PAGE 2 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011
Michael pursues Kenyan dairy By Simone Short MICHAEL Malone is not afraid of a challenge.
A place to sit: the children no longer have to eat on the floor after Michael built tables and chairs during his last visit to Kenya.
In April the Inverloch man will head to the small village of Kager in Kenya to begin plans to build a dairy for orphaned children. Last year, through the organisation, Orphfund, and the Bryn Hendry Foundation, Michael travelled to Kenya where he helped build three classrooms for the children of the Heartspring Orphanage, many of whom had lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. The classrooms enabled 70 more children from the orphanage to receive free education. During his five week visit, Michael admits he became “a bit bored” with helping the builders and started looking for other projects to help the orphanage. “When the kids ate their meals, they had nothing to sit on but a hard, concrete floor,” Michael said. “So I built tables and chairs for them to use instead.” Michael then set about looking for an even bigger project to take on. Along with the Heartspring Orphanage and school director, Tom Muga, a decision was made to build a dairy. “For breakfast in the morning, the kids eat porridge with water,” Michael said. “Having milk available will give them more protein and 50 per cent of the milk will be sold at the market, to cover the costs of the dairy and give the orphanage a little bit of income.” A dairy farmer at Ruby for many years, Michael began researching the requirements for building a dairy, with the help of friend Alan Vaughn, who had worked on similar projects in Bangladesh. They have decided to start with five cows with the hope of producing 100 litres of milk every day. Michael plans to source and buy cows when he heads to Kager in April, with building of the dairy to commence in July. “We need to grow crops as a main source of feed and they should be planted soon,” he said. “Water, on the other hand, is a big problem.” At the moment, the people of Kager must fill bottles of water from a well, and women carry it back to the village on their heads. “Five cows need half a tonne of water a day, which is a lot of water for the women to carry on their heads!” Michael exclaimed. “We need to get a price on water tanks, which I’ll be doing in April.” Michael and Tom looked at a number of small dairies in other areas to see how they operated, however Michael reported the
Michael Malone: loves a challenge. majority of them were “pretty average”. “We hope to do a much better job,” he said. Of course, planting crops and buying a few cows is only the start. There will be a number of challenges to getting the dairy up and running successfully. “The locals need to be educated on how to maintain the dairy and look after the cows,” Michael said. “To avoid getting ticks, the cows will need to be washed and sprayed once a week. It’s not easy to look after cows and have them produce 40L of milk a day like we do in Australia. If we can get their cows producing 20L a day I’ll be rapt.” Now for the catch. In order to build the dairy, volunteers and donations are required. “We’re looking for six to eight people who want to come over to Kenya for a month and help us out,” Michael said. Each volunteer will need to purchase their own flights and raise up to $3000 for the project. The Leongatha Rotary Club, as well as a number of Rotary clubs from around South Gippsland, are donating to the cause and around $6000 has already been raised. Aside from building the dairy, volunteers can help teach the children at the orphanage and school. Michael describes the experience as a life changing opportunity. “We are looking for committed volunteers who are passionate about helping children living in poverty and understand that help is required long after we get back from the project,” Michael said. “This is an opportunity to live with the Kenyan people in their environment, well away from the tourist trail, living life in African time.” If you are interested in volunteering or making a donation, please contact Michael on 0407 343 843 or email info@ eugenies.com.au
New classrooms: one of the buildings volunteers completed with the help of the Bryn Hendry Foundation, in September last year.
