Dairy direct december 2013 by McPherson Media Group

Country News PUBLICATION

Issue 9, December 2013

Dookie dairy takes shape » pages 12 and 13 Where there’s a will » pages 16 and 17 Keeping your cool this summer » pages 30 and 31

Finley farmers keeping things flexible » page 19

Dairy Direct It’s been nothing short of amazing to see the interest in Warrnambool Cheese and Butter over the past few months. Usually the only time that dairy gets onto the front page of the Australian Financial Review or on the screen of ABC television is when something bad happens. So, I suppose it’s refreshing to see so much value being placed in a dairy processor. Warrnambool has been on the watch list for other processors for some time. It was back in April when Murray Goulburn announced it had snapped up about a million shares, taking its holding to about 14 per cent. Then Bega started the bidding war in September by offering 1.2 Bega shares and $2, and Saputo entered the fray with a $7 share offer in October. At the time of going to press, Murray Goulburn had

offered up to $9 a share for Warrnambool and Saputo had matched it with a $9 unconditional offer. It all sounds very exciting, but a few farmers are asking: what’s in it for us? No-one that I can see is suggesting shareholders or suppliers will get short-term price increases out of any successful takeover. Indeed some farmers are mentally factoring in delayed increases, if their company has to borrow to win the sale. They are all making strategic arguments saying rationalising of the industry will bring greater efficiencies and hence lower costs. Reducing the number of players might theoretically make the industry more efficient, but it will be up to the shareholders and suppliers to hold their company to these promises, if they get the prize. Geoff Adams Country News editor.

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DECEMBER 2013

Writers Cathy Walker Laura Griffin Sophie Bruns Photographers Ray Sizer Julie Mercer Bianca Mibus

Graphic designers Teresa Lagozzino Brendan Cain Riverine Herald production team Sales manager Jamie Gilbert jamie.gilbert@countrynews. com.au Published by Country News PO Box 204, Shepparton, Victoria 3632 (03) 5831 2312 www.countrynews.com.au

contents

Sharing results

Doing Dairy with Sophie Bruns Dairy news

Reports show what works and what doesn’t on our dairy farms. It has certainly been a busy couple of months and I hope many of you have been able to capitalise on the spring pasture production. Inside this edition is an interesting insight into the past five years of the Dairy Farm Monitor program which examines some of the key things that occur consistently within profitable farm businesses. Information about how to do things better on-farm is important for us to build robust businesses, as is sharing information and working together. The Improved Border Check Irrigation Performance project is a fantastic example of how all involved can work together to get a strong outcome. The strength of this project was that it brought together the researchers and extension areas of DEPI and Dairy Australia, working with dairy farmers and led by Murray Dairy. It applied research onto real farms in commercial settings and drew on the expertise of the researchers to test and assess. A big thank you to all the farmers who were involved and to each member of the steering committee for their important work. The final report can be found on the Murray Dairy website at www.murraydairy. com.au The results were somewhat unexpected and there was plenty

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of discussion within the steering committee about the outcomes. It is well worth a read of the final report in order to be informed. Another opportunity to apply research on-farm exists through the new Dookie dairy. The University of Melbourne has made a significant investment in our region to establish this dairy which includes three robotic milking units and a fully automated irrigation system. As an industry, we have the opportunity to work closely with Dookie dairy to get best value from that investment. It provides a platform in precision dairy systems across the Murray Dairy region. As we continue to work with our industry partners with the aim of delivering on the region’s dairy farming needs, we have also been recruiting to fill newly created positions within Murray Dairy. Our dairy business development officer Kent Muir has hit the ground running and our new marketing and executive support officer Christine Tyrrell joins us next week. Wishing you all a happy Christmas. I hope you are able to find some time to enjoy with family friends, and are able to take a break. Malcolm Holm Murray Dairy chairman

4–8

Family focused on positive future

Robotics revolutionise Dookie dairy

Young farmer has big dairy dreams

Making the most difficult decision

Seeing the future clearly

Getting the right mix of farm and family

Network supports next generation

Getting down to business

New face at Murray Dairy

What turns a good farm into a great one?

Dairy Australia boosts investment

Board changes on the agenda

Managing quantity and quality

Trading cows for the road

Importing embryos delivers results

Preventing pinkeye in calves

Dairy Week is just around the corner

Make more milk this summer

Farmers look overseas for labour

Cool service for hot cows

Leslie makes successful bid

Trio wins back-to-back ribbons

Passion drives dairy campaigner

Schools share dairy lessons

Wheat boosts milk yields

Calendar of events

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Doing Dairy

with SOPHIE BRUNS

Sophie Bruns is a dairy farmer from Gunbower with a husband, two daughters and a mortgage.

Lonely heifers and start-struck nephews The family has survived another spring relatively intact. We have made it through spring with our first lot of heifers making their way into the shed and may I say, quite surprisingly, it was a relatively easy process. They have all settled in nicely and are milking well, no broken arms or limbs to report, I don’t even think there were any temper explosions of significance. Although the last heifer that calved may have been left with her calf just a little bit too long and as I write, I can hear a roaring of the motorbike that would indicate she has broken out of the paddock again. Of course out of 50-odd heifers there were a couple not in calf, one of which was my daughter Molly’s pet Lisa — a lovely, friendly but obviously infertile Friesian. What to do with her has evoked debate in

the household, tears from Molly of course, and in the end, two parents who can’t bear to put her on the truck to heaven either. I am guessing she has been given a second, no third, maybe even fourth chance — she may just go into the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest heifer to calve (if she ever does get in calf ). We had a lovely visit from my two brothers and their families, including my two three-year-old nephews. Rob has achieved god-like status in their eyes as the king of the tractor and despite my protestations that Aunty Soph can drive the tractor too, it really doesn’t seem to matter. He is as they say, the man. One of my nephews even went back to day care and began constructing a pipe and riser

system in the sand pit. It is great we can give them a look at country life — even if they think it revolves mostly around four wheels and an engine. Spring has been kind, the wind has driven us nuts though and as we settle back down to day-to-day chores without the added stresses of hay contracting, we start to look forward to Christmas and hopefully some kind of summer break away from the farm. Milk prices are heading in the right direction although many of us are still feeling the nasty bite of last year. I hope temporary water prices don’t move too much higher and it would be great to see grain prices start to head south. Let’s hope next year brings us all a change in fortune and we all have a safe and happy New Year.

dairy news Milk processors at war A news digest of what the major players said while bids were on the table for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter. While Saputo was the clear front-runner before Dairy Direct went to print, the heads of Murray Goulburn Cooperative and Bega Cheese declared the battle wasn’t over. “We’ll be asking our political leaders why Canadian dairy giant Saputo was unconditionally and quickly cleared to bid for WCB. As it stands Saputo, a foreign-owned company, has been given a clear advantage over a farmer-owned Australian bidder in the battle for WCB. “The UDV strongly supports the principle of Australian owned and operated manufacturers — where dairy farmers own the company and share in the profits along the way.” — UDV president Kerry Callow. ‘‘At the end of a three-month period, a sixmonth period, however long the competition tribunal takes to make its decision, if it doesn’t waive it through then shareholders are left with the Murray Goulburn offer having evaporated on them and if the other players have already gone away then they can be left stranded.’’ — WCB chief executive David Lord. “Saputo will invest to grow the local industry and provide the opportunity for farmers to grow their businesses. We are committed to 4

DECEMBER 2013

paying leading competitive milk prices and will maintain competition for milk suppliers.

very compelling to do so.” — RBS Morgans analyst Belinda Moore.

“Saputo’s offer will be freed from all conditions, giving certainty to Warrnambool shareholders that they will receive this substantial cash offer on shortened payment terms if they accept.’’ — Lino Saputo Jr.

Because Bega’s WCB offer was based on its own inflated share price, it lacked certainty, was “subject to market volatility”, did not reflect underlying value and did not guarantee a fixed price per share. — WCB chairman Terry Richardson.

“It is not over by a long way. We bid $9 and now everybody is catching up. We are not out. “There seems to have been an attempt (during It is not over for us. We will be there until the bidding battle) to denigrate my personal the last round.” — Murray Goulburn Cointegrity; I have chosen to not be a party to operative managing director Gary Helou that sort of nasty commentary, and to hope that in my action of not participating in those “The combination of MG and WCB is character assessments, I would demonstrate the only option available that delivers an that what’s being said about me is not Australian-owned and operated company with correct.” — Bega Cheese executive chairman the scale, capacity, strength and momentum Barry Irvin refuting claims his time as to service global growth opportunities, a WCB director had given him “inside returning profits to dairy farmers and their information”. communities.” — Murray Goulburn statement to the ASX. “Strengthening WCB and Bega Cheese by merging them … would be a great positive “No board would say, ‘Okay, we will risk waiting three to six months just to see if they for the industry.’’ — Barry Irvin to his (Murray Goulburn) can get approvals’ and Bega Cheese and Tatura Milk Industries risk other bidders walking away unless it was suppliers.

dairy news Tracking the step-ups Milk companies have been regularly announcing increases in their prices through the spring. Here are announcements up to November 18. Fonterra

strengthening, was still more favourable than last year.

Announced a step-up of 8 ¢/ “We remain positive for the kg of butterfat and 20 ¢/kg outlook for the remainder of of protein for the 2013-14 season for suppliers in Victoria the year and as a guide our expectation is that closing and Tasmania. milk prices will be in the Fonterra also raised its forecast range of $6.10 to $6.40/kg/ average closing price range for milk solids. the 2013-14 season to $6.20“The Bega Cheese business $6.40/kg/milk solids. continues to perform well, The announcement followed with that performance being on Fonterra Australia’s strong once again reflected in Bega September price review and Cheese’s manufacturing milk was made possible as market prices.’’ views support commodity prices remaining at high levels and Fonterra Australia’s Murray Goulburn execution of a robust sales Announced a second stepprogram while the market is up in the farmgate price strong. (excluding the NSW Sydney Australian managing director region) for the 2013-14 season Judith Swales said the step-up of 9 ¢/kg/butterfat and 19 ¢/ brought Fonterra Australia’s kg/protein. current, average farmgate milk This step-up took Murray price to $6.10 kg/milk solids, Goulburn’s weighted-average the highest on record so far available price to $6/kg/milk this season. solids.

