Dairy News Australia December 2016

Is our industry model past its use-by date? PAGE 3

BEST IN SHOW IDW preview PAGE 20

MORE CHEESE

Cobram plant a cut above PAGE 6 DECEMBER, 2016 ISSUE 76 // www.dairynewsaustralia.com.au

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

NEWS // 3

Dairy industry model ‘outdated’ CAMERON WILSON

DAIRY AUSTRALIA (DA) has

Christmas angels deliver hampers.

PG.05

Is the flat supply model really needed?

PG.11

defended itself against claims it is Victorian centric and failing to meet its obligation to represent the national industry.

The group’s relevance came under the spotlight at last month’s Senate Economic Reference Committee hearing in Melbourne into the future of Australian dairy.

DA chairman Ian Halliday was asked to respond to criticism from processor Parmalat that the industry group was irrelevant to Queensland farmers.

In its submission Parmalat said

NEWS �������������������������������������������������������3-8 OPINION �����������������������������������������������10-11 MARKETS ��������������������������������������������12-13 MANAGEMENT �������������������������������� 14-15 BREEDING MANAGEMENT ������ 16-17 ANIMAL HEALTH ����������������������������18-19 INTERNATIONAL DAIRY WEEK �������������������������������������������������� 20-23 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS ������������������������������������� 24-26

Mr Garvin called for the existing levy structure to be used to fund the creation of a new industry body representing domestically focused farmers in Queensland, central NSW, central South Australia and Western Australia.

Responding to the submission Mr Halliday said he believed DA had worked well with farmers and processors in Queensland.

“We were a bit surprised by the submission,” he said.

“We have worked with Queensland farming organisations and Queensland farms, and New South Wales farming organisations for that matter, in the last three or four years developing what we called

a northern dairy industry strategy.

“From a New South Wales perspective they have really taken that on board. From a Queensland point of view it is still a work in progress.

But we are very committed to trying to work with the Queensland dairy industry about how we can ensure a sustainable future for that industry.

“In line with that, we coinvest, using farmer levies (of) about $400,000 a year with the Queensland government on joint R&D. “We are working quite actively to try and help farmers both in Queensland and in New South Wales. We are not just Victorian or export centric.”

Scholarship winner set to soar FOURTH

The benefits and pitfalls of housing cows. PG.18

the structure of Australian dairy’s industry representation was outdated.

“Dairy Australia needs an overhaul,” Parmalat Australia’s chief executive Craig Garvin wrote.

“It no longer represents the interests of the six states and its relevance in delivering unified industry policy is questionable.

“For instance, the work of DA in export support and development is virtually irrelevant to Queensland dairy farmers who have a wholly domestic focus.

“In trying to be all thing to all farmers Dairy Australia is severely conflicted by highly differing agendas.”

GENERATION

dairy farmer Alexandra Mulcahy (pictured) has been selected as one of nine Rural Finance scholarship winners for 2016.

The 20-year-old from the Goulburn Valley impressed the selection panel with a positive attitude that is combined with a sophisticated view of the industry and how it sits in the world market.

As an undergraduate scholarship recipient, Alexandra will receive $6000 per year over three years to help fund her studies at Marcus Oldham College in Geelong, where she is studying a Bachelor of Business Agriculture.

Her parents Peter and Mandy, along with two of Peter’s brothers, own and operate KyValley, one of Australia’s largest family-owned dairy operations. The family also run their own milk processing plant.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

4 // NEWS

Open trade still critical to our success, says ADIC TRADE,

INTERNATIONAL

markets and on-farm innovation remain crucial to the future success of the Australian dairy industry, according to Australian Dairy Industry Council chair, David Basham.

Mr Basham addressed 200 people at the ADIC Annual Leaders Breakfast last month.

“In my view, for all of us in the dairy industry, that path must be global, diverse, and must harness all we have at our disposal to become more efficient and effective,” Mr Basham said.

He said the dairy industry continues to change, much like every other industry in the country.

“We are all in the same shifting landscape of market-driven forces, consumer demands and work-altering

technologies. The real challenge for us to ensure a renewed and strengthened industry as we move into the future”. is to not become complacent.

“This past year, the dairy industry “Complacency means expecting the world to change for us, rather than was united around a clear objective: adapting to the world’s needs. It takes To ensure every Australian dairy farmer has the greater courage to capability, tools reject complacency. “Complacency and support to fully It takes futures means expecting their thinking and an the world to change understand individual business entrepreneurial for us, rather than position, and to make spirit. decisions about their “As dairy farmers, adapting to the future based on we are eager to world’s needs.” sound evidence.” change while Mr Basham said although the calibrating the risks; and we are eager to be bold while seeking a realistic path dairy industry has been under intense pressure, it also has the know-how and forward.”

Mr Basham said everyone in resilience to overcome adversity and the dairy industry – farmers and thrive in the long term.

“However, we can’t talk about our manufacturers – had to “work together

future without first acknowledging the past and this year was an extremely challenging year in the world of dairy, both internationally and domestically.

“Many farmers were hit by late season farmgate step-downs, which came after a difficult season due to dry conditions and increased input costs.

“The lack of demand and oversupply of dairy worldwide caused prices to crash which left many farmers with a large amount of debt.

“As dairy farmers, we know the industry is not immune to the volatility of milk prices and as history has shown the prices will continue to fluctuate well into the future.

“What the majority of the public don’t see is how resilient we are. Not just as farmers, but as business people,

Lifetime of service awarded MAX JELBART has been

posthumously awarded the dairy industry’s Pat Rowley Outstanding Service Award at last month’s Dairy Industry Leaders Breakfast.

The award was presented to his son Tim. The award celebrates Max Jelbart the lives and careers of industry participants whose contribution has significantly shaped the dairy community and beyond for the benefit of the whole value chain.

Robert Poole with ADF president David Basham Chair of the Australian Dairy with Tim Jelbart.

Industry Council (ADIC), David Basham described Mr Jelbart as “an community alike was inspirational admired intellectual who shared – he was a tireless advocate and will continue to be remembered his time and knowledge freely”.

“Max was extremely passionate very fondly.”

During his career in dairy, Mr about helping to foster the next generation in dairy, and ensuring Jelbart served on various industry they had the right tools to grow boards and committees and was a their businesses,” Mr Basham said. supplier of Murray Goulburn for “His readiness to share his 38 years – and a director since 2012.

A director on the ADF Board for expertise with industry and the

seven years and a past president of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria’s South Gippsland branch, Mr Jelbart was this year presented with an Order of Australia medal for his services to the dairy industry and the community.

A Nuffield Farming Scholar and member of the Nuffield Australia Investment Committee, he was

also renowned for seeking out new ways to develop his capacity as a farmer as well as find opportunities to give back.

“On behalf of the entire dairy supply chain, the ADIC celebrates the life of Max Jelbart and his remarkable achievements throughout his career,” said Mr Basham.

as entrepreneurs and experts in sustainability, with the skills to adapt our businesses within this challenging environment as best we can.”

Keynote speakers head of government relations Blackmores, Mr Lyall Howard and director of Dairy Futures CRC, Mr Steve Coats, spoke about the importance of change in building a more competitive future for industry in Australia.

Mr Howard told the audience of the importance of trade deals, saying they were like riding a bicycle: “You have to keep riding if you want to go forward”.

“International business needs to keep moving in Australia, and we as an industry need to demonstrate to government that we want trade deals,” Mr Howard said.

IN BRIEF Basham elected ADF president SOUTH Australian dairy farmer David Basham was re-elected president of the Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) at last month’s AGM. Mr Basham first took a position on the ADF board from August 2005 to 2012, when the SA Dairyfarmers Association resigned from the national lobby group.

He re-joined the board in November 2014.

Mr Basham has been the acting president since May 2016, when he acquired the position from former president, Simone Jolliffe.

He operates a 380-cow dairy farm with his wife, Kate and two daughters.

Their property is located in Mount Compass, on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.

The ADF Board is comprised of four farmer directors David Basham, Simone Jolliffe, Tyran Jones, and Terry Richardson, and one independent director, Dr Deedee Woodside.

Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC) deputy chair, Robert Poole, has stepped down from the role after six years.

Mr Poole has also announced he will leave Murray Goulburn as executive general manager supplier relations in February to join KPMG as an agribusiness consultant.

Chief executive and managing director of Burra Foods Grant Crothers is the new ADIC deputy chair. Mr Basham holds the role of chair of the ADIC.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

NEWS // 5

Hay runners shift to hampers

IN BRIEF NDP suppliers thrown a bone

MORE THAN 500

dairy farming families are enjoying some extra Christmas cheer after receiving donated hampers.

The Burrumbuttock Hay Runners and Lions Australia joined forces to deliver 520 Christmas hampers and toys to farmers across Victoria in a gesture designed to ease pressure on families.

Chocolates, IGA cards, Lions Christmas pudding, custard, chips, shortbread, Christmas crackers and other treats and toys were collected and packed at Cobram and then delivered across northern Victoria, Gippsland and south-west Victoria.

Burrumbuttock Hay Runners was formed about two years ago and has previously donated hay to NSW and southern Queensland.

“We’re just a bunch of ordinary people, farmers

The Burrumbuttock Hay Runners and Lions Australia joined forces to deliver 520 Christmas hampers and toys to farmers across Victoria.

and truck drivers,” spokesman Dan Edwards said.

“None of us get paid; we just do it when we can.”

They’ve moved 11 loads of hay to drought-affected areas and the most recent involved 260 prime movers with support from Lions Club members.

“Instead of hay, which there’s plenty of this year, we thought we’d take a

bit of pressure off and supply a few goods for Christmas,” Mr Edwards said.

“We know the dairy industry has been doing it tough with the milk prices.

Generally farming is pretty hard at the moment.

“It’s not going to save people from going broke but we thought we’d do something to help their mental health. It’s the Australian way – show

people you care when they’re doing it tough.”

Mr Edwards said the Hay Runners had joined with Lions Clubs because of their connections with local communities.

“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “They rock up in utes and know what farms to go to.”

He said it was hoped the campaign would push the plight of farmers back into the public conscience.

“Farming is a big thing for rural towns; if farmers don’t spend money it impacts on all rural towns,” he said.

The Barooga Lions Club had helped with an earlier hay delivery and other farmer relief work and president Lynda Ryder said farmers continued to need support.

“We need to help our dairy farmers,” Ms Ryder said.

THE Federal Government has extended its Dairy Recovery Concessional Loans scheme to include Victorian National Dairy Products suppliers.

It follows the announcement last month by the milk brokering company, owned by former United Dairy Power chief Tony Esposito, that administrators had been appointed.

Mr Esposito started NDP after selling UDP in 2014. UDP went in to receivership in 2015.

Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce acknowledged support was needed.

“This will provide meaningful assistance to farmers who not only experienced retrospective price cuts but who have not been paid for milk supplied in recent months,” he said.

The loans form part of the government’s $579 million Dairy Support Package announced when Murray Goulburn and Fonterra made retrospective cuts to farmgate milk prices earlier this year.

Only 102 dairy farm loans totalling about $57.6 million across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia have been approved so far.

Mr Joyce said Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, and the Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan had lobbied on behalf of NDP suppliers.

He said dairy farmers who are not eligible for Dairy Recovery Concessional Loans because they did not supply Murray Goulburn, Fonterra or NDP, may be eligible for a Drought Assistance Concessional Loan due to drought conditions in early 2016.

Contact Rural Finance on 1800 260 425 or ruralfinance.com.au for assistance and details on the application process or visit agriculture.gov.au/loans.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

6 // NEWS

MG reveals new cheese factory MURRAY GOULBURN

unveiled its new $91 million cheese factory in Cobram last week ahead of the plant’s official opening in February 2017.

The ‘cut and wrap’ facility is part of MG’s push to value-added products in the ‘growth categories’ of cheese, nutritionals and dairy beverages.

The site already hosts MG’s main cheese processing site, employing 437 permanent staff.

The new facility will produce a variety of Devondale cheeses for retail and food service markets as well as the Coles private label cheeses, which was announced in February.

The plant increases the co-op’s total cheese processing capacity by about

a third.

Executive general manager operations and supply chain Chris Diaz said keeping the two cheese plants together supported supply chain efficiency and kept the cheese expertise at one site “The facility will provide MG not only with state of the art manufacturing capabilities, but the ability to respond quickly to customer demand and new consumer trends across the 50 markets in which we operate,” he said.

The fully automated process cuts 20kg cheese blocks into consumersized blocks, slices and shredded packages.

