrough.can’tsow the pastures and crops he needs for his dairy cows and young stock. He has limited hill country for his cattle to graze, and a lot of it is permanently available for calves andThenheifers.there’s the damage caused by floods — to soil health, fencing, riverbanks and infrastructure.
6 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
Peter plants five paddocks of maize sequen tially every year. The first flood in March 2021 affected that crop and it hasn’t recovered. The ongoing wet conditions have been a chal lenge from an animal health and welfare per spective, as well as managing other farm chores. The ground has been wet and Peter and his team have been unable to put tractors and other heavy machinery on it. “I’ve got one hectare puddles of water in the paddocks and the river keeps banking up into the drains and it can’t get away,” he said. “There’s no evaporation or drainage happen ing. There’s mud across the paddocks.”
BY JEANETTE SEVERS
The existing lucerne paddocks were drowned last year. Peter attempted to sow pasture for summer — it failed because the ground stayed too wet. And he wasn’t able to sow lucerne in the autumn for the same reason.
Part of his reasoning is the amount of pasture that has to recover, part of his decision making is the number of heifers coming into the herd in the next year. There are 15 springing heifers, and 30 heif ers running with the bull now. There’s a mob of heifer calves growing out on another lease paddock.“Itmeans I’ll have a younger herd, and I’ll retain more and sell less export heifers,” Peter said.
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Above: With rivers and drains backed up, floodwater in April this year had nowhere to go except across farmland around Bruthen. The herd is being grazed on higher ground, which is holding up well to hoof pressure. Laneways have coped but will need work, Peter says. Peter has been farming through floods since March 2021.
8 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
Continued from page 6
The farm crew harvested 100 bales of silage off a lease block in May, and Peter hopes they’ll be able to cut another 200 bales of pasture silage off the block in early spring before the end of the“Welease.got fertiliser onto it and it’s looking beautiful.
“We’ll run out of silage in August, so we’re relying on getting bales off that block.” He was able to make silage at another lease block over summer, and off some of the farm paddocks that were flooded but drained for short bursts of time — about 700 rolls in all. He’s buying in vetch and oats, at a rate of 60 squares on a B-double truck every 10 days since late“Theautumn.milkers get four squares every day. The dry cows get one square and a silage roll. The bigger steers get one square every second day,” Peter“I’vesaid.also upped the grain ration in the dairy by 1 kg, because the milk price is worth it — it’s now up to “You’ve6 kg/day/cow.gottofeedyour cows. “This is more hay fed than we normally feed out. I think we’ll be able to cut back on the hay to the milkers because we’re drying off cows.” Going forward, he’s planning to buy two B-double loads of hay per month, depending on the ongoing weather conditions after July.
“Because, as the weather warms up, there’ll be more green pick in the paddock for the cattle. “We’re feeding every day until lunchtime and it’s a big job. Our focus for months has been on feeding cows and young stock. “In the afternoon, we fit fencing repairs in before milking. We’ve had to clear and fix fences after every flood. “And we had to reconfigure the power supply to the fences, especially between us and our neighbours so cattle won’t wander.”
“I kept 140 heifer calves from last autumn.” He’s also using his strategy of growing out steers and bullocks, and raising export heifers, to cover his ongoing need to buy fodder. “I sold 26 fat Friesian bullocks in the autumn — the first 10 sold for $2280 each, the second 10 at $1880, and the six odds and bods made“I’ve$1900.got33, 9-to-10-month-old 200 kg heifers ready to sell to the export market this month. I’ve got 63 steers from last spring and 29 cull heifers, growing on lease country. “I’ve got 15, 18-month-old store steers to move on. There’s another 45 of them, 9-to10-month-old, that I can choose to sell or keep. “Having young stock gives you options.”
The split-calving Friesian herd is producing 4400 litres/cow. Peter is hoping stable weather will mean the herd returns to producing 5600 litres/day. Peter is waiting until August and hopefully a more stable weather system, to take stock of damage and how to recover from 15 floods in 16 months.
One neighbour, Peter Favaloro, has allowed heifer calves to have access to his town water after the water point in their paddock was sav aged by floods. “I’m looking forward to the $9.40/litre milk price from Saputo,” Peter Jennings said, calcu lating the cost of additional fodder he has had to purchase in the past year. “We finished at $7.35/litre last year. “That’ll mean my winter milk is worth $0.82/ litre in my vat. I’ve estimated my summer milk will drop to $0.67/litre.”
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Jersey Australia general manager Glen Barrett said the trade mission was a great opportunity to take a “team Australia” approach to showcase Australian genetics at the world’s largest dairy cow and trade show. “We’re seeing significant growth in Australian Jerseys genetics in North America with a large number of bulls now available,” Mr Barrett said. “We see our involvement in the trade show as a way to grow that market share for Australian Jerseys.”Mr Barrett said the involvement with Holstein Australia and the genetics companies was part of Jersey Australia’s strategic relationship to grow Australian genetics across the world.
Jersey Australia general manager Glen Barrett says the trade mission is a great opportunity to showcase Australian genetics at the world’s largest dairy cow and trade show.
“Companies have been involved at World Dairy Expo on their own but this is the first time we’ve had a total focus on Australian genetics all together on one trade site,” he said.
NEWS // 11 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
Genetics Australia export manager Rob Derksen said it was a good time to capitalise on growing demand in North America for Australian genetics.“We’ve appointed a distributor for some of our bulls and we’re currently putting together our first shipment of Jersey genetics to the US for a number of years,” Mr Derksen said. “Australia is recognised as having some of the best Jersey genetics in the world, and many Americans and Canadians are now recognising Australia has developed some top genetics from some of Australia’s leading cow families.”
AUSTRALIA’S LEADING dairy breed associa tions and genetics companies are joining forces for the first time to host a trade site at World Dairy Expo in the United States. The joint site is an initiative of Jersey Australia and will include Holstein Australia, Genetics Australia, AgriGene and Central Sires Co op with support from National Herd Improvement Association of Australia. World Dairy Expo will be in Madison, Wisconsin from October 2 to 7.
‘Team Oz’ for world expo
Agri-Gene general manager Chris McIllroy will be a first-time exhibitor at the expo on the back of recent sales of Australian Jersey semen in the US. “It’s good that everyone is getting together to promote Australian genetics,” he said. “Globally, people know New Zealand for having good grazing genetics, but they don’t really know Australian. This is a good opportu nity for Australian companies to work together to put our name out there.” NHIA is funding the trade site, and CEO Sara Merckel said the NHIA board was very support ive of the “NHIAconcept.sawitas a great opportunity to pro mote Australian genetics and support the industry as a whole to expand exports,” Ms Merckel said. Holstein Australia will look for new markets for live heifer exports during its first display at World Dairy Expo. CEO Rohan Butler said it was a great oppor tunity to work as a team to promote the benefits of Australian livestock. “We’re the clean, green supplier of live Holstein heifers to China and other countries and want to take the opportunity to promote that as far and wide as we can,” Mr Butler said. “About 100,000 heifers go to China every year and we’re keen to see that number grow and to also grow the number of markets. “We’ve had discussions with Pakistan and there are other South-East Asian countries that will be potential buyers that will be at the expo.”
In the past six months, Genetics Australia — which has participated in previous World Dairy Expos — has sent Jersey semen to Canada for the first time. Central Sires Co operative has recently exported its first batch of semen to the US. Chairman Peter Ness said Americans had been looking elsewhere to broaden their genetic base. “We haven’t been involved previously with World Dairy Expo, but now is the time to have a go,” Mr Ness said. “We’ve got some good bulls on our list and I know there is interest. Australia hosted the World Jersey annual meeting about eight years ago and that opened a lot of the delegates’ eyes to the quality of our Jersey cattle.”