Tatura Milk/Bega Announced a loyalty payment and price increase of 8 ¢/kg butterfat and 20 ¢/kg protein for premium and choice milk supplied in the 2013-14 year. A further price increase of 8 ¢/kg butterfat and 20 ¢/kg protein for milk supplied from November 1 to June 30, 2014 was also announced. This loyalty payment and price increase takes their announced pricing for the 2013-14 season to $6/kg/milk solids. Bega chairman Barry Irvin said global dairy prices remained reasonably stable and currency, although

Murray Goulburn has also increased its end of season forecast to a range of $6.10$6.30/kg/milk solids. Managing director Gary Helou said since Murray Goulburn’s record opening price in late June they had seen the international dairy market for key ingredients remain strong, underpinned by strong global demand particularly for whole milk powder which continued to trade at high levels. “The Australian dollar has traded at lower levels but has recently strengthened and remains a source of risk to current full year forecast,’’ he said.

Agriculture growth predicted Agribusiness is one of five ‘super growth’ industries that could boost the national economy by $250 billion over the next 20 years, according to a Deloitte Access Economics report. Agribusiness, gas, tourism, international education and wealth management are well placed to join mining as major drivers of prosperity. The third Deloitte Building the Lucky Country report said as the resources boom cooled, Australia’s economy needed to diversify. Australia’s world-class resources in land and proximity to the world’s fastest growing markets in Asia provided Australian agribusinesses with the opportunity to benefit from global food demand that would rise as population did, it said. To take advantage of these opportunities, Australian produce needed to be promoted overseas and agribusinesses needed to be supported with education and investment.

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dairy news

China’s thirst for dairy to grow

Asian demand for dairy keeps rising

UDV wants a free trade agreement to improve Australian farmers’ access to this booming market.

An Australian Bureau of Agricultural global supply pool of dairy has squeezed out and Resource Economics and many other buyers and held dairy prices at Sciences report, What Asia Wants: high levels.’’ Long-term food consumption Ms Callow said these trends resulted in an trends in Asia, said the continent’s expanding gap between the annual supply and consumption of dairy was expected demand for dairy in China that Australian to continue to grow to 2050. dairy producers could benefit most from if a The report, released in October, free trade agreement was achieved. found Asian food consumption ‘‘The industry has been asking governments overall was expected to increase, for free trade agreements with Asian markets driven by larger populations, higher including China for some years,’’ Ms Callow incomes and bigger cities. said. As the middle classes grew and She said the New Zealand dairy industry could infrastructure and storage improved export to China at a lower tariff than Australia, there would also be a shift from which put the Australian dairy industry at a traditional diets oriented around financial disadvantage. starchy staples to more varied ‘‘I think we have a (Federal) Government that diets with higher protein foods, is more focused on the importance of free particularly meat and dairy products. trade agreements happening but they are Demand for dairy products in many complex. Free trade agreements involve a range developing countries of Asia has of industries.’’ grown strongly over the past two Ms Callow said securing a free trade agreement decades. would help Australian farmers move forward with more confidence. She said Australia’s Whole milk powder, supply and consumption, China live heifer export trade to China 1600 would not impede dairy product import demand. 1200 ‘‘Our live heifer Consumption exports have been 800 valuable to our Production industry and it helps Imports 400 build relationships by helping our trade partners with their kt domestic market as 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 12 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 well.’’ SOURCE: ASDA-FAS 2013

An industry report showing China’s demand for dairy imports is set to grow for at least the next two years adds to Australia’s dairy industry’s push for a free trade agreement, UDV president Kerry Callow says. Rabobank’s China’s Raw Milk Supply: Still Dreaming of a White River report, released in October, says China’s demand for dairy imports is likely to increase in the near future as its local milk production struggles to meet growing demand and deal with structural change in its supply chain. Report co-author and Rabobank dairy research Asia director Hayley Moynihan said the development of large-scale dairy farms in China had accelerated since 2008 in the wake of the melamine crisis. This was when melamine contaminated locally produced milk and infant formula, poisoning about 300 000 people and killing a number of children. At the same time, small-scale ‘backyard’ dairy farming has declined, primarily due to inconsistent milk quality and regulatory pressures. ‘‘Milk production in China is struggling to grow as a result of small-scale farmers exiting the industry and large-scale farms still being under development,’’ Ms Moynihan said. ‘‘And it is likely to be at least two to three years before the pace of large-scale dairy farm expansion in China outweighs the current contraction in ‘backyard’ sources and leads to a reduction in import growth.’’ She said slowed growth in milk production in China had already seen the country’s reliance on dairy imports grow by between 20 and 30 per cent each year for the past two years. ‘‘The surge in Chinese buying in a shrinking

Real value of Asia’s dairy consumption

Real net value of Asia’s dairy imports

China

China India

2050 2025 2007

Japan and Republic of Korea

14 SOURCE: ABARES model output

2050 2025 2007

Japan and Republic of Korea ASEAN

ASEAN 2007 AS$b 0

India

DECEMBER 2013

2007 AS$b 0

100 SOURCE: ABARES model output

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dairy news

Abbott axes infant formula panel Industry left without a watchdog or an advocate. Australian infant formula to the voluntary marketing manufacturers and importers are agreement to not advertise their urging the Federal Government infant formula products to the to reconsider its decision to general public or in any way axe the Advisory Panel on the undermine breastfeeding. Marketing in Australia of Infant “The industry does comply with Formula. the MAIF Agreement as is 2 The panel member who evident in very few breaches in represented industry, Infant the last years. Nutrition Council chief executive “An independent compliance officer Jan Carey, was surprised monitor was good for industry and disappointed to learn of the and breastfeeding advocates were closure in the press. reassured.” “It is concerning that such an The five-member panel — that effective and cost-efficient tool monitored compliance with for the government to manage the infant formula marketing its obligations and ensure agreement, advised government compliance by the infant formula and investigated complaints industry, could be abolished for more than 20 years — was without consultation or without one of 21 non-statutory bodies knowing how its function will Prime Minister Tony Abbott be managed going forward,” Ms announced would be abolished Carey said. or rationalised on November 8. She said without external Mr Abbott said the action would monitoring of the Marketing cut bureaucracy and costs. in Australia of Infant Formula A Federal Department of Agreement, some breastfeeding Health spokesperson said the advocates could make public comments on industry marketing Federal Government would that were incorrect and damaged not be stepping away from Australia’s obligations under the its reputation. World Health Organisation’s “Australia’s dairy industry is International Code of Marketing hugely reputable for providing of Breast Milk Substitutes. high-end products and it would

be disappointing that with the abolition of the advisory panel unwarranted reputational damage could occur.” Ms Carey said axing the independent advisory panel could leave infant formula manufacturers and importers at risk of “vexatious and frivolous” complaints.

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Australian Breastfeeding Association is not convinced, describing the Advisory Panel on the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula as “the only protective mechanism for mothers in Australia against the sometimes misleading claims of formula companies”.

“Reducing bureaucracy is one thing, but failing to protect She said the signatories to the Marketing in Australia of Infant mothers when they are most vulnerable to formula marketing Formula Agreement — namely A2 Corporation, Abbott, Aspen, hype is something else, it’s irresponsible,” association Bayer, Heinz, Nestle and Nutricia — were committed president Rachel Fuller said.

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Words and pictures: Cathy Walker

Family focused on

positive future

Robyn and Paul Lindsay have laid the foundations for a large new concrete feed pad beside their dairy.

Starting out in the drought taught the Lindsays some valuable lessons. With 1200 ha to farm and a milking herd decided to crank that up’’. approaching 500 cows in the next 12 months, Their one-third share was Robyn and Paul’s Robyn and Paul Lindsay didn’t have to look first piece of property but by 2006 they were outside their house to expand their business. able to buy out their partners, Paul’s father Sons Thomas, 20, and Nathan, 17, will join and brother. their Picola dairy and cropping operation ‘‘We took over and walked straight into the Lindale Pastoral with the same enthusiasm drought,’’ Paul said. that their parents, who supply milk to But as Paul makes clear, the ‘W’ (whinge) Parmalat, approach it. word doesn’t exist here. But they are likely to have a smoother entry to dairying. ‘‘In hindsight it was one of the best things that happened. We had a high debt level and Paul grew up on his family’s mixed farm had to look at how to plan things better: in the area. In 1999 the family purchased water use efficiency, costs per acre, all those a property with a dairy on it that hadn’t been used for two years and, said Paul, “we things,’’ he said.

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‘‘We got a feed pad and a mixer wagon and got to know our profit and loss in the first few months.’’ Robyn did a dairy nutrition course and remains in charge of rations and feeding. ‘‘We want maximum efficiency out of our cows,’’ she said. Tied to better efficiency is better breeding, and the Lindsays admit when they began in the industry there wasn’t much science to what they bought. ‘‘Twelve or 13 years ago we came from the bottom,’’ Paul said, Robyn adding ‘‘Yes, it was a mixed bag, wasn’t it?’’

That’s all changed now and the family is clear about what it wants from a cow, choosing for type and good teat placement. Robyn said Thomas, who is in his fourth year of a Diploma of Agriculture through the National Centre for Dairy Education at GOTAFE Shepparton, will come in as herd manager and pasture manager. ‘‘Thomas will run the day-to-day operations of the dairy.’’ Adding to the skill-set, Thomas and Nathan have done AI courses, giving the Lindsays more flexibility with when the cows are inseminated, which Robyn said led to a better conception rate.

“

We had a high debt level and had to look at how to plan things better . . .

Eldest son James, a diesel mechanic, works off-farm but will ultimately share in the farm succession plan.