There is no human involvement on the line from start to end, reducing

the risk of contamination.

“We’ve had a strong focus through this plant on people safety, food safety and the quality of the product and this really steps us up to a new leading level,” Mr Diaz said.

It has an existing capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes per annum which can be expanded over time.

“With the Devondale and Coles products, the factory would produce around 45,000 tonnes,” Mr Diaz said. “But we can upgrade very quickly without having to build another building.”

Mr Diaz said MG had enough supply to meet its meet its retail and bulk cheese commitments.

The improved capabilities mean consumers

can look forward to new packaging options, includ-

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In the next issue of Dairy News Australia, we will feature a special report on the latest in irrigation technology and showcase the farmers that have benefitted from upgrading.

BOOKING DEADLINE: February 1 MATERIAL DEADLINE: February 7 PUBLISHED: February 14 CONTACT: BRETT MATTHEWS T: 0417.440.009 E: brettm@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

ing re-sealable blocks of cheese.

The Cobram upgrades follows MG’s $160 million investment in two new fresh milk plants at Laverton and Erskine Park in 2014.

But the future investment by MG in both its nutritionals and dairy beverage infrastructure is uncertain with interim CEO David Mallinson announcing the termination of a strategic supply alliance with Mead Johnson last week.

“MG will review its

strategy for its nutritionals investment to ensure MG is maximising value for its suppliers and owners, whilst exercising discipline with MG’s capital. This is consistent with MG’s announced approach to its beverages investment,” Mr Mallinson said.

Mr Mallinson told ABC the new regulations being introduced on China’s infant formula market had hit the agreement.

“With the changes to the Chinese regulations, we’re seeing what we’re

proposing to do a little bit harder, so at the moment we’ve actually elected not to go forward on that basis.”

But he said the group would still seek to “push forward” with the Koroit facility upgrade.

“It may delay it a little bit until we have find enough underwrites from other customers,” he said.

MG’s supply agreement with Indonesia’s Kalbe Nutritionals remains in place.

The fully automated process from start to end reduces the risk of contamination.

MG says world-leading technology will deliver a range of consumer and food service cheese products including block, slices, snacking and shred.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

NEWS // 7

It could always be worse…

ARE YOU feeling lucky,

champ? No? I am. There are glimpses of light at the end of a two-year tunnel.

The drought has broken and, fingers crossed, the price cycle seems to be turning in our favour.

Things could be worse, much worse.

You could have activists creeping into your dairy at night, installing hidden cameras.

Just a few weeks ago, Kiwi farmers were tweeting about mysterious cameras and not long after, sensationalised footage of a farmer lifting a downer cow “only metres from the body of her dead baby” streamed through news bulletins.

The latest expose comes after last season’s crisis which saw “cruel” dairy farmers in the news for the treatment of bobby calves, both on the farm and beyond.

And it doesn’t stop with animal welfare.

For years now, New Zealand’s dairy farmers have had to work within incredibly stringent environmental constraints.

Gone are the days when a Kiwi farmer could simply

after the expose would be something else again.

I think it’s time we got ahead of the game on this, don’t you?

Let’s be proactive about making sure we’re squeaky clean all the way from paddock to plate

OPINION MARIAN MCDONALD order urea and wait for the truck to arrive.

No, no, no. Every fertiliser application has to be justified, not merely to the bank or farm consultant, but to environmental compliance software, too.

“That won’t happen here” you say? Well, yes, it could.

In November, surveillance cameras installed by animal activists have already captured terrible cruelty to Aussie bobby calves.

It’s only a matter of time before the cameras reach our farms.

Are you ready for that?

I’m not.

The idea of strangers stealing into the farm - our home - makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

The looks from the other kindergarten mums

IN BRIEF Ad draws complaint DAIRYNZ has laid complaint over a Greenpeace advertisement that says industrial dairy farming and massive irrigation schemes are polluting waterways. DairyNZ says the 60 second ad, which has run on NZ TV and social media for a month, is factually incorrect and misleading.

The country’s Advertising Standards Authority says it has received the complaint and will assess it. A Greenpeace spokeswoman says she will be interested to know what Dairy NZ thinks is incorrect.

Global plan to tackle nitrogen use AUSTRALIAN researchers have, for the first time, calculated Australia’s contribution to the global nitrogen problem, and the news isn’t good. Despite our ‘clean and green’ image, Australia has the largest nitrogen footprint in both the food and energy sectors. To tackle this global problem, the United Nations Environment Programme has launched a new international management system to fight nitrogen pollution at a conference in Melbourne last week.

before it’s too late.

Second, the Aussie public has been our friend through all this, rather than our foe.

And an almighty foe the public can be when it comes to dairying.

Just ask a Kiwi.

Live web cams streaming is already happening on some farms, like this one in Holland.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

8 // NEWS

Strong interest from dairy in collaborative farming pilot MADELEINE BRENNAN

THE DAIRY industry is

showing keen interest in a new Federal Government program which aims to boost on-farm profits through collaboration, including cooperatives and collective bargaining.

The team appointed to administer the Farming Together program says more than 12% of applications so far are from the dairy sector.

“Collaboration has long been a vital component of Australian agriculture and Farming Together draws on that fundamental strength,” program director and former NSW Rural Woman of Year Lorraine Gordon said.

“We already have some inspirational groupings that are seeing primary producers become pricemakers not price-takers.

Farming Together is

picking up the winning traits of these groups and sharing them across the country… and we are finding farmers are increasingly eager to participate.”

The two-year, $14.9 million pilot program will provide advice to farmers wanting to explore co-operatives, collective bargaining, partnerships and other forms of collaboration.

The program is available for new startups and mature proposals, from every Australian state and territory and across all commodity groups.

Farmers have come to the program seeking help scoping their idea, ways to raise capital or seeking marketing know-how for geographic branding.

The team is assisted by an industry advisory group chaired by Norco chair Greg McNamara.

Funds can be used for product marketing, consultancy and research and development.

The program has had applications from a range of potential dairy enterprises covering the complete supply chain, pre-farmgate to postfarmgate, including dairy

IN BRIEF

Greg McNamara

“If there’s a group of people that believe they can work together and make this work, that’s what is going to drive it,” Mr McNamara told Dairy News.

Mr McNamara, who has been on the board of Norco since 1996, said collaborative models could foster more competition in the market and strengthen localised supply chains.

He said Murray Goulburn’s bad year shouldn’t cloud all collaborative models.

“We certainly wouldn’t want people to think just because MG hasn’t had a great year doesn’t mean that we’ve seen the end of the cooperative,” he said.

“It just means we’ve got to work harder to make it work.”

There is strong interest in the program from

Victoria.

“I think that shows there’s a need and plenty of people are wondering if there’s a better alternative outside the current system that we’ve got.”

He said ideas big and small could be considered and didn’t need to be fully evolved, but that new ideas would be canvassed with personalised feedback by a business expert.

WHAT IS FARMING TOGETHER? THE program provides access to independent business support and industry specialists. The most-promising projects will be further developed.

Who is eligible?

Farmers, fishers or foresters who: ■■ Are an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident and ■■

Own, operate or manage a primary

impact/capacity building)

production business enterprise as determined by the ATO. A farmer group must include at least two people or businesses.

What is the selection criteria?

Projects will be selected based on: ■■ The scope and scale of on-farm impacts ■■

waste recycling.

“It’s about re-training people that we can be collaborative.”

All applications will be considered on a rolling review until mid-2017.

Visit www. farmingtogether.com.au or the Farming Together Facebook for more details.

The legacy of the project (long term

■■

The development of transferrable knowledge that others can access

■■

Balance across geographical areas

■■

Balance across industries

■■

Able to be catalytic in nature.

New board member for Dairy Australia A NEW director was elected to the Dairy Australia board at November’s AGM Professor Paul Wood, Adjunct Professor at Monash University and chair of the Agriculture and Foodtech Committee for AusBiotech.

Professor Wood has been successful as both a research scientist and as an R&D leader.

He is internationally recognised for his research in veterinary immunology and tuberculosis and is the inventor on seven patents.

He has led increasingly larger R&D teams from CSIRO, CSL and Pfizer. He has been responsible for bringing a number of innovative products to the market, receiving recognition for his work including the Clunies Ross medal.

Professor Wood replaces Dr Alan Grant, who completed two terms on the Board.

Jeff Odgers, who was first appointed to the Dairy Australia Board in 2013, has been re-elected as a director to fill the milk producer vacancy, and Jan West, who was first appointed to the Dairy Australia Board in 2014, has been re-elected as a director to fill the finance and accounting skills vacancy.

Western Victorian dairy farmer Lisa Dwyer resigned from the board after two years, which has created a further board vacancy.

She is now a board member at Murray Goulburn.

GET SOCIAL WITH DAIRYNEWS Everything Keep up with thea dairy farmer latest stories from needs is also by following us at online at

DairyNewsAustralia

DairyNewsOz

Hay’s role in spreading good cheer IT STARTED with a Lest We Forget message for Armistice on November 11 but northern Vic dairy farmers Leanne and Robert Pickles are now sharing the Christmas message on hay bales at their property between Mitiam and Pyramid Hill.

“A friend joked, ‘It’s Christmas soon,

what have you planned?’ Leanne said.

She said the family hadn’t done anything of this scale before but are happy with the result.

“No matter what farming throws at you there’s always something fun to brighten someone else’s day,” Leanne said.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

REAL ESTATE // 9

A prime opportunity ANYONE WITH an interest in taking up a profitable business where most of the hard work has been done should have a look at Moovin Dairies at Bamawm, in northern Victoria.

Agent Ken Oliver, principal at Ray White Rochester, says it’s the best dairy farm in their portfolio.

“It’s a first class dairy farm,” he said.

Owner Steve Hawken bought the farm nearly five years ago after floods and a government buyback forced him off his previous farms at Benjeroop.

Mr Hawken said he didn’t want to have to redevelop a new farm, so this farm ticked all the boxes.

“All the hard work had been done,” he said.

That’s not to say Mr Hawken hasn’t put his own stamp on the place,

adding the latest technology in the dairy among other improvements.

The bluetooth milk metering system captures fat, protein, lactose, conductivity, litres and temperature, there’s a full Jantec Herd ID system and a 44-stand rotary dairy with an 8000L Glycol vat.

The property has ample shed infrastructure, with a shed each for machinery, calf rearing, fertiliser, concrete commodity bunkers, large hay shed plus a workshop.

Despite the absence of permanent water, the farm has 490ML of bore water at up to 14.5ML per day and 250ML of reclaimed sewage water at up to 11ML per day.

“That’s why this farm was so attractive to me – the irrigation options available,” Mr Hawken

said.

For the past five years a strong focus on improving soil health has involved the use of large rates of on farm produced compost,

lime and foliar fertilisers with minimal use of nitrogen and other acid based and high analysis fertilisers.

This has seen the

return of large populations of earthworms and other beneficial organisms resulting in self-sustaining pastures.

His 245-strong herd is

also on offer.

A high percentage A2 herd of predominantly Fresians, with some crossbreds, they are currently in the top 5% in Australia for cell count.

“Typically speaking it’s a very high production herd, averaging around 10,000L,” Mr Hawken said.

He only uses Viking genetics, breeding strictly for fertility and health traits.

“We’ve been breeding a smaller animal, purpose built to be more feed efficient, lighter on pastures with health traits to minimise health costs and reliable reproductions performance.

“It’s quality cows, it’s quality breeding. I don’t take shortcuts.”

The property is also Johne’s accredited.

This will suit a buyer

looking to consolidate their business without starting again, or even a breeder looking for an attractive property to show off their cows.

It’s also a great option for families, with the pool and warmer climate providing an on-site option for fun.

Mr Hawken, who plans to start a business growing fodder for the organic dairy industry, said he is looking forward to more time with his children once the farm is sold.

“I’ve given 30 years to the dairy industry which in turn has been kind to me, but it’s time I give back to my family and I am proud to finish my career on a farm of this calibre” he said.

– Madeleine Brennan.

• Contact: Ken Oliver, Principal, Ray White Rochester, Ph: 0417 303 761.

Rural

Outline Indicative Only

Production from Day One

‘Moovin Dairies’, 584 Strathellen Road, Bamawm, VIC • 440* acres / 178* hectares • 480 meg bore • Five bedroom home with pool and gardens • State of the art 44 rotary dairy • Extensive shedding • This season’s pit silage included in the sale

Sale

Rob Hosking 0428 300 056 Ken Oliver 0417 303 761 raywhiterural.com

Ray White Rural Rochester

*approx.

