Jj1213a

of ROCK SOLID GENETICS

dtr: Wis Legal Mozza 6947 VG / photo: Beth Herges

Impuls x Lemvig x Berretta

LEGAL

29JE3506 Tollenaars Impuls

AB

dtr: Ascot Park Elton Wanda - Intermediate Champion Brisbane Royal 2013 Owned by S. & J. McCarthy / photo: Dean Malcolm

Jace x Alf x Lester

ELTON

Cairnbrae Jaces

JOURNAL

HARNESSING THE POWER

dtr: Headline Margy VG-88@2Y / photo: Beth Herges

Rescue x Avery x Sooner

HEADLINE

29JE3510 Schultz Rescue

Print Post Approved 325550-009

November-December 2013

JERSEY

Vol. 66 No. 6 - November-December 2013

COVER

JERSEY

November-December 2013 Print Post Approved 325550-009

JOURNAL

Harnessing the power of Rock Solid genetics Developing and Promoting the Jersey Breed

• •

ABS Rock Solid Sires are what breeding is all about!

With RSG, we are giving breeders & commercial dairymen the confidence and reliability they need. What you see on pager is what you see in the dairy!

Jersey Australia Board Members President: Peter Ness PO Box 93, Mt Compass, SA 5210 Telephone: (08) 8556 8270 nyowee@activ8.net.au Vice President: Milton Johnston 118 Edinburgh Drive, Taree, NSW 2430 Telephone: (02) 6552 5915 Secretary: Scott Joynson PO Box 292, Ascot Vale, VIC 3032 Telephone: (03) 9370 9105 jersey@jersey.com.au Hon. Treasurer: Rohan Sprunt 235 Kaarimba Hall Rd Kaarimba VIC 3635 Telephone: (03) 5826 9506 kaarmona@bigpond.com Trevor Saunders 495 Araluen Rd, Yarragon VIC 3823 Telephone: (03) 5626 6373 saunders-day@dcsi.net.au Andrew Younger 162 Zeerust Church Rd, Zeerust Vic 3634 Ph: 03 5829 8352 Mob: 0409 572 484 Email: motor5@bigpond.com Geoff Heazlewood PO Box 87 Latrobe TAS 7307 Telephone: (03) 6426 1169 Chris MacKenzie 859 Cooriemungle Rd Timboon VIC 3268 Telephone: (03)559 87222 jireh859@skymesh.com.au Troy Mauger The Willows Willawa Rd Jerilderie NSW 2716 Telephone: (03) 5885 9294 tmmauger1@bigpond.com Lisa Broad 388 Johnson Rd Lockington VIC 3563 Telephone: (03) 5486 2624 lisa.broad@bigpond.com.au Brian Wilson 204 Wallamore Road, Tamworth NSW 2340 Telephone: (02) 6761 5783 vicki.brian@bigpond.com Jersey Australia Website: www.jersey.com.au

www.absglobal.com/aus l ABS.AU.info@ genusplc.com Ph: 02 6049 9200 l Fax: 02 6026 2387 Semen orders only, freecall 1800-ABS-BULL

29JE3506 Tollenaars Impuls

LEGAL

29JE3510 Schultz Rescue

HEADLINE Rescue x Avery x Sooner

dtr: Headline Margy VG-88@2Y / photo: Beth Herges

Cairnbrae Jaces

ELTON

dtr: Wis Legal Mozza 6947 VG / photo: Beth Herges

Jace x Alf x Lester

dtr: Ascot Park Elton Wanda - Intermediate Champion Brisbane Royal 2013 Owned by S. & J. McCarthy / photo: Dean Malcolm

ABS

HARNESSING THE POWER of ROCK SOLID GENETICS

JerseyJournal_ABS_1013_nb.indd 1

28/10/2013 1:58:30 PM

IN THIS ISSUE...

CONTENTS

ADVERTISERS INDEX

4

Behind the Scenes

ABS Australia

FC

6

Tanya’s generation faces the passion and the poison

Agri-Gene

18

Bralock Jerseys

11

12 Farmer directors see 2020 perspective

Central Sires Co-Op

21

16 Progeny Test Rebate Scheme

Colac JBC

19

20 Shows: Adelaide Royal, Melbourne Royal,

Goulburn Murray JBC

23

International Dairy Week

IFC

25 Let’s Cook - with Dairy

Jugiong Jerseys

8-9

26 Udderly Admin

Northern District JBC

Wauchope (NSW)

10

Philmar Dairy Company 14-15

JANUARY 2014 DEADLINES Advertising Bookings: NOVEMBER 17th If you require your ad to be designed - all copy must be received by NOVEMBER 27 If you are supplying press ready ads from an outside source the final deadline is DECEMBER 3