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011 - PAGE 3
Bedroom secret to champion cheese great help. “I may complain about always being surrounded by women, but having excelWHEN you see the swag of awards lent staff really helps,” he said, speaking Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese about Amanda Ford, Laura Rowe and has won, it’s hard to believe Barry Heather Hancock. Although Barry is too modest to adCharlton has been making blue vein mit it, his unique talent is also a large cheese for less than four years. In 2007, with more than 30 years of factor in Berrys Creek’s success. “A good cheese needs to have a clean cheese-making experience under his belt, Barry decided to try his luck at blue taste and good balance of salt content,” vein cheese through a process of trial and he said. “The presence of blue mould error. shouldn’t be too overpowering or the “I had never made blue cheese before and it was a different, exciting chal- cheese over-ripe.” Once Barry finds the perfect recipe, it lenge,” he said. “It’s hard to make. If you do it wrong, doesn’t change. “Once set, Tarwin Blue has never the mould doesn’t grow and if you don’t get the humidity right, the cheese ends been changed,” he said. “Everybody loves it like it is, so up too dry or too wet.” The first batch of Tarwin Blue was there’s no reason to make any modificamade in the kitchen of Barry and his tions.” With 14 tonnes of cheese produced a partner, Cheryl Hulls, and left in a spare year, Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese is bedroom to age. Six months later it won gold at the currently sold in every state bar South Adelaide Cheese Festival and this year Australia. It may be soon sold Australia wide at the Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy however, when Barry and Cheryl present Produce Show, Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese was officially titled the best in their products in SA next month. Barry and Cheryl have plans to exAustralia. Their Mossvale Blue won gold, as pand their production in the near future well as Champion Cheese of Show, and down the track, hope to supply marChampion Fancy Cheese and Champion kets overseas. “I’ve been contacted by stockists in Bovine Cheese. Japan, China, Indonesia and even EngAnd the accolades don’t end there. Berrys Creek Tarwin Blue took out a land,” Barry said. “But there’s a lot of work to be done gold and silver, and was a winner of the before that happens.” Australian Cheeseboard Perpetual TroEntering competitions has helped phy, while Oak Blue won silver. “I was really surprised to win in Syd- Berrys Creek build a name for themselves in a competitive industry. ney,” Barry said. “It makes a big difference,” Barry “Cheryl told me not to get my hopes up as you can’t expect to win all the said. “If you’re buying wine or beer, seeing time. “The cheese always varies and it’s they’ve won awards encourages consumers to try a product.” tough competition.” Barry describes winning Champion Barry and Cheryl were visited at their Cheese at the Royal Sydney Show is like factory by the chief judge of the show winning the last week, who ‘Brownlow’ praised them of cheese. for the consis“It was our tent quality of major goal their cheese. when we first “He said started out our products and to achieve always range it in such a between very short period of good and time is great,” excellent,” Barry said. Cheryl said. He and “And at Cheryl admit our worst, it was a bit our cheese is Australia’s best: Berrys Creek Gourmet embarrassgood.” B e r r y s Cheese currently holds the title of best gour- ing to go up on stage so Creek current- met cheese in Australia. many times to ly produce 12 collect their different types of cheese, including five awards at a ceremony held in Olympic blue veins. They have recently added two new Park in Sydney two weeks ago, but were blues, named after a prominent local thrilled to keep winning. “For us to be up there, it’s a real family, the Bellinghams, and the rural buzz,” Barry said. district, Koorooman. Talent and technique pushed aside, Barry said he is happy with the Bellingham, but is still working on perfect- Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese is doing so well because Barry genuinely loves ing the Koorooman. So what is the secret to making Aus- what he does. “It really is an enjoyable place to tralia’s best gourmet cheese? Barry said experience and expertise work. I’d be happy to keep making makes the job easier, and of course, cheese until the day I die.”
By Simone Short
Ribbons, trophies and cheese: Cheryl Hulls, Barry Charlton, Amanda Ford and Laura Rowe with Berrys Creek Mossvale Blue, which won Champion Cheese of the Royal Sydney show this year.
PAGE 4 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011
Joyful breeding: Glenn and Emma Joy of Fish Creek believe they are on to something special with Highbury Square Meaters.
The breed with it all By Isaac McCallum GLENN and Emma Joy reckon they are on to something pretty special. The couple, who live out at Fish Creek, have been breeding Highbury Square Meaters for eight years and have no complaints. “We absolutely think we’re on to something good, and other people are finding that out too,” Glenn said. The couple looks after around 80 head of cattle, with an assortment of bulls, heifers and steers.
But they also look after two small kids, and there is yet to be a problem. “Basically we were looking for cattle that were easy to handle, something with easy maintenance. We’ve found it,” Glenn said. Glenn and Emma have even gone so far as to name the Square Meaters ‘the breed with it all’, and are sticking with their decision. “Their temperament is fantastic, they are great feed converters and they have low birth weights for easy calving,” the two said in their release for Beef Week. “Square Meaters are a medium framed, early maturing animal, which yield a high quality car-
cass perfectly suited for the domestic market.” The Square Meaters were quite a hit at Beef Week, with many people not having an understanding of the animals. “People came in and once they saw them started to understand why they are called Square Meaters. They are literally a square chunk of meat,” Glenn said. “Beef Week was steady. It was just one after the other after the other. “People are becoming more aware that this animal is out there. They’re starting to realise there are other cattle besides Angus and Hereford - there’s always something.”