ROH034

• 340 meg reclaimed

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

10 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Looking for the light

MILKING IT...

GPS tracks doggie endeavour

EVER WONDERED how hard your dog really works? Eight dogs from across the country have been put through their paces as part of the Ridley Cobber Challenge.

Dogs from each state were fitted with a GPS collar over a period of three weeks. Their data - distance travelled, duration and average speed – was collated to find the winner of the Cobber Challenge trophy.

If you covered as much as some of these dogs in one day you’d be wanting to spend the rest of the week on the couch. One kelpie from NSW, Tammy, ran consecutive days of 42km – the equivalent of backto-back marathons. Here at Dairy News Australia, we’re proposing to put GPS collars on some of the country’s best dairy farmers to see how much ground they cover in a day.

Any volunteers?

Paid more to do less

EUROPE IS trying to rein in milk production by its 52,000 dairy farmers by paying them to not produce milk.

Farmers have rushed to get the cash ‘carrot’ – 150 million euro. Agricultural commissioner Phil Hogan predicts this will cause production to fall at least 2% by late 2016, after four years of continuous increase.

It’s a last resort, said an EU official, after an earlier attempt to rein in the farmers failed. Each farmer who applies will milk 20 tonnes less (average) and will get 2800 euros compensation.

Virtual farm tours

CURIOUS ABOUT what life is like on a pasture-based dairy farm, delegates at the recent NIZO Protein Dairy Conference in Singapore donned virtual reality headsets to step briefly into the dairy farm virtual world. “With their headsets projecting 3-D images of a typical dairy farm environment, complete with sounds, delegates were able to get a sense of the origins of our dairy ingredients – a new experience for many,” Fonterra’s general manager of NZMP ingredients for South & East Asia, Hamish Gowans said. Gumboots optional.

Advertising Brett Matthews brettm@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

Dairy News Australia is published by RNG Publishing Limited. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written

Milked for a reaction

CONSUMERS IN London were disgusted to be told they had been drinking ‘dog’s milk’ during a new animal rights campaign.

Animal rights group Peta hosted a focus group, taking to the streets to offer people free samples of a ‘new’ milk.

After asking them how it tasted and what they thought of it, they let on it was from a dog, getting horrified reactions such as spitting and swearing.

The reactions were videoed then put online, aimed at discouraging people from drinking cow’s milk.

The video ends with a message from Peta opposing the consumption of cow’s milk.

It said, “Dog’s milk, cat’s milk, rat’s milk, cow’s milk.

We’re the only animal to drink another species’ milk.

Isn’t it all a bit gross?”

But it turns out Peta didn’t give the test subjects dog’s milk, but rather soya milk.

0417 440 009

THERE won’t be much dispute that 2016 was a shocker in many ways - and it’s fair to say plenty of dairy farmers can’t wait to put it behind them.

The global price crash, Murray Goulburn’s revelation (and subsequent poor handling) of a sudden price response, Fonterra following suit…these factors placed enormous pressure on farmers across the country.

It felt like the farming community had to rely on each other – and they did, showing support in online forums like Show Some #Dairy Love, and keeping a closer eye than normal on their neighbour.

The dairy game is cyclical but 2016 was a particularly tough year.

Christmas is a time of hope and we’re all looking for that light at the end of the tunnel.

The are some signs that 2017 will be brighter.

Feed prices continue to fall, with both grain and hay values continuing to slide.

A bumper grains harvest in Australia – and across the world - will see to that.

Water is also cheaper in irrigation regions – about a third of the price of a year ago.

And because of a wet winter, which caused its own problems at the time, there’s green grass in districts usually long dry by now.

Reduced operating costs are always welcome – yet they don’t give quite as much joy as rising milk prices.

And they are rising, with further increases in commodity prices through November.

Small steps, but analysts are confident it’s a positive start.

There’s some confidence in the community, too.

As our story on page 8 shows, the dairy industry is showing keen interest in a new federal government program, Farming Together, which aims to boost on-farm profits by helping farmers develop co-operatives, collective bargaining, partnerships and other forms of collaboration.

More than 12% of applications so far are from the dairy sector, keen to wrestle some of the power back from processors and drive innovation at the local level.

If this, and other reforms such as the effects test legislation and an industry Code of Conduct, start to bear fruit, then that light at the end of the tunnel is only going to get brighter.

The team at Dairy News wish all our readers a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

We hope you get some respite from the milking or at least a few long lunches in between.

Editor Madeleine Brennan

0402 715 577

editor@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

Publisher Brian Hight

Production Dave Ferguson Becky Williams Sub Editor Pamela Tipa

Web Cameron Wilson Published by RNG Publishing Ltd Printed by Newsprinters Pty Ltd

permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of RNG Publishing Limited.

WWW.DAIRYNEWSAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

Head Office Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Auckland 0622, New Zealand Phone +64 9 307 0399 Fax +64 9 307 0122 Postal address PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740, New Zealand

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

OPINION // 11

Are we on the road to nowhere?

BERNHARD LUBITZ

WHY HAS the Australian dairy industry gone down the path of pushing its farmers into flattening their milk supply curve when there is no real need to and has this now gone too far?

Has it been at the expense of on farm operating costs that are no longer competitive with New Zealand?

This is the situation that farmers and the industry need to address because I don’t believe processors will have the ability, or be willing to fund these higher onfarm operating costs with higher milk prices, putting the Australian industry at great risk.

Is pricing clarity the real problem, as the UDV and ADF are indicating, and is it enough to improve farmer returns?

Does the Murray Goulburn milk payment structure truly reflect the product mix it presents to the market?

The same question can and should be asked of Fonterra.

How much milk achieved outside the traditional seasonal calving pattern does MG actually need from its farmers to meet the requirements of its fresh market needs? This is important because the most profitable and low risk farming system, according to industry consensus is seasonal.

How much of MG milk is truly in the daily fresh milk market?

Once this is met, can seasonal pricing be applied to send the correct market signals?

I question the need to chase shoulder milk if you are not truly in the flat milk supply world.

Can you have a foot in both camps?

Can MG be in both camps but be pushing supply into the flat supply curve with such large disparity in pricing amongst its suppliers, considering that this truly fresh milk volume and market is such a small proportion of MG and Fonterra’s product mix?

MG, with its milk pricing, seems to be turning

itself, by stealth, into a flat milk supply company like Parmalat, when there is no real need to.

Its product mix is too wide and is still mainly various value-added commodity products.

Both MG and Fonterra have nowhere to move when it comes to growing their respective businesses within the current state of the Australian industry.

It’s a Mexican stand off and their futures are limited along with their farmers, so it’s time to look at options.

Is this pricing model leading to a declining or at best stable southern total milk pool?

Can any change be possible without a whole of industry response, now that Canberra is paying attention?

MG’s new plants have no chance of going ahead without a growing Australian milk pool or rationalisation of the processing sector.

At this point it seems to be fracturing even more into smaller and smaller players, doing nothing for processor efficiency.

Our processors are not world class and lack scale.

Competition for local milk supply is destroying our international competitiveness, because supplier numbers are declining and growth is stagnant, with no thought about the farming systems, their resilience and profitability, and how they relate to the strategy.

MG is critical to the future of the Australian dairy industry, with the ADF and some of the other industry bodies also confirming this.

The Australian dairy industry cannot afford to let MG get smaller or the Australian milk pool to shrink.

For the good of the Australian dairy industry both need to grow.

The next question for the whole of the Australian dairy industry is how do we make this happen?

This industry has been at cross roads for the last 10 years and very little has changed.

It is time to decide in which direction this industry is headed.

We have to decide if we

want to be a world-class industry that can compete with the rest of the world or be also-rans.

This is something our Kiwi friends are very good at.

They know where they want to be and know how to get there, with government in the loop.

Read the Horizon 2020 report, a good document (Produced in 2013 with funding from Dairy Australia, the Geoffrey Gardiner Foundation, and ADF).

Right now, we are in the bottom left corner of the strengths and weaknesses TO PAGE 12

Is the push to a flat milk supply really necessary in today’s market?

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

12 // MARKETS

A year many would rather forget

Dairy NewS aUSTraLia june, 2012

agribusiness // 17

the extent to which some are having to go.

Australia is not alone in conditions in many facing a butterfat squeeze, regions, progressing with strong butter prices through a farmgate price a regular feature of the US shock, generous servings market in recent times, of supply chain acrimony, and a number of and into a period of export buyers excessively wet concaught short when ditions and thin-toEuropean supnegative margins, cents/litre in March (AUD 41c/L) to 28 son 2011/12 onlythat a few plies haveincremental tight2016 is a year change in milk production (year-on-year) ened sharply. many in the dairy Euro cents/litre (AUD 36c/L) in April. nding, attention is now No one cause industry willas befarmkeen Profit margins are under pressure in the 12/13 milk prices has been singled to forget.

US, and in NZ Fonterra has announced trategies for the coming out, but many As reported in the final payout for the 2011/12 season e domestically-focused point to conthis column last has been cut from NZ$6.75-$6.85/kg MS otiated contracts incorGLOBAL IMPACT sumer shifts back month, milk volgLobaL impacT JOHN DROPPERT to NZ$6.45-$6.55/kg MS (AUD$4.96r prices andare reduced towards more umes conse- ‘tier JohN DropperT $5.04). re undermining ‘natural’, fullquently downfarmer as A good hay season has buoyed spirits Effectively, global dairy markets are supply contracts pegged to fat products at the retail well – stability. around 10%For for the nd supply heading into summer. level (evidenced in part international indicators. season to October. rebalancing. Lower prices will both rs in export-oriented Shifts in private label contracts and proby growth was a month There are, however, slow production growth and stimulate rationalisation have seen milk in butter and r price outlook relative to cessor November whole milk sales in Ausof further increases in some positive signs as we demand, and as this occurs we will ultiason not only adds to the companies adjust their intake requiretralia), and equivalent commodity prices, with a enter the festive season mately see a price recovery. Key factors changoing business, but seems ments and pricing to meet themoves by food manufacmixed set of gains across and finally start to see to watch on the global scene will be the ing demands of a highly pressured retail he positive medium turers and food service/ the key product lines. hay being baled term withrate at which milk production overseas Lower contract prices and players. ia-driven dairy demand takeaway New Zealand’s milk out the hassle of boggingmarketplace. slows in response to lower prices, the of alternative supply opportuniThe other mover production numbers machines every few laps.a lack recently has been whole (down around 6% for Firstly, feed prices conalia’s indicative outlook ties present challenges in a market with flows. 2012 milk production in the US those in south-east Asia and the Middle impact of the current financial worries powder,iswith prices 4% on 2011 for the year to East maintain consistently higher eco- on consumer confidence, the path of October) look increastinue to fall,prices with both up around manufacturing capacity.milk Despite farm gate milk – limited firmer as enquiries tick year adjusted), whilst early nomic growth rates that support China’s economic growth, and the value ingly subdued, and sharply grain and hay values conhe recent Dairy 2012: Sit- these challenges, the underlying domes- April (leap along and other (nontighter Australian milk tinuing to slide. utlook report, is for an tic market is stable, with steady per-cap- data suggests EU-27 milk production increased dairy consumption. How- of the Australian dollar.

China) markets reportWater is also cheaper in volumes are constricting Demand for exported dairy prodfinished the March 2012 quota year up ever, the surge in supply has outpaced consumption and a growing rangeirrigation of $4.05-$4.40/kg edly show more interest local product availability. regions - $100/ita dairy ucts remains a positive and will conthe previous year. New Zealand demand growth in the market. providing a degree(though of cer-how2.3% year average rangefor population muchon interThe sharpest pricing ML may price be a stretch This situation has seen the scales tinue to grow with the middle class in beyond current adjustments.

0 and some $4.90/kg The est remains aproduction matter of is widely expected to finish and biggestthe challenges given MS. current oper-tainty debate). sourcingfollowing have been the margins, butpicit’s a Inaround the seasons 2008 this season up 10% on last year - a huge tip in favour of buyers in dairy mar- large emerging markets such as China, ers theating wider market Dairy Commodity Price History Lower Zea- influence in the butterfat market, long way ahead of $300/ market given 95% of NZ milk kets, with commodity prices retreat- with changes in diet and with increasing marises the many factors financial crisis and subsequent com- New ing affecting skim milk the land milk are with many con- farmers ML a year ago! sit- modity ther- amplifying this. but reports suggest some commenceurbanisation and also in conjunction ingimminent steadily over recent months.