Semex

BC

South Gippsland JBC

17

Zoetis

IBC

Editorial and Advertising to: SHARON CLARK Clark Graffix - PO Box 1576, Shepparton VICTORIA 3632 T: 0437 066 077 | F: 03 5821 0165 | E: jersey@clarkgraffix.com JERSEY AUSTRALIA PO BOX 292, ASCOT VALE, VIC 3032 Telephone: (03) 9370 9105 Fax: (03) 9370 9116 Email: jersey@jersey.com.au www.jersey.com.au Pre-Press Editor & Graphic Design: Sharon Clark - Clark Graffix Printed by: Shepparton Printing Service P/L (03) 5821 4707 Email: sps@shepprint.com.au NEW SOUTH WALES State Secretary - Milton Johnston Phone: (02) 6552 5915 Fax: (02) 6552 5915 johnston_jersey@yahoo.com.au

QUEENSLAND State Secretary - Diane Reeves Phone: (07) 5485 4585 Work: (07) 3221 3182 Fax: (07) 5485 4575 Email: ajbsqld@bigond.com SOUTH AUSTRALIA State Secretary - Amy McDonald PO Box 13, Greenock SA 5360 Phone (08) 8562 8113 Fax (08) 8562 8520 Email: carcoolajersey@bigpond.com TASMANIA State Secretary - Max McCormack PO Box 1258, Devonport TAS 7310 Phone: (03) 6424 1250 Mobile: 0409 252 232 Email: pegandmax@bigpond.com

VICTORIA State Secretary - Andrew Younger 162 Zeerust Church Rd, Zeerust Vic 3634 Ph: 03 5829 8352 Mob: 0409 572 484 Email: motor5@bigpond.com GENETIC RECOVERY OFFICERS Chris MacKenzie (Western Districts) Phone: (03) 5598 7222 Margaret Cockerell (Northern Vic) Phone: 0407 641 132 (03) 5864 1133 Barry Monson (03) 5625 3176 or 0429 343 903 WESTERN AUSTRALIA Susan Lutey Feast Rd, Serpentine WA 6125 Phone: (08) 9525 2407 hope1@iinet.net.au

Opinions expressed in The Australian Jersey Journal are not necessarily those of Jersey Australia Inc or its Board of Management or Compiling Editor, and no responsibility whatsoever is taken for their authenticity. While every effort will be made to publish advertisements as ordered, no responsibility is taken for the failure of an advertisement to appear as ordered.

Jersey Journal – November/December 2013 3

JJ JERSEY AUSTRALIA by Scott Joynson

W

Behind the Scenes

e are getting down to the business time of year here at Jersey House with the beginning of Tour 2 classification tours. On top of membership classification we have also just received the LTE file nominations from ADHIS which, thankfully, show a healthy increase in AB Company interest in gaining traditional type proofs for this year’s crop of graduating bulls.

It has been a genuine concern to the Jersey Australia Board that with the advent of the genome testing technology the Jersey Breed saw a steep decline in Linear Type Evaluations performed on daughters of graduating young sires. This year’s slight increase is the first in three years and hopefully a step toward improving numbers annually.

The genome testing technology has also seen several companies drop local testing of young Jersey sires. Jersey Australia has approached local representatives and long time supporters of our breed for a reason why local testing could not continue and it seems that the decision was not theirs but made by head office personnel in the Northern Hemisphere. It is important for a strong breed here in Australia that our members support those companies who at least partially invest in the quality genetics that we have right here on our doorstep.

Australian Jerseys have a loyal following beyond our shores, not because of clever marketing or by massive investment but because the small amount of our genetics that have been used internationally has performed beautifully in a wide variety of farming regimes. To keep our Australian brand we must support those companies who still actively progeny test, because it is these companies who will in turn

Top 10 Genomically Tested Heifers - August 2013 Herdbook

Name

market our very best to the rest of the world. There is a list of companies later in this magazine who are not only testing here in Australia but are offering a PT rebate for daughters of their bulls, please consider their teams as you make this year’s semen purchases.

ADHIS releases ABV’s twice annually and August 2013 saw, for the first time, a low key release of high ranked genomically tested cows and heifers. The Jersey Australia Board hopes to publish this elite group of females on a regular basis going forward and congratulates the owners below for having animals of such high genetic merit amongst their herds.

There is a Ginfo project running in conjunction with the Dept Primary Industries where a number of Jersey herds have been selected on the quality of data their herd submits to industry via Herd Testing etc. These herds will have the opportunity to receive funding for genomic testing of all their 1st calving heifers on the basis that these animals will also be classified. The DPI will study the data from these herds looking to increase the reliability on genome type predictions, improve the current Jersey reference set and a number of other study projects in the pipeline. I would also expect to see the best of the animals tested appear in future elite heifer listings released by ADHIS.