He maintains all the farm equipment and as Thomas chimes in dryly ‘‘does 50 hours a weekend’’. Paul said winning the Westpac dairy business of the year for 2009-10 proved a great opportunity to see the possibilities and the positives in the business and to benchmark how they were tracking. Robyn said the Red Sky farm business reports that collated the data and showed how their farm won its award were still important to assess how the farm was tracking. It looks at return on capital, operating profit per hectare, milk production, management and staff costs per cow and a multitude of other variables.

Paul Lindsay says the dairy industry has a prosperous future.

As the herd expands and other parcels of land are added to the property, so too must infrastructure keep pace. A new feed pad more than 200 m long is under construction, another investment in what they see is a bright future. ‘‘We have only ever looked at the positives,’’ Paul said.

Robyn Lindsay uses a computer to draft cows after milking for a variety of reasons such as veterinary treatment or artificial insemination.

DECEMBER 2013

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Pastures expert Brendan Cullen gave a guided tour of the almost-completed dairy.

The finishing touches are still under way.

production systems of northern Victoria, and how farmers can make best use of the data collected,’’ Dr Cullen said. The facility will also be used to demonstrate innovative dairy practices to farmers and students.

“

The University of Melbourne opened its gates recently for a sneak peak at the state-of-the-art robotic dairy on its Dookie campus. The university has installed three Lely robotic milking units that are a linchpin of its $2.5 million investment in a major redevelopment of the Dookie dairy farm. Construction of the new dairy was due for completion at the end of November. Brendan Cullen said each robotic milking unit had the capacity to milk about 60 cows per day. The milking herd size at Dookie will be about 150 cows. Dr Cullen is one of several agriculture experts involved in new research at Dookie. He is a lecturer in the university’s Department of Agriculture and Food Systems and is a pasture systems scientist interested in developing productive grazing systems that are resilient to climate variability and change. ‘‘The dairy will be used as a centre for development of precision dairy technologies, with research that will focus on how robotic milking can be used effectively in the dairy

The dairy will be used as a centre for development of precision dairy technologies. . . Brendan Cullen

As part of the installation of the robotic milking equipment, which was supplied by Kyabram-based W & P Pumps, the Dookie farm layout has been changed to allow voluntary movement of cows around the three grazing zones on the farm. A feed pad is available for feeding of partial or total mixed rations

Melbourne University’s School of Land and Environment dean Rick Roush also joined the tour to point out elements of the new dairy.

DECEMBER 2013

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Words: Laura Griffin

Young farmer has big dairy dreams

Dederang dairy farm manager Teresa Hicks has won a Rural Finance scholarship. Photo supplied by Rural Finance.

A scholarship will help this dairy farm manager finish her studies and plan her future. Dederang dairy farm manager Teresa Hicks has been awarded a Rural Finance scholarship to help with her agricultural studies. Miss Hicks is doing a Diploma of Agriculture and next year will do an Advanced Diploma of Agriculture specialising in dairy, both at the National Centre for Dairy Education Australia’s William Orr campus in Shepparton. The 24-year-old was excited to be among the nine Victorian student recipients and said the $4000 would help her continue studying, including buying a new computer and helping pay for travel expenses. The third generation farmer makes the twohour drive to and from Shepparton once a week and fits in studying at home around her management duties at the family’s 185 ha dairy operation. They milk 200 Jerseys. The family enterprise also includes a beef property at Dederang with 200 Hereford breeders and cropping properties in the Riverina’s Jindera and Bungowannah districts,

where they grow the majority of feed for the livestock. Miss Hicks has been working in the dairy branch for five years and loves being around animals every day, and said it was “very rewarding” to see them happy and healthy. “We are concentrating on animal health and nutrition programs,” Miss Hicks said. “We’ve increased production by 15 per cent in the last year by introducing a 21-day transition feeding program. I learned about it at school and putting it into practice has really paid off for us.” She said in the next three years, they hoped to grow the milking herd by 60 animals. “We’re also focusing on breeding, for example getting our in-calf rates as high as possible.” She said the two-year degree was part of her push to increase her skills and become general manager of the whole dairy, beef and cropping enterprise in the long-term. Miss Hicks is also keen to promote agriculture to other young people. “There are so many different aspects of

agriculture — manufacturing, transport, agribusiness, consultancy — and it is important to have young people involved because otherwise Australian agriculture won’t fulfil its potential. “Young people bring fresh ideas and because we grew up with technology we can jump in and get on with it.” She said technology also meant farming was not as physically demanding as it had been in previous generations and efficiency had increased. She said agriculture offered a great lifestyle. “I’d much rather be here on the farm than cramped in the city,” she said. Rural Finance chief executive Rob Goudswaard said the purpose of the scholarship program was to support and enable students to build vibrant careers to drive the growth of Victorian agriculture. After their studies, students become members of the Rural Finance Scholarship Alumni that offers mentoring and networking opportunities.

DECEMBER 2013

Words and pictures: Laura Griffin

Making the most

difficult decision

The issue of farm succession needs careful planning and discussion, says a rural financial counsellor.

Key steps of farm succession planning: 1. Hold an initial family meeting to outline goals and expectations. “It’s vital to have all the interested parties

there. Don’t assume people’s positions and be prepared that there can be a lot of argy bargy,” Mr Baxter said. He said there could be several family meetings and having a mediator or facilitator — such as a government-funded rural financial counsellor — could help people communicate effectively. He said it often helped to hold meetings in neutral venues.

2. Understanding farm finances, ownership and operations. Information about current costs and incomes, historic performance and debt structure needs to be collected. Rural financial counsellors can help assemble this information. Mr Baxter said many family members were unaware of debt and income levels, especially if they worked off-farm. “Through the drought years, many young people left farms and don’t realise a lot of farms haven’t recovered.” This is also the time to examine ownership of the farm. “There needs to be respect for the wishes of the legal landowners.”

3. Investigate options. “Developing farm succession options can involve discussions with Centrelink, accountants and solicitors and can take a couple of years,” Mr Baxter said. “Dairying is interesting in northern Victoria. Often irrigation water is unbundled from the property, so it can be viewed as separate asset but could it upset the financial viability of the farm?”

“

Farm succession planning might not be straightforward, especially if there are a number of siblings.

“

Decisions about farm succession planning are some of the most important and most difficult a family can make, rural financial counsellor Dominic Baxter said. Transferring ownership of assets and operations from one generation to the next can have tax, welfare and legal implications. It can also stir emotions. Mr Baxter said the aim should be to treat all interested parties fairly but not necessarily equally. Honesty, effective communication and willingness to compromise increase the likelihood of the farm succession plan meeting the needs of all family members, including providing for the future care of the generation leaving the farm. “Farm succession planning might not be straightforward, especially if there are a number of siblings,” the Kerang-based counsellor said.

Dominic Baxter

He said farms might not be viable if divided up: “This is one of the hardest pills of offfarm siblings to swallow.” Mr Baxter asks families to think about how the farm looks post-succession: “Will it be viable down the track, is it viable now or should we look to sell and set mum and dad up?”

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DECEMBER 2013

A succession planning course gave one family the confidence to make changes and move forward.

Jim McKeown and his son Michael.

Seeing the future clearly A farm succession planning course helped Jim McKeown understand the complex process and learn ways to ensure all family members were treated fairly. It also gave him confidence in the family’s decision to put the Yarroweyah farm on the market. Mr McKeown did a succession planning course through National Centre for Dairy Education Australia in Shepparton at the beginning of this year. “I thought it may help because you hear all these horror stories about animosity and unwanted outcomes,” Mr McKeown said. “It was a good course to get you thinking because it is a very complex process. There are legal, financial and taxation requirements that I had never considered.” The final assessment of the course that went for

one day a week for five weeks was a hypothetical succession plan for the students’ own farms. The course prompted the McKeown family to restart discussions about selling the farm. “We spoke about selling the farm a few years ago, but you couldn’t sell a farm then,” Mr McKeown said. He and wife Sue want to move to a smaller holding and their son Michael and his wife Anna want to take a break from dairying. The farm is held in a unit trust that was set up eight years ago. Michael had worked with his parents for more than 20 years and had been running a neighbouring farm separately. When Mr McKeown decided to step back from the day-to-day dairying, they decided to build a dairy on Michael’s property and combine the herds. The combined farm includes about 200 ha of irrigated land, on which they milk

350 Holsteins. “If it sells, Michael will realise part of his inheritance before our other two children Matthew and Sarah because he is part of the operation,” Mr McKeown said. He said although both Matthew and Sarah lived and worked in Melbourne it was important to involve them in the farm succession planning to ensure they understood the process, the options that had been considered and felt the outcome was fair. “Farm succession planning makes a big difference to the financial outcomes for both generations,” Mr McKeown said. “As farms have got bigger, there is a bigger need to have a clearly defined plan for the future.” He said the succession planning course made him realise despite spending his whole life dairy farming in Yarroweyah, he was not concerned about what he would do next.

DECEMBER 2013

Words and pictures: Laura Griffin

(Left to right) Sisters Kristen and Donna with their mother Helen Clark in front of the feed pad.