Less BetterMoreHandling.Information.Decisions. Information drives your decisions to keep your herd healthy and profitable. Alta COW WATCH alerts on your device combined with the expert advice of your Alta Advisor will give you fewer health events, higher preg rates, and more milk. Advanced Cow Monitoring from Alta Genetics CONTACT JAYDE LEE, Alta COW WATCH Manager, to learn how Alta can help you manage your herd even better. +61 4 1967 7209 | info@altagenetics.aujayde.lee@altagenetics.com|australia.altagenetics.com SettingsReportsFarm Heat detection Herd performance Show attentions > Attentions Daily trend of Decreased eating time No heat (15) > No system notifications Hospital penIninsemination period681413 9 Photo: Teresa Hicks; Klein Meer Jerseys
Collect a showbag at the gate for your chance to win some cash! THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING EXHIBITORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THIS INITIATIVE: •Farm•GippsDairyMappingServices•JantecSystems•NotmanPastureSeeds•BoehringerIngelheim•NutrienHarcourts •Easy DairySystemsAutomation •Rural Financial Counselling Service •Reid•PioneerGippslandSeedsStockfeeds •Victorian Hoofcare Services •Lely Center Gippsland •Need for •Elders•MaxCareFeedInsurance •Burra•ProDairy•HiTech•Ridley•ZoetisFoods POOLPRIZE $5,000CASH!SHOWBAG The Udder Truth! 120 GuFootmetreRaceWearingmboots $4,000 PRIZE POOL Gumboot GiftSouthGippsland Dairy & Farming Expo Male &SectionsFemale Thursday 8th September at 1pm PROUDLY SPONSORED BY: •Lardner Cattle Scales •Korumburra Plumbers & Pumps •Jefferis Livestock Transport Pty Ltd •Walker •CountrywideElectricalClothing•LeveyEngineering•FarmDepot•Ag-CreteIndustries•NacasTruckN’Ag •Devin •Nutrien•CarringtonsHanceLochAgSolutions-SouthGippslandLivestock•JJ’sWaste&Recyling•Fisher’sTimber&Hardware•LectaireAutoElectrics&AirConditioning•SouthGippslandHire•ManksContracting•FurnessLivestock Plenty of colour and fun to keep the kids •Balloon•Faceentertained!PaintingAnimals PROUDLY SPONSORED BY OSUTHGIPPSLAND Wednesday 7th & Thursday 8th September 2022 • 10am - 3pm Korumburra Showgrounds Cnr South Gippsland Highway & Charles Streets, Korumburra Thank you to Westpac, the Major Sponsor of the South Gippsland Dairy & Farming Expo, for supporting the dairy industry and local community. South Gippsland Dairy & Farming Expo A project of the Lions Club of Strzelecki Deanne Kennedy Project Secretary Address: PO Box 18, LOCH VIC 3945 Mobile: 0419 878 055 Email: dairyexpo@jaydee.net.au Website: www.dairyexpo.org.au SPONSORSSILVER Sout h G ip ps la nd Shire Council GOLD SPONSORS PLATINUM SPONSOR MAJOR SPONSOR 11 am Thursday 8th September ongoalsAchievingLEGAFLBurkeNathanENDyourandrelyingotherpeopleto deliveron other people to deliverEveryoneWelcomeAllyouneedtodoisattendtheDairy&FarmingExpo PROUDLY SPONSORED BY Sout h G ip ps la n d Shi re Cou ncilPROUDLY SPONSORED BY “We know the formula to what makes a ideaspeopleLetchoice.employermakesformulatobutemployee,greatcomealonglearnthethatyouanoftheseyoungsharetheironwhatmakes a great employer and what they seek from a career in the dairy industry. How do you make you and your farm business stand out from the crowd?” Shiona Berry, farm owner, Glen Alvie; Andrew Perry, dairy farmer, Kongwak; Jasmine Kneebone, farm employee, Denison; Lachlan Harms, farm manager, Leongatha; Tamara Loughridge, farm employee, Poowong North; Matt Taylor, farm employee, Kongwak. Whyis it so? Matt WednesdayONFARMHarmsCONSULTING7thSeptemberat11am Are you seen as an employer of Formula One standard? (passion x knowledge) + (motivation x attitude) = Great Employee
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14 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 17th - 19th of January For more information www.idwaus.comvisit IDW TRADE SHOW 2023 •Networking Event •Industry Seminars & Demonstrations •Opportunity to view the latest in Equipment and Technology Exhibitor Prospectus
“Dairy is a vital export industry for our state, with Victoria contributing $2.6 billion of Aus tralia’s $3.3 billion dairy exports in 2020–21,”
“The overarching message to our key markets is that the Australian dairy industry is a reliable trade partner that is committed to delivering safe, premium products that they can trust,” Mr McElhone said. The promotional campaign launched across China, Japan and South-East Asia in July. It features digital and social media designed to build awareness of Australian dairy, alongside webinars and material for trade media to engage and educate key business partners. Australian dairy exporters will benefit from the use of a trade toolkit, including videos, images, fact sheets and brochures created to assist in communicating key messages to their customers.Itwillcontinue to be updated with new resources, responding to the needs of exporters over the course of the project.
FLOOD FUNDING RESCUES NORCO
A NEW campaign to strengthen the interna tional profile of Australian dairy in key Asian markets has been rolled out. Created with funding from the Victorian Gov ernment and co-contribution from Dairy Austra lia, the ‘Thrive Together’ campaign is focused around five thematic areas: relationships, agil ity, quality, sustainability and place. Dairy Australia’s Charlie McElhone said the initiative would help exporters strengthen their proposition with global trade partners.
Campaign to promote dairy Victorian Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney said.“We are proud to support our progressive and efficient dairy industry with $2 million in funding for Dairy Australia’s innovative ‘Thrive Together’ campaign.” Australia produces about 8.5 billion litres of milk per year, 32 per cent of which is exported to more than 100 countries. Of these exports, 88 per cent is bound for Asian markets includ ing China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. These exports represented $3.3 billion to the Australian economy in 2020–21. Learn more about ‘Thrive Together’ at: www.dairyaustralia.com.au/thriveto gether
An example of the ‘Thrive Together’ dairy campaign messaging.
Norco Lismore ice-cream factory has received a financial support package from the Federal Government that will help the factory keep 170 staff employed for another 10 weeks. The news was delivered to staff on July 14, the day before they were due to be stood down as the business battled to deal with the aftermath of unprecedented flooding in February. The interim package will cover salaries and wages for the 170 ice-cream factory employees for about 10 weeks, while Norco waits for details and funding from the Anchor Business Support Package. The announcement followed lobbying by the co operative and other major Lismore businesses who called on the state and Federal Governments to increase the Anchor Business Support Package from $65 million to at least $100Norcomillion.CEO Michael Hampson said it was exceptionally rewarding to be able to share the good news with staff. “Norco, our farmers and especially our ice-cream factory workforce are incredibly grateful for the Federal Government’s ongoing support, and we remain committed to working in partnership with both levels of government to help safeguard these jobs and ensure the future economic prosperity of the Northern Rivers region,” he said. “This significant development fills us with immense optimism that our pleas for greater support for Lismore businesses both small and large and indeed the broader community, have been“Andheard.wedo hope this represents the first step in delivering greater funding outcomes for the region in order to drive a business-led recovery. “We’ve been part of the Lismore community for more than 127 years and we remain committed to seeing the community thriving once again, which is why we’ll keep fighting hard for our people, our farmers, the businesses that rely on us, as well as the broadercommunity.”NorcoCEOMichael Hampson.
hay left northern Victo ria on July 7, on a one-way trip to flood-ravaged NSWThefarmers.hayrun was organised by Linda Widdup from Aussie Hay Runners. “There are six truckloads coming out of the Greater Shepparton area,” Ms Widdup said. “We had an Invergordon farmer donate 600 small square bales of lucerne. There were also donations from farmers in Caniambo, Katandra and Yabba South, too.” In total the hay run has shifted 1200 round bales, 630 small squares, 56 silage rolls and a small amount of mixed feed across 32 trucks and severalDrivingvehicles.one of the Goulburn Valley truck loads up to NSW was Wunghnu owner-driver Scott“TheScrivens.cows will be happy to see us, it kills them to eat mud,” Mr Scrivens said. “I’ve got a demolition business in Melbourne and that’s how I know Linda. Before COVID we’d helped her do a drought relief hay run to Dunnedoo and now I’m donating some time again.”While the July 7 hay run was largely pulled together by people Ms Widdup knows, aware ness of her charity skyrocketed in the days before the hay run. “My phone has been ringing flat out with farmers asking how they can help,” she said. “No joke, I’ve had 35 calls today and I’ve had to tell them the hay run is fully allocated.”
The Stedman sheep and cropping family from Caniambo donated a full truckload of hay to the flood relief trip. They also supplied the hay for two extra truckloads purchased with donations. The hay ended up in Grafton to feed animals across the Clarence Valley on the NSW north coast.Ms Widdup said she chose the Grafton region because it wasn’t getting “slammed” with relief donations like Lismore was. “At the moment that’s where we are target ing. It’s such a huge place that’s been flooded and it will take a very long time to get around to everyone.”Ms Widdup said donations of hay, offers to drive and money donations were all appreciated. “We can always buy hay and get it up there,” the Melbourne-based construction worker said. Ms Widdup acknowledged the assistance of the Melton Rotary Club and the Rural Assistance Authority NSW. Aussie Hay Runners is already planning the next trip for August 19. They can be contacted through their Facebook page Aussie Hay Runners or by calling 0421 972 332.
Caniambo sheep and cropping farmer Locky Stedman, whose family donated a truckload of hay, with Wunghnu truck driver Scott Scrivens.
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A truckload prepares to leave Caniambo in northern Victoria on July 7 for the trip north to Grafton. Stephen
16 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
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The report highlights the important stories of consumers who attended community out reach events, in a first for a systemic investiga tionsThesereport.stories demonstrate the challenges faced by consumers to stay connected during devastating disasters, or in rural or remote areas. The report also features tips for telcos and consumers to help reduce problems with a mobile service.