Finally, I was very pleased to have been able to attend the Colac & Districts On Farm Challenge presentation night to see firsthand the video presentation and hear the judges’ comments on each age group. Sometimes comments made by judges who have spent a life time milking a different breed can be quite revealing on how the Jersey is progressing here in Australia. It was also great to see David & Raylene

Date of Birth Sire

Owner

APR

Rel

Overall Type

Mam Syst

Rel

641624

GELBEADO PARK VANAHLEM BELLE 4180

3/08/2012

PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM

P & L Mumford

242

52

109

107

40

645228

MERSEYBANK VAN CLARITY

28/08/2012

PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM

Heazlewood G & A

188

52

104

106

39

BUSHLEA TBONE BELLE 3 ET

8/08/2012

BUSHLEA FARMS

151

637082

652012

651440

651437 625419

651431 653097

625639

KAARMONA VANAHLEM GLENFERN 14 BUSHLEA VAN FERNLEAF 4 ET BUSHLEA TBONE MAYBELLE 3 ET CAIRNBRAE VALERIAN ESTELLE

2/04/2012

29/02/2012 5/08/2012 5/08/2011

BUSHLEA TBONE MAYBELL 2 ET

29/07/2012

BILLY CREEK DEMI

20/08/2011

ASCOT PARK MERCHANTS BEAUTY

4 Jersey Journal – November/December 2013

29/08/2012

PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM

PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM

RICHIES JACE TBONE A364

RICHIES JACE TBONE A364 KAARMONA VALERIAN

RICHIES JACE TBONE A364

SUNSET CANYON MERCHANT CAIRNBRAE JACES ELTON

SPRUNT GC & RG

BUSHLEA FARMS

BUSHLEA FARMS P & L Mumford

BUSHLEA FARMS

MCCARTHY SG & JA CRAWFORD T & B

198

187

144 135

129 125

108

53

54

52

47

110

112

101 93

109

110

101 97

58

106

104

44

102

102

45 59

95

104

98

107

41

43

38 30

47 27

29

49

JJ JERSEY AUSTRALIA

Hallyburton of Camo Jerseys presented with the 50yr Jersey Stud award by Jersey Australia president Peter Ness. If you are someone who has continually operated a Jersey stud for 50yrs or know someone who has and has not yet been recognised please do encourage them to apply for the award by contacting Jersey House on (03) 9370 9105.

When you think of all the changes tour our Industry in the past 50yr years it is inspiring to hand out these awards to people who are still passionate about our cow and excited by their future within the dairy industry.

Top 25 Genomically Tested Cows: August 2013

Profit Herdbook 565968 568953

572089

605569

524915

571353

484995

588222

575505

527041

641624

610551

595238

508325

555976

552557

595535

436478

516943

568994 569791 588334 591848 560615

Long Name

Date of Birth

Sire

Owner

APR

Rel

Overall Type

NOWELL MAN SANDY

21/08/2006

OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3

YOUNGER ANDREW EASY DAIRY

276

68

57

WARRAIN HATTEN EMPRESS 2 MERSEYBANK ELTONS CLAIRE

GELBEADO PARK NAVARA BONITA ET CAIRNBRAE FLOWERS ESTELLE

WALLACEDALE ELTONS ELLOUS

RIVERSIDE MBSB ADRIENNE 856 BEULAH KONUI K POPPINS KADDY SANDY BIRD 19

NOWELL POWER SANDY

GELBEADO PARK VANAHLEM BELLE 4180 MELDAN TBONE SANDY BEULAH VAL L PAINT 3 KOENARL MELBA X13

DARAWAY TARANAK VANESSA 4 WALLACEDALE JACE MELAINE 4 BEULAH BADGER SOFIA 2

CAIRNBRAE ALFS ESTELLE

BEULAH LEMVIG A POPPINS

LERIDA PARK MANHATTEN ROSEBUD 112 KAARMONA MANHATTEN ARKONA BEULAH MANHATTEN C BAMBI BEULAH VAL B HALO J GIRLIE 93

AUS FOUNDATION JACE BUOY

23/08/2006

11/03/2007

21/03/2009 5/08/2003

21/08/2006

15/06/2000 8/08/2008

2/09/2007

9/03/2003

3/08/2012

24/07/2010 8/04/2009

28/05/2002 9/03/2006

20/09/2004

21/08/2007 9/05/1997

23/08/1999

16/03/2007 10/01/2007 15/08/2005 26/08/2008

20/08/2004 29/08/2006

OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 CAIRNBRAE JACES ELTON

DARAWAY FLOWERPOWER NAVARA CLAYDON PARK FLOWER POWER CAIRNBRAE JACES ELTON

MASON BOOMER SOONER BERRETTA KONUI GLEN ELMOS BOWIE NOWELL SANDBLAST

CLAYDON PARK FLOWER POWER

COCKERELL JR & MA Heazlewood G & AE

GELBEADO PARK JERSEYS CARSON, A.G & J.A. WALLACE CJ & MB C.B. & K. COUCH, HOEY DM & L

YOUNGER ANDREW

PANNOO ABE VANAHLEM

GELBEADO PARK JERSEYS

KAARMONA VALERIAN

HOEY DM & L

RICHIES JACE TBONE A364 ALCISTON CHARLIES LAD ROYALS GREEN ELMO

WINDY WILLOW MONTANA JACE BEULAH TARANAK BADGER COMFORT ROYAL ALF (E.T.) FYN LEMVIG

OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 OKURA MANHATTEN-ET SJ3 KAARMONA VALERIAN

SILHOUETTE EXCEPTIONAL

WINDY WILLOW MONTANA JACE

The HUNTER VALLEY JERSEY BREEDERS CLUB cordially invites all Jersey Australia Members and enthusiasts to attend JERSEY AUSTRALIA’S 2014 ANNUAL MEETING AND TOUR to be held in Tamworth, NSW beginning on Tuesday 20 th May 2014.

