PAGE 2 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010
A typical day in the offi office ce (Let’s talk)
Tim Cashin is visited on-farm by Nerine Courtney.
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“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010 - PAGE 3
More dairy volatility likely: expert By Tessa Hayward EUROPEAN dairy expert Mark Voorbergen visited South Gippsland to outline the future of dairy in the world. Mr Voorbergen is the associate director dairy for Rabobank’s Food and Agribusiness Research and Advisory division, based in the Netherlands. His presentation, European Dairy – a different role beyond 2015, discussed issues including the implications of the European Union’s (EU) transition to a more liberal market regime for Australian dairy producers and processors, as the EU dairy industry redefines its role in the global market.
The arrival of China and India on the world dairy scene will have an impact. - Rabobank.
Enter the giants: senior analyst Tim Hunt gives an overview of Rabobank’s latest Global Dairy report.
In the 1980s, a quota system was introduced to prevent EU milk supply from getting out of control. Their self sufficiency levels went down from 114 per cent to 107 per cent. There was a strong reduction in exports to remote regions like Asia and the EU’s share in the global dairy trade declined from 38 per cent to 24 per cent. The final steps of liberalisation of the EU’s dairy industry are underway and the quota system should be phased out by 2015. Milk price volatility will further increase for European dairy farmers when the quota system is phased out. Mr Voorbergen said the EU will probably increase the global price volatility in the 201520 transitional phase. When asked how north Western countries
Local help: Maxine, Bruce and Brendon Martelli from Meeniyan with Mark Voorbergen (second from left). will deal with the volatility, Mr Voorbergen jokingly said: “The banks.” He said European countries can get through periods of six to nine months of price fluctuation and still be fine. They have been through this before and have come out of it. European farmers can only produce up to so much milk and then have to buy quota rights. In Australia, to grow their business, farmers have to buy more cows and land. Tim Hunt, senior dairy analyst with Rabobank Food and Agribusiness Research and Advisory, gave an overview of Rabobank’s latest Global Dairy report, Enter the Giants. Rabobank believes that China faces a structural market deficit that will be difficult to erode in coming years, and even India is likely to call on the world market more frequently over the
next three to four years. The arrival of these two giants will impact many players. Another source of demand will arise for internationally traded dairy products. That demand will be difficult to fill without ongoing price increases to encourage more milk contributions from higher cost regions. Gippsland farmers were a little worried about the future of dairy but were encouraged by Rabobank’s presentations. Mr Voorbergen joined Rabobank in 1999 and in October 2002 was appointed Rabobank’s associate director dairy. He has authored a large number of internal and external dairy studies. His knowledge of the global dairy market is used in strategic consultancy assignments for the world’s leading dairy companies.
PAGE 4 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010
Marian McDonald: the hearing tests campaigner is trying to organise large groups, to reduce costs.
A hearing on safety By Matt Dunn FARMERS may be leaving themselves open to litigation by not having employees’ hearing tested on a regular basis, an OHS expert has warned. But Jack River dairy farmer Marian Mcdonald, who has been campaign-
ing for cheaper and more accessible testing, said there were two big obstacles: few farmers know of their OHS obligations and the cost of testing is exorbitant. “Worksafe Victoria has launched a big farm safety blitz, but, as a dairy farmer I’m struggling to comply with everything that needs to be done,” she said. “If you have an industrial noise issue on your
farm, then you need to have mandatory hearing checks for your employees – one three months into their contract and one every two years. Every farmer I’ve spoken to has gone, ‘What? Really?’ “I’ve tried to get some hearing tests organised. The other thing is you have to get your dairy totally checked out, because the reality is if the noise in your dairy is over 85
decibels and you have relief milkers, you need to have those relief milkers tested as well. If you don’t have your dairy checked, you’ve got to assume it is noisy.” Mrs McDonald said that if employees, or former employees, had complaints about industrial deafness, farmers could be sued. It was an opinion confirmed by farm OHS specialist, Andrew Walker, who said that abiding by the laws “protects your business”. “If someone has an industrial hearing loss and they want to make a claim against you, you can say, ‘Well, look this person’s hearing did not change during their time working with me.’ It helps to protect your business as well as your employees’ hear-
ing,” he said. “I guess, like most things under Workcover, you’d receive a set fine potentially. Then if an employee took out their own action against an employer then, who knows? Having been involved in some civil action cases, I know they can amount to big dough.” Mr Walker said a person who was exposed to a noise of 85 decibels for eight hours “could suffer from industrial hearing loss.” “All you have to do is remember this rule of thumb: if you add three decibels and take that to 88, you halve it to four hours. Every three decibels you add, you need to halve your exposure to it. Ninety-one is only two hours,” he said. Chainsaws can have a decibel level of 106.