Another important test of cattle comes down to taste. “I’m not going to say the meat’s anything different because it’s not,” Glenn said. “The feedback we get from the butchers and the producers is because they mature at a younger age they’re more tender to a degree.” Square Meaters are an animal which can consistently produce a premium local beef trade carcass from nine months to a year. Glenn and Emma Joy have definitely found what they believe to be something special – “a breed that holds on when times get tough and powers ahead when the seasons improve.”
No ifs, just butts: the Square Meaters, as Glenn describes them, are “a big square chunk of meat”.
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011 - PAGE 5
Sharing knowledge: Fish Creek dairy farmer Graeme Nicoll (right) and Scottish dairy farmer and Nuffield scholar Jim Baird investigate a recently plowed paddock on Graeme’s property late last year.
By Chris Brown FEW farmers have the opportunity to leave their dairying business for 16 weeks. Even fewer can use the break to learn about their industry around the globe. But Fish Creek dairy farmer Graeme Nicoll did last year as part of his Nuffield scholarship. He visited USA, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, UK, France, Netherlands, Sweden and New Zealand in two blocks of about eight weeks. Graeme attended the Nuffield International Conference in the USA, visited a wheat research breeding station in Mexico, analysed soy beans in Brazil, took note of the risk spreading across climates in Uruguay and witnessed the dairy automation in the Netherlands. “The thing that really stands out
is how diverse the dairy industry is; from the intensive housed industries of a lot of the northern hemisphere to very low cost once-a-day milking operations in France, to New Zealand’s highly pasture focused large operations and how it’s perceived so differently in different countries,” Graeme said. “I came home extremely confident in the dairy systems that we have in South Gippsland and the environment that we’re operating in. “Whilst it’s challenging economically it’s a great environment to milk cows.” While he was overseas his family gave an extra hand and farm staff did a great job. “The whole experience forces you to have a strong focus on planning to enable you to get away for that length of time,” Graeme said. “The farm looked fantastic when I got back. It was covered in grass.”
On the Fish Creek farm the way decisions are made has changed due to the trip. It has also reinforced pre-existing practices including cross breeding, using dairy genetics, pasture management, and having a network of researchers and knowledgeable farmers. Graeme is now hosting Nuffield scholars and new friends on his property following his world tour. About eight, from countries such as Scotland, England, USA and New Zealand, have spent time at the dairy farm in Fish Creek. He has completed a report on his international education, presented at the Nuffield conference and spoken at industry meetings and forums as part of his scholarship responsibilities. Find out more about the scholarships Nuffield Australia offers every year at www.nuffield.com.au
PAGE 6 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011 - PAGE 7
PAGE 8 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011
By Deb Lucas AFTER wool prices hit a 23-year high at recent auctions, wool growers have been given a much-needed boost after enduring years of drought on top of modest prices.
Friends: Trevor Missen and his trusty dog.
Over that period, many walked away from the industry that is crucial to the nation, but not Woodside wool and sheep grazier, Trevor Missen. He is a legend in the local area, not just for the fine merino wool with which he has won most valuable fleece awards at the Yarram Show, but also for his inventive skills. In 1988, Trevor won the Royal Melbourne Work Cover Award for his ‘ram head holder’ invention which saw him profiled in every farming newspaper in the state. Trevor and wife Jan breed fine wool merino sheep on their 725 acre property. At 72, Trevor has seen good times and bad times on the land. “Probably more bad than good. We have 1700 merinos and I am a wool grower. I never wanted to do anything else but produce the very best fine merino wool. “I have always loved farming. I can remember as a youngster racing home from school to watch Tom Foat shearing the sheep on my parents’ property here in Woodside. My farm was part of