The itinerary as it stands is as follows: Tuesday 20th May Arrive Tamworth by 2pm for a 3pm Bush Tour and back in time for a 7pm Casual Dinner Wednesday 21st May 9.30am Jersey Australia AGM followed by Farm Visits which will include Peel Valley Milk, Whittons and Drury farmwalks.

7pm Jersey Australia Award Night Guest Speaker TBA. Thursday 22nd May 10.00am Shirlinn Herd Farm Visit, 11.00am Pre- Sale Inspection, 12 pm Shirlinn Sale - 6pm “After Party”.

GELBEADO PARK JERSEYS TAYLOR TA

BACON, R.L.G. & S.L. WALLACE CJ & MB HOEY DM & L

CARSON, A.G & J.A. HOEY DM & L

BR/JL/RP/LJ SMETHURST SPRUNT GC & RG HOEY DM & L HOEY DM & L

NOLAN FAMILY TRUST SPRUNT GC & RG

285

271

263

261

259

256

249

243

243

242

239

239

238

235

232

232

232

231

224 222 221 221

215 215

61

62

69

65

72

59

63

70

52

57

62

64

64

67

67

73

70

60 64 62

Conformation Mam Syst

Type Rel

103

101

54

111

109

90

105

104

105

106

102

100

107

109

114

105

107

101

102

110

106

102 99 93 97

94

102

106

105

103

102

104

109

107

115

101

100

102

103

106

108 95 98 96 92

65

112

106

66

105

102

59

91

95

52

45

48

53

55

60

45

54

52

40

51

52

52

47

53

56

60

58 43 54 50

56 33

56

JERSEY AUSTRALIA seeks expressions of interest from members who might be interested in being part of a Trade Mission to South Africa 12th - 20th September 2014. The trip will include the Jersey South Africa hosted WJCB Conference and is likely to cost approximately *$4750 - $5500 AUD. For more information contact Robyn Barber 03 9338 9259 rbarber@ruralco.com.au *pricing and final itinerary to be confirmed

Jersey Journal – November/December 2013 5

words: Michael Porteus

Tanya’s generation faces the passion and the poison FOURTH-generation Gippsland dairy farmer Tanya Allan Privitera doesn’t hold back when she talks about the passion – and the poison – for small dairy farms in the 21st century.

T

anya has always loved cows, and knows by name the 120 Jerseys she milks with her 72-year-old father Barrie Allan, mother Sue and brother Brett at the 235acre Inverlair Heights Jersey Stud near Marden, 170km east of Melbourne. The family has supplied the Murray Goulburn for 60 years and won many awards for milk quality.

Tanya had a garlanded Jersey at her wedding, and later pictured her new-born daughter wearing a Jersey suit in a manger.

She has been a South Gippsland Young Citizen of the year, and Victorian Rural Ambassador who studied dairying in the United States for six months in 2001. She’s a past president of the South Gippsland Jersey Breeders Club, and a member of the Young Dairy Farmers Development Group and Murray Goulburn Ladies Group. She has sat on many committees including the RASV Dairy Show Committee, and has judged cattle at shows in four Australian states. Tanya has also been announced as a 2013 winner of a Green Agriculture Innovation Award.

She gained her Diploma of Agriculture by part-time study, and has attended many short courses. She uses social media to ‘friend’ both fellow farmers and people who know nothing of farming.

Her motto is “always give back to the industry which has given me so much joy, happiness and success over the years!”

There’s no shortage of passion.

Tanya says farmers answer with pure passion when asked why they work such long hours: ‘It is who I am, and what I do’.

But there is also the poison.

Tanya says the words “get bigger or get out” are poison to her, and she hears them often from governments, dairy companies, and even friends from small farms.

She says this poison is killing smaller dairy farms. Families do not get enough returns to enable older generations to retire while following generations invest.

And Tanya says ‘bigger’ does not necessarily mean ‘more profit’ for the farmers. Staff are expensive and unlikely to help cattle like someone who has grown up with them.

Tanya is now 33 and has two children – Levi aged two, and Ava aged 9 months. She also runs the office of the stainless-steel company she operates with her husband Con and a business partner. Her brother Brett also has employment off-farm.

Tanya’s great-grandfather Alec was one of the first to select land in Mardan in the 1870s. The farm was later run by her grandfather Jack, and then by her father Barrie who began work there almost 60 years ago. Barrie switched to Jerseys, and began the Inverlair Heights Jersey Stud in 1981.

Tanya says the main influences on their herd have been Kooroo, Inverell, Mapleton, Parrabell, Barwidgee, Lynbrae, Fleurieu and Bushlea.