Getting the right mix of

farm and family

Helen Clark and two of her daughters, Donna and Kristen, milk 700 cows on the family’s Finley farm. Their operation is characterised by good communication, defined areas of responsibility, good staff and strategies to make the workload consistent year-round. They continually milk 700 Friesians, Jerseys and crossbreds because the animals calve throughout the year. Generally two to 10 cows are joined every day. Kristen said this breeding program not only smoothed out the workload, but also the milk curve for which they got incentives from Pauls. Helen feeds about 60 calves every day. The Clarks moved to the Finley farm in 1975 and have since bought nearby farms to take holdings to 708 ha. In midNovember, settlement went through on another farm that will add 193 ha to their operation. They also have a hybrid feeding system. “We grow annual rye grass and graze lucerne pasture throughout the year. We also supplement grass with mixed ration

This heifer is part of the Clarks mixed herd.

on the feed pad and grain in the dairy,” Kristen said. “We fed out 13 000 dry tonne of silage last year and 2.65 tonne of grain/cow,” Helen said. Last year, the Clarks made all the silage, but this year bought some to build reserves. They mostly use the feed pad in summer, providing cows shade in the heat of the day. This mother and daughters team meets on Monday mornings to plan the week. “This farm needs all three of us,” Donna said. She said working together also meant one of them could go on holidays and there was flexibility for Donna to do the school run for her children Eliza, 11, Abbey, 4 and Hamish, 2. “Donna is good at the running of the dayto-day stuff and Kristen looks at the big picture and the future,” Helen said. “And Mum is a wealth of knowledge,” Kristen said. Helen, Donna and Kristen live on and take care of three separate farms that each has

Helen Clark rears the farm’s calves.

Mother and daughters prove teamwork is the key to running a successful dairy operation. some area irrigated. All up about 300 ha of the total area of the existing farm is irrigated with 1600 Ml of general security water. Donna worked in hospitality and Kristen in hydraulic engineering before coming back to the farm. Two other sisters, Kellie and Courtney, have worked on the farm but are now working off-farm. Also half of the 10 employees are women. “We’ve built the team up over the years and great staff make it a lot easier,” Kristen said. Kristen is also a Murray Dairy Young Dairy Network steering committee member and said she hoped the network would provide opportunities for the “up and coming young people on dairy farms” who were interested in the future of dairying, but who were sometimes overlooked in discussion groups and the like because they did not own land. “It will provide them an opportunity to network and to step up to next level,” she said.

New lucerne coming up under a 46 ha centre pivot. DECEMBER 2013

Words and pictures: Laura Griffin

Network supports next generation

Steering committee formed to drive initiatives for younger people in the dairy industry.

Murray Dairy’s Young Dairy Network steering committee members (from left) WB Hunter’s Graeme Talarico, Cobram farm manager Courtney Buchanan, Finley dairy farmer Kristen Clark, Wyuna farm and herd manager Rebecca Gell, Kiewa Valley dairy farmer Stuart Crosthwaite, Ardmona farm manager David Christopher and Finley veterinarian Matt Peterson.

Formalising Murray Dairy’s Young Dairy Network with a steering committee meeting in October was an exciting step to support young people working in the industry, Murray Dairy chief executive Leanne Mulcahy said. Steering committee members came from across northern Victoria and southern Riverina to Shepparton in late October to set the network’s vision and purpose. Ms Mulcahy said there had been Young Dairy Network events but formalising the network would help it promote opportunities in the industry and provide resources. The steering committee comprises Cobram farm manager Courtney Buchanan, Ardmona farm manager David Christopher, Finley dairy farmer Kristen Clark, Kiewa

Valley dairy farmer Stuart Crosthwaite, Wyuna farm and herd manager Rebecca Gell, Finley veterinarian Matt Peterson, Yarroweyah dairy farmer Nick Rolston, WB Hunter’s Graeme Talarico and Goulburn Murray Hume Agcare director Chris Thomas. Mr Crosthwaite said it was easier for an established farmer to get involved in networks and discussion groups. ‘‘The network hopes to provide those opportunities for people, not necessarily young, but those who are trying to develop their own dairy business and who want to be professional,’’ Mr Crosthwaite said. ‘‘We want people in the network to rub shoulders with the best in the industry, to be exposed to new ideas and innovation, to meet people from other industries and be

able to network.’’ Dr Peterson said the network would support younger farmers and improve relationships with other industries. Ms Mulcahy said many dairy farms in northern Victoria and the southern Riverina employed young people and she encouraged people who were interested in getting involved with Murray Dairy’s Young Dairy Network to contact Murray Dairy on 5833 5312 or admin@murraydairy.com.au ‘‘The Murray Dairy board highlighted Young Dairy Network as a strategic priority in April, which reflects farmers saying there was a strong need for it,’’ she said. ‘‘There has already been strong interest from people who would like to get involved.’’

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Getting down to business New Murray Dairy business development officer is ‘here to help’. A new position at Murray Dairy aims to make it easier for dairy farmers to connect to resources to improve their farm businesses. Shepparton’s Kent Muir started as the business development officer in early November and is listening to individual farmers to find out the information, tools, strategies, ideas, techniques and technologies they want. “We want to find out the resources that are reaping dividends for farmers and share them around,” Mr Muir said. “It’s a way of helping each farmer reach full potential of their herd and resources available to them.” Some of his areas of responsibility will

include the Murray Dairy’s Young Dairy Network and workforce strategies. “We want to help all farmers achieve business to the level they want.” Mr Muir has skills in communication, advertising, marketing and business. He operated a family design and marketing business for 10 years and said the role broadened to include other communication and business management and growth.

Pic: Taken by Julie Mercer on Tuesday, November 12 Caption: Murray Dairy’s business development officer Kent Muir.

He is keen to learn more about dairying and said being new to the industry meant he could approach it with fresh perspective. “I’m here to help,” Mr Muir said.

New face at Murray Dairy Christine Tyrrell will start as Murray Dairy marketing and executive support officer on Monday, December 9. Some of the responsibilities of the new role include marketing and social media. Ms Tyrrell will be involved with internal and external stakeholder communication, including with farmers. She has 13 years’ experience as a ministerial staffer, holding liaison and adviser roles in state and federal governments. Ms Tyrrell will move from Melbourne and is excited about getting to know the Murray Dairy region as well as the people involved with the dairy industry who, she said, played such a big role in northern Victoria and southern NSW’s economy.

Boost feed when it’s needed most Save the date: Thursday 30 January 2014 Many farmers are now finding that when they get soil and fertiliser management ‘right’, they can produce more feed at no extra cost, and with careful planning fertiliser becomes a strategic tool to boost feed when it’s most needed.

The next Focus Farm Open Day at Nick and Jane Andrew’s farm in Katandra will provide an opportunity look at the farm and see what has been happening over the last six months, and will also discuss the Fert$mart program.

Fert$mart encompasses the dairy industry’s national nutrient management guidelines, developed to improve the efficiency and profitability of fertiliser use, and to improve soil health on Australian dairy farms.

Come along and hear from an accredited Fertcare adviser the potential benefits of this for your business. Please contact Murray Dairy to RSVP. E: admin@murraydairy.com.au or P: (03) 5833 5312

DECEMBER 2013

What turns a good farm

into a great one? The right recipe for long-term profits. DEPI farm services officer Claire Waterman has studied the Dairy Farm Monitor reports for the five years to 2012 to identify the factors that enable farms to sustain long-term profitability. Her report looks at participant farmers’ perceptions of the critical and noncritical factors that contribute to longterm profitability, and what decisions farmers make to maximise profit and manage risk. She found that while not all farms primarily aimed to maximise profit, the

Claire Waterman

majority said controlling costs relative to income and a focus on home-grown pasture were key factors for a successful business. Management ability was also highlighted as a central factor that contributed to long-term profitability as well as being a key strategy to manage risk. Ms Waterman took a closer look at two leading performers in the report, and this article has a summary of one of those. The full report is available from DEPI.

A top performing farm reveals its secrets. What are the critical factors that contribute to the long-term profitability of a dairy farm? Farm responses were categorised as being functions of production, management, finance or other factors. Of particular interest was management skill of the operator and the ability to make timely decisions. This was the fourth highest critical factor with 13 per cent of responses. One farm summed up achieving long-term profitability as about “…doing everything well. The most profitable farms are not the best at anything, but are good at everything. They tend not to pursue a particular goal instead looking for a balanced approach.” Convincingly controlling costs, such as those costs for production, purchased feed, overhead costs and interest and lease costs,

was the most critical factor that farmers stated that contributes to long-term profit with 28 per cent of responses. Of these 46 farms, 12 farms specifically stated that controlling costs relative to production was critical. Controlling costs was identified by double the number of farmers as critical for long-term profit compared to the second most critical factor of milk price which was attributed to 14 per cent of responses. The farm responses show that the combination of these two factors in the finance category were the most critical to sustaining long-term profits. What factors are less important in running a profitable dairy farm? The diversity between farms and farmers and their perceptions of the factors that

contribute to long-term profitability is demonstrated when some farmers describe a variable as being critical to long-term profitability whereas other farmers believe the same variable will not have a major influence. One such factor is stocking rate and per cow production. Four farms indicated that it was critical whereas 10 farms stated that it was not. The factors most commonly identified as least critical were a focus on per hectare or cow production, genetics and investing in expensive machinery. What are the key decisions you make to maximise your farm profit? Production factors were the major category farmers focus on to maximise their profit with 53 per cent of responses, of which

Three key steps to better feed buying decisions The buying process has three steps: 1. Plan well – prepare feed budgets regularly and determine the quantity and maximum feed price you can afford to pay and still make a profit for your business. 2. Buy right – take into consideration feed quality, feed supply as well as price risks. 3. Feed carefully – avoid unnecessary feed losses through wastage at delivery, storage and feed out.

When it comes to buying feed, you have choices. You can actively manage bought feed quality, supply and price risks, or you can leave things to chance and ignore the impact poor risk management and flawed buying decisions could have on your business.