Butter is exported.

Argentina is the also enjoypricetraders recovery, in volumes theme ofofthe current powder (SMP)/butter cal- ment of sales of European further upside potential tinuing to report that Aus- also going a long way to Secondly, the weather Into the medium term hat of re-balancing in the export-oriented regions have seen solid ing solid production growth, but a sig- prices are down some 30% from their with global population growth. Locally, culations as much as anyhelping to support prictralian butter is near (if appears to be settling for cheddar. Cream cheese however, enough downintervention stocks. market is supported by a gap else. in Brazil prevents 2011 peaks, whilst powder prices have the domestic global supply growth (see chart) - with nificant supplything hain. down, and there continues ing up towards the mid not) impossible to proside pressure remains to and mozzarella have also Having said that, it population and stable lost more than 20%. Farmfirmed gate significantly prices growing from leav- is higher-cost North- much of this additional of Australia focused Prices milk for SMP itself cure. competitors in theUS$3,000’s/t. to be green grass inon places suggest that runaway price perover widely acknowledged the dairy havethesubsequently reduced in capita consumption. ing South ern Hemisphere those expandnking milk, many farmers continue to face presChina remains the America.

Pricing upamongst to that are usually long dry by increases areWhilst less likely past month. that age of the prod-beenthe market is currently a challenging most exporting The average Despite economic uncer- uct sure from US and Euroas their margins dominant market how- wider cing market incertainly the form US$1,000-2,000/t above increased. now – and wereing output than the current incre- place The general market being sold (overregions.

12 pean competition, though ever, and questions remain bulk commodity indicalast year. mental rebalancing – but feeling is one of cautious months) will limit the that balon of supply contracts This season, favourable weather con- tainty, demand has remained resilient basic farm gate price for milk in France to be a seller, all signs indicate tighter supplies due to around the sustainabiltors is being reported in This will help take nonetheless, it’s a more bullishness, with milk extent to which it can ccess to ‘tier one’ supply. ditions have further enhanced milk as importing countries like China and for example, dropped 12% from 32 Euro ance will ultimately return. lower milk volumes have places as smaller domestic ity of this rally into the some further heat out of positive situation than this undermine prices for fresh supply contraction and allowed many manufacmedium term if purchasbuyers scramble to shore feed costs. some reduced buyer resis- time in 2015.

SMP. turers to drive values up ing from others doesn’t up requirements.

The third factor beginThere’s no denying tance helping this along Cheese prices have somewhat. pick up.

Reports of additional ning to deliver some things remain incredibly internationally. increased in line with the The market faces some broader market dynamics; Australian volumes New Zealand imports and upside is the continued tight on farm, but it’s fair In Australia, the more downward pressure (or improvement in commod- businesses buying product are relatively limited in to say there is also some acute supply squeeze the bi-annual Japan negoexpected pressure) from off retail shelves highlight any case, with WMP pricity prices. cause for Christmas cheer. tiations are still underway being felt by some is furCOMMENCING AMIDST brutally dry

Global commodity prices have an influence well beyond the proportion of Australian production that is exported, through competition from imports, and domestic

xport demand remains strong

alaysia FTA benefits dairy Freedom

ASEAN-Australia-New exporters to Zealand FTA (AANZFTA).

“Protectionist sentihe biggest ment over agricultural ee trade goods is rife and growTA) signed PAGE 11 across the globe, so wo coun- FROMing axis, exactly where theitdocument in this context is pleash. said we would be if our leaders did ing Australia has managed gned after nothing and we kept going as we to forge an agreement negotiawere. with Malaysia that has liberalised It’s now crunch time for this dealt with some sensingement industry. issues liquid milk MGtive and agricultural Fonterra Australia have notfor effectively by allows to merge the good ofcovered both New Zealand and Australian farmers and AANZFTA,” says Fraser. er value their respective industries.

“While under the s.

Both are, after all, co-ops.

AANZFTA agreement es AusThe question for the whole of most of Australian agriporters the Australian industry and Auskey interests treatmenttralianculture’s government is what will bound at zero, any coun-it takehad andtariffs how do we convince dairy and two secws open Fonterra to let gorice of itsare Australian ments from tors where incremental market access improvealian rice

an DairY,

The road to nowhere?

Foods plant targets Asia The ultimate milk run

QANTAS FREIGHT has been named meet demand.

Can we put our prejudices and Local distributors will then truckpack business so it can merge with MG as the exclusive air freight partner to to provide portion austraLian FooD the milk to supermarkets and convefor the good of both nations and biases to one side long enough carry Van Dieman’s Land Farms fresh (200-330ml) configuracompany Freedom Foods to have the debate or do we hide Ningbo and Beijing, industries?

Tasmanian ‘VAN Milk’ to Ningbo, for beverage prodGroup Ltd is tonience build astores intion with fresh milk travelling from cow to This has to happen. That is the behind the mask of the government China. new milk processing plant ucts. challenge for the ADF and the Aus- that will never allow it to happen?

In the first half of 2017, subject to container to consumer in China across The NSW location will to cash in on growing If we are to have this debate, tralian industry as a whole. government and regulatory approv- 10,000 kilometres. provide to the most demand in Asia. Managing director of access Moon Lake Do we want to shape the future we should be discussing this at the als, Qantas will carry more than 50,000 sustainable and the economic The plant, be built in Sean Shwe, said of our industry or will we allow our next UDV conference. litres of fresh VAN milk in the belly of a toInvestments, of access milk. Pactum has southeast Australia, be thesource If, after this discussion, we movewill opens door for for competitors to do it for us?

Boeing 767-300 freighter from Hobart other Tasmanian producers of fresh Are we mature enough as farm- decide that there is no need for a to the second largest city in the Zhejistrong links to the Austrathe first Australian greenAustralian ownedMohamed co-op to act as seafood, fruit andand will ers,Sealing and as an industry, to have the ang Province which has afields population of perishables the deal: Malaysian tradelarge minister Mustapha dairy industry expansion in UHT insuchlian with Australian counterpart CraigasEmerson after signing deal. the foundation of thisthe industry vegetables to air freight their proconversation and engage with New 55 million people. expand its arrangements 10 years. long term, so be it.

Zealand as a whole?

The Boeing 767-300 service, the duce on this direct flight to China. with dairy farmers for Freedom’s wholly At least we have had the discus“It will be a game changer for TasIt’s going to be a tough converlargest commercial aircraft to regubut also through technical Despite the compleers through streamlining supply milk.

The new owned subsidiary Pactum proudofto be leadsation but, in reality, much more sion and are informed. larly operate into and out of Hobart, mania and we are or so calledwill ‘behind the operate weekly of this agreement, of rules-of-origin decplant Australia will • Berhnard Lubitz is a dairy farmer ingthe the charge and an will MG increase supplier,”scope important that any free trade deal tion initially with a run much remains and to be done and Sometoof its products for Australian milk supply from Gippsland MG supplier. border’ restrictions.” he said. welaration are likelyprocesses to negotiate. view to increasing theplant. frequency

improved marketing arrangements for certain

for Australia’s farmers to tap into the full potential

The FTA was signed on May 22 in Kuala Lumpur

will be sold in Australia.

The company says

– value-added, sustainable and export focused.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

MARKETS // 13

Nothing to panic about... yet Island in October, but the outlook sees become littered with parties, and credit a warm, dry summer which will help cards do some seasonal heavy lifting, we pasture growth, already 20% higher thought it might be good to close the than normal.

Most milk prices have lifted to year on what’s happening in the world NZ$6/kgMS which has affecting the value of boosted confidence, milk. and with that probaThe big factors bly brings more milk. shaping the balance Milk supply in of global trade haven’t Europe has meanwhile changed much since worsened and may be we visited this space a as much as 4% down in couple of months ago.

November on last year.

The positive setThe scary gains in tings and trends FRESH AGENDA output in the first half should keep dairy STEVE SPENCER of the year will almost product prices at or close to current levels, almost totally be wiped out by the depth of losses in due to the sheer extent of the losses in the second half.

Milk is scarce and the market revermilk supply in Europe and NZ, while sliding output Australia and Argentina sal in product prices has been strong, now also lifting farmgate prices. certainly helps.

So how long before milk will flatThe demand side of the market remains flat, but the recent spurt in ten out and start to grow again across product prices may threaten a faster the EU? The next few months will be the return to bigger orders from product interesting phase of their increasingly buyers.

The steady market upturn has con- turbulent industry after quotas.

There has long been a complaint tinued to improve the Australian comfrom the protectionist farm lobby in modity value of milk.

Our latest weekly value, based on Europe that dairy farmers can’t cope export spot prices for products, climbed with volatility, and that governments to $5.60/kgMS in early December, should underwrite their incomes with improving certainty of promised full regulations and safety nets.

On present form, it could take to the year milk price estimates.

The weather over summer in New middle of the year before milk starts to Zealand is an important influence in grow again, but it might be a longer, bumpier ride to stability for producers.

2017.

Governments aren’t helping.

Milk output was badly affected by The European Commission stunned water-logged pastures on the North

AS THE year slows down, diaries

Instability in the EU would bring real danger for world markets.

the dairy world when it decided to test the market for interest in its impressive mountain of skimmed milk powder, much earlier than expected given the weak recovery in prices.

If it goes to “plan”, which is hard to fathom, they’ll start to run the stockpile down over 2017 and will keep a lid on powder price recoveries in the process.

Quotas have gone but EU has environmental regulations which will limit milk output in some regions.

A prime example is playing out in the Netherlands.

The Dutch government has completely screwed up the country’s approach to meeting EU rules on farm emissions that affect water quality.

There have been several attempts to set a baseline for acceptable cow stocking rates and a period for transition to new realities.

The latest plan, essentially a crashthrough solution with time almost up, could see Dutch farmers forced to quit 160,000 cows (10% of their herd) by the start of 2018 to meet the regulations.

This mess will play out over 2017,

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with a local election thrown into the mix. Community will be pitched against agriculture in one of the most eco-sensitive places on the planet.

China is another constant player of wild cards, regularly shifting goalposts on regulation of its processing sector and imported products.

Meanwhile gradual reform of its dairy sector has helped slow down local milk supply and create more room for imports.

Government stimulus to put more spending power in hands of consumers may help further.

The other possible may come from a change of heart by members of OPEC who got back into a large room and agreed to address over-production of crude oil.

If the intent translates to action and oil prices improve, this should improve the affordability of dairy imports in a number of important markets that have weakened in the past year.

So far this has been mostly good news.

There are some big scary risks out

there in the world as well, which go beyond Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office.

The instability of EU politics is a major worry – we’re kidding ourselves to ignore it as a major risk.

Brexit and Trump could be lame precursors to potentially far worse developments in Europe if the rejection of “establishment” gathers deeper traction and breaks up the Union.

Elections in Netherlands, Germany and France, following the lost reform poll in Italy, will prove whether Brexit is just an ill-considered rant.

If anti-globalisation politicians, gaining strength in Western Europe, make the EU model a casualty of change for change’s sake, we’re likely to quickly go back into a form of GFC as financial markets panic with the uncertainty as to the viability of governments … and their banks.

But we’ve been through worse, right?

The world will still want your high quality milk.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2017 to all.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

14 // MANAGEMENT

Web services failing rural Australia IT WILL come as no surprise to many of our readers what Nuffield scholar and fourth generation farmer Jock Graham has used his 2015 study tour to confirm: the current state of rural broadband in Australia is lagging behind other countries internationally.

“Surveys show that

around 40% of all rural Australian users currently use 3G/4G as their primary home internet and pay on average the highest monthly rate for service and receive the least amount of data allowance,” Jock said.

“Key technologies servicing rural areas such as 3G coverage and the

interim NBN satellite are constantly over capacity and provide poor services in peak times.”

During his Nuffield research, Jock travelled to the USA, England, Ireland, Switzerland, China, Canada and France and said that high-speed rural connectivity is a common problem worldwide, with

the common solution being fixed wireless.

“It’s the best option for rural users who have no access to fibre,” Jock said.

“In Australia this could be either NBN or private, which will deliver the fastest speeds, high data allowance plans with the lowest latency and cheapest monthly cost.

“Mobile 4G service offers a great service when in a coverage area in terms of speed but is not recommended for home broadband due to the high data plan costs and the congestion that occurs in peak times as it’s a shared service with all other mobile devices.