6 Jersey Journal – November/December 2013

Tanya and Barrie winning Junior and Senior Allbreeds champions at Korumburra Show in 2001.

“We breed for average production and above-average type,” she says. “I would much prefer to have a cow remain in the herd till they are ten years old, rather than blow their udders by the time they are five from producing too much milk.”

Inverlair enters both the South and Central Gippsland On Farm Challenges every year. “We have won second in the Pen of Five three times now and would love to take that class out in the future,” Tanya says. “We have had two representatives in the Great Southern Challenge.”

Farmers find Facebook friends

Tanya says that before the internet, friends always thought she was crazy driving to Melbourne to attend meetings and sit on committees. So she is passionate about the power of social media, and is easy to find with Facebook or Google.

Many of her social-media ‘friends’ are farmers. “It’s great to know they are having the same issues we are, what the weather is doing in their neck of the woods and how they are dealing with problems,” Tanya says. “I also love sharing the good and bad of our industry with my other ‘friends’ who don’t understand farming like I do, just to make them aware of what we go through on a day-to-day basis to get milk in their coffees and on their cereal.”

Tanya thinks the future of the Jersey breed is rock solid. She says more farmers are starting to value advantages including

Jerseys’ lower live weight, calving ease, and lower feed intake for high-component milk. “Many of my friends who milk Holsteins have been introducing more and more Jerseys into their herds,” she says.

But she is worried about the future of the dairy industry: “I am scared that the family-run dairy farm is disappearing, and I would hate to see that happen. I love working with my parents and am proud to send top-quality milk off to the milk factory each day, even though many people would say to me ‘oh you only milk 120 cows’ and look down on me for it.

“All our cows at Inverlair Heights Jerseys have their own names. Dad and I know every cow just by looking at her. They have their own special identities.” Tanya says most small farmers aim for quality, herd health and lifestyle.

“Sustainable agriculture is so important. I hate seeing farms pour nitrogen onto their pastures to get quick growth. Do they realise they are limiting the productivity of their farms and land in the long run?

“We need to keep biodiversity alive – worms aerate the soil.

Cows’ health is also affected by too much nitrogen – you are basically heating their stomachs from the inside out, causing so much damage.

“When we swapped our fertiliser regime to include more natural ingredients such as seaweed, our cows’ health turned around dramatically. It was great to see.”

Tanya says it’s scary to see young farmers in debt. “They need help so they don’t get buried alive by costs,” she says. “We need to make sure city folk are aware of how hard farmers work and how heartbreaking it is at times to be working 12-hour days seven days a week and actually have our costs out-weigh our profits!

She was surprised to find city people who think farmers get the full supermarket price for milk. They can be horrified to find out that the farmer may only get 40 cents a litre. “It’s important to use tools such as Facebook to connect with friends who don’t have an everyday understanding of farming,” Tanya says. “Some of them are shocked at what we go through. Some kids have no idea where milk comes from.”

“I never want to see any parts of South Gippsland owned by any government and worked by their employees. We need to make sure dairy farming is a viable business for young people to still want to take part in. I know we can’t control things like the weather, but we can control the level of skills people have to run the operation and deal with Australia’s adverse conditions.

“Our product needs to remain at world’s best practice so that we are high on the list of other countries to choose to import our products. We have so many options with courses run locally – it’s just a shame that so many farmers don’t get time to attend.

I’m very lucky to have a dad who encourages me to spend time off-farm to learn and meet as many like-minded people as possible.

“One day, I dream of making my own cheese from our topquality Jersey milk. I envisage working side-by-side with my husband and children to achieve this. I’m not sure if this will happen, but I know I have the passion to make it work.

“If dairy farmers work together, we can push forward as one voice.”

60-year farmer tries alternatives

It’s almost 60 years since Tanya’s grandfather father Jack caught pneumonia and her father Barrie left school at the age of the 13 to work on the farm.

Barrie remembers that he used to keep one eye on the road to make sure the police were not coming to haul him back to school.

Tanya and Col Privitera pictured on their wedding day with Tanya’s favourite show cow, Inverlair Heights Remake Fern

Barrie thought heavier cows were not helping his hill country and introduced Jerseys in 1958. He tried cross breeds, but by the 1980s was sticking to pure-bred Jerseys. He started the Inverlair Jersey Stud in 1981, and in the late 90s was still looking for ways to improve his pastures and keep water grass off his ridges.

“The cows would not eat it,” he says. “I got the fertiliser company out here to do soil tests, and they told me use more fertiliser.

To me that was ridiculous – I went looking for alternatives.

“I came up with liquid fertiliser containing a lot of seaweed and a lot of minerals. Within two years you could put cows in those paddocks, and they’d just graze them to the ground.”

Barrie saw the need for minerals when his calves had coughs that vets couldn’t cure. He had mineral blocks to mix with feed, and when he left one in a paddock, the cows “licked it like mad” and their coughs disappeared.