For further information go to http:bit.ly/1b4RhV2 Or talk directly to Murray Dairy on 5833 5316 for further information. This information is from Dairy Australia’s Buying Feed Factsheet: 3 steps to better feed buying decisions

DECEMBER 2013

utilising home-grown feed was the most popular response (26 per cent). Noticeably a higher proportion of farms focus on pasture utilisation to maximise their own profitability (26 per cent) compared to 13 per cent of responses stating that it contributes to long-term profitability. This could be due to farmers recognising pasture production as a natural or inherent skill that is within their control and therefore recognising it as a key contributor to maximise their own profits. The next most popular decisions farmers make were feeding cows (15 per cent), controlling their costs (13 per cent) and ensuring they received a return from their expenditure (11 per cent). One of the farms placed under closer scrutiny is located in the Macalister Irrigation District of Gippsland and has a seasonal calving pattern. The farm has fertile soils that have a high pasture production potential and irrigation water allocations have been relatively high over the past four years. This business could be characteristic of a low input system, given relatively moderate use of supplementary feed, fertiliser, machinery and employed labour. Business management Somewhat unique to this farming partnership is their knowledge and ability to articulate the additional output that will be generated from each additional unit of input and how this contributes to total profit on their farm. Past experience has allowed them to observe farms that have pushed production too high, leading to reduced profitability. GI029 would prefer to pull back from a strategy of profit maximisation and take a more conservative approach that enables their business to tick along a bit more slowly while still making healthy profits. The priorities of this farm is governed by the 80/20 rule. Focus on the 80 per cent of the business that generates the profit as a matter of priority and invest less time, money and effort on the 20 per cent of the business that does not. GI029 consider the best place to invest 80 per cent of their effort is in feeding cows. Underpinning objectives are growing and

utilising home-grown feed and supplements, Risk management irrigation, fertiliser and pasture management. The owners acknowledge they are risk averse These 80 per cent tasks are completed in and have therefore developed a profitable batches to aid efficiency and simplicity. business that is built on being a low-cost system. This farm uses budgets when choosing between options or technologies. One recent They acknowledge they are not chasing the example of this was comparing options to profit spikes that may be available in any one feed cows by either agisting, purchasing year by making the effort to obtain the last feed or leasing land. Interestingly GI029 dollar as this may then expose them to a loss commented that for the majority of the time making position the following year. the partial budgets they’ve completed when GI029 perceive the biggest risk to their considering a change to the farming business business as being irrigation availability and don’t stack up financially and as a result many rainfall, however, they believe their system changes or developments they’ve considered provides a strong position from which to making to their business have been discarded. manage these downside risks. Operational management Advice to young entrants In keeping with their whole farm philosophy, The owners receive a great deal of enjoyment their attitude to pasture management is don’t from dairy farming. They love lowering the push the system too hard and keep it simple. fence and pushing cows into fresh feed. The herd calving pattern has been developed They believe that everyone should do what to match the period of peak pasture they love and it is by accident that what production in spring with the peak milk they love doing also happens to make them production period resulting in a low-cost money. This is their advice to young entrants system for their farm. to find the thing that you love doing. Direct pasture harvest is a priority and If that is dairy farming seek opportunities conserving only a true surplus helps sustain to sharefarm, don’t spend too much money this low cost system. Grazing management particularly on machinery, make marginal is kept simple and the rotation generally decisions every day and utilise mentors as follows the same paddock sequence. these were beneficial when they began their farming career. Grain supplements are fed at relatively low levels reflecting their dislike of spending — Claire Waterman, acting specialist in money as well as their desire to not push the farm business economics, farm services, cows too hard. DEPI

The key physical and financial parameters of GI029 Annual water use (mm) Usable area (ha) Number of cows Concentrates fed (t DM/cow) Milk solids sold per cow (kg) Milk solids sold per hectare (kg) Labour efficiency (cows/FTE) Milk price ($/kg MS) Cost of production ($/kg MS) Return on assets (%) Return on equity (%)

2007/08 1220 80 215 1.0 517 1158 97 6.80 4.22 20.7 29.2

2008/09 972 116 240 1.0 516 1031 103 4.88 3.59 6.6 7.8

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 1105 985 1263 116 116 116 240 247 246 1.0 1.1 1.2 476 489 485 985 1042 871 105 105 109 4.28 5.35 5.12 3.06 3.38 3.52 6.1 10.2 6.9 6.5 13.0 7.7

Murray Dairy Annual Business Forum Wednesday 12 February 2014 The annual Murray Dairy Business Forum will be held on Wednesday 12 February 2014 at the Moama Bowls Club. This year’s theme is Leading Dairy Farm Business Success. A strong line-up of industry speakers is expected to prompt insightful discussions and debate throughout the course of the day. The day begins with a Dairy Service Providers’ Breakfast, followed by the Forum itself which will be opened by Dairy Australia’s Managing Director Ian Halliday. The evening’s gala dinner features the graduation of the 2013 National Centre for Dairy Education Australia participants.

The evening’s keynote speaker Tristan White who’s Physio Co business has consistently ranked in Business Review Weekly’s ‘Top 50 Places to Work’ for four consecutive years. Tristan believes that Culture is Everything is the key to business success and he will share some revealing insights into how to attract and retain good staff. Dairy farmers, service providers and others who are interested in the region’s dairy industry are most welcome to attend. For more information visit www.murraydairy.com.au DECEMBER 2013

Dairy Australia boosts investment Levy payers receive increased support from national body. Dairy Australia invested $58.2 million on research, development and industry services to support the future of dairy for milk producers in 2012-13 — 10 per cent more than in the last financial year, its annual report found. The organisation’s 2012-13 annual report said it received $32.8 million from milk levies and $19.2 million from government matching payments. Reserves at June 30 were $34.97 million. Dairy Australia chair Max Roberts said as with all agricultural sectors, Australian dairy was pressured to compete domestically

and internationally. He said despite the year being one of the most challenging due to seasonal conditions, softening milk prices and tight margins, the industry had again proved itself to be incredibly resilient and resourceful in what had been a year of positive consolidation for many dairy farmers. “Dairy Australia has been assisting levy payers to cope with challenges through practical solutions, direct action programs and onthe-ground support,” Mr Roberts said. “This focus has seen strong return on

investment for industry stakeholders. More than 70 major projects are now in action for dairy farmers.” Additionally, the Regional Development Programs, financially supported by Dairy Australia, leveraged $8.3 million external funds and in-kind services bringing support to farmers in their regions. The report is available for download at www.dairyaustralia.com.au/annual-report Hard copies are available by contacting Stuart Madden on 9694 3896 or emailing smadden@dairyaustralia.com.au

Board changes on the agenda Review of Dairy Australia’s constitution addresses farmer concerns. An independent review of Dairy Australia’s constitution recommends the board includes more dairy farmers and better engages with producers. The board has reviewed the constitutional review panel report and Dairy Australia members were expected to vote on proposed changes to the constitution at the annual general meeting on Friday, November 29. According to the four-member review panel’s report, dairy farmers want Dairy Australia governance — particularly in board composition, selection and renewal — to be more transparent; they want to be provided with more information about corporate governance processes so they can play a more informed role. The panel’s recommendations include the

Dairy Australia Board Charter be changed to reflect a strong preference for the chair to be a milk producer. The panel also suggested more meetings be held with dairy farmers with a regional focus to improve communication between them and Dairy Australia and address perceived bias towards ‘big farms’. Dairy Australia chair Max Roberts said the board had also adopted a recommendation limiting a directors’ tenure to a maximum of three terms for a total of nine years, that will promote renewal and fresh ideas on the board. He said all changes would be explained in the notice of meeting for the annual general meeting. ‘‘Any proposed amendments will need to be

approved by a 75 per cent majority vote and then be approved by the Federal Minister for Agriculture,’’ Mr Roberts said. The report includes consideration of 45 submissions from dairy-related groups and individual levy payers, as well as a number of face-to-face meetings and forums. Mr Roberts welcomed the report and said it identified some issues that required further discussion with industry, including the levy poll. Dairy Australia will announce the process at the Dairy Australia annual general meeting. The full report, submissions and recommendations are available at www.daconstitutionalreview.com.au

Happy Christmas On behalf of the Murray Dairy board and staff, we wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and New Year. We look forward to continuing our work with dairy farmers and industry partners to position the region for further success in 2014.

DECEMBER 2013

Words: Geoff Adams

Managing quantity and quality Dairy farmers now have the option of seeing real-time analysis of fat, protein and lactose content from individual costs in the shed. Afimilk Western Europe representative Chris Howarth recently visited Victoria to explain how technology had advanced to enable laboratory-like tests to be run in the dairy. As well as the essential milk components, the Afilab system will detect blood in the milk and four levels of somatic cell count. Mr Howarth said the driver was to improve cow production and yields which impacted on costs and profitability. He said the systems allowed herd managers to have control over the effect of ration changes and to develop a feed plan based on the true requirements of the cattle.

“Good herd management is the source of production quantity and quality,’’ he said. Mr Howarth visited Gippsland, western Victoria and northern Victoria and was in the Goulburn Valley with Afimilk Australia representatives. Asked about dairy systems in the United Kingdom and Europe, Mr Howarth said there was a heavy reliance on the supply of bought-in feed due to the housing of herds. Farms tended to be smaller than in Australia and herds were also smaller. Farm profitability in the EU was heavily influenced by subsidies, but governments were becoming tougher and supporting the adoption of new technologies. Traceability was a major concern due to historical outbreaks of animal diseases.

Words: Laura Griffin

A daughter of Ardmoor Dundee Daisy (pictured with Murray Varcoe) that was Kyabram Show’s Grand Champion in 2011 was among the animals sold at Hullabaloo Holsteins’ dispersal sale in November.

Trading cows for the road Timmering’s Murray Varcoe sold About 70 buyers from across Australia pushed the top cow price to $8500 his milking herd and some young stock to spend more time with family, for two-year-old milking heifer Hullabaloo Powerplay Toppy 7280. including going on an overseas backpacking adventure next year. The results mean Mr Varcoe and his partner Amanda Paino can take The fourth generation dairy farmer children Amelie, 9, Sindri, 12, and was pleased with the results of the Veda, 15, on an overseas backpacking complete dispersal sale of Hullabaloo trip next year. Holsteins — held in Echuca on Monday, November 18. “I haven’t had a day off this year and I want to be able to spend more time “We achieved the average I had with my family,” he said. expected, which was particularly good given we are in tough times,” “Your kids are only young for so long.” Mr Varcoe said. Mr Varcoe has kept some young stock The 130 lots — including 89 cows, and expects to go back to dairying seven joined heifers, 16 unjoined in coming years. He also plans to heifers, six heifer calves, five embryo continue showing cows because he packages and seven bulls — grossed enjoyed it and had achieved good $381 100 for an average of $2931. results in recent years.