“NBN Satellite, known

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as Sky Muster is the next best option for rural users, being accessible from any rural location, offers good download and upload speeds and plan pricing, but has limited data allowances and high latency compared to fixed wireless.

“The use of private networks run either by businesses, communities or individuals are the key to linking rural communities to the faster, low latency, high data allowance internet services, and extending ground services to more remote communities currently covered by satellite only.”

In terms of mobile coverage, Jock’s research showed there are only two key technologies available to improve mobile coverage, being either a femtocell device or a Cel-fi device.

“The femtocell device connects to a home broadband connection and projects signal in the home whilst the Cel-fi device boosts the existing signal throughout the home, and is the most widely used technology to improve in home coverage.

“The game changer however is voice over Wi-Fi, a new protocol being implemented in Australia this year which allows certain smart phones to switch to Wi-Fi service if mobile service

Jock Graham

is patchy to make and receive calls.

“I found this technology already implemented in most countries in Europe, so it is pleasing that it will be integrated into Australia’s two biggest mobile networks this year.”

Jock believes the opportunities provided by this technology will bring a new technological advancement age for agriculture by enabling online connected tools to be implemented.

“Internet of Things” devices (IoT) and farm sensors can start to be implemented across farms, monitoring water levels, soil moisture, livestock locations and other valued information at low cost.

“The transfer of precision farming data in large volumes could better enable automated systems and machinery for greater efficiencies.”

Fire threat warning FARMERS ARE being given a final reminder to pre-

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pare now for what could be a dangerous fire season.

Dairy Australia has produced a farm fire survival guide called Preparing Your Dairy Farm for Fire Threat which offers advice on everything from saving the family home to ensuring there is enough feed left on the property after the fire-front has passed.

Among suggestions for protecting dairy farms are: ■■ Identifying a bare ground or summer crop refuge paddock for stock.

■■ Storing silage stocks in different places to reduce feed losses.

■■ Ensuring water supplies are available and pumps are working.

■■ Discing or planting summer crops around buildings to create a fire barrier.

■■ Marking cows to ensure a quick return to milking if the herd becomes mixed.

■■ Having alternative power supplies available for milking and refrigeration.

To download a copy, go to www.dairyaustralia.com.au Hard copies can also be ordered through your regional development program office.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

MANAGEMENT // 15

Cheese maker’s big push for small-scale dairy NINA HENDY

THE FIRST new dairy

farm to open in the Huon Valley in more than 50 years aims to prove that small, organic farms can be financially sustainable by thinking outside the square.

The farming property has been purchased by the founder of the Bruny Island Cheese Company, Nick Haddow, who is recognised as the first producer of unpasteurised milk cheese in Australia. He regularly appears on SBS Television series Gourmet Farmer.

Nick wants to prove that small-scale, quality dairy farming can be viable in Australia. The dairy farm aims to set a new standard and will focus entirely on maximising milk quality, and wants to gain organic certification recognition.

“As a small business, this is a huge step for us, but a vital one.”

Nick believes he can produce around 5,500 litres of high quality milk a week in peak performance, which will supply his Bruny Island cheesery.

He currently sources milk from a dairy in New Norfolk, Tasmania.

The farm will run a small herd of 55 rarebreed cows such as Brown Swiss and Australian Dairy Shorthorn, both prized for producing quality milk for cheese making.

WHO:

Nick Haddow WHERE:

Glen Huon WHAT:

Organic dairy

The farm will run a small herd of 55 rarebreed cows such as Brown Swiss and Australian Dairy Shorthorn, both prized for producing quality milk for cheese making.

Nick has two decades of experience in the dairy industry in Australia and overseas. His new property has been used as a dairy, apple orchards and for beef production and tobacco growing.

The purchase will also open up a new primary producer market for him, with intentions to sell rose veal and beef to his cheese customers.

Tasmania’s Huon Valley was once a vibrant dairy region, home to dozens of small dairies that have all since closed down.

Nick believes his farm will be successful despite the region losing dozens of dairies in the past couple of decades because he’s value-adding to the milk.

“We won’t be selling the milk, we’ll be using it to produce the best cheese we can,” he says.

He also intends to build a new cheesery dedicated to only making raw milk (unpasteurised) cheeses at the Glen Huon farm, which would make it the only place of its kind in Australia.

“This will allow us to expand our raw milk cheese production and to have a platform where we can develop our cheese even more,” he says.

Nick hopes that public interest in his

Nick Haddow is recognised as the first producer of unpasteurised milk cheese in Australia.

to one customer. But approach to dairy farming in 2003. we’re selling direct He initially followed will help him raise the to our biggest brand the traditional primary funds needed to get the advocates and we’ve producer model, making farm up and running, built a relationship with cheeses and selling them prompting him to launch them, which a crowdfunding takes a whole lot campaign to more time and purchase the cows, “We won’t be selling within which will cost the milk, we’ll be using resources the business,” about $2000 a it to produce the best Nick says. head.

He built a He hopes the cheese we can.” cheese club that crowdfunding bid – Nick Haddow has grown to will raise enough more than 21,000 money to purchase members, and ships to the middle man to the cows ($110,000 and cheese across Australia be on-sold. But after then build the dairy, a in under 48 hours at a flat dabbling in exports he further $380,000). The turned the business on its rate of $15. Bruny Island campaign had raised just Cheese will turn over head, which has resulted over $141,000 at the time just shy of $3 million in in him pocketing full of print. financial year 2016, and margin, albeit at much The primary producer also just added Bruny higher costs. has been raising the bar Island “It’s pretty easy to for artisan cheese in Beer Company to its package up a pallet Australia since launching portfolio. of cheese and sell it on remote Bruny Island

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

16 // BREEDING MANAGEMENT

A top herd doesn’t have to cost the earth Greg Ault’s herd ranks among the top in Australia for genetic merit but he doesn’t use the most expensive bulls on the market.

GREG AULT’S Holstein herd ranks in

Australia’s top 10% but he doesn’t use the most expensive bulls on the market.

His experience proves that you don’t have to pay top dollar to breed a top herd.

The average Balanced Performance Index (BPI) for the Holsteins cows is 75 (compared to a national average of zero), placing the herd 49th in country.

Greg and his wife, Joanne, dairy near Rochester in northern Victoria, milking about 400 cows; two thirds Holsteins and the rest Jerseys.

To achieve a relatively flat production curve, the herd calves in three batches: six weeks each in autumn and spring and a three-week batch in November.

While Greg takes a strong interest in breeding cows and selecting sires, it is, at the end of the day, a business decision, and a cost that has to be justified.

“Apart from land, our herd is our biggest asset and our cows’ ability to turn feed into milk is fundamental to our profitability,” Greg said.

“If I can breed cows that produce more milk from a tonne of feed I’m more likely to stay in business, regardless of the seasonal conditions.

“But we don’t have to spend more on semen to achieve this, and we certainly don’t go for the most expensive bulls in the catalogue,” he said.

Greg describes his approach as ‘a third, a third a third’.

“A third of the straws we buy are young progeny test bulls; a third are young genomic sires and a third are proven. The lower cost of the PT and young genomic straws offsets the higher cost of the proven sires.”

Greg says this approach does not involve any compromise in genetic

WHO:

Greg Ault WHERE:

Rochester, Victoria WHAT:

Breeding for profit

gain; describing it mainly as a way to avoid ‘having too many eggs in the one basket’.

“I’ve got absolute confidence in the young genomic bulls and the science behind their breeding values. They represent the latest genetics, so if I was looking for value for money, I’d always choose a young genomic bull over a discounted ‘proven bull from yesterday.’”

Greg selects from the top BPI sires, and within that group he looks at their Australian Breeding Values (ABVs) for protein, mastitis and fertility.

With two breeds in the herd he is also mindful of stature to avoid breeding larger Holsteins or smaller Jerseys.

Like all dairy farmers, Greg made budget cuts in response to this season’s milk price but he doesn’t expect any impact on genetic progress.

“The first thing I looked for is better efficiencies, especially in growing and utilising feed,” Greg said.

An early decision was made to cull more heavily than normal, while the chopper price was good.

With more than 90% of the herd bred to AI and the use of sexed semen in recent years, Greg consistently has

TIPS FOR CONTROLLING COSTS ■■

Use bulls from the Good Bulls Guide. The top 100 bulls range in price from about $10 to $85 so there are good bulls for every budget.

■■

Keep using AI. Herd bulls are not a cheaper option and daughters produce 52kg less fat and protein on average.

■■

Keep herd recording. It’s the tool to help you make better decisions.

■■

Use enough semen. Allow about six straws of conventional semen for every replacement needed in three years’ time.

■■

Don’t waste semen using poor technique or joining cows that aren’t suitable.

(Source: ADHIS)

surplus replacements, so he culled for mastitis, fertility and production knowing he had the capacity to build up numbers again next season if needed.

He says that herd testing would be one of the last things to cut from the budget.

“Herd testing pays for itself on cell

count alone, but its value goes way beyond that. With three calving batches I rely on the results to make routine decisions about drying off and breeding. And it really comes into its own in a difficult season when we need to make hard decisions about reducing herd size.”

Next time he’s due to order semen, Greg will review the quantity of more expensive straws (proven sires and sexed semen), in the context of the milk price outlook.

“We can save money by using more young genomic or PT straws and fewer proven bulls. That has no impact on genetic gain because the young bulls represent the latest genetics,” he said.

The decision about sexed semen is less clear cut. While the upfront cost is higher, Greg considers the returns are greater, both in the short (more replacements) and longer term (genetic gain).

“We’ve been really happy with the results from fresh sexed semen. We’ve contained the cost by using it over about half the maiden heifers. This fast tracks genetic gain by breeding replacements from our latest genetics and we can generate income by selling any surplus replacements,” he said.

Source: ADHIS Visit www.adhis.com.au

Holstein legend Delsanto dies AUSTRALIAN HOLSTEIN

legend Delsanto passed away last month aged 12 years. Genetics Australia general manager Anthony Shelley said Delsanto was one of the oldest bulls in active service for the co-op.

It appears that he died of heart failure.

“Delsanto was one of a number of Informer sons at Genetics Australia and was renowned for siring cows with tremendous strength, capacity and milk components with medium stature and in this respect, he is a complete contrast to many of the imported sires available today,” Anthony said.

“His genetics have stood the test of time and he still ranks in the top 1% of the population for BPI, TWI, HWI and is in the top 2% for udders.

“He currently has just short of 2500 daughters in his production proof and is set to add many more over the next few years,” he said.

Delsanto’s semen has been exported internationally to the USA, Europe, New Zealand, Latin America and South Africa.

Bred by Ian and Peter Willcocks of Manna Farm Holsteins, Delstanto came from their outstanding “D” family.

His dam, grand-dam and great grand-dam are great exam-

ples of the ‘Australian Cow’ and his great grand-dam, Manna Farm Apollo Dee is a former Australian Cow of the Year.

Anthony said Delsanto’s legacy was already being felt through a number of sons including rising star Picola.

“Picola is the sire of a dozen or so sons at Genetics Australia and next year there will be great grand-sons of Delsanto included in our genomic young sire line up.

“The impact of Delsanto and his unique mix of genetics will be felt for years through his descendants. He will be remembered as a great sire of the ‘Australian kind of cow’,” Anthony said.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

BREEDING MANAGEMENT // 17

New era for herd improvement THE FIRST annual

general meeting of DataGene in December will herald a new era in herd improvement for the Australian dairy industry.

CEO Dr Matt Shaffer said DataGene presented a rare opportunity for the industry to shape its future by participating in an independent and collaborative organisation that would drive genetic gain and herd improvement through research, development and extension activities.

DataGene was formed in July 2016, with the purchase of DataGene Central, the software that runs most herd test centres (formerly HICO’s Mistro Centre).

DataGene’s second key function is genetic evaluation, which became operational with the acquisition of the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme in November.

Matt said that DataGene’s mandate was to make herd improvement easier, faster, smarter and better, for both farmers and the industry organisations that provide supporting services.

“While the past six

months have involved a lot of ground work, we have reached some important milestones in recent weeks and a number of exciting products and services are scheduled to roll out in 2017, including the first stage of the much-anticipated centralised data repository,” he said.

Matthew Shaffer The AGM will see election of reflects strong support for four additional directors a collaborative approach to the DataGene board, and we look forward to adding to the existing delivering a platform for directors who represent innovation that will make the three foundation data more complete, member organisations: Dairy Australia, Australian accessible and useful,” Ross said.