“Dairy noise can vary. But certainly in the plant room itself, it’s more than likely to be the case that noise levels will be above 85 decibels,” he said. Some dairy plant rooms top 90 decibels. “If you’re standing a metre apart and you have to raise your voice, you’re in that mark,” Mr Walker said. While the potential costs of not having an employee’s hearing tested are huge, the cost of testing can be off-putting for many farmers, Mrs McDonald said. “To get a noise testing firm to come here, we’d pay a $100 attendance fee plus $100 per hour, with a minimum of three hours,” she said. “The good news is that if a number of local farmers were to have the testing done on the same day, the attendance fee would be shared and they can test six people per hour. “If we can get a dozen or so people who need hearing tests together and
a handful of farms who want their noise levels confirmed, it would be quite affordable, something like $50 per test.” Mrs McDonald said her aim was to “raise awareness in the local farming community of the need for the hearing testing and to make it affordable for farmers by holding a Yarram hearing and noise testing day. “If this is a success, maybe we could hold other days to help farmers deal with other high priority OHS issues like tractor and FEL safety or quad bike training,” she said. “I have tried to arrange training on both of these issues for our people but found it either impossible to source or ridiculously expensive, at more than $1000. “WorkSafe Victoria launched a farm safety campaign in June but my concern is that we don’t have access to many of the services we need to make our farms safe.”
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010 - PAGE 5
AS a qualified nurse and Western horse riding champion, horse lover Kym Corn is well aware that when it comes to animal health problems, sometimes the cause is not always visible to the naked eye. That’s when one has to delve deep to get to the root of issues. The Stradbroke woman and her husband Phil have a five acre property half way between Woodside and Sale. Their little piece of heaven is surrounded by
a larger cropping property and forest. Three years ago, Kym’s show horse, Caddie, became nervous and agitated and displayed signs of acute rhinitis. The problem became so severe that Kym could no longer ride him, in competition or for pleasure. “Over a period of time his temperament changed. He became a real Dr Jeckle and Mr Hyde personality. I just never knew how he would behave,” Kym said. “I knew this was totally out of character for him. Caddie had always been
Looking good: Kym Corn and her horse, who she says has made a remarkable recovery since introducing him to a new diet that excludes highly fertilised pastures.
such a pleasure to handle and ride. His temperament had always been perfect but he became increasingly unpredictable and nervous when we were competing. “Things became so bad that I could not compete in my chosen discipline ‘Western Riding’.” Kym’s horse was diagnosed with rhinitis and borderline diabetes, brought on by stress. While Kym did not dispute the diagnosis, she did dispute the cause of the illness as being stress. Caddie also had internal ulcers which meant no more competition and
hundreds dollars worth of medication to ensure he returned to good health in his retirement. Kym devoted every spare moment to researching Caddie’s problem. “I decided to dig further and started searching the internet for behavioral changes, their causes and cures,” she said. “I kept coming up with mineral deficiencies. Further investigations lead me to an agronomist, Peter Norwood, who was passionate about better ways to feed animals to ensure premium health.” Peter is known throughout the Gippsland area not just for his work on small farms, but also large dairy farms where he has been credited with improving cow health and production. “Peter came out to the farm and discussed all the possibilities that could be associated with the symptoms of Caddie and to a lesser extent my new horse,” Kym said. Peter proceeded to gather samples of the soil, pasture and feed the horses had access to. These samples were sent to America for analysis. A month later the results were in.
New grasses: Kym Corn inspects the newly sown paddock which she hopes will provide a better diet for her horses.
“The result confirmed my theory that we had a mineral deficiency and that Caddie had a severe magnesium deficiency. Because of this, we needed to take action quickly if we wanted to save our horse,” Kym said. Peter recommended a vitamin and mineral mixed in the dry feed and replacing the pasture in the horse paddocks to prairie grass, herb and cocksfoot, which they have done. “I had been spending hundreds of dollars on medication for Caddie. This vitamin and mineral mix is a fraction of that
cost, and I am already seeing a marked improvement in his coat and temperament,” Kym said. “Two paddocks have been re-sown with the recommended grass mix and are coming along well. They should be ready for grazing in a few weeks”. It is only early days yet but so far all the signs are encouraging. “We have a great relationship with the South Gippsland farmer we have been buying our hay from,” Kym said. “He is happy that we have included him in our research and knows that
we don’t want hay that has been treated with high urea products prior to harvest as this has a detrimental effect on the horses also. “Our paddocks were so deficient in minerals and this was reflected in the horse’s behaviour. “I know it is only early days but Caddie is a completely different horse. His rhinitis is improving all the time and he now grazes peacefully in the paddock. Six months ago if you walked out there (into the paddock) he would become nervous and agitated. I put that down to what we have done so far.”