Barrie looked further into soil health. He knew about worms, but no-one told him that soils depend on microscopic bacteria that can be killed by fertiliser. He stopped using urea 14 years ago. He says this improved conception rates, and he now gets most of his herd in calf on time.

Barrie also works hard to keep his somatic cell counts low.

He minimises use of antibiotics, and tries many other ways to improve hygiene.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Barrie and Tanya agree about the poison of get-big-or-get-out logic. Barrie draws a parallel with wider trends. “Quality has dropped with every big business that’s running today,” he says. “It’s happening right across the board – even the clothes we buy, the rubber wear in the shed – it’s a throw-away society.”

He says big factories just want big farms, and don’t give enough recognition to milk quality.

He’s not surprised dairying struggles to attract younger people when milk returns don’t meet the investment needed to run a farm. He’s seen many farms fail after a father retired and his children couldn’t make it a workable investment.

He says Inverlair would not survive if he sold it: “You couldn’t survive off it and pay for it – the overhead for what you make is just far too great.”

Jersey Journal – November/December 2013 7

Balingen Park Jerseys

BROADLIN JERSEYS

“Little Cows - Big Attitude”!

Kieron & Melissa Eddy 685 Hooper Road, Tatura, 3616 Ph: 0427 061 705 balingen_eddy@bigpond.com

Lynton and Lisa, Toni, Gavin and Cassie Broad

EURARIE JERSEYS

Jimann Jerseys

Charles & Carolyn Smith 80 Rathbone Road, St Germains 3620 Ph: 03 5826 0325 andesholsteins@bigpond.com.au

Brookbora Jerseys Robert and Sandra Bacon Tennyson Vic 3572 03 5488 2323 - 0429 333 119 bacons@brookbora.com.au www.brookbora.com.au

Bercar Jersey Stud

388 Johnson Road, LOCKINGTON 3563 03 5486 2624 - 0427 862 624 lisa.broad@bigpond.com

Trevor & Julie Campbell 286 Lowe Rd Rochester 3561 PH: (03) 5484 1624 jimann1@bigpond.com

Dalbora Genetics Robert & Sandra Bacon Daryl & Maria Collins

Tennyson Vic 3572 0427 882 227 - 0429 333 119 info@dalboragenetics.com.au www.dalboragenetics.com.au

Bernie and Carol McManus 252 Bamawm Rd Bamawm. 3561 Ph: 03 5483 2245 e-mail bercar3561@bigpond.com

SUNSHINE FARM JERSEYS N R & J M McDonald 715 Andrews Rd Kyabram 3620 Ph: 03 5855 2516 - 0428 992 450 janelleabbey@hotmail.com

LincoLndeLL Jerseys Ron and Val Read & Family 167 Panoo Road Lockington 3563

Utopia Jerseys

SHENSTONE JERSEY STUD

Gordon & Lyn Emmett 12 Curr Road, Stanhope Ph: 03 5857 2629 lynemmett@bigpond.com.au .....breeding since 1930

Craigielea Jerseys

Bill, Kaye and Andrew Cochrane 836 Hansen Rd, Bamawm, 3561

Ph: 03 5486 5474

craigielea3@bigpond.com

Gailee Jerseys Norm & Dawn Stone 489 Hill Rd Stanhope Ph: 03 5857 2399 gaileeadsl@bigpond.com

JUGIONG JERSEYS Rockleigh Park Nicholson Family Curr Rd Girgarre 3624 Ph/fax 03 5854 6393 Pat 03 5854 6513 jugiong@bigpond.com.au

Jerseys

Stewart Mancer 2/1 Moama Court, Moama Ph: 0429 882 201 rockleighpark@bigpond.com

Jared & Courtney Ireland 53 Hewlett Lane, Lockington.

Ph: 03 5486 2694 courtney.wagner@bigpond.com

Silhouette Jerseys Richard & Ann Worboys Echuca Mitiamo Rd • Kotta Ph: 03 5483 7500 info@silhouettefarm.biz

Sybilgrove & Summer Spirit Jerseys Collins Family 202 McColl Road, Ballendella 3561 Ph/Fax: 03 5486 5393

Benlock Jersey Stud Bryan & Lee Rushton 79 Brooks Rd Rochester 3861 Ph: 03 5484 1551 benlockj@dodo.com.au

WINDY WAYS JERSEYS Frank Walsh 41 A Finlay Road, Tongala VIC 3621 Ph: 03 5859 0532 Mobile: 0418 576 856 Email: frankwalsh3@bigpond.com

NortherN District Jersey BreeDers cluB

Presdient: Bill Cochrane 03 5486 5474 Secretary: Lisa Broad 03 5486 2624

Bralock Imperial Merle Ex-91

Huronia Centurion Veronica 20J Ex-97 Grand Champion WDE 2004, 2005 & 2006

** she sells, Plus daughters sell **

2nd 6yr in milk Sydney Royal Show 2013 4th IDW 5yr in milk 2013 Res Int Champion & Jnr Best Udder nSW State Show 2010 Intermediate Champion Sydney Royal Show 2010 This year produced 9,033L with 410kg fat