Dairyfarmers (ADF) “The construction of a and the National Herd Improvement Association unified system including genetic evaluation, a of Australia (NHIA). centralised data repository The AGM will also see the first round of industry and herd test software also creates new opportunities members join DataGene.

DataGene’s ownership for farmers and service providers. structure allows for “For decades, the dairy additional industry industry has dreamed of a organisations to become collaborative approach to members with Dairy the collection and use of Australia, ADF and NHIA herd improvement data,” collectively retaining 65% he said. membership rights.

“DataGene provides Chair Ross Joblin the frame-work and welcomed new member resources to make that a organisations.

“Industry participation reality.” (Source: ADHIS)

Conference set to pack a punch IF YOU are interested in dairy herd

improvement you won’t want to miss Herd 17, the dairy industry’s biennial conference to be held at Bendigo, March 22-23, 2017.

The conference has a reputation for presenting exciting speakers at the cutting edge of herd improvement, and Herd 17 is no exception with several world leaders on the program.

Marj Faust will speak about skills, attitude and change, drawing upon her experience with one of the world’s largest and globally competitive bull companies.

In charge of the development of new reproductive technologies at Genus ABS Global, Marj sees a quantum change ahead but warns these changes must be underpinned by the right combination of attitude and skill.

She will give delegates a unique insight into the emerging technologies and the challenges of introducing them.

Andrew Fear will share the highs

and lows of herd recording during New Zealand’s milk price volatility, a journey that is being replicated in Australia.

As general manager of operations and services with LIC, NZ, Andrew will share the company’s experiences and what they are doing to combat volatility.

Michelle Axford, from the Herd 17 organising committee, said the program was designed to help delegates look forward to new horizons while providing a practical take on the latest developments.

It will also provide updates on significant developments in herd improvement on the home front, including the recently formed organisations, DataGene and DairyBio. Delegates will get sneak previews into new breeding values under development and the latest results from key projects such as Improving Herds.

To book, contact Laura Calder, Holstein Australia ph: 03 9835 7627 or email lcalder@holstein.com.au

Third ABV update keeps farmers in the know BREEDING CHOICES can be even more up-to-date, with the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme releasing a mid-December public release of Australian Breeding Values (ABVs).

The new releases see the reliability of production trait ABVs for Holstein and Jersey breeds increased, with recent refinements to the model.

Until now, public ABV releases have occurred twice a year in April and August.

Michelle Axford from ADHIS said it now made sense to provide a third update in December due to the additional data available from genotyped animals and performance data from overseas and Australia.

“Farmers and their advisers will be able to access the updated information through the Good Bulls App, and the Good Bulls Guide and

Tasmanian breeder George Wagner produces top quality bulls, cementing his position for top herd in the August release.

cow lists published on the web,” Michelle said.

Owners of Holstein and Jersey breeds can also expect improved reliability of the ABVs of both bulls and cows.

“The refinements to the model for calculating ABVs were implemented for Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Illawarra and Aussie Red breeds

in April 2015. We know from this experience that the ABVs for young – first crop – bulls will be more stable over time, with the refined model in place.” she said.

For more information and the latest ABV lists, visit www.adhis. com.au or contact Michelle Axford at ADHIS ph (03) 8621-4240 or email maxford@adhis.com.au

L A I C SPE T R O REP NEXT ISSUE: FEBRUARY PASTURE IMPROVEMENT The huge productivity gains available through pasture renewal have been proven by research and by farmer experience over recent years. Renovating pastures with new high yielding grass varieties means more milk in the vat and more money in the bank.

The February issue of Dairy News will feature a special report on the latest technology, equipment and techniques to use to get the most out of Pasture Improvement.

BOOKING DEADLINE: February 1 MATERIAL DEADLINE: February 7 PUBLISHED: February 14 CONTACT: BRETT MATTHEWS T: 0417.440.009 E: brettm@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

18 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Design crucial to cow comfort RICK BAYNE

AUSTRALIAN DAIRY farmers con-

sidering housing their cows should give them choices, according to a visiting Canadian animal welfare researcher.

Professor Dan Weary told a Dairy Australia webinar that the ideal option for housing involved access to outdoor areas, a quality lying environment and clean, well-managed walking areas.

And Prof. Weary said farmers should make sure that engineers designing barns know about cows.

Prof. Weary, from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, cofounded the university’s animal welfare program and co-directs the active research group.

Speaking at a Dairy Australia webinar on November 23, Professor Weary said if farmers spend a lot of money on an indoor facility, they need to make it work well for their animals.

“There are ways of making it better but providing the animals with opportunity for choice is an important advantage of some of these systems. Even within a herd, different cows can have different preferences.”

Despite some problems, Prof. Weary said indoor housing has benefits and a role to play for Australian farmers.

“We have the idea that cows being outside on grass is the gold standard,” he said.

“People will say the ideal option is pasture, but there’s an important role still for housing. I think the ideal is providing the cow an opportunity for choice.”

Most cattle are housed in Canada “so we have lots of experience with what goes wrong”, Prof. Weary said, citing both design and management flaws.

“One thing that makes me want to bang my head – people build beautiful cubicles set for one cow per cubi-

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Prof. Weary said farmers need to get the right advice at the right time.

“Once you’ve poured the concrete, you could see things like the drinker is in the wrong place or the food alley is too small so a dominant cow will block the lane and the subordinate cows will be waiting for hours. These can be fixed if they get the right advice at the right stage.”

He said a quality resting environment was essential and farmers shouldn’t skimp on bedding.

“It comes down to copious amounts of dry, well-maintained bedding,” he said.

“As long as there have been barns, there have been people selling the idea that you can house cows indoors with a low-bedding or a no-bedding system with things like mattresses or rubber mats.

“For the most part, those options don’t work very well and cause skin lesions, leg injuries and lameness.”

Designs should also include good standing areas.

“Our indoor environments are designed and built by engineers who love concrete and steel, which are highly resilient materials but not the surfaces the cow would choose,” Prof. Weary said.

“People will say the ideal option is pasture, but there’s an important role still for housing.”

– Prof. Dan Weary “A lot of time standing on concrete is very hard on their feet, especially if the surface is wet, and especially if it is covered in a layer of manure slurry which is very often found in indoor environments.”

Getting the design right is only half the battle, as management is just as important.

“It’s one thing to say you have a deep bedding system, but you have to manage that so the surface remains dry, clean and even for the cows,” Prof. Weary said.

“It’s the same thing for standing surfaces – keeping manure off the surfaces is a good start. If you’re using a housed environment, it requires a high level of management.”

Prof. Weary encouraged farmers to

provide access to outdoor areas.

“An ideal option is some outdoor access to pasture,” he said.

“Think of it as a rest area for the cow so they are no longer standing on dangerous concrete surfaces.”

North American cows with the dual option tend to spend the warmer parts of the day in the shade of the barn and then time outside on pasture, mostly at night.

“From the cow’s perspective, the opportunity for choice to be on grass when they want and be out of the sun and in a dry environment can be very important. If well managed, it is a relief from extreme weather.”

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cows away from wet pastures, does it provide a suitable area for cows to lie down in? Concrete is not suitable and wet concrete and concrete with manure on top is particularly damaging for their feet,” he said.

Bedded surfaces must be able to drain properly and stay reasonably dry.

Prof. Weary said Australian dairy has a big advantage in its green pasture based image.

However, he said that non-pasture based options are important in regions with lesser pasture growth.

“Even areas with excellent pasture, having a well-managed, well-designed alternative area can be important for the cows and to provide respite and protection for the grass itself,” he added.

“One responsibility of farmers is to provide protection to animals, including from high levels of heat, lack of shade or very wet muddy areas.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

ANIMAL HEALTH // 19

Milk culture samples present a clear picture ROD DYSON, DAIRY FOCUS

PAUL MILKS about

600 cows through a large herringbone dairy in northern Victoria.

The farm’s Bulk Milk Cell Count (BMCC) and number of clinical cases of mastitis had been climbing steadily throughout the wet winter and spring, and it was failing to respond to everything the farm team had tried.

We decided to begin by having a meeting with Paul and key management staff around the kitchen table just to get a handle on where everything was at.

The wet winter had been especially difficult – like many farms in the region, part of the farm had been laser levelled and re-sown in the autumn and was simply unavailable for the cows during the wet.

The remaining areas had become extremely muddy, and so had the lanes.

This meant that milking had been an enormous chore as copious amounts of mud had to be washed from teats at virtually every milking.

As a result, both management and milking staff were exhausted and frustrated, and everyone was pleased to think that it looked like they had just seen the end of a long, wet winter.

But while the weather seemed to have turned the corner, the BMCC and clinical mastitis had not – what could be causing this amount of trouble?

As always, we suggested milk cultures as being vitally important in order to fully understand what is happening.

The farm had actually already taken a small number of cultures, and whilst there were indeed some environmental mastitis bacteria present, there were also a few Staph aureus cultures.

It was difficult to meaningfully interpret

this number of cultures.

Also, all of these cultures were from clinical cases, but the main presenting problem was the high BMCC. We needed more cultures from clinical cases and we needed cultures from high cell count cows to get a clear picture.

So the farm continued to collect samples from clinical cases and a herd test was organised.

From the herd test results, about 30 cows with a range of higher cell counts and ages were sampled and composite milk cultures were taken from all four quarters of these cows.

The farm team had done a great job of hygienically collecting samples – out of 27 cows sampled, only three samples were contaminated, and there were only five “No Growth” results.

Of the remaining 19 cows which had a positive culture result, 15 were Staph aureus, with only one Strep uberis.

Staph aureus is a cow associated (or contagious) mastitis bacteria, meaning that none of the Staph infections were sourced from the environment and all the spread of Staph infections was occurring in the dairy during the milking process.

This was now a very different picture to the initial assumption that the problem was environmental due to the wet weather and extremely muddy conditions on the farm.

The lessons to be learned from this case are important for us all to remember: Milk cultures are vital to understanding a mastitis or milk quality problem in a herd – especially to understand the source of infections, and where spread of infection might be occurring.

You cannot tell what the bacteria causing the problem is likely to be by the appearance of the environment, or the cows,

or the mastitis.

You need a sufficient number of samples to get a clear picture – the more, the better, as a small number of samples can be

very misleading.

You need samples from both clinical cases and high cell count cows, and you need to ensure the samples represent

the problem being investigated.

Things can, and do, change from season to season, and year to year on dairy farms.

So, where to now for this herd?

Knowing the main source of infection and where spread of infection is occurring gives us a

clear roadmap of where we need to go from here.

We will need to have a close look at the milking process to see what changes are necessary.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

20 // INTERNATIONAL DAIRY WEEK

Connect with community at dairy’s biggest week WITH 2016 being a tough year for many in the dairy community, now more than ever International Dairy Week is a fantastic opportunity for friends to connect, new friends to be made and the business of determining this season’s best cows in their class to be decided.

“People come to IDW to catch up with friends every year,” says IDW organiser extraordinaire Robyn Barber.

“It’s really important for these connections to be emphasised this year, that’s what we hope for 2017.”

Now in its 28th year, IDW runs in Tatura, Victoria from Sunday, January 17 and closes on Thursday, January 21 with the presentation of the interbreed champion.

Daily admission is $10 for adults; children are free. Weekly passes can be purchased for $30.

Part of the entry fee is donated to a charity.

Kicking off the festivities is the event’s non-denominational church

Robyn Moore will be a guest speaker at the Power of Women in Dairying dinner.

service. Celebrating 21 years young, the service, which began in 1997, is on Sunday morning (January 15) from 9.30-10.30am.

Mark Conner, senior pastor at City Life Church in Melbourne, will be the key speaker and all are welcome to both

the service and the light refreshments afterwards.

The next generation of dairy farmers then take centre stage with the Holstein Australia Victoria Youth Challenge Trials at 12pm and the VASL State Junior Judging and Parading Final.

And it’s another big day from 8am on Monday with the ABS Australia/ Ridley All Breeds National Youth Show and the IDW Youth Showmanship Classes.

On Tuesday, the Dairy Farm and Machinery Field Days begin and run for three days.

The Field Days, proudly supported

by Dairy News Australia, will be open to the public from Tuesday, January 17, through to Thursday, January 19.

Open from 9am to 5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and close at 1.30pm on Thursday.