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Words and picture: Sophie Bruns

Importing embryos delivers results Holstein breeders take a gamble to incorporate top cow families into their herd. Stu and Clare Modra have always had an interest in breeding cows for type, production and longevity.

“This process is not for Clare and Stu Modra from Gunbower imported eight embryos from overseas and everyone. There have been lucky enough to get six calves on the ground — three heifers and three is a significant They may have started out with just a dream bulls. Clare is pictured with daughter Astry in the pen of Mascalese calves. financial outlay and one cow 11 years ago, but over the years they have been able to build up stock numbers and a lot of risk — you certainly aren’t guaranteed a positive to more than 200, while concentrating on “It would take a lifetime for us to breed a cow result but lucky for us it paid dividends this improving the genetic merit of their herd, like this on our own. We had been looking time,” Mr Modra said. Avalon Holsteins at Gunbower. to buy embryos for some time so when the “The mother of the Bikasa cow is Regancrest opportunity came along, we wanted to use Last year the couple decided to take the PR Barbie and she is often referred to as the the best of the best and they don’t come much plunge and import eight embryos from the premier brood cow in the Holstein world for better than the Barbie family,” Mrs Modra cow Regancrest Mac Bikasa VG 89 max. type. Three daughters from this cow have said. These embryos were sired by the number topped the USA PTAT cow list,” he said. one Italian bull Zani Bolton Mascalese and The Modras also flush their better cows implanted in eight maiden heifers. This spring The Modras plan to keep two of the to improve their genetics. They recently heifer calves for themselves and sell one at they welcomed three heifers and three bulls. flushed one of their excellent Ladino cows to International Dairy Week. And there has been Mascalese and they received 18 A-grade eggs. Calving time was a tense period but all the These have been placed into heifers which are calves were delivered alive and without a hitch, quite a bit of interest from AI companies for the bull calves. due to calve in March. with the exception of one caesarean.

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animal health

A regular column from Rochester Vet Practice

Preventing pinkeye As this year is shaping up to be a long, hot and dry summer, we can expect a high incidence of pinkeye. This nasty disease is caused by the bacteria Moraxella bovis, which mainly affects young stock. It spreads rapidly from calf to calf via flies, dust and long pasture such as paspalum or barley grass. Calves that have to compete for trough space are more likely to infect each other by close contact.

SIGNS Initially the calves will show a watery discharge from the eyes. As the condition progresses the eye becomes reddened and a small ulcer develops on the surface of the cornea. This shows up as a cloudy or opaque spot on the front of the eye, which can cover the whole eye. If untreated the ulcer becomes worse, turning a yellow colour and in severe cases the eyeball may rupture causing blindness.

CONTROL Once pinkeye starts spreading through a mob it can be difficult to control and can affect 80 per cent of the mob, so it is best to attempt to prevent it from spreading. Firstly, treat all calves at this time of the year with a fly repellent (or preferably an insecticide) to keep fly numbers down. Secondly, keep pastures topped to avoid long grass and seedheads spreading the infection by transferring ocular discharge from calf to calf. Thirdly, where possible keep dust levels to a minimum. Also ensure there is sufficient

in calves

trough space to avoid bunching of calves during feeding. A vaccine is now available in Australia called Coopers Piliguard. The bacteria attach to the cornea by means of hair-like projections called pili, and the vaccine induces antibodies against these pili so preventing attachment of bacteria to the eye. Piliguard has been in use in the United States since 1990 and in New Zealand and South Africa since 2000, with apparently good results. Although there have been no field trials conducted in Australia (for ethical reasons), there is considered to be sufficient data available to support its claims of safety and efficacy. We have had good feedback from clients who have used the vaccine over the past four years. A single 2 ml dose is given either under the skin or into the muscle between three to six weeks prior to the expected challenge (preferably September/October). Vaccination will reduce the incidence and severity of pinkeye but must still be combined with the other control methods. At around $5 a dose it would be quite cost effective where moderate to high levels of pinkeye have been experienced or are expected. It is particularly useful when calves are being sent off on agistment where it is harder to handle and treat them.

TREATMENT Once infection occurs, prompt treatment is essential for a quick recovery and to reduce the number of infective bacteria in the mob. Affected animals should be segregated to

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reduce the likelihood of spread and reduce the need for yarding unaffected animals with affected ones. There are a number of preparations available but in most cases the use of Cloxacillin (Orbenin Pinkeye Ointment) gives the best results in the early stages. This is applied to the affected eyes once every second day. The use of patches glued over the eye can speed up recovery by protecting the eye from dust, flies and sunlight. In severe cases the vet may give an injection of an anti-inflammatory plus antibiotic mixture under the upper and lower eyelids. Eyes should also be checked for the presence of grass seeds stuck behind the third eyelid as these can produce similar signs to pinkeye and the damage done by them can predispose to pinkeye infection.

IN SUMMARY: Prevention • Keep pastures short. • Use Arrest or equivalent. • Vaccinate three to six weeks prior to exposure. • Keep dust to a minimum. • Check calves frequently for early signs.

Treatment • Treat early with Cloxacillin ointment. • Examine and treat every two days. • Use patches on more advanced cases. • For calves with severe ulcers, seek veterinary attention. — J. Keith Fletcher

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Dairy week is just around the corner Organisers expect a strong turnout of top cattle for the shows and sales. International Dairy Week will run from January 19 to 23. The committee is finalising plans for the 2014 event, which has grown from a series of cattle shows into a complete week of activities catering for everyone in the dairy industry. Showcasing the best of the Australian dairy international experts who have accepted the industry is at the top of IDW’s objectives. job of judging the tremendous cattle that Visitors can expect to see first-class cattle, breeders work hard to present at IDW,” IDW machinery and trade displays, the latest director Brian Leslie said. in dairy innovation and trends, as well as “The ABS Australia/Ridley Dairy Feeds industry leaders. National All Breeds Youth Show is growing in leaps and bounds and continues to be a The national Illawarra, Brown Swiss, wonderful opportunity for youth to enter the Guernsey, Ayrshire, Jersey and Holstein showing world. shows will be held from the Tuesday through to the Thursday. “We anticipate strong representation in all the shows and are planning for over 1000 head of “I’m thrilled with the panel of Australian and

cattle from exhibitors coming from all states of Australia.” The commercial field days will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the cattle sales will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with 200 head to be offered for sale. A full seminar program has been planned for the Tuesday and Wednesday to provide people with the opportunity to get the latest information. Activities for children will also be available.

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Make more milk this summer A good quality diet will keep production up in the warmer months. Being in the business of making milk from feed, there are a couple of things that can be done with pasture to make more dollars from milk over summer. Cows have the potential to produce a lot of milk in mid and late lactation. With a good quality diet, milk production decline from peak can be limited to four per cent a month. Often we see a seven to 10 per cent monthly decline due to the diet not being good enough to sustain the higher milk production. To keep the diet quality high, attention generally turns to the amount of concentrates in the diet. Typically they make up about a

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third of the diet over summer. The pasture, silage and hay parts of the diet make up twice this amount, but relatively little attention is paid to their role in sustaining higher milk income. Improving the quality of the fodder by one megajoule per kilogram of dry matter is worth about two to three litres a day. Getting this improvement in quality is a fairly simple thing to do. Basically, as plants grow they need to produce a strong framework to hold them up. Seed heads need more structural material than leaves to keep them upright. The framework has low feed value for a cow (low megajoules of energy). So the more framework in the pasture, the less milk can be produced when eaten. The good news is the plant framework doesn’t suddenly appear overnight. It is gradually added to each day. So to get the higher energy pasture, it is simply a matter of harvesting the plant at a younger stage of growth. This is one reason why you hear so much about leaf stage. Production of the plant framework is pretty minimal up to the two to three leaf stage but things change relatively quickly thereafter. This is also why there is so much talk about

cutting silage and hay crops after a short lock-up. Leafy spring pasture has an energy level of about 12 megajoules, dropping in energy as it matures. At four weeks, there will be some stem development and energy is about 11 megajoules. At six weeks it is about 10 megajoules, while at eight weeks it is around nine units. So you can see how easy it is to get an extra unit of energy and the two to three litres a day. Watch the milk hold up when you feed silage and hay made from pasture with minimal framework development. A second way to keep milk production up in summer is to have extra high quality pasture on hand for grazing. Dense pastures produce more feed and a greater ability to trap moisture within the canopy. Pastures are often fairly open coming out of spring because a ryegrass tiller that has come through winter gets a signal to go to seed in spring. Once it does this, the tiller dies. So in spring, there is a big loss of tillers. These need to be replaced by new tillers. New tillers will emerge if light gets to the base of the plant. They need to get enough sunlight to continue to grow and compete with the larger seed heads. Having long lock-ups for silage and hay

means less new tillers will emerge and any new tillers that have emerged are in danger of dying due to lack of sunlight through shading. The result is an open pasture that produces less feed over late spring and into summer which can rapidly dry out. So spring management has a huge influence on the amount ofs ummer pasture growth. Again, short lock-ups together with grazing at about two-and-a-half leaves is going to make you more milk over summer. A final thought is to consider the use of nitrogen in late spring while soil moisture is still good. This will help the new tillers along and will increase the amount of pasture coming into summer. The extra pasture growth will reduce the need for supplements for at least one rotation, keeping the supplement feed bill in greater check. If considering the use of nitrogen late in the season, it is important to be confident there is enough moisture over the next few weeks to ensure an economic response. In drier conditions, the response will be less. It’s all about timing. For further information contact Greg O’Brien, DEPI Ellinbank, on 5624 2288 or email greg.o’brien@depi.vic.gov.au — Greg O’Brien, DEPI Ellinbank

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Wyuna’s Simon and Darlene Scowen say overseas workers have filled skills shortages on their farm.