** Premier grandson sells ** Dam: Arethusa Action Volume VG-88 2-yr One of 17 EX & 8 VG daughters by 9 sires to date!

Dam: Edi Merle 137 Ex 92

Ratliff Remake Morgan Ex-90 ** tequila daughter sells ** Backed by 11 Generations Ex Dams Res Intermediate Champion Wisconsin Spring Show 2013 10th Sr-3yr-old World Dairy Expo 2013 7th Sr 2-yr-old, All American Jersey Show 2012 5th Dam: plEASAnt nOOk J IMp MARtHA EX-94 7E

artwork: Hayley menzies - ppHotos: ross easterBrook, imp merle - CyBil FisHer, VeroniCa & morgan

LLS

ELLS

LLS

SE SHE

SE SHE

S SHE

Bralock Governor Merle ** she sells **

Bralock Connection Merle VG-88 Max

Bralock Mexicano Merle

1st Adelaide Royal & HM Junior Champion 2013 1st & Res Champion All Breeds Youth Show 2nd Melbourne Royal Open Show 2013

Reserve Intermediate Champion Sydney Royal 2012 2nd Sr 2yr-old IDW 2012

Reserve Junior Champion Sydney Royal 2013

Dam: Whistler Merle VG-87 / Bomber Merle EX-92 / Edi Merle 137 EX 92

Dam: Flowerpower Merle VG-87 / Firstprize Merle EX-92 / Edi Merle 137 EX 92

** she sells **

** she sells **

Dam: Nadine Merle VG-87 / Edi Merle 137 EX 92

ELLS

S SHE

Blacky Rose of Briarcliff Ex-96 ** tBone grand daughter sells ** Grand Champion WDE 2002 Reserve Grand Champion 2001

Invitational Sale

Gold Label Tequila Dream 1st Adelaide Royal Show & Junior Champion 1st Melbourne Royal & Res Junior Champion

BRALOCK & CHERRYLOCK CO ~ SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW 2014 ~

** she sells **

Gold Label Daydream Ex-92 ** action & tequila daughters sell ** Intermediate Champion Sydney Royal 2009 Supreme Dairy Cow Sydney Royal 2010

BRALOCK

Brad & Jessica Gavenlock

Mobile: 0437 299 205 Email: bralock1@bigpond.com

words: Michael Porteus

Farmer directors see 2020 perspective Tallygaroopna Jersey breeders Geoff and Natalie Akers say their work on the boards of Dairy Australia and the Murray Goulburn co-op helps them think about farming in five-to-ten year time scales.

Lloyd, Natalie and Geoff Akers at an ADIC breakfast this year.

“T

he challenge on every dairy farm is to get out of the ‘today’,” Geoff says in an interview he and Natalie recorded with Australian Jersey Journal in spring this year, when their herd was producing 12 new calves every 24 hours.

The Akers farm, Loxleigh Jerseys, has about 400ha in two parcels of land about ten minutes north of Shepparton in Northern Victoria. They irrigate 200ha and run 650 cows including 450 stud Jerseys.

Like all farmers, the Akers always have plenty of tasks that require immediate attention. But Natalie says that all farmers have still got to be able to think about five- to ten-year projections, and where they want to be in 2020.

12 Jersey Journal – November/December 2013

Geoff, the deputy chair of Dairy Australia, says he and Natalie don’t discuss the details of their work on their different boards.

But he guesses that they both look at the same medium-term time frames.

“You go to your board meeting with a good feeling of what fellow farmers think about particular issues,” Natalie says.

“But applying that to big decisions that M-G has is different again.”

Geoff says he is “challenged by a different group of people” at Dairy Australia. “You sit on boards with a lot of people that have a extensive business experience, and some of them are not from the dairy industry,” he says. “That certainly helps raise issues and ideas that we need to have in front of us at Dairy Australia at a strategic level – what are the issues that we need to invest in for the future of the Australian dairy industry.”

And Geoff says this way of thinking does come back to their farm. “We have got to be making decisions to make sure the business is going to be profitable, whatever the circumstances are going to be,” he says. “One thing that we do know is that it’s going to be a volatile industry in the medium to long term. That’s a reflection of the fact that we are now operating in a world environment.”

Natalie says there are elements that are outside farmers’ control: “We can’t control the Australian dollar, and we can’t control whether it rains or not.

“You’ve got to make your businesses flexible enough to manage your way through all of that.”

Geoff says dairy farmers around the world are now getting a very strong price signal to increase production. “We’ve got to understand the market in China, and the projected growth in population,” he says. “We’ve got more people moving into the middle class in what have been thirdworld countries, and they are going to look for dairy. Prices will go up and down due to the fact that there are so many more players in that export market now.”

He says the United States has now overtaken Australia’s dairy exports, and US farming systems allow it to quickly change its production.

“They’ve also got a few subsidies over there,” he says. “If they start playing in our markets, it is challenging for us.”