The popular IDW seminar program will be held from Tuesday, January 17 to Thursday, January 19 in the tennis club

rooms across the road from IDW. The seminars cover a variety of subjects, including how to reduce stress in calves, how to reduce lameness, achieving consistent growth rate in young stock, information on the new Forage Value Index, an update on grain markets, and reproduction advice.

Robyn said visitors could expect displays that will cover all aspects of their farming operation at this year’s Dairy Farm and Machinery Field Days.

“We have businesses coming from South Australia, Queensland, NSW and Victoria to participate, providing an excellent chance for any person involved in the industry to see the latest farm equipment and machinery in a relaxed environment.”

Major sponsors for Australia’s largest dairy expo include Semex, RuralCo, RASV and the City of Greater Shepparton.

The World Wide Sires Evolution Sale will be held on the Wednesday evening at 7.30pm.

The Jersey Showcase Sale will be held at 11.30am on Wednesday, January 18, and the Elite Guernsey Sale, will be held at midday on that day.

There are seven cattle shows across the program and the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria’s highly coveted Interbreed Champion will be presented as part of International Dairy Week.

Throughout the event, visitors can visit an air-conditioned marquee to see daughters of some of ABS’ best bulls in the flesh, who stand out from the crowd.

The ABS Showcase is located adjacent to the Blackmore & Leslie pavilion and will be open every day at IDW from 10am.

On Tuesday evening from 8pm at Tatura Park, virtual farm tours will be held in the Blackmore & Leslie Pavilion.

Come along and hear and see all about two extraordinary farming operations.

The National All Breeds Youth Camp will again be held as part of IDW following the success of last year’s event.

The camp enables its young participants to develop their leadership skills as well as improving their cattle showmanship.

TO PAGE 21

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

INTERNATIONAL DAIRY WEEK // 21

Take time out to learn more planned approach that is supported by the whole farm team. Most types of lameness in cattle can be prevented by good stockmanship, attention to herd nutrition and maintenance of yards and laneways. The Healthy Hooves program has been developed by Dairy Australia to assist with developing a preventative lameness program. This seminar covers a range of topics and includes lameness scoring; how to build and maintain tracks; basic stock handling skills and cow behavior; how to examine a lame cow; treatment of common forms of lameness.

TUESDAY JANUARY 17 9am How do you reduce stress and rear healthier calves?

Jannine Brennan – ProviCo

Jannine Brennan has intensively reared large numbers of Holstein and Jersey calves over a 10 year period including dairy heifer replacements (domestic and export) as well as Wagyu, F1 heifers and steers. Jannine has worked with many calf-rearers to improve calf shed design, feeding programs, hygiene and sick calf management. Jannine has a wealth of experience in managing and preventing disease in calf sheds across Victoria. This talk discusses practical ways of keeping calves healthy and preventing calf disease.

11am Animal performance - lameness Murray Dairy

Lameness is not an easy problem to fix. It is caused by many factors that differ between individual cows and farms. Reducing the number of lame cows in your herd requires a long-term

12.30pm US livestock genetics 2pm Growing stronger every day MaxCare

MaxCare is excited to present the team from Heiferlink who continue to lead the way in young stock management.

Heiferlink’s use of the latest technology and knowledge will provide practical answers for dairy farmers who are looking to maximise the potential of their young stock. Their presentation aims to help farmers achieve consistent growth rates in young stock; reduce the age of first calving heifers; and unlock genetic potential.

Australian dairy farmers invest more than $100 million renovating pastures each year. Perennial ryegrass accounts for almost 80% of this. Until now, there has been no easy way of assessing the agronomic performance or potential economic benefit of different cultivars for use in dairy production. The Forage Value Index is a new tool that helps Australian dairy producers and their advisors to make more informed decisions when selecting perennial ryegrass cultivars. It provides an accurate, reliable and independent assessment of the potential economic value of perennial ryegrass cultivars in different dairy regions of southeast Australia. The selection of better performing cultivars will help to increase pasture productivity at key times of the year and ultimately, farm profitability.

11am A grain market outlook for dairy farmers Linden Stevens - Ridley

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 18 9.30am Better pastures, better profitability Murray Dairy

What are the major drivers for international and domestic grain prices for 2017? How will this impact

major grain raw material inputs across the feed sector? Join Linden Stevens as he leads a discussion covering these important topics using his expertise in grain accumulation and grain price risk management.

12.30 pm Bringing back the art of breeding Dann Brady – Cogent Australia

this presentation so RSVP for this session is required to Peter Semmens on 0488 404 373.

2pm Calf health and colostrum management - preventing scours Zoetis

THURSDAY JANUARY 19 9.30am Handling reproduction in a proactive way Viking Genetics

Dann Brady will discuss the reasons behind the recent joint venture with Cogent Breeding Limited and Blondin Sires partnership and the benefits it will deliver to Australian dairy farmers. Dann is currently co-owner and manager of Blondin Sires and is also sales and marketing manager at Ferme Blondin. Having been at Ferme Blondin for four years, Dann is responsible for the sire selection, embryo sales, genetic research and marketing & social media. He expresses his excitement to be returning to Australia to introduce the partnership between Blondin Sires and Cogent. Light Lunch and Refreshments will be served during

Viking Genetics Australia have undertaken a trial with 11 herds in Victoria involving 2500 cows. The aim of the trial was to improve the six week in calf rate from the start of the joining period. The mechanics of the trial included two rectal examinations of all cows before the start of the joining period. The cows were broken into the five categories of treatments or actions pre joining, which resulted in a staggering 22% increase in the six week in calf rate to AI above results from the previous year. Viking and Vaxa will start this service in 2017.

11am Teatsealing Heifers Zoetis

12.20pm TBA Alltech

Connect with community at IDW 2017 FROM PAGE 20

And after it’s popular debut last year, the Power of Women in Dairy event is back, held on Tuesday, January 17 at 6.30pm.

It’s an excellent opportunity for women who want to create opportunities for networking, learning

and inspiration from others working in the dairy industry. And just to share a meal and a laugh.

Guest speakers are motivational speaker Robyn Moore and Annie Chesworth from Hunter Belle Cheese.

The Bette Hall Power of Women in Dairy Excellence Award will be

presented, and there will be an update on the Young Women in Dairy scholarship.

Cellar 47 will host the NHIA International Dairy Dinner.

The Dairy News Australia team will also be at the field days to chat to exhibitors and visitors.

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Annie Chesworth, from Hunter Bell Cheeses, will speak at the PoW in Dairy dinner.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

22 // INTERNATIONAL DAIRY WEEK

Top judging line up for shows All Breeds National Youth Show Dan Carroll, USA Dan Carroll from College Station Texas, is the dairy program’s manager for Sexing Technologies.

In this role Dan has connection to coordinating the male and female program at ST Gen. Dan is also the sales manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Judging has taken Dan to multiple countries including South America, Australia Central America, Asia as well as numerous state and national shows in the USA. Dan has judged at IDW and at the Royal Sydney Show.

IDW Sheri Martin Memorial Youth Showmanship Awards Cameron Yarnold, Australia Cameron Yarnold is the owner of Arrallik Holsteins based at Wingham, NSW. Cameron established his stud Arrallik Holsteins in 2007 and combined with Master Breeder herd Killarra Park, Cameron and the Yarnold family farm and milk around 120 stud Holsteins and Jerseys on 141ha.

Arrallik Holsteins has had great success in winning IDW Juvenile Champion in 2009 and Supreme Champion at Sydney Royal in 2010 Reserve Intermediate Sydney Royal 2015 and recently Reserve and Honourable mention Juvenile at Sydney Royal 2016. Cameron has judged shows at Toowomba

Royal, Sydney Royal, Murray Bridge, Gympie, Berry, Wauchope, Cobargo, Tasmania, Adelaide Royal and most recently has been The Associate Judge for the 2016 Victorian Winter Fair.

Australia, Holland, Mexico, Brazil and Canada, Argentina, & the UK.

National Illawarra Show

Warren is from the Waikato/ King Country area in New Zealand.

Ferdon was founded in 1945 by Warren’s father Don with Jersey cows. The stud now hosts all three breeds, Jersey, Holstein and Ayrshire. All three breeds have been shown with success over the years.

At the 2016 Waikato Show Ferdon won every all breeds in-milk class (except for the age cow) and also winning All Breeds’ Intermediate and

Michael Heath, USA Michael Heath was brought up on Spring Valley Jersey Farm, Westminster where his family instilled his passion for cattle at a young age.

Michael owns about 75 head of Holsteins and 60 head of Jerseys.

He has judged shows internationally in Switzerland, Ireland,

National Ayrshire Show Warren Ferguson, NZ

Senior Champion and Reserve Champion cows.

Warren’s judging has taken him all over New Zealand and Australia with major appointments being the NZ Holstein Friesian Semex On Farm Final in 2016 and IDW Jersey Judge in 2012.

National Jersey Show Chris Lahmers, USA Chris Lahmers has been the dairy programs specialist for COBASelect Sires for 15 years.

He, along with his family, own Brown Velvet Brown Swiss and Lah-Dale Holsteins, consisting of 20 and 15-head respectively.

Brown Velvet has bred five All-American Brown Swiss and owned the 2005 Brown Swiss Intermediate Champion at World Dairy Expo.

Chris has served as an official judge across North America.

Highlights include officiating the 2014 TB Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the 2013 All-American Jersey Show, the 2012 International Junior Holstein Show, 2011 International Brown Swiss Show and 2011 National Jersey Jug Futurity.

Chris Lahmers, his wife Elizabeth, and children Elaina, Ava and Audrey live in Marysville, Ohio.

National Holstein Show Paul Trapp, USA With over 20 years of industry experience, Paul Trapp is currently a product acquisition specialist for Semex. Paul, along with his wife, Sarah, and sons, Kole and Beau own an elite group of Registered Brown Swiss, Jerseys, and Holsteins, where they have received AllAmerican nominations across all three breeds.

He is also a partner in PitCrew Genetics, which has received 21 Brown Swiss All-American Nominations since 2007, including the 2015 All-American Summer Yearling. Paul has judged shows in 20 different states at the local, state, and national levels, and internationally in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom.

National Guernsey Show Carla Stetzer, USA Carla has been working in the AI industry for 15 years.

As an area sales manager with Accelerated Genetics, she has worked with dairy genetics, linear evaluation, reproduction protocols,

and helped provide numerous sales tools.

Carla has judged numerous district and state shows in the United States of America.

She was also a successful coach for the Jackson county dairy judging team.

Carla has judged the Guernsey Show at the Wisconsin State Fair and was the 5th highest individual in the Guernsey breed at the National Collegiate Judging Contest.

National Brown Swiss Show Nathan Thomas, USA Nathan Thomas hails from North Lewisburg, Ohio.

He owns and operates Triple-T Holsteins and Jerseys along with his family.

Nathan most recently judged the Grand International Red & White Show in Madison, Wisconsin, the National Holstein Show in Brazil and the National Show in Quettero, Mexico. In 2015, Nathan judged the International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo. He also judged the Central National Jersey show in Madison, WI in 2014. Other highlights include recently serving as official judge for the 2015 Canadian National Holstein Convention Show in New Brunswick, Canada and the 2015 Royal Winter Fair Jersey Show.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

INTERNATIONAL DAIRY WEEK // 23

Better option for downer cows on display A SYSTEM promising a more

humane and effective transport of Downer Cows will be on display at the IDW Farm and Machinery Field Days next month.

Developed by Gippsland based veterinarian, Dr John Steinfort, the Pelvic Lift and Riser Tanks can be used together and the company says they help to significantly increase downer cow recovery rates.

Dr Steinfort says the pelvic lift is designed to lift and transport cows for both short and long distances.

“The unique design enables 50% of the weight to be taken by the hips, like traditional hip clamps, with the other 50% taken via the pelvic seat being positioned under the pelvis, well above the udder,” he says.

The addition of a webbing strap evenly lifts the brisket.

“The lift is quick and easy to apply and supports the cow well,” he says.

Dr Steinfort says the cow is lifted horizontally, so the animal’s

back is straight and aligned, unlike using hip clamps where the hind legs are tilted down, straining the lower back.

“Once a cow is lifted she can either walk away or be transported and placed in the RiserTank to further assist the recovery process.”

The RiserTank provides a confined space in water to enable the cow to stand and feed for longer

than normal.

“Up to half of the cow’s body weight is reduced when standing in water,” he said. “Standing in warm water invigorates the cows to eat and drink.

“Generally a cow stands in warm water for 4 to 6 hours or longer initiallypre session, twice a day, with a two hour break and a full rest at night.