Tips for consumers include:
18 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 A G R OU ND B R EAK IN G F O R MU L A D EVE LOPE D T H R OUGH P R OP R IE TA R Y R& D T H AT C R E ATE S N AT U R A L C A L F G R OW T H B E N EF I T S . • R E A C H TAR GE T WE I GH T S U P T O 10 D AY S EAR L IE R • W E A N AT U P T O 6 K G HE AV I E R • I MPR O VE Y O UR C A LVE S ’ HE A LT H AN D W E LLB E I N G MYLO/calf ® Northern VIC, NSW, QLD, WA MAL MCLEOD 0487 500 466 South & Northern VIC VERONICA MCLEOD 0499 696 632 Western VIC PETER FURPHY 0488 414 714 SA, Far Western VIC CHRIS O’CALLAGHAN 0418 203 509 Tasmania RODNEY PARKER 0418 479 909 SALES REPS Surge in complaintsmobile The report is in response to a shift in com plaint trends, with mobile services becoming the dominant complaint type. Between July 2020 and March 2022, the TIO received more than 63,000 complaints about mobileWhileservices.overall complaint numbers declined in that period, the proportion of mobile complaints increased.Complaint numbers about misleading con duct by a telco and unsuitable payment options were higher for mobile services than for inter net, landline and multiple services combined. The report, Investigating complaints about essential mobile services, identifies four key prob lems driving complaints about mobile services:
• If you need flexibility for your next payment, contact your telco to talk about it before the payment is due.
• If you can’t get in touch with your telco, contact the TIO. The report can be downloaded from: www.tio.com.au/
• Research your new mobile service before buying, such as checking coverage maps and available payment methods.
• If something about your new mobile service is not what you expected, tell your telco.
The “Investigating complaints about essential mobile services” report has been released.
• Automatic payment methods can result in loss of service or disadvantage. “We aren’t seeing the same improvements in complaints about mobile services as we are in other service types,” Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert“Thissaid.isconcerning because when something goes wrong with a mobile service, the impacts can be really disruptive to people’s lives.
• Customer self-service is not accessible to all consumers.
• Information about mobile service reliability is not always provided.
“In today’s world, mobile phone services are essential not only for daily life — such as bank ing, shopping, accessing health and government services, and connecting socially — but also for safety during an emergency like a bushfire or flood.“While telcos have made improvements in recent years, the investigations by my office show there is still work to be done on respon sible selling of mobile services, communicating effectively about service reliability, removing bar riers to accessing support from a human being when trying to contact a telco, and ensuring that automatic payment methods are not negatively impacting consumers.”
THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Industry Ombudsman has released a report highlight ing the key drivers behind complaints about mobile services.
• Mis-selling mobile services leads to poor outcomes for consumers.
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NEWS // 19 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
A NEW 50-bay rotary dairy at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture’s Dairy Research Facility at Elliott was officially unveiled on July 25. The upgrades are the result of a $7.8 million joint investment from the Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania to support future success of TIA’s research farms in the north-west, including the Forthside Vegetable Research Facility. “This investment will underpin a ‘region of excellence’ for applied agriculture research and demonstration to industry,” TIA director Professor Michael Rose said. “Tasmania has an opportunity to lead the nation in contemporary research and innovation to support the dairy industry, due to the transformation of the Dairy Research Facility at Elliott.”
The scale of the upgrades taking place at TDRF is significant and, alongside the 50-bay rotary dairy, includes a new 12.5 Ml effluent dam, increased irrigation water storage capacity in one of the dams from 24 to 115 Ml, 11 km of underground irrigation pipeline, and the conversion of 32 ha of previously unirrigated land for farmlet trials. The modernised milking parlour will provide better facilities for supplement feeding research and automated collection of research-quality cow feeding, production, health and welfare data.
“It has been especially designed with an underpass to enable researchers access to the centre of Tasmanian Primary Industries and Water Minister Jo Palmer looks on as TIA director Professor Mike Rose addresses media at the new rotary dairy at TIA’s Dairy Research Facility at Elliott. the rotary to conduct herd testing without interfering with the operations,” TIA Livestock Production Centre leader Dr James Hills said. “The new parlour will also have milk meters for every stall, walk-over scales, a body condition scoring camera and an individualised feeding system.”Work was fast-tracked to ensure the farm is operational for the start of the milking season in August to enable a five-year research program that has been co-funded by Dairy Australia. Farmlets or ‘mini farms’ are being established with one-hectare paddocks situated over 32 ha. This will enable the team to test research hypotheses under real farm conditions and ensure the results provide practical solutions for farmers.
“Elliott and Forthside are our two key research farms, and the sites host significant and active research, development and engagement programs in partnership between TIA, national research and development corporations and the private sector,” Prof Rose said. “The projects realised through this investment will allow TIA to work toward transforming the knowledge of agriculture, food production and post-farm gate practices of Tasmania’s farmers, contributing to a sustainable economic benefit for Tasmania.” NSW
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The $6.5 million Dairy HIGH 2 (high integrity grass-fed herds) project will focus on pasture-based dairy systems and seeks to address industry challenges and opportunities to achieve highly productive and profitable dairy operations that are sustainable into the future. It is a five-year partnership of strategic importance to Australia’s dairy industry. “The research at Elliott has become more relevant over the past 12 months, with high input costs and the need to better understand major nutrients like nitrogen,” Dairy Australia managing director Dr David Nation said. “We’re pleased to be part of this research program to help farmers in Tasmania and other pasture-based regions in Australia. “It is through multi-year commitments to research that we can build on our successes as a dairy industry.” The research conducted at TDRF will lead to tangible productivity and sustainability improvements for Tasmanian dairy farmers, supporting the Tasmanian Government’s target to grow the annual farm gate value of agriculture to $10 billion per year by 2050.
Investing in dairy’s future
Caitlin Martin has received a DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship to support her study at Longerenong College.
IT’S JUST two years ago that Caitlin Martin got her first real taste of dairying. Now the 19-yearold is looking at a career in the industry. Caitlin has received a DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship to support her two-year agribusiness degree study at Longerenong College. Her interest in pursuing a career in dairy was inspired by her family’s move two years ago from a beef farm near Mortlake to a joint dairy-beef property at Kariah, near Camperdown in southwest“We’veVictoria.always had beef properties, although my mum’s side of the family was more into dairy,” Caitlin“Twosaid.years ago, we moved and now have 1000 acres [405ha] split between a dairy herd and some Angus beef cattle. This farm had the facilities for dairy so we decided to try that.” While many dairy farmers have gone from dairy to beef over the past decade, Caitlin is pleased her parents Richard and Kylie bucked the“It’strend.not very common to go the other way but now I’m certainly considering a career in the dairy industry,” she said. “There are so many opportunities. I’m not quite sure yet which way I will go, though I am leaning more towards the agronomy side of things. The dairy industry definitely interests me.”Caitlin discovered the scholarship on the Longerenong College website. “DemoDAIRY had done a lot in the area in the past so it was a good opportunity as I hope to do something that will benefit the dairy industry in theIt’sfuture.”the hands-on nature of dairying that appeals to Caitlin. “You get into a lot more detail when working with dairy cows, with their nutrition, health and“Withcalving.beef cattle, they’re generally left by themselves but with dairy cows you have make sure their milk quality is up to standard and their calving goes okay and you’re milking every day.”