that property.” As a 15-year-old in 1955, Trevor left school and has been farming ever since. “I can remember in 1952 and ‘53 we were receiving one pound for one pound of wool. “There were low times in 1971 when we got 45 cents for a pound of wool. The years 1988 and ‘89 saw the good prices return with 1400 cents per kilo being paid for top class wool.”. The good prices were short lived, although in 1991 the floor price for wool was scrapped and with it came the biggest price crash in the history of the wool industry. “Eight hundred cents per kilo was the highest it got to.” The ‘barometer’ of the Australian wool market, the Eastern Market indicator, has recently risen to $12.52 a kilogram - the highest price since the floor price crash and the highest price in US dollars since 1983 when the Australian dollar was floated. Marketing analyst with the Australian Wool Exchange, Lionel Plunkett, is reported as saying the price surge is due to the classic supply and demand situation, with buyers buying strongly because of concerns over whether there would be much wool for sale over the coming months. “In the early years I had almost double the merinos I have now, but drought (Trevor has memories of them all since 1971) dragged on for a decade, only interrupted oc-
casionally to give us false hope of a good season. Rye grass poisoning about eight years ago saw 1045 sheep die, half of them ewes. “The rye grass poisoning was particularly devastating as it affected many farmers in the area and has seen us struggle to recover numbers.” According to Trevor, it’s not often that the weather and price align to ensure a good season, but 2011 is shaping up as one of those years. Good rain has ensured excellent pasture growth and good prices have put a spring in everyone’s step. “It’s not only the wool growers who are on the receiving end of good prices returning, but the fat lamb producers are seeing reward for effort, with wethers selling for $138. Not quite the record $160 in the 90s but they are better than they have been for some time.” Trevor and Jan’s three grown up children show no interest in carrying on the family farm and have encouraged their dad to sell, but Trevor loves what he does and takes great pride in showing visitors around his farm and the shearing shed which he built with lots of blood, sweat and tears. “I am here to stay. My dad always said that if you have got land that you always have something.”
All class: Trevor Missen at the wool classing table in his shearing shed.
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011 - PAGE 9
Fine wool: legendary Woodside woolgrower, Trevor Missen with some of his fine merino wool ready for market.
Life-time: the Missen family has been producing fine quality merino wool for more than half a century in the Woodside area.
PAGE 10 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011
Cows on show: prospective buyer Paul Turton of Outtrim, Landmark stud stock manager of Victoria, Ray Atwell and Yancowinna owner, Dennis Ginn admired the Angus cows.
Angus black by popular demand By Simone Short IT MAY be grand, angry or even a little bit fancy. Either way, Angus beef has become a household name following recent advertising campaigns by McDonalds, Hungry Jacks and Four’n’Twenty pies. In fact, McDonalds ‘Mighty Angus’ launch in August 2009 was the most successful product launch in Australasia in 38 years. Feeding the original campaign was Inverloch’s very own Dennis Ginn and his Angus cattle farm at Cape Paterson. He was approached by Angus Australia requesting 12 steers for a pilot program and in March 1996, they were processed by what was formerly Prom Meats in Foster, earning Yancowinna Angus the title of first designated supplier to Certified Australian Angus Beef™. In 2010, with numbers growing every year, Mr Ginn’s humble dozen steers have turned into an excess of 130,000 head processed under the same brand, with the Angus name continuing to grow. Mr Ginn knows his beef, having bred Angus cattle for more than 20 years. Placing importance on fertility and temperament, he has a simple approach to producing high quality cattle – you can only manage something that you can measure. And measuring is something Mr Ginn does very carefully.
“We’re firm believers in measuring weight at birth and at 200 to 600 days for growth,” Mr Ginn said. “We also use ultrasound scanning for fat cover and eye muscle area, as well as marbling.” Well managed Angus beef is as close as you will get to a perfect steak and is famous for giving consumers a consistent eating quality. “In more recent times, stud and commercial breeders have been selecting for higher quality carcass traits,” Mr Ginn said. “You can actually increase or decrease the amount of eye muscle area and marbling content, which is where you get your prime steak cuts.” Breeders can literally ‘design’ their own steak. “Eating experiences from 20 to 30 years ago was a good experience one week, an average experience the next week, even more average the following week, then a good one again,” Mr Ginn said. “We’ve tried to improve it so there’s consistent eating quality.” Of course, it is a rather technical process, carefully managing the breeding and the feeding of the cattle. Mr Ginn said a well fed Angus is reared on its mother, as the breed has very strong maternal instincts, before being weaned onto good quality pasture. Cattle can then be finished as a feedlot product or grass fed product. Mr Ginn said due to the high quality of pastures in South Gippsland, there is a substantial
First supplier: Dennis Ginn said his property was the first designated supplier to Certified Australian Angus Beef.