“The cows are continually left in the tank with the majority of water let out at the end of each session to provide time for the cow to rest.

“The tank is again refilled with water for the next session - this process is repeated until the cow can confidently stand without the buoyancy of water.”

Dr Steinfort says research sing the RiserTank has shown an 80% recovery for calving paralysis cases, with all recovered cows returning to milk within 7 days.

Xavier Parkinson who milks 900 cows at Koroit in Western Victoria, said the RiserTank has doubled their downer cow recovery rate and has helped them in developing a standard procedure to better manage downer cows.

“The use of the RiserTank has significantly saved on labour,” he said.

• The products will be on display at the IDW Farm and Machinery Field Days.

Riding the genomics juggernaut BRIAN BEHNKE tied himself to the mast of the speeding genomics juggernaut when he took on the role of business manager of ABS’s globally renowned breeding business, St Jacobs.

Brian is heading to International Dairy Week in January to meet the Brian Behnke dairy farmers and specialist breeders who flock to the St Jacobs banner for high type sires.

Genetic selection criteria have changed rapidly since the introduction of genomics.

Bull selection has shifted and increasingly favours what can be seen in the genomic evaluation numbers.

Breeding businesses are under pressure to keep pace with the changing demands of dairy farmers seeking increasingly rapid rates of genetic gain.

Brain comes to the new role, which he took on in July 2016, with a wealth of experience in dairy cattle breeding and the AI industry.

He has a thorough understanding of genomics, evaluation systems and pedigrees and has worked as a sales manager and sire analyst.

Born and bred in Wisconsin, in the heart of US dairy country, he is now responsible for the global strategic direction of the St Jacobs brand and product offering as well as promoting the brand across the different business regions.

Brian will be at the ABS marquee at IDW on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 January.

Wet winters - hot summers We’ve got you covered Take control of your pasture based farming system with a clear roofed, deep litter dairy shelter

Clear Roofed Deep Litter Stand-off Shelters are steel framed with a flexible clear roof (polythene) membrane. Adaptable designs with options such as internal shade screens and vents. Easily customised to your farming system. Many uses from feed pad shelters, calf rearing, stand off shelter or wintering barn.

On farm benefits:  Environment & animal friendly  Pasture control  Effluent control  Management control  Reduced labour  Increased production Come have a chat at International Dairy Week or ring on the numbers below.

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Simon Rea - Phone: 0427 676343 David Colson - Phone: 0437 610720 Email: info@dairysheltersaustralia.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

24 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Lelys Discovery Collector.

Moving muck like magic MARK DANIEL

DAIRY

AUTOMATION

specialist Lely has developed a version of its Discovery robot to remove manure from solid floors, unlike the original which could only push muck through floor slats.

The Discovery Collector contains a vacuum pump to ‘hoover’ up manure after first softening it with a front mounted water nozzle, then using a following spray to wet the floor to prevent it becoming slippery.

On board, two water bladders of 70L capacity are filled from a docking station at the end of a cycle, and in a neat piece of design, the bladder containing the manure expands as the water tanks empty.

After a run, manure is emptied from the machine at a designated dump site.

The Collector navigates independently using in-built sensors, following an easily programmed, pre-determined path at pre-determined times.

Available in Europe in early 2017 and elsewhere later in the year. www.lely.com

Big solution for a big problem They don’t come much bigger than the Giltrap Engineering vacuum tanker.

DAIRY EFFLUENT, par-

ticularly slurry, can be a big problem, and as environmental pressures increase, there’s no doubt that dairy farmers will need to take a close look at their existing systems, and learn to understand the nutrient value of this by-product.

Big problems need big solutions, and they don’t come much bigger than the Giltrap Engineering vacuum tanker.

With a capacity of 20,000 litres, 8.5 metre length, 3.2 metre height and a tare weight of 7.7 tonnes, this behemoth should certainly make a large hole in the effluent pond during the working day.

Manufactured from 6mm plate steel the tank is supported along its full length by

a heavy duty integrated chassis, the superstructure is carried on a HD tri-axle bogie system, with steered front and rear axles, fitted with oversized tyres, and offering hydraulic braking on all six wheels to stop progress safely.

High spec European componentry is used throughout

and includes a Battioni Pagani rotary vane vacuum pump featuring auto lubrication to deliver 12,000 litres per minute output to fill the beast in less than two minutes.

Pump protection sees a double moisture trap layout, whilst all fittings are either brass or heavily galvanised steel for corrosion protec-

tion and an extended operating life Internally the tank is fitted with a reinforced baffle plate to prevent liquid surging as the tank empties, and offers twin manhole access points for easy entry to facilitate cleaning and maintenance.

Around the machine, three filling points are fitted as standard, which use 200mm sectional hoses for rapid filling.

Shown at the 2016 Elmore Field Days with optional sprung axles, and the operator-friendly autofill system, the range is offered with a three-year warranty for peace of mind, and can be customised with a range of accessories to suit individual operating requirements. www.giltrapag.com.au

POWER UP YOUR PASTURES WITH A JOHN SHEARER DRILL

Increase your pastures’ feed density with a John Shearer drill and get the most out of the land you already have. Shearer seed drills are designed and built in Australia for our unique conditions. With variety of sizes and ground-tool configurations available, we have models to suit every region. Every machine is engineered for a long service life and top reliability with parts and support available nation wide.

Call 08 8268 9555 or visit johnshearer.com.au for more info or to find your local dealer.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 25

A one-fingered approach to UTEs WITH UTES

commanding an ever increasing share of the new vehicle market, a couple of neat accessories from PJS 4x4, will help make life a little easier, and more importantly a whole lot safer.

The ProLift Tailgate Assist System removes the risk of typically heavy tailgates free-falling to the fully open position and potentially hurting users or little ones, and helps raise the gate to the closed position with just one finger.

The system works with the help of a hydraulic damper, and combines with torsion bars built into the hinge points, to

remove all effort from opening or closing.

Installation is said to be easy without the need for any drilling.

Up on top of the tray, solid closed lids have become popular not least because of the security they offer.

Unfortunately, heavy duty construction results in a heavy lid, particularly when opening, so the TopUp UTE Lid could be a helpful answer.

A system of lifting arms, clever geometry, and assistor springs making lifting and lowering easy, but the three-point operating system means the lid can be used in the closed,

part-open and fully opened positions, even at maximum road speeds.

The partly open system allows the user to deal with slightly oversized or irregular loads, without the need to revert to a trailer, while the fully open position releases the whole load area for the biggest items and

increases the versatility of the system.

All lids are supplied with high quality Du Pont paint finishes to match the original vehicle colour, while the lid interior is fitted with a luxurious hard wearing fabric to protect itself and the load from abrasion. www.pjs4x4.com.au

PJS 4x4 sales manager Kevin Gribble.

Tyres not all black, round HANDS UP who’s walked into their tyre dealer to ask “what’s the best price on tyres for my ute?”

Of course, the question should be “what’s the best tyres for my ute considering the work I do?”

The humble ute has become a dual-purpose vehicle: farm duty during the week, family wagon for the weekend.

But on weekends, the $75,000 truck might be pulling a $70,000 boat, with the whole family on board – and the dog – yet running on tyres bought at a knockdown price and not truly up to the job.

So says Simon Billington, manager at Exclusive Tyre Distributors, which imports, amongst other brands, Coopers Tyres, whose band of loyal followers like the tyres’ extended life, guaranteed to 80,000km.

The US market, using 200 million tyres a year, is heavily regulated by the Dept of Transportation which tests tyres for a UTQG rating which covers tread wear, traction and temperature.

A higher tread wear number indicates the tyre should last longer; for example the Coopers CS5 has a rating of 780, meaning it should last 7.8 times longer than the testers’ control tyre.

The traction rating displays a tyre’s ability to stop in the wet (ratings from AA = best to C = worst), and the temperature grading looks at resistance to heat generation, the likely cause of blowouts or delamination (A = best, C = worst).

Simon suggests key questions for intending tyre buyers to ask their dealers: Discuss what you need from your tyres: are you always on sealed roads, or is off-road part of daily life?

Look at a range of tyres: are they 5-rib or 4-rib design?

The former is generally a tyre for highway and all-terrain use, while the 4-rib is for off-road use.

Look at the ‘paddle gaps’– the gaps between the tread blocks, and the ‘land to sea’ ratio. Regular tread blocks and narrow deep grooves are highway tyres, angle blocks with deep, wider channels are better for dispersal of mud.

Get the dealer to show comparable brands, because tyres theoretically same size might have up to 15% less tread width – the all-important contact patch with the road.

Finally, look at the tyre’s tread depth from new: some brands start life with 8mm of tread, but premium brands are likely to have 15mm of depth.– Mark Daniel

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2016

26 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Solutions that work for you on farm MARK DANIEL

GALLAGHER GROUP

has always been at the forefront of innovations and effective solutions for livestock farmers.

At Elmore Field Days this year they showcased their latest ideas for dairy herd mating and electric fencing solutions The Flashmate electronic heat detector is aimed at farmers wishing to improve their herd’s six week calving rates and AI detection.

The standalone, lightweight disposable device is placed on the animals’ rump and constantly monitors cow heat behaviour during the mating season.

Using technology similar to a touch screen on a smart device, and working in conjunction

with a smart microchip that identifies specific patterns of riding activity including frequency, number and time, the unit flashes red for 26 hours, indicating the animal is ready for AI. “Following a limited release in 2015, feedback has been very positive, and whilst farmers can’t control the weather or the milk price, upping their six week in-calf rate from 65% to 75% can result in a payback of $60 per cow per year,” Gallagher business development manager Mike Hemsley said.

Out in the paddock a number of solutions to everyday fencing problems should prove popular, including the S20 portable solar fence energiser, which builds on the technology first seen in the smaller S10 unit, and

YTO looks easy on the pocket MARK DANIEL

Flashmate flashes red when the cow is in heat.

is able to pack a punch for 1.2ha or 3km.

The device should provide a solution for those who don’t want to use a traditional battery powered unit, but still have a device that is claimed to operate for up to three weeks without sunshine, once its integral battery is charged up.

Complementing the

energiser, Gallagher engineers have come up with a new dual purpose insulated handle that uses a ring shaped designed to stop

The dual purpose handle stops portable fences “bouncing” off the permanent wire when being deployed.

the perennial problem of portable fences “bouncing” off the permanent wire when they are being deployed. www.gallagher.com.au

IF YOU’RE looking for a tractor with a bit more boogie, and big enough to handle a heavy feed trailer on a dairy or beef enterprise, it would be hard to pass the YTO X-1254.

Delivering 125hp, an air conditioned cabin and a front end loader, the ticket price at the 2016 Elmore Field Days was a tantalising $50k plus taxes.

YTO is the largest tractor builder in China, building machines from 20 to 220hp, using engines designed by Ricardo, which show many similarities to Perkins, and transmissions built at the St Dizier factory in France, which was previously the home of Case and latterly McCormick power trains.

The X-1254 has a naturally aspirated and mechanically injected 7.7 litre, six cylinder engine, which feeds through a dual LUK clutch assembly to a synchro-shuttle transmission with 12 forward and four reverse speeds.

At the rear lift capacity is said to be around 3 tonnes at the lift arms and an open-centre, tandem gear pump set-up which delivers around 70 litres per minute to the rear remotes, and powers the selflevelling, front end loader which offers a SWL of 1250kgs.

Up top, the cabin is said to be spacious, with heating and cooling and features dust filtration and offers excellent visibility through plenty of glass, and easy access through wide opening doors.

Les Clarke for distributor VCOTOM commented: “These tractors will appeal to those looking for a simple design, in this case based on the old Fiat 90 series. There are no electronics, so there is little to wrong, and the price will be hard to beat if your care to compare spec for spec.” www.vcotom.com.au

Turn your existing feed system into an ID-capable system with Advantage ID ➠ The latest product in the Feedomatic range ➠ Replaces your old feed motors with quality worm drive DC motors on each hopper ➠ Quickly and easily transform your old system into an ID system ➠ No disruption to your production as Advantage ID can be installed between milkings

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Christmas Sale Tatoma Feed Runner Mixer Wagon 26 m3, Pichon Muckmaster M1855 Spreader 18 Pichon TCI 14,200L slurry tanker with m3 capacity, rear hood with spinning dics auto filler $93,500 inc GST twin augers $108,900 inc GST $99,000 inc GST

Pichon TCI 11,350L slurry tanker with turbo filler $77,000 inc GST

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