Caitlin took a gap year after finishing Year 12 in 2020, working at the Terang Co-op rural store, along with Elders and at the Mortlake saleyards. “I saved a bit of money from work but Mum and Dad are also helping with my payments. I couldn’t pay much upfront so this really helps with paying fees,” she said. “The course has been very good so far and definitely confirmed that I want to work in the ruralLongerenongfield.” College will hold an open day on Sunday, DemoDAIRYAugust 14.Foundation is keen to sponsor more people in the farming industry to pursue study.More information can be found at DDFdairy.com.au/scholarships-and-grants/www.demo-orfromsecretaryIanTeeseon0427 358 987or
itag@ bigpond.com
20 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
Farm move inspires Caitlin
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An initiative between Reid Stockfeeds and Elite Dairy Beef will improve the welfare of bobby calves and generate new income from the premium beef market, the companies say. Developed by Spanish company INZAR, the program has been running for decades in the United Kingdom and Europe, and is integral to their dairy farmers’ success in achieving premiums for male dairy steers into European beef markets.Theprogram was trialled for 18 months by Reid and EDB to test and adapt the rigorous nutrition and rearing program.“Thisis a great opportunity for the dairy sector to address a serious consumer concern about the lifetime value of male dairy calves, with a program that helps provide a level of surety around payment when economic conditions are less favourable,” Reid Stockfeeds general manager Nick Reid said. The program focuses on critical developmental time points that are crucial for the future growth potential of the beef animal. It also concentrates on ruminant nutrition, whereby specialised rations are formulated to establish synergies between balanced nutritional inputs, the immune system and the calves’ internal environment. It supports farmers through each stage of the program — rearing, growing andSteersfinishing.produced under the program will be purchased by Greenhams. For more information, visit: www.reidstockfeeds.com.au/ success this coming season heat detection patches early. Scratch Patch heat detectors are and efficient aids. When mating activity occurs the silver layer rubs off to reveal a fluorescent colour. Email admin@licaus.com.au or call your local District Manager today. 1800 454 694 | www.licnz.com.au always room for improvement The heat is on farmers.dairy ON APPLICATION OVER 51 MOUNTING 3 5 MOUNTINGS
NEWS // 21 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
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Burra ambassador on a high Leongatha’s Eleanor Patterson with Burra Foods CEO Stewart Carson. Patterson won gold in the high jump at the World Championships in the US. She upstaged the crowd favourite, Ukraine’s Yaraslava Mahuchikh, who took away the silver medal.Patterson and Mahuchikh were the only athletes to clear 2.02 m. The Australian achieved it with her first jump, while the Ukrainian needed two“Thisattempts.isa stunning win for our local girl who we are excited to watch compete in the Commonwealth Games,” Burra Foods said. The Birmingham Commonwealth Games ran from July 28 to August 8.
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BURRA FOODS brand ambassador Eleanor Patterson is the new women’s high jump world champion.TheLeongatha local and former Commonwealth champion produced a stunning career best and equalled the Australian record of 2.02 metres to win the gold medal on July 22 at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. This makes Patterson Australia’s 10th track and field world champion. Her performance in the United States was an improvement of 2 cm on her previous personal best and a goal she had been working towards for some time.
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Not only does Guthrie Jackie have a big BPI she also performs in the show ring, standing fourth in her class behind the Winter Fair champion cow. With so many young females now genomic tested, DataGene this year introduced an award for the Highest BPI Junior animal at the Winter Fair. This went to Avonlea Sidekickanna, exhibited by the Gardiner family of western Victoria. At just 16 months old, Avonlea Sidekickanna’s genomic results provide detailed insight into her future performance. She boasts a BPI of 322, putting her in the top one per cent of Holstein females. Contributing to her high BPI are high ABVs for Protein, Fat, Cell Count and Survival.
DataGene’s Peter Williams presents Luke Gardiner with the award for the Highest BPI Junior animal at the 2022 Victorian Winter Fair with Avonlea Sidekickanna. DataGene’s Peter Thurn presents Bryan Dickson with the award for the Highest BPI Milking Female at the Victorian Winter Fair.
EMU BANKS Guthrie Jackie, owned by the Dickson family of south-west Victoria, took out the award for the Highest BPI Female at the 2022 Victorian Winter Fair. The Balanced Performance Index (BPI) Highest Female Award was presented by DataGene in collaboration with Holstein Australia and the Winter Fair Committee. Of all the milking females entered in the Winter Fair, Guthrie Jackie had the top BPI calculated by DataGene in the April 2022 genetic evaluations. At BPI 311, she sits in the top one per cent of Australian Holstein females. Data Gene’s Peter Thurn said Guthrie Jackie represented the sort of cows many Australian dairy farmers aspired to breed. “Most dairy farmers want to breed cows that will have long, productive lives in their herd,” Peter“Tosaid.do this they need a combination of traits for profitable production and strong conformation and the genes to produce the next generation of great cows.” Guthrie Jackie’s high BPI comes from an exceptionally high Protein Australian Breeding Value (ABV) and well above average ABVs for health traits such as Cell Count, Daughter Fertility, Mammary System and Survival. “We congratulate the Dickson family on their success in breeding outstanding cows and presenting them at the Winter Fair,” Peter said.
Good genes rise to the top
Luke Randle from Newry, Gippsland, sees the robotic packaging system at Goulburn Valley Creamery in Kyabram, with operations manager Ben Gledhill, on the Dairy Australia tour.
24 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
Young Nambrok couple, Lauren McConnell and James Patterson, are moving into farm ownership and management and were part of the Young Dairy Network tour to northern Victoria in July. The family business owns two farms, one of which is occupied by Lauren and James, and another property is used for cropping. The second farm is managed by another farmer. Lauren is an agri-business and agronomy graduate from Longerenong College in Horsham. James is a former carpenter who has decided to exit the construction industry in preference for dairying.Theylike the flexibility of the industry and the opportunity to grow the business. The couple is milking about 300 cows on about 90 hectares and building equity in the herd.
Farmers share their stories KYABRAM SHAREFARMER
The Maffra district has a long history in cattle and milk production, but its citizens like to scout around for new ideas. Luke Randle from Newry, north-west of Maffra was part of the Young Dairy Network who made a two-day trip to northern Victoria to see what was happening in another part of the state. Luke, 27, is a farm manager of a 1200-cow dairy enterprise, and he was keen to meet other people in the industry during the July tour. “I like what I do, but I also want to meet other people and learn from what other people are doing.”Luke admits that farming is also his hobby. He loves milking cows and, despite his management responsibilities, still shares in milking duties. “I’m pretty lucky. I get up each day and do what I loveHedoing.”manages 10 staff on the 300-hectare property.
MILKING NEW IDEAS
Young Gippsland farmers Lauren McConnell and James Patterson from Nambrok.
Andrew Murphy talks to the visiting Young Dairy Network farmers on his Kyabram farm. Photo: Maddison Langley. Victoria
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Andrew Murphy shared his journey in farm management with visitors from Gippsland in July. Andrew was one of the host farms visited by the Young Dairy Network as part of a study tour organised by Murray Dairy and DairyTheAustralia.visitors,including some from closer to home in northern Victoria, were keen to learn how different farm ownership and management structuresAndrewworked.described how he has been sharefarming on his parents’ property since 2012. Since then he has purchased his own 200-hec tare out-block on which he grows fodder including lucerne, corn and cereals.Thefamily farm milks up to 600 cows on a partial mixed ration opera tion, in a 48-unit rotary built in 1995. The business employs up to five staff on a full-time and part-time basis.“We have good staff at the moment, but it can be hard to recruit new people,” Andrew said. “Without backpackers you are competing with other workforces for Thelabour.”study tour also visited Lewis Watson’s farm in Webb Rd, Kyabram. He gave the perspective of a farm owner who engaged sharefarmers. The group also visited the Clymo farms at Calivil and Mitiamo, and the Dee family’s robotic farm at Macorna.
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Applications for farmer hosts and participants are now open for the NFF’s AgCAREERSTART program. Pip Courtney will be the keynote speaker at the South West Dairy Ladies Luncheon on August 17.
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The 2022 South West Dairy Ladies Luncheon will be held on August 17 at Deakin University, Warrnambool. Pip Courtney will be the keynote speaker and will be supported by a panel of entrepreneurial local farming women in a panel session leading into lunch, which will complement the event theme of ‘Telling Stories’. The daughter of print journalist and editor Michael Courtney, Pip grew up in Tasmania.Atschool, Pip tossed up between two careers wool classing and journalism.Withassorted aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins on the land, her interest in agriculture led her to study ag science, but when it came to choosing a career journalism won out, so she studied politics and English at university.Ongraduating she joined ABC news in Hobart and in 1993 she combined her two interests when she joined ABC TV’s Landline With a number of prestigious awards in journalism under her belt, Pip was appointed host of Landline in 2012. WestVic Dairy thanked all the sponsors who make the day possible. The event runs from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm. To book tickets, visit: bit.ly/LadiesLuncheon22_tickets
Applications for both farmer hosts and par ticipants are now open. For more information and to register your interest, visit: www.agcareerstart.com.au
NEWS // 25 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
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THE NATIONAL Farmers’ Federation is once again on the hunt for the next generation of agriculture leaders to apply for the AgCAREER START 12-month gap year program. NFF chief executive officer Tony Mahar said the program had seen school leavers learn new skills while assisting farmers fill critical labour gaps. “The impact of Australia’s current labour short age is already being felt by farmers across the coun try, with an estimated $22 million in crop losses having already been reported,” Mr Mahar said. “The AgCAREERSTART program is a new way of building a skilled workforce to complement the in-demand skills farmers need and to help innovate industry practices. “The partnerships forged in round one of AgCAREERSTART have been a huge success for farmers and students alike, with students learn ing about farm data capture and mapping and operating state-of-the-art machinery. “Many of the participants are moving out of home for the first time and learning essential life skills such as cooking, communication and prob TV
Young people can fill gaps
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lem-solving skills, as well as undertaking train ing that will help in their future careers such as obtaining a first aid certificate, truck licence or forkliftThroughticket.”AgCAREERSTART, participants are employed on award wages on qualified farms for up to 12 Participantsmonths.receive safety training and reloca tion assistance and have the opportunity to join the farm after their completion of the program. Emma Pretorius is currently completing the AgCAREERSTART program on a dairy farm in Meander, Tasmania with host farmers Brian and Michele Lawrence. She said her time on Janefield Dairy had pre sented her with a range of new and interesting challenges.“Ranging from milking early in the mornings to feeding out in the afternoons, every task I’ve been given has provided me with lifelong skills and values,” Emma said. “I can honestly say the past few months have been the most engaging and interesting months of my life and I’m overly excited for more to come.”