Overseas workers bring great work ethic and personalities to Keith and Pam Lawry’s Dingee farm.

Words and pictures: Laura Griffin

Farmers look overseas for labour Information session explains the nuts and bolts of employing skilled foreign workers.

DECEMBER 2013

need to start employing someone, including overseas workers. Some of the skilled work visas applicable to dairy farms include the Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187), Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) and Working Holiday visa (subclass 417). There are requirements on the sponsor and the visa applicant.

“

Farmers at a Dairy Australia information session in Kyabram in November said many overseas workers had a keen work ethic and were useful filling skills shortages, but getting a skilled work visa could be a fatiguing and frustration process. Merrigum’s Julie Ford and son Andrew were among 36 dairy farmers at the session and said information provided by representatives from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection was informative. ‘‘We will pursue hiring overseas labour because there is a shortage of local workers,’’ Mrs Ford said. The department’s Joanne Jennings and Matthew Price stressed it was the employer’s responsibility to ensure the people they employed had the right to work in Australia. Employers are able to check a person’s right to work by entering their passport number into the Visa Entitlement Verification Online system on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection website at www.immi.gov.au Dairy Australia has also launched an Employment Starter Kit (ESKi) that provides information and documents dairy farmers

National Centre for Dairy Education Australia trainer Carol McFadzean and Rochester dairy farmer Greg Ault look at the Dairy Australia’s Employment Starter Kit.

We will pursue hiring overseas labour because there is a shortage of local workers. Julie Ford

About half of the dairy farmers at the session indicated they were employing or had employed overseas workers, including backpackers who helped with milking and farm work for three to four months, and skilled workers including veterinarians who worked for a number of years. The department representatives said Australia’s

skilled work visa requirements were meant to encourage employers to look for Australian workers first. Simon and Darlene Scowen of Wyuna, who milk 950 cows with Australian Consolidated Dairies, said the five Filipino workers they had hired during a five-year period had been great workers with veterinary and animal science skills they could not fill with Australians. Mr Scowen was hopeful Dairy Australia’s initiative to develop an industry-wide template labour agreement would make employing skilled overseas workers easier. In the past two years, Dingee dairy farmers Pam and Keith Lawry, who milk 470 cows, have been employing people from Ireland who tended to do relief milking and farm work for three or four months to extend their working holiday visa. “They’re really good people and the hardest thing is they leave,’’ Mr Lawry said. Warren Davies, who manages a Rochester farm where 800 cows are milked, said their workers from Ireland and the Philippines were “keen workers” and the biggest challenge was language — even with the Irish workers.

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Cool service for hot cows Prepare for hot weather with free SMS warnings. Free SMS alerts of predicted hot spells are available from Dairy Australia. This service is designed to help farmers make appropriate management decisions in advance of extended periods of high temperatures that could impact on the health and wellbeing of their cows. Falls in milk production can occur during extended periods of high temperatures and this reduction in production may not recover, with the outcome being losses in milk income. Heat stress can also reduce in-calf rates, boost somatic cell counts and reduce milk protein and fat levels. Potential benefits from implementing an effective heat stress management program are: • higher summer milk production; • increased six-week/100-day in-calf rates; • reduced loss of embryos; and • increased calf birth weights. The impacts on cow fertility, health and

welfare of a properly managed heat strategy last well beyond the hot months. More than 50 per cent of dairy farmers have a smart phone, and while they might not check emails every day, they certainly pick up any text messages they might receive on the mobile. The SMS service offers tailored weather predictions for 34 dairying locations across Australia. There are three types of alert: when a hot spell is going to last three days concurrently, when a protracted hot spell is predicted, and when there could be two nights or more of heat making it difficult for the cows to cool down. Four-day detailed forecasts with expected Temperature Humidity Index (THI), Dairy Heat Load Index (DHLI) and weather conditions every three hours are also available

for a number of major towns and regional centres across Australia. Seven-day extended forecasts are also available and all forecasts are updated twice daily. Farmers who subscribe to the Cool Cows major town forecasts get three types of alert: • SMS and email alerts; and • Australia-wide graphical forecasts. Sign up for the alerts at: http://www.coolcows.com.au/subscribe.htm

Keep cows cool this summer Got caught out last season with heat-stressed cows? You don’t want to get caught out again this summer. Now that the weather is warming up, it is a good time to think about the immediate actions that you can take to minimise heat stress in your herd. We all know the consequences of heatstressed cows — decreased milk production, reduced feed intake, potential loss of body condition, mastitis, potential to not conceive or to abort and many other animal healthrelated symptoms that may arise. While we might be busy at the moment with mating and irrigating, we need to make time to step back and review the biggest risks to milk production, one of which is heat stress. There are short and long-term risk management practices that can be implemented to reduce the impact of hot weather. The Cool Cows program developed by Dairy Australia offers a suite of resources, guiding you to areas of your farm which can benefit from some simple immediate actions providing big benefits. At the Cool Cows website you can subscribe to a free alert service which will notify you of upcoming severe heat stress events. Of course, if you sign up for this service, you will then need to have a plan for how you will tackle heat stress events. If you know the day is going to be high risk 34

DECEMBER 2013

for heat stress you can plan to change your daily routine, getting cows milked and fed before 10 am in the morning and delaying afternoon milking time to after 5 pm. This can make a big difference to cows coping with heat. Think about how far you are asking cows to walk in the hottest part of the day (about 3 pm) and, on extreme days, avoid walking the cows to the dairy until after 4 pm. You may consider changing your paddock rotation or keeping cows on a sacrifice paddock or cool stand-off area. Sprinklers provide a huge benefit to cows. Suggestions are to have sprinklers that can operate on a 15 minute cycle where the system is on for one to three minutes and then remains turned off until the start of the next cycle. Allowing enough time for cows to be wet to the point that excess water does not drip down the udders is important to not increase the risk of mastitis and extra water contributing to the effluent stream. Prewetting the cow yard before milking can further reduce the impact by cooling down the concrete surface. In combination with sprinklers, fans and ventilation systems in the dairy also keep cows cool. During extreme hot weather a cow will reduce her feed intake and try to consume most of her feed in cooler parts of the day. This can compromise rumen function,

causing a wider variation in rumen pH and a greater risk of ruminal acidosis. A diet that combines high quality fibre with increased energy and a high rate of buffers can help minimise these effects. For high producing herds, it is even more important to manage the diet and it would be worth discussing with your nutritionist options such as slowly fermentable sources of starch, feeding partial-mixed rations and fat supplementation. During the cooler times of the year, some longer term solutions can be implemented to manage heat stress. Longer term solutions can include infrastructure improvements including installing water troughs, shade cloth over the dairy yard and a roof over the feed pad depending on the farm’s feeding system. A non-infrastructure improvement can be to strategically plant trees across the farm to provide shade. Best management practices in minimising heat stress in cows are known to reduce the impact on cow health and fertility, milk production and quality. Small investments can pay huge benefits. For more information visit the Cool Cows website www.coolcows.com.au/hot-seasonstrategies/hot-season to see what strategies you can implement in the short term to manage heat stress in your herd. — Brendan Ley, DEPI Tatura

Words: Laura Griffin Pictures: Ray Sizer

Leslie makes successful bid Shepparton Show was rich pickings for the Holstein breeder and auctioneer. Well-known dairy auctioneer and cattle Brian Leslie with Interbreed Senior Champion Cow breeder Brian Leslie’s bid Pooley Bridge Robust Felicia 58. at the Shepparton Show was a success — his Pooley Girgarre’s Nicholson family’s Jugiong Bridge Robust Felicia 58 won Interbreed Petunia 5574 won Senior Champion Senior Champion Cow. Jersey Cow and Jugiong Leonie 6223 won Best Jersey Udder as well as Mr Leslie’s Pooley Bridge Windbrook Intermediate Jersey Champion. Pansy 10 won Junior Champion and Tatura’s Tuhan family’s Riversleigh Tulip his animals also won the top prizes 10 won Senior Illawarra Champion and in the Holstein classes including the Riversleigh Kitkat Flower 14 was reserve. Senior Champion Holstein (Pooley Bridge Jasper Rose 19), Reserve Senior Dairy show co-ordinator Pat Nicholson Champion Holstein (Pooley Bridge said although the number of entries was Robust Felicia 58), Best Holstein Udder down across the dairy breeds for a total (Pooley Bridge Robust Felicia 58) and of about 100 animals, the quality of Reserve Best Holstein Udder (Pooley cattle entered in the Shepparton dairy show was still very strong. Bridge Jasper Rose 19).

Tatura’s Michael Tuhan with Senior Illawarra Champion Riversleigh Tulip 10.

Girgarre’s Brendon Nicholson leading the family’s Senior Jersey Champion Jugiong Petunia 5574.

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Trio wins back-to-back ribbons

Numurkah Show’s Supreme Champion Jersey Sunshine Farm Handsome 47 with Debbie Morris of Canberra, Reserve Champion Jersey Sunshine Farm Cherry 88 with Janelle McDonald of Kyabram, Junior Champion Jersey Sunshine Farm Silvermine 8 with Neville McDonald of Kyabram and Juvenile Champion Sunshine Farm Cherry 216 with Phillip Smith of Mooroopna.

The McDonald family of Kyabram scooped the pool at Numurkah Show, winning the major dairy cattle classes. Neville and Janelle McDonald’s Sunshine Farm Handsome 47 won Supreme Interbreed Champion, Best Interbreed Vessel and Champion Jersey.

Neville McDonald of Kyabram with Sunshine Farm Handsome 47 who won Supreme Interbreed Champion, Best Interbreed Vessel and Supreme Champion Jersey at the Numurkah Show.