number of grass finishing beef enterprises. “It helps to keep costs under control. There’s no need to truck feed in or transport cattle to feedlots,” he said. As well as having highly improved pasture, Yancowinna Angus grows crops for feed and has access to irrigation systems. Mr Ginn also has an agreement with the South Gippsland Water’s treatment plant in Inverloch to use recycled water for irrigation. “We haven’t accessed the water this year however, as the season has been so kind and the country hasn’t really dried up,” he said. Yancowinna Angus currently has around 800 head of cattle and sells up to 60 bulls a year at auction. “We retain a high proportion of heifers for breeding purposes in our own herd, thus keeping the average age of breeders lower than most other breeders,” Mr Ginn said. “Our steers are either fattened locally and sold into domestic supply chain or trucked to feed lots in either northern Victoria or southern NSW.” At the end of the day, Mr Ginn is committed to producing the best Angus cattle he can. “You don’t want just one good one in 20; you want 20 out of 20 that are high quality,” he said, emphasising on consistency. “People come back for more, whether it’s through the silver service restaurants, steak houses or fast food outlets.” Yancowinna Angus’ annual bull sale will be held on April 15 on the property at Cape Paterson.
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011 - PAGE 11
By Chris Brown WEEDS in South Gippsland are thriving. Moist earth has provided ideal conditions for weeds such as blackberries and ragwort to thrive. Water lying around has also led to the establishment of new aquatic weeds. The region’s Landcare Project Officer Kate Williams said the new weeds were due to the amount of water around. Birds and ducks may have carried seed to farm dams. Water primrose is the most notable aquatic weed, and has been sighted at Koonwarra and around the region. It is a perennial plant that has yellow flowers as well as floating stems extending up to five metres long. “Even though it’s a native in certain situations, if it’s growing to a point that it is taking over dams it can have a weedy tendency,” Ms Williams said. “It’s an issue with water weeds, because there are problems with using herbicides, because it’s more of a sensitive environment and there are aquatic organisms.” Vigorous growth of weeds such as ragwort and blackberry this year has also been caused by wetter conditions. Ms Williams said ragwort had flowered later than usual while blackberry bushes are producing lots of fruit that will be spread around by foxes and birds. “They’ll still flower and go to seed if they’re not controlled. Obviously if there are more plants around, that creates more seeds,” she said. Landcare recently met with the Department of Primary Industries and the South Gippsland Shire to discuss weed control.
Ms Williams said there was a particular focus on managing roadside weed control. Centre leader at DPI Leongatha, Bob Wilson said it had been an excellent year for vegetative growth including weeds. He said water weeds were a focus of concern. “We have a lot of water around and with the increasing temperatures one of the key issues will be in water,” he said. “We’ve had a number of reports of high priority water weeds detected across Gippsland.” Salvinia is a water weed that blocks out sunlight when they take over waterways. It has been detected at Dawson, near Heyfield, but there are fears it could spread across Gippsland. Mr Wilson said water hyacinth and hawk weed have been found in South Gippsland. “There is a whole range of water weeds we are encouraging the community to be aware of and we will be funding programs to help with that,” he said. “The main difference this year is that the department has adopted a biosecurity approach, based on risk and threat. Incoming grasses are also a focus of DPI programs. Ms Williams said Landcare members are able to hire weed control equipment such as spray units or back packs from the network.
For more information visit www. southgippslandweeds.com.au. Information about grants that can be put towards weed control is available on www.sgln. org.au
Water weed: water primrose has been found at Koonwarra this summer and autumn.
Taking off: Landcare Project Officer Kate Williams with vigorously growing blackberries in Leongatha.
PAGE 12 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, March 22, 2011
Right, Bid, bid: Elders agents Michael Foote, James Kyle and Alex Dixon, were forced to keep a sharp eye on the crowd as bids were flying.
In demand: the prices of Black Angus have been impressive lately.
Plenty of interest at Koonwarra A LARGE crowd made their way out to the recent store sale at the Koonwarra saleyards. The bidding wars were fought out hard, with everyone looking to gain the best bargain possible.
Another addition to the sale was Robert and Ruth Findlay, who cleared their entire herd of 180 Hazeldean and Sparta-blood Angus cows with Charolais calves at foot from three months of age. The cattle attracted buyers from all around
Yinnar men: Mark Reynolds and Barney Sewell had time to catch up.
the state and averaged around $1630. The couple is now moving into steers after 20 years of breeding. Cows and calves were on offer, with bids for the 200 head coming from north east Victoria.
Day out: Sue Casey and Ken Wicke made the trip from Carrajung Lower. They were looking to spend a day in Leongatha after selling a few pens of Black Angus.