A PADDOCK of cows with suckling calves is not something that is commonly seen on dairy farms, but a world-first research project is exploring the potential for this to become a viable option of calfTherearing.Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture’s Dairy Research Facility at Elliott, in north-west Tasmania, is the site of a commercially risky trial to explore the potential for a dairy production system where cows rear their own calves and are milked once a day. Dr Megan Verdon is a senior research fellow with an interest in the development of livestock systems that achieve continual improvement in animal welfare and productivity while also responding to consumer expectations regarding how production animals are managed. She leads TIA’s animal production and welfare research group and is widely recognised for her expertise in this field. “Tasmania has an opportunity to lead the charge and be a global leader in sustainable production systems for animal health and welfare,” Dr Verdon said. “There are broad opportunities associated with this, including the ability for producers to gain access to niche markets by appealing to the social, health and environmental interests of consumers.”Theconventional practice on commercial dairy farms is to separate calves from their dams (mothers) within 24 hours of birth.
The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture’s Dairy Research Facility is trialling the potential for a dairy production system where cows rear their own calves and are milked once a day. Calves are reared in purpose-built sheds where they are protected from the weather and fed a controlled volume of milk solids before eventually joining the dairy herd as an adult. This early separation is thought to create less stress than later weaning and allows for close monitoring and control of calf health. However, research indicates the early calf environment can impact the resilience and future productivity of heifers, and there could be multiple benefits to keeping calves and dams together for longer. Dr Verdon said the separation of calves from their dams was an issue that was attracting public interest here in Australia and around theSheworld.isexploring opportunities for alternate calf raising management strategies that align with changing consumer expectations of animal welfare and are commercially viable.
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In 2021, a team of TIA researchers includ ing Dr Verdon, Tom Snare, and PhD candidate Sandra Ospina-Rios developed a novel cow-calf rearing system for pasture-based dairies based on once-a-day milking and half-day contact between cow and calf. The trial was undertaken at the TDRF and proved the system was practically feasible and could offer positive outcomes for animal welfare andTheproductivity.16cow-calf pairs involved in the trial spent daylight hours together in a day paddock, before being separated overnight with cows in a night paddock and calves housed in an adjoin ing pen equipped with grain, drinking water and a shelter.Inthe morning, cows were collected from the night paddock for milking after which they were reunited with the calves to graze the day paddock.Thedata collected revealed the calves increased their weight more quickly than con ventionally reared calves (that were offered eight litres of milk a day), gaining about 906 grams/ day versus 785 grams/day. The cows delivered an average of 18.7 litres of milk from once-a-day milking compared with 26.3 litres/day for conventional twice-aday milked cows. After the calves were weaned, the cows’ milk production immediately returned to normal volume.
NEWS // 27 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 Product of the USA INTRODUCING THE WWS SUSTAINABILITY GUIDE IDENTIFYING GENETICS TO MAKE YOUR HERD MORE SUSTAINABLE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME DAIRY FARMS TODAY ARE MORE SUSTAINABLE THAN EVER BEFORE with higher production per cow and fewer resources required for each kg of milk produced. Fodder and grass production, along with herd management tools and balancing herd inventory are all keys to your sustainable approach. Many advances have occurred in the genetic industry, starting with frozen semen and more recently sexed semen and commercial IVF. Along with these technologies, genomics has changed the speed at which we are able to make genetic progress in our herds. By focusing on economic traits included in HHP$ and BPI, this Sustainability Guide provides you with targeted genetic options to genetically develop a sustainable herd by creating profitable, long lasting cows. -0.17 STATURE 76 LB. SOLIDS1.25 UDDERS 4.7 PL 814 HHP$ ® HERE FOR YOU. WORLD WIDE SIRES Phone (03) 5831 5559 • info@wwsaustralia.com wwsaustralia.comSmall photo: Rodney and Eleanor Brown, Kirkstall, Victoria. Photo by Chloe Brown. Holstein scenic: Phillip and Julieanne Bond herd, Taroon, Victoria. Photo by Phillip Bond. FREEBORN 7HO13981 SANDY-VALLEY BD FREEBORN-ET TR TP TC TY TV TL TD HH1T HH2T HH3T HH4T HH5T HH6T BANDARES X KINGBOY X SUPERSIRE A2A2 557 BPI Ladys-Manor Freborn Lilly GP-81 IDEAL SUSTAINABILITY SIRE! HIGH BPI: 557 | SUPER HHP$: +814 SUPER UDDERS: 106 MAMMARY QUICK MILKING SPEED: 103 EASY DOERS: 105 LIKE | 102 TEMP FERTILITY: 111 DTR FERTILITY HIGH COMPONENTS: +0.41%F +0.31%P Check out the Sustainability Guide here gender SELECTED is a trademark of Select Sires Inc. Ultraplus is a trademark of STGen LLC. All gender SELECTED semen is processed using Ultraplus technology. 04/22 CDCB, HA and Australia data. Rel. BPI 72%, Rel. Type 95%, Rel. Production 99%, Rel. PL 89%. Though it’s early days, the research indicates there could be multiple benefits to keeping calves and dams together for longer. “This system has the potential to provide a scalable, commercially viable, cow-calf man agement option for pasture-based dairies with good animal production and welfare outcomes,” Dr Verdon said. “There is evidence that calves raised by their dams grow more quickly, are more stress resil ient, have improved cognitive functions, are better able to adapt to a pasture-based system and have better social skills when they enter the“Thereherd. are benefits for the dams who experi ence less lameness as they are not walking paths to and from the dairy multiple times a day, and reduced incidences of mastitis as the calves are suckling during the day.” Dr Verdon would like to repeat the trial on a larger scale at the research farm before applying it to a commercial dairy farm. In particular, she would like to assess the benefits and challenges of this system over multi-generations to determine the effects of dam-rearing on the productivity of the next gen eration of dairy cows in pasture-based systems. “There has been limited research in this area and most research on cow-calf rearing has been conducted in indoor barn systems with yearround calving and smaller herd sizes than those found in pasture-based dairies,” she said. “We believe this is one of the first trials of its kind to be undertaken anywhere in the world. “The research that is happening at TIA represents the world’s largest and longest dairy cow-calf rearing trial applicable to pasturebased dairies.” Dr Verdon recognises the research is a “bit out there” and is not something that is ready to be incorporated into a large-scale commercial dairy farm just yet. She is looking to the future and urges dairy farmers to consider how they want their farms to operate in 10 to 20 years, so research can be undertaken now to help achieve that vision. “It could take 10 years to find a solution to some of the challenges, so we need to start now. “Research is like an insurance scheme for farmers. We can do the work now, ensure it is viable and address the challenges. “We all hope we won’t crash our car, but if we do it’s nice to know the insurance is there. “If you’re a producer, you may hope future sustainability challenges never arise, but if they do the research has been done and you have an insurance scheme.” The cow-calf separation trial was supported by the Australian Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship, which was an initiative of CSIRO and TIA. The scholarship supported PhD candidate Sandra Ospina-Rios. Story and photos: Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture. This article was first published in the Tasmanian Country on June 24.
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THE SOLAR panels on John and Rochelle Pekin’s dairy look impressive. Then you see them on the calf shed and the machinery/hay shed as well — and you’re really impressed.Allup,the farm has 250 kW of solar power on the three roofs and 520 kW-hours in a battery — and more panels are planned for the five houses on the property. The solar is part of a four-pronged plan to make the farm sustainable, with methane meters, carbon storage and hydrogen as an alternate energy source all on the agenda. Their efforts so far have been rewarded. John and Rochelle recently won the Great South Coast Natural Resource and Sustainabil ity Management Award, impressing judges with their ability to integrate both productivity and sustainability goals into their dairy farm business, proactively seeking out the latest information and trialling new approaches. The Pekins milk 900 Friesian cows. Their farm near Simpson, in Victoria’s Western District, covers about 450 ha with a milking area of about 365 ha, effectively leaving them to milk about a cow per acre. Previously they farmed in partnership with John’s parents and brother, but John and Rochelle purchased the property outright last December. Living with them on the farm are their children Anderson, 8 in August, and Quinn, 6. It’s a good area for dairy farming, with about 900 mm to 1000 mm of rain per year, and John and Rochelle want to make the most of it. The farm started to grow from 2005–06 when a new rotary dairy and feedpads were built and neighbouring farms purchased. They went from 300 cows up to about 800 and in the past year that has increased to 900 with plans for 1000 nextHeifersyear. start calving about January 10, synchronised with sexed semen, and the cows start on February 15 with most finished by April 15. More cows than usual have been kept this year to build numbers. Ideally, six full-time staff are needed along side John and Rochelle. Finding staff can be a problem — and calv ing was tough this year — and John wants everything in the place to be sustainable to make it easier on staff as well as better for the environment.“Thereare 1100 acres here; we’ve been milk ing off 900 but we’ve put the infrastructure in so we can milk off all of it,” John said. The updates include more tracks to make everything more accessible and quicker, and earthworks have been done to set the scene for new cow shelters for extreme weather Solar panels cover the hay/machinery shed, dairy and big calf shed on John Pekin’s western Victoria farm. Let the sun shine in solar power is an integral part of the farm’s push for sustainability.