Numurkah’s Richard Scoones judged the dairy classes and said the top cow had a lovely udder with great capacity. Sunshine Farm Cherry 88 won Reserve Interbreed Champion and Reserve Champion Jersey. The McDonalds’ animals also won Junior

Champion Jersey (Sunshine Farm Silvermine 8) and Juvenile Champion Jersey (Sunshine Farm Cherry 216). ‘‘The juvenile, junior and senior Jersey champions all won those classes last year, which I don’t think has happened before,’’ Mr McDonald said.

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Passion

drives dairy campaigner Daryl Hoey says farmers need to take more control of their destinies.

DECEMBER 2013

opportunities in 1993. After sharefarming first at Stanhope, then Zeerust, they bought their own property at Katunga 10 years later. In the meantime Mr Hoey’s interest in dairy politics had begun. He recalled going to a UDV meeting at Katandra Hall in 1993. ‘‘It grew from there,’’ he said. ‘‘I had heard on the news one day that UDV had agreed with (the government about) something and I thought ‘hang on, I’m a member and I don’t agree’ so I thought I’d better get involved.’’ He still believes ‘‘there’s no sense complaining from the outside’’. ‘‘The other motivating factor is if I had a $2 million share portfolio I wouldn’t let someone else run it either — getting involved gives a better understanding. There’s no sense living in your own little cocoon.’’ It’s a trap Mr Hoey believes is easy for farmers to fall into. He said 80 per cent of dairy farmers did not herd test, only 30 per cent used domestic semen and not enough people did basic analyses of the business or even soil tests. ‘‘We’ve got to change the culture and thinking of farmers — all businesses have to take stock and try to find improvements.’’ Mr Hoey said opportunities were out there for the taking, such as courses offered by Murray Dairy and focus farms. ‘‘We should have had doors belted down,’’ Mr Hoey said. ‘‘Murray Dairy can’t force people to be involved.’’ He said because farmers were price takers,

they had to control what they could: water, herd improvements and pastures to name but three. ‘‘We don’t have a God-given right to farm. If we are going to sell our product or our livestock we have to understand what people’s (the public’s) expectations of us are.’’ His exit from the Murray Dairy board, he said, was in part the workload, and because he was due to retire in a year and wanted to allow the board to recruit a successor while Malcolm Holm was still in the chair, thus retaining a level of experience through a transition.

“

Production is important. Profit is paramount. That’s what the sign says in the front paddock of Daryl and Lani Hoey’s Katunga farm that announces you are visiting Beulah Jerseys and Holsteins. Meet Daryl Hoey and you quickly assess this passionate dairy farmer and breeder lives by his own creed. As a long-time contributor to various industry bodies — including the Murray Dairy board, which he recently left — Mr Hoey has spent years lobbying and challenging governments of all persuasions for a better deal. No different to any business outcome, he said, is the bottom line lobbying can provide. Of particular satisfaction for Mr Hoey was his role as Australian Dairy Farmers’ Resources Policy Group chairman that made representations on behalf of irrigators on the Murray-Darling Basin plan. ‘‘It was 18 months and very time-consuming but the dairy industry pretty much got what we lobbied for,’’ he said. He had no complaints about the long drives to Tullamarine, racking up frequent flyer points in the preamble to days spent at meetings in Canberra. He credits Dairy Australia’s water policy adviser Claire Miller for making sure he was well-briefed for each trip, but Mr Hoey is clearly not one to shirk a difficult issue — it’s a recurring theme in his conversation that farmers must be masters of their own destinies. Perhaps that’s why the Hoeys left the farm settled in 1880 by Mr Hoey’s greatgrandfather at Allora on Queensland’s Darling Downs and headed south in search of better

. . . All businesses have to take stock and try to find improvements. Daryl Hoey

‘‘Murray Dairy showed great strength during the drought and worked hand-in-glove with industry. The challenge now is to make sure that continues.’’ He said the future for dairy was bright, with a new generation of more educated farmers bringing a different skill-set to the table. The international interest in Warrnambool Cheese & Butter illustrated that optimism, he said. Back home on the 140 ha, 280-cow farm, Beulah Jerseys was recognised as the number one Jersey herd for Australian Profit Ranking in 2012 and has been number one in the Australian Breeding Values for seven years.

Words and pictures: Cathy Walker

Daryl Hoeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s herd was founded on 27 cows he and his wife Lani brought with them from Queensland 20 years ago.

Mr Hoey said it made sense to use bulls bred for Australian conditions but â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;people get wooed by the wow factorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of imported blood. He is a self-confessed genetics fan, describing it as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a passion and a hobbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and has been â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fairly heavily involvedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; in herd improvement. He brought 27 head with him from Queensland 20 years ago and retains some of

the bloodline, adding Holsteins and Aussie Reds to the mix in the past five years. He enjoys the challenge and the camaraderie among the Holstein breeders with a similar philosophy to him, and salutes the strength and fertility of the Aussie Reds. He conceded he and Lani did not take as many holidays as they should, but keeping

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Daryl Hoey enjoys the cut and thrust of dairy politics but home on the farm, herd improvement is his passion.

up with the school and sports activities of children Aaron, 17, Rachel, 15 and Lynton, 12, took up a big chunk of their calendar. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;All this (political) stuff requires a balance; it can be all-consuming,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Mr Hoey said. Although looking a few years forward: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still milking cows Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll still be involved.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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Ardmona Primary School students (from left) Nick Martell, 10, Jack Stagg, 9 and Liam Leahy, 8, with the school’s milk tanker entry.

Schools share dairy lessons Students’ creative efforts spread the message of healthy eating and the industry’s importance to northern Victoria.

Kerang Primary School students (from left) Nick Croft, 12, Bainli Galway, 6, and Jye Galway, 11 with the school’s circle of dairy display that shows stages of the industry including farm, processing, retail and healthy consumption.

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Words: Laura Griffin Pictures: Bianca Mibus

Echuca East Primary School’s entry that won the Shepparton chapter of Dairy Australia’s national Great Wall of Dairy school program. It will now be considered for the state title.

Excitement was palpable at the presentation of northern Victorian primary schools’ entries in the Great Wall of Dairy competition. On Wednesday, October 9, the GV Hotel’s conference room in Shepparton was filled with schools’ dairy-themed creative entries including banners, dioramas, a stock pen and a milk tanker. The Dairy Australia national school competition gets students thinking about the Australian dairy industry and the health and nutrition benefits of dairy foods. About 100 students from Ardmona, Congupna, Dhurringile, Echuca East, Girgarre, Kerang, Mooroopna, Rochester, St Joseph’s and Tongala primary schools showed their entries and cheered their teammates on in competitions. A Lockington Primary School teacher represented that school. Echuca East Primary School won the Shepparton chapter of Dairy Australia’s national schools program for its creative entry and accompanying learning journal. Echuca East Primary School principal Lyn Strachan said the Year 1 and 2 students did a paddock-to-plate educational program and 15 students took part in the Great Wall of Dairy educational and creative competition. Mrs Strachan said the convertible cube and milk carton display showed off many aspects of the dairy industry. The school won $250 and its entry will be considered for the Victorian title.

Girgarre Primary School Year 5 students Kane Martin, 10 and Rose McKenzie, 11 with their school’s ‘Udder to Butter’ entry.

Mooroopna Primary School Year 4 students Breanna Edwards, 9 and Aiden Vanderwerf, 10 with decorated cows that were part of the school’s entry that also included a ‘healthy bones’ banner and song.

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calendar of events

Please check www.murraydairy.com.au for updates or phone (03) 5833 5312.

Thursday, December 12 Young Dairy Network Launch — Mulwala More information: 5833 5927, Murray Dairy, email admin@murraydairy.com.au Thursday, December 12 and Friday, December 13 Cups On/Cups Off — Numurkah More information: 0429 001 398, NCDEA, email wreuther@gotafe.vic.edu.au Sunday, January 19 to Thursday, January 23, 2014 International Dairy Week — Tatura More information: 5833 5312, Murray Dairy, email admin@murraydairy.com.au Thursday, January 30 Focus Farm Open Day — Katandra West More information: 5833 5312, Murray Dairy, email admin@murraydairy.com.au Wednesday, February 12 Murray Dairy Business Forum — Moama More information: 5833 5312, Murray Dairy, email admin@murraydairy.com.au Tuesday, February 25 to Thursday, February 27 Australian Dairy Conference — Geelong More information: (08) 9525 9222, Esther Price Promotions, email esther@estherprice.com.au

Words: Laura Griffin

Wheat boosts milk yields Changing cows’ diets increases production and cuts methane emissions. DEPI researchers have found including crushed wheat in dairy cows’ diets can increase milk yield while nearly halving methane emissions. Ellinbank Centre for Dairy Excellence’s Peter Moate said two experiments had significant results for the dairy industry that were ‘‘good for the environment, good for the farmers and good for exporters’’. An experiment in spring involved feeding 32 early lactation cows up to 9 kg of crushed wheat, 2 kg of dry matter concentrate and enough freshly cut ryegrass-dominant pasture so the cows consumed 20 kg/dry matter/day. Dr Moate said milk production went up 42

DECEMBER 2013

from 30.4 litres/cow/day to 36.7 litres/cow/ day. There was also an increase in protein yield and a decrease in fat yield. He said methane emissions decreased from 467 g/cow/day to 415 g/cow/day. In the experiment in summer, 32 mid to late lactation cows were fed a diet of lucerne hay supplemented with either 10 kg/day crushed wheat or crushed corn. ‘‘The groups produced about the same amount of milk but the group eating wheat emitted about half the methane,’’ Dr Moate said. The senior researcher was surprised by the extent of wheat’s effect on methane gas emissions.

He said most research done overseas into feeding dairy cows grain looked at cornbased feed regimes, but Australian dairy farmers already fed cows at least 6 kg/day wheat, so Australian dairy farms probably produce 20 to 25 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought. He said the findings were also important to improve our appeal to global export markets, such as Japan, where many consumers were interested in the carbon footprint of the food they buy. The research was funded by DEPI, Dairy Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia and the Federal Department of Agriculture.

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