‘I married my chairman’ Natalie grew up riding horses on a beef farm an hour north of Melbourne.

Eight years ago, she was the water policy adviser at the Victorian Farmers Federation when Geoff was the chairman

of the Victorian Farmers Federation Water Council. “I ended up marrying my chairman!” she says. They wed in January 2007.

She then became the chief executive officer of Murray Dairy, a regional development program covering northern Victoria and southern NSW. “I’ve always enjoyed working with farmers and advocating farmer’s positions,” she says.

When she started her new life on a dairy farm, she also had to become familiar with the ducks and chooks that Geoff (like many Jersey farmers) also breeds. “It was all good,” Natalie says.

The Akers now have a three-year-old son Lloyd, and they are expecting their second child in November.

The Akers supply their milk to Murray Goulburn Cooperative, and Natalie was approached to nominate for the board in 2011.

She became the first woman and youngest-ever M-G director in November that year.

“The M-G board role is very interesting,” she says. “We are making a number of positive changes, and hopefully farmers are seeing the rewards with a higher milk price.

“The co-operative model is important – it’s all about returning as much as you can to the farmer.”

Geoff grew up on a dairy farm near Shepparton. He worked as a Victorian government dairy extension and research officer for six years from 1989.

He says he now breeds cows to milk, and to last. “If they turn out stylish enough to show, well that’s all a bonus,” he says.

The Akers farm grows mostly rye grass and clover annuals and perennials.

Geoff says conditions were tough during the drought, but are now looking much better with good rain and water allocations.

He says Jerseys are “a different animal to manage” compared to Holsteins.

“Jersey’s walk faster than black and whites and don’t tend to suffer the same hoof troubles”. He also says Jerseys have much higher conception rates.

He likes to milk Jerseys for their longevity. “It’s always nice to have a few cows around that are ten years old or so, that aren’t causing you any trouble. When you are milking a lot of cows, you are not looking for problem cows. So if they are still around at that age, they are generally a pretty problem-free sort of a cow.

“I think there has been a massive improvement in the Jersey breed over the years. But now I think we have got to look at their longevity. Perhaps we have lost a

Lloyd Akers plays in the pastures at Loxleigh Jerseys.

little bit of quality out of our udders, and fertility has dropped also.

“It’s something we need to be aware of, because if you can’t get cows in calf, it’s placing pressure on a whole lot of other farm things. If you have got to cull cows because they are empty, you are less likely to cull for mastitis, sore feet and all those sort of things. That’s a really important factor as far as running a trouble-free herd.”

Benefits of on-farm challenges

The Akers calve in the autumn and the spring. They say their favourite cow families are probably Iris and Designer, with which they’ve had their most success at shows. Delian, a bull they’ve bred in the Designer family, is now rated in Australia’s top ten. Geoff also mentions families like Marie, which have been in the herd for 50 years and still breed highproducing big cows.

“We are always looking for opportunities that are going to help the business grow,” Geoff says. “We are at about capacity with the two dairies we’ve got, so over the next few years a decision will have to be made about how we are going to milk the next couple of hundred cows I guess.

“We’ve been in a consolidation phase since we bought the second dairy farm six months before the financial crisis in 2008. We came out the other side of that, and we are looking for the next opportunity now.”

The Akers have had a string of successes since 2000 in the Goulburn Murray Jersey Breeders Club on-farm challenge.

“We won the Great Southern Challenge in 2000 with Loxleigh Blain Lily 2 and again in 2006 with Loxleigh Astound Iris 4. She was also the runner up in 2004.”

Geoff says showing can be expensive.

The big advantage of the on-farm challenge is that the cows don’t have to leave the farm to give their breeders an indication of what they are really like, and how their herd is trending.

The on farm challenges are also great social events. Natalie says the Jersey community is a great bunch of people where everyone is passionate about their cows and the direction they are trying to take their farms.

She says Jersey breeders may be more easy going than people who show horses, where the competition can be more about how much money is spent on saddles and bridles, rather than the quality of the animals.

Natalie says meeting Jersey breeders gives her “an ear to the ground” about what fellow farmers are thinking.

The Akers think that breeders have also got to think about five- to ten-year projections.

“As dairy farmers, we need to sit up and look at what we think that mediumterm future and outlook is, and have an understanding as to how our individual businesses fit into that,” Geoff says.

“You have got to understand the industry you are in and what drives it.

“No matter what colour cow you are milking, you have got to have a good understanding as to what’s driving returns.”

Jersey Journal – November/December 2013 13

60 Years of

Miami Jerseys

Thank you…

to our great team of aisle partners;

Brookboora, Elmar, Homelands and Tandara, for sharing the workload and providing company and support. Special thanks to Daniel Bacon, Julia Paulger and Kayla Bradley for massive efforts. Congratulations girls for leading our Champions, and “well done” to Kayla, Marty and Brady on their showmanship victories.

Finally, we really appreciate all of the favourable comments and congratulations we received for having a successful show; and well done to all other exhibitors.