The solar panels went up in June 2021, dropping the power bill by about 25 per cent. The battery kicked in on January 26 this year, although there were some teething problems with the software and linkage to the grid. “It’s up and running now but I won’t know the actual saving until we get the next bill,” John said. “All the data indicates it will be a big longtermThesaving.”nextchapter will be a methane reduction trial project in coming months, being co-ordinated by Commpower Industrial. Methane meters will be installed in the dairy and a feed additive will be trialled to attempt to reduce the “Methaneemissions.isourbiggest emission so we need to get that under control,” John said. He hopes the methane and solar combined will allow the farm to sell carbon credits. The existing solar will run the effluent irrigation“Whensystem.wehad 300 cows, we had a lot of time between milkings to run that. Now the milkings are closer together and we’re often short of labour.”They are also investigating hydrogen motors to replace diesel engines in the farm’s tractors.John has farmed the land for 31 years and freely admits he loves the place. “We want the whole property to be sustainable. We want to get cash flow back but we’re also looking at solar for the five houses on the property and on other pumps. “There’s an appetite for carbon-neutral product.“It’snot going away. The consumers, processors and supermarkets all want it.”
Beef InFocus™ offers short gestation options, meaning you can tighten up your joining season. Your dairy cows will have more time to recover, more days in milk, and your late calving cows will have a better chance of getting back in calf.
The addition will also be about people management.“We’reasking people to get out of bed at four o’clock in the morning to milk cows and having the cows in the shelters means consistency — the cows won’t be in a different paddock every morning.”Theshelters will be set-up so the cows can access the existing feedpad.
NEWS // 29 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
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FertilityRWD CalvingEase Stillbirth GestationLengthCalving with short gestation dairy beef Beef from dairy farmer story:
The farm has a good pasture base for homegrown feed but the Pekins buy in a fair amount of hay and grain to keep up the high herd numbers and maintain production. “The balance is all right but it’s something I need to keep an eye on,” John said. With their sustainable changes, John was determined they had to be profitable. “We’ve gone down the road where we want to be sustainable but we’re not prepared to compromise“We’reproduction.gettingaround 600 to 650 kg MS, which is up the top end, and we want to use technology that will be sustainable and help that. “If anything, I hope our production will grow. I’ll see we’ve got free power and say let’s use a bit more of it.”
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The battery has had some teething problems but is now up and running and John is looking forward to seeing a big reduction in his power bill. conditions — mostly during the cold and wet winters, but also potentially during hot summers. “We’ll have 7200 square metres undercover and I think we’ll have enough to put 1000 cows under cover every night,” John said. “That will extend our rotations and take the pressure off the paddocks over winter.”
The 900 Friesian cows are producing 600 to 650 kg MS and the herd is expected to grow to 1000 next year.
The move to solar across the three main sheds was supported by some significant grants from the Victorian Government and came about from necessity. “When the dairy was built 17 years ago, we were milking 300 cows and the dairy was adequate,” John said. “When we grew and it all happens at the dairy in three-hour periods at each end of the day, we were over the 100 KBA on 315 days of the year. We were at the stage where we were going to blow it off the pole if we didn’t do something.”
Beef InFocus also offers superior growth rates. Not only do you get the benefits of short gestation, but you also get calves that are easy to feed and put weight on quickly, so you can sell them earlier.
It involves hands-on workshops including bedding, showmanship and clipping, as well as classroom-based sessions such as marketing and herdAfterpromotion.threedays of workshops and practice, participants put their skills to the test in stock judging, showmanship and calf classes. An Australian team competed at the Young Breeders School for the first time in 2019, with all team members finishing in the top third of the results, three in the top 15. Formerly called the European Young Breeders’ School, the event’s increasingly international nature has seen it rebranded as the Young Breeders School to reflect its global reach more accurately. This will be the first time the school has taken place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian team leader Justin Johnston said the Young Breeders School was the international reference point for training and show preparation, with many countries entering teams yearon-year.“Itwill 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,” Justin said.
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Georgia Sieben, 19, from Torrumbarry, west of Echuca, is studying animal and veterinary science at La Trobe University in Melbourne and has a particular interest in animal nutrition. Working with her family on their Brindabella stud, she has extensive experience preparing dairy cows for showing and long-term she hopes to have her own dairy farm. Her trip with the team will be her first to Europe, but she has travelled and worked on show preparation in Canada.
Georgia believes the experience will enhance her skills, which she can apply on her own family farm and for the wider industry.
Kaitlyn, 21, has been a regular at International Dairy Week; often with her two sisters, EmmaLea and April. She is now studying agribusiness at La Trobe University and wants to gain experience working in agriculture before going back to the family business.Andrew Gray said he hoped to meet other like-minded dairy people and build a global dairy network and friendships.
“Dad would take us out on the motorbike and we would always be over at the dairy.”
Kaitlyn Wishart said she had travelled to New Zealand previously but the trip to Europe would be a big event for her.
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“I hoped I would get a chance to do it but I wasn’t sure because of the problems with COVID-19,” she said. Kaitlyn has been working with cows on the family farm at Cohuna ever since she can remember.“Iwasborn onto the farm,” she said.
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The five-member team — which will represent Australia in the world dairy youth competition in Belgium — was announced by Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, Jersey Australia and Holstein Australia.Theteam members are: Andrew Gray from Chapel Hill, South Australia; Courtney Afford from Woods Point, South Australia; Georgia Sieben from Torrumbarry, Victoria; Kaitlyn Wishart from Cohuna, Victoria; and Nathan Hart from Stanhope, Victoria. The Young Breeders School is an annual five-day event run by the Association Wallonne de l’Elevage.
BY GEOFF ADAMS HOW DO you get onto a national training opportunity for young dairy breeders? Start young, seems to be the answer. Two of the five-member team selected to represent Australia at an international breeders school have been handling dairy cattle since they were able to walk.
Holstein Australia CEO Rohan Butler (left) with the Australian team heading to the Young Breeders School in Belgium — Nathan Hart, Kaitlyn Wishart, Andrew Gray, Courtney Afford and Georgia Sieben. Following the Young Breeders School, the Australian team will travel through the Netherlands on an educational tour.
Caitlyn Wishart and Georgia Sieben have been encouraged by their family to participate in the family dairy business and have been regular participants at International Dairy Week for more than a Bothdecade.arenow studying at university but have their sights set on a career in agriculture.
30 // NEWS DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
Georgia Sieben in a more recent photo at International Dairy Week. She is now taller than the cows she parades.
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NEWS // 31 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
“Once back home, I hope to share my experiences and learnings developed through the Young Breeders School with other young dairy breeders here in Australia,” Andrew said.Courtney Afford saw her selection as a great opportunity to gain greater knowledge about training, showing and managing dairy cattle in a foreign setting and to be an ambassador for the Australian dairy industry. “Taking part in the Young Breeders School competition will be a great privilege and one I know will be a stepping stone to help me achieve my long-term goals within the industry,” Courtney said. Nathan Hart said he hoped to learn and expand his knowledge of fitting and showing cattle, his chosen profession, by working with “some of the greatest youth in our industry, not only from Australia but other countries, too”. “At the same time, I would like to gain educa tional knowledge about farming across Europe so I can learn from these different ideas and adapt them to work in our farming here in Australia.” The team reserve is Oakley Henry from Tinamba in Victoria, and the team will be led by Justin Johnston from Glomar Holsteins at Bundalaguah, Victoria The Young Breeders School takes place in Bat tice, Belgium, from August 31 to September 4.
Kaitlyn Wishart parading cattle with her sister, Emma-Lea, at Cohuna Show in 2014. In 2015, Georgia Sieben parades a reserve grand champion heifer at International Dairy Week. Georgia Sieben in 2007 with a heifer at International Dairy Week.
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• Only cut what is surplus to grazing InTimingrequirements.thecutdecidingwhen to cut silage, your aim should be to optimise the yield and quality of both the silage and the grazed pasture. Cutting irrigated pastures for silage, rather than hay, allows watering to recommence sooner.
• Cutting lucerne early for silage helps control weeds. The risk of weather damage to the first cut is also reduced when it is cut for silage rather than hay. Regrowth following a silage cut can provide a high-quality pasture for grazing animals, free of internal parasites and grass weeds.
• There is clear evidence that silage cuts can reduce the content of some broadleaf weed species in pastures. It is generally assumed that silage making controls these weeds by reducing or preventing seed set, and by sterilising any weed seeds that are harvested and ensiled.
• Cutting irrigated pastures for silage, rather than hay, allows watering to recommence sooner — a shorter wilting period for silage means the pasture is less likely to become moisture stressed.
• When combined with effective grazing management, silage production can increase the quality of forage available for grazing on areas of the farm not set aside for producing silage. This is because higher grazing pressure on the balance of the farm maintains the pastures in a productive, or vegetative, phase for longer. Long-term pasture benefits
• Improve pasture utilisation by strategically timing silage cuts to remove surplus pasture. • Maximise total forage production (grazing and silage) during the period of peak pasture growth.
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 32 // HAY AND SILAGE KUHN AUSTRALIA
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SILAGE CAN play a key role in all grazing sys tems, conserving pasture from periods of sur plus, so it is available to livestock when paddock feed is Silageshort.isa valuable pasture management tool, helping to maintain pasture quality and improve use during periods of peak growth. Be clear about objectives Making silage offers considerable potential to increase productivity. However, it is critical to plan how silage will fit into the overall grazing management program. Your key objectives when integrating silage cuts with grazing management should be to:
One of the most important principles in pro ducing high quality silage is to cut pastures early, when they are at a late vegetative to early repro ductive stage of growth. Although delaying cutting often produces a higher silage yield, silage quality from early cut ting is usually higher. Pasture regrowth is also usually greater, which means that total pro duction from the pasture (as both silage and regrowth) is also higher.
• Silage cuts may also influence the seed set of annual species in pastures.
• NSW Department of Primary Industries encourages desirable species such as clover and perennial grasses when the pasture regenerates.
• Silage cuts reduce the need to slash or mulch surplus and rank pasture during periods of peak pasture growth.
• Silage cuts can influence longer-term changes in the composition of pastures by reducing the competition between species. For example, grasses tend to dominate legumes during periods of rapid growth.
• There is anecdotal evidence that early-cut silage, compared to late-cut silage or hay,
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• Maximise the quality of both the silage and grazed pasture — the target ME (metabolisable energy) level for temperate pasture should be at least 10 megajoules per kg of dry matter (MJ/kg DM).
Silage as a management tool
Maturity varies between cultivars and species. This must be taken into account when determin ing paddock closures and cutting dates. Removing paddocks from the grazing rota tion early involves some risks. For example, there may be a temporary shortage of pasture for grazing if an unexpected weather change slowsPaddocksregrowth.closed very early will be ready for cutting early in the silage season when there is a greater risk of unfavourable weather affecting the wilting Short-termprocess.pasture benefits Incorporating silage production into your pas ture management program has the potential to create a range of short-term benefits:
PRIMOR
WE’VEPRODAIRY.GOTYOUCOVERED. Designed for Dairy Farmers. Delivered by Dairy Vets.
BIOSECURITY IS the process by which we are able to prevent transmission of pathogens between individual animals or groups of live stock.Itforms an important part of controlling the spread of infectious disease. Understanding biosecurity risks and having good plans in place to both monitor and con trol diseases are critical to the future viability of our industry. So what does good biosecurity even look like? Good biosecurity relies on all members of the farming community to take an active role. This means everyone — farm owner, farm staff, tanker driver, service providers, consul tants, occasional farm visitors, discussion groups andItcontractors.shouldalso include our state and Federal Governments ensuring we have well-resourced disease monitoring, advisory and response teams, and ongoing border security surveillance with strict importation requirements. At a farm level, it’s important to understand the infectious diseases considered endemic or exotic to your local area, and at a state and national level. The responsibility to recognise the signs of exotic diseases and enact tracing if required lies mostly with those who handle the livestock regularly, so staying informed on what to look out for and keeping accurate records should form part of your ongoing duty of care. Particularly pertinent at the moment to Australian dairy herds is the threat of both lumpy skin disease and foot and mouth disease incursions from close neighbouring countries, presenting very real economic and welfare risks for our industry. So, I’m leaving you with some homework today: learn the disease signs and what to do if you’re suspicious — get Googling or ask your regular vet to host an info session. Complacency has no place on our farms when it comes to biosecurity. Firstly, it’s important you define your herd’s current disease status as either exposed, unexposed or vaccinated. Antibody or antigen testing of various samples such as blood, milk and tissue are useful here, depending on the disease in question. These tests usually only provide a snapshot in time, so regular herd monitoring is key. Then, evaluating the biosecurity risk for each group of animals on the farm and poten tial transmission routes will help form part of your biosecurity plan. Pathogens can be introduced to a herd by: • purchased cattle; • cattle returning to the farm (for example, heifers); • contact with neighbouring cattle; • contact with animal (for example, effluentproductsrun-off from neighbouring farms);
• Minimise contact with other species (including pests, wildlife and domestic animals) wherever possible, but especially around stockfeed and water sources.
• Maintain a hygienic environment for livestock (no access to effluent, good air quality, remove soiled bedding, control flies).
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 ANIMAL HEALTH // 33
• Pre-calving care
•Online ordering and payment system
PRODAIRY.COM.AUSCAN TO FIND OUT MORE.
• Minimise visitors on-farm, and for those that must set foot on the property, enforce strict hygiene protocols and provide boot disinfectant for entry and exit.
Lucy Collins wants everyone to take biosecurity seriously for the sake of the dairy industry.
• Directly linked to individual farm herd health treatment protocols
Comments, feedback and suggestions can be sent to: lucy.collins@apiam.com.au
• fomites (for example, vehicles or staff).
For love of cows and country
PLANNINGANDMANAGEMENTRISK
• contamination of feedstuffs and water; • vectors (for example, insects); and
• Minimise shared equipment and vehicles between farms, and wash and disinfect where sharing is unavoidable.
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• Save the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline (1800 675 888) number into your phone, and display it around the farm.
• Colostrum management
Evaluating the biosecurity risk for each group of animals on the farm and potential transmission routes will help form part of your biosecurity plan.
• Vaccinate where possible.
•Access to dairy consumables and merchandise
Annual Herd Profile Survey to identify current and future priorities. Risk assessments and plans:
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• If not closed, ensure cattle joining the herd have been tested for diseases of concern, are vaccinated where required and are isolated upon arrival for a predetermined quarantine period.
™
• Herd fertility
• Start the conversation with someone else from your farming district, a neighbour or a friend. If the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us one thing, it’s that there’s strength in community. Most pathogens won’t discriminate between farms either, so together let’s all create a culture of care when it comes to biosecurity. The author has a large, vested interest in the biosecurity of the Australian dairy herd, as do all the readers of this publication. The risk of incursion is a genuine threat to our industry, so she’d really just love everyone to ensure they’re doing their bit for their cows and their country. Lucy Collins is completing her Dairy Residency with the University of Melbourne. She works as an on-farm veterinarian for Apiam Animal Health, and alongside her husband on his family’s dairy farm in southwest Victoria. She is a 2021 Nuffield Scholar supported by Gardiner Dairy Foundation.
• Work with your regular advisers to complete a risk assessment and build a strong working biosecurity plan with all relevant members of the farm team — luck favours the prepared. Resources for building a biosecurity plan that is right for your farm can be found online biosecurity.dairyaustralia.com.au/loginat:
• Practice good hygiene in the dairy and when using feeding equipment.
• Isolate any sick animals and manage separately.
On a practical level, things you can do to manage your farm’s biosecurity risks include: Maintain a closed herd. Avoid introducing any new cattle (young stock, cows or bulls), and ensure zero contact with cattle from other herds (for example, at shows).
• Maintain secure farm boundary fencing and avoid shared access with other farms.
• Monitor the quality of all inputs and applications, including stock feed, fertiliser, seed and effluent.
• Milk quality and mastitis management
• Annual ProDairy Focus Plan
PROGRAMSHEALTHANIMAL Customised animal health treatment protocols and factsheets for calves, weaned heifers, milking cows and bulls
• Avoid overstocking, and separate young stock from the main herd.
Mr Gladigau said some media outlets had reported that Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry testing had detected FMD in pork products at a Melbourne retailer when this was not the case. Viral fragments were detected — not the disease. “We urge the media to use extreme caution in their reporting. Australia is free of FMD and LSD,” he said.
SHOW PLANS TO GO ON Agriculture Victoria is working closely with the Melbourne Royal Show organisers to ensure biosecurity measurers are in place, including livestock movement ahead of this year’s event which opens on Thursday, September 22. The Victorian Government said it was working hand-in-glove with state and federal counterparts to monitor the threat of foot-and-mouth disease and other biosecurity concerns. There are over 300 dedicated biosecurity staff within the 1200 strong team currently undertaking FMDspecific training, scenario planning, and participating in emergency exercises to ensure they’re ready to respond quickly andTheeffectively.Victorian Government has also announced that kids will be able to go to the royal and other ag shows forVictorianfree. Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney said $3.5 million had been made available to support free entry for kids. The funding will be provided directly to agricultural and pastoral societies hosting shows this year to defray the cost of free entry for kids under the age of 14, at more than 100 rural and regional shows across Victoria. Presented by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, the Melbourne Royal Show is one of the state’s largest and most iconic annual community events, contributing $244 million annually to Victoria’s economy and in previous years has attracted up to 460,000 visitors. For more information about the Melbourne Royal visit the royalshow.com.au
THE AUSTRALIAN dairy industry has enacted the emergency animal disease team to coordinate the dairy value chain’s response to the heightened threat of foot and mouth disease and lumpy skin Representativesdisease.of the dairy industry’s farming, processing and research and development sectors — from Australian Dairy Farmers, Australian Dairy Products Federation and Dairy Australia — are part of this team. Australian Dairy Industry Council president Rick Gladigau said the dairy industry and the Federal Government were “working together to prevent an incursion of FMD in Australia, not just from Indonesia, but from other countries as Mr Gladigauwell”. said the dairy industry supported the Federal Government’s increased surveillance and testing of meat and other animal products for FMD, both at the border and through targeted checking of retail outlets, as well as the amplified measures as recently announced.“Wehave been working closely with the government every step of the way,” he said. “We’re asking the government to throw everything at FMD, especially at our borders, and take all suitable measures to ensure that FMD does not enter Australia. “Border checks of imported food products — in travellers’ luggage and retailers’ consignments — are vital because the main way FMD is spread worldwide is in food. “It’s not just in footwear. It’s not only from Indonesia. Where the government can do more, then we look forward to them doing so.”
“These detections of viral fragments are a timely reminder that Australia needs the strictest biosecurity measures possible.
“It’s everyone’s job to ensure emergency animal diseases do not enter Australia. “Biosecurity is everyone’s business. We all have a role to play in protecting Australia’s livestock industry from pests and diseases.”TheAustralian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences said a widespread FMD outbreak in Australia would have a direct economic impact of about $80 billion. everything’ at FMD
Australian Dairy Industry Council president Rick Gladigau.
“There are no silver bullets for biosecurity. There is no one measure that works on its own.
34 // ANIMAL HEALTH DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022
‘Throw
O’CONNORS IS increasing its reach after buying the full Sunrise Ag dealerships in Swan Hill and Ouyen and the Case IH broadacre com ponent of the Mildura outlet.
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS // 35
Network continues to grow
O’Connors chief executive officer Gareth Webb said the Sunrise Ag dealerships were a good fit for the business and the expansion helped reinforce the strength of the O’Connors’ network. “The Sunrise Ag location at Ouyen repre sents a strong broadacre farming area where we have considerable knowledge and experience, while Mildura and Swan Hill have more agricul tural diversity where we can work to expand the reach of Case IH smaller horsepower machin ery,” Mr Webb said. “That diversity is exciting for us and we see a lot of opportunities across the three locations. “We have 58 years of experience in the agricul tural machinery industry, representing the Case IH brand, and building a reputation for outstand ing service, and second-to-none knowledge of the industry and commitment to our customers.”
This most recent expansion extends O’Connors’ footprint from Ballarat in southern Victoria, north to Condobolin in the NSW cen tral-west, and east to Corowa and Shepparton, linking up the dealership network. It follows last year’s acquisition of former Agrimac dealerships in Ballarat and St Arnaud. Case IH general manager Pete McCann wel comed the news and said it helped secure the Case IH brand in an important agricultural area. Sunrise Ag owners Steve and Luke Ayling and O’Connors chief executive officer Gareth Webb.
KATANDRA HAY producer and contractor Luke Felmingham found hay making and agricultural production was literally bigger than Texas on a recent trip to the United States. “It’s happening on an industrial scale; very efficient,” Luke said about the size of farming operations where dairy farms carried huge herds, feedlots stocked tens of thousands of head and hay making was organised at a highly mechanised and efficient level. The speed of hay making was an important aspect for Luke, who runs a business processing about 7000 tonnes of hay every year. The turnaround time for hay making — including the cutting, raking and baling processes — are critical for efficient hay production and can also impact on susceptibility to hay fires through spontaneous combustion.
He was so impressed on his return, he ordered some of the rollers. They will join Luke’s stable of hay production equipment, which includes two Staheli steamers that use a diesel-fired burner and a low-pressure boiler system to control hydration of hay during“Webaling.wantto be able to produce better quality hay and that was a goal of the trip,” Luke said. “The quicker we can get the crop down and into the bale the less chance we have of getting microbial growth and the less chance of that leading to shed and haystack fires.”
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 36 // MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS
Hay making bigger than Texas
“One of the goals of the trip was to see how they are making hay between three to seven days,” Luke said. “In Australia we are struggling to achieve that.”One of the advantages may lie with a rollercrusher that is employed after the crop is cut. Luke believes it can speed up the curing process by one to two days as it removes moisture from the leaf more efficiently than traditional conditioners. “Just about everyone had them over there.”
The bigger US operators threw large numbers of heavy machinery at big swathes of fields.Stinger hay bale stacker on one of the US farms. Baling around the clock with a steamer in tow in the US.
While some of the states had ready access to groundwater, during dry conditions they were noticing the levels falling away and Luke won dered how long that access would remain under continued, intensive farming. One curious point of interest were the side lines that many successful farms had developed. They often had identified a promising and profitable small aspect of business which they developed and enlarged, and this was something Luke would like to try his hand at, although he is not yet ready to disclose what he is ruminating over.Luke’s tour, sponsored through the Hay Guard and Tama companies, took the group through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Nevada in two weeks during June, the hottest time of the year for the mid-western states. The Australian tour group in a lucerne paddock in Kansas. Luke Felmingham inspects a Massey Ferguson mower conditioner fitted with crusher rollers. Photo: Simon Finlayson. Katandra hay producer and contractor Luke Felmingham saw super-sized hay making during a tour of the United States.
“Nothing is done by half. Once they get the job they throw everything at it,” Luke said. “When they were mowing they could have between three to 10 mowers going, 10 to 20 rakes and in some cases you’d see three to five balers going on one field.” The machinery included the hay sting ers, which gather, carry and then stack big squares.Luke acknowledged that the scale of opera tions did not translate to Australian conditions but some of the principles they employed were probably useful here. In Utah, which was very hot and dry, the group saw hay production using steam ers in almost every case, running at about 100 per cent to generate between 12 and 13 per cent moisture.
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS // 37
Eight pre-approved maps that give mobile crane operators information about where they can travel on the road network have been released. The maps – which are an Australian first – are for mobile cranes with six to nine axles and will ensure they can continue delivering projects without the need for a bridge assessment.
The maps will also assist operators with direct access from the ports of Portland, Geelong and Melbourne to a number of depots identified by the industry and several wind farm locations in western Victoria.Thenetwork has been expanded to include key corridors such as the Hamilton, Calder and Glenelg Highways, further facilitating windfarm development in and around those corridors. Operators will still need to apply for access permits for these cranes but will no longer need individual route assessments on the published routes. The Victorian Government worked closely with the Victorian crane industry, including the Crane Industry Council of Australia to develop these new preapproved route maps. Publication of the mobile crane maps has been a priority of the Heavy Vehicle Permit Reform Roadmap. To access the new maps visit: victoria/cl1-spv-osomvehicleindustry/heavy-vehicle-map-networks-in-vicroads.vic.gov.au/business-and-industry/heavy-https://www.
FARMERS AND agricultural businesses lost more than $1.5 million to scammers lastTheyear.most common agriculture scam was fake online sales of agricultural machinery such as tractors, backhoes, bobcats and excavators, accounting for reported losses of more than $1.4 million. Scammers created fake websites to sell new tractors and operated second-hand tractor scams on platforms such as Gum tree and Facebook Marketplace. This data was collected by the Austra lian Competition and Consumer Commis sion, which released its latest report on scam activity on July 4. The largest combined losses in 2021 were: $701 million lost to investment scams, $227 million lost to payment redi rection scams and $142 million lost to romance scams. The ACCC found Australians lost more than $2 billion to scams in 2021. Last year, Australians lost $1.4 million through fake online sales of heavy machinery, the majority being tractors, backhoes, bobcats and excavators.
Machinery scams hit hard
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2022 38 // MACHINERY AND PRODUCTS
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