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By Isaac McCallum
MIKE and Jill Vella did the tree change before it was trendy. And during their 30 years raising deer on a farm in Koonwarra, the pair has rarely done things by the book. There were trial and error cases early in their deer farming days, but Mike and Jill have generally found success in what they have given a go. “When we first started, we had to do everything at night because people said deer were too flighty and too scared; that if they could see you they’d get scared,” Jill said. “But we kind of went ‘If they can’t see you and they can hear noises, they’d be even more scared.’ So we decided to do it in the day, and it worked.” It is common sense like that which has stood the couple in good stead. Mike and Jill once worked for the Willow Ware company’s pastoral arm, which owned the largest commercial deer farm in the southern hemisphere in the 1980s. When Willow Ware sold its pastoral business, the couple decided it was their chance to begin a deer farm. “It was real pioneering stuff in
the early 80s, but even now you learn something about the deer every single day,” Mike said. “We decided we liked the area, and we didn’t want to move. We liked farming deer, we thought there was potential in it. “There was nothing we could see that could be a bad thing and we’ve done it ever since. We started off with just 20 animals.” The couple has gradually improved their deer herd and facilities after starting with the 69ha property in 1987 and now support themselves entirely with their farm’s products. “They told us we couldn’t make a living off it then. Well we’ve proved them wrong,” Mike said. “We started from nothing. We didn’t get a farm handed over from parents. It is possible to have a dream and build on it,” Jill said. “It’s hard but it can be done. We’re not pretending it’s easy. It’s been a lot of work but it’s been worth it.” Mike and Jill find a lot of rewards come from farming deer. The couple have found that they are “very good at deer”, developing all their skills, markets, and ways of handling them. But the lifestyle is also one they love, with both of the Vellas finding plenty of spare time. “We get a lot of enjoyment out of it; they’re so easy to take care of. I work for Landcare as an extension officer, and spend half the time off the property,” Jill said. The husband and wife team also noted that because deer are still basically wild animals and not interfered with for 2000 years, like cattle and sheep, they rarely have any calving or foot problems.
“Deer are still basically wild animals so they take care of themselves well. We also check carefully for temperament,” Mike said. Mike and Jill have adopted a hands-on quality control to supervise the deer from birth to slaughter and Mike actually delivers the meat himself. Mike delivers boneless venison to restaurants in Melbourne, and supplies antler and other deer products popular in Chinese and Korean cultures. The traditional Chinese medicine that comes from the antlers helped Jill recover from a broken leg a few years ago. “I actually broke my leg really badly once and it wouldn’t heal, so I started taking antler and it healed itself almost straight away,” she said. The medicine is produced on site, with Jill drying, slicing and packaging them before sending the finished product away. Life is good for the farmers out at Koonwarra, and even though the couple did put the farm on the market at one stage, they plan to stay in the deer game for a little while yet. “At one stage we thought we might retire and do something else, so we put the farm on the market, but then we sort of looked at each other and wondered what we were going to do. We like living here. We were only half-heartedly trying to sell it,” Jill said. “Neither of us work really hard. It was difficult in the early bits, setting everything up and getting markets and things. Now we can’t keep up with demand.” Not too bad for two people who they said would never make it.
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010 - PAGE 7
Love their job: farmers Mike and Jill Vella are happy with their lifestyle since they chose to farm deer 30 years ago.
Who’s there?: deer are very alert to what happens around them, and often run around together in large groups.
Most photos that appear in The Star can be purchased by calling 5662 2294.
PAGE 8 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010
Edgar Truscott: by his beloved tractor in his shed.
By Chris Brown “I WOULDN’T say I loved it, but it wasn’t too bad of a life,” Edgar Truscott says of his occupation as a dairy farmer. The now 85-year-old milked 72 cows on 116 acres near Toora as he raised six children with wife Gwen. “I was born on the farm, went to school in Toora and then came home and worked on the farm,” he said. Though they’ve been out of the dairy game since the mid-1990s, they continue to run beef cattle. Edgar does wonder how people can milk 700 cattle these days. “Your herd gets bigger and your work load gets bigger and your debts get bigger and your income goes up a little bit,” he said. “We didn’t make a fortune, but we managed.” A smaller herd gave Edgar time to participate in the community, including stints on the board at the Toora Bush Nursing Hospital, and as secretary and captain of the fire brigade. Gwen never went out to work. “I fed the calves and used to shift the electric fences as we strip grazed,” she said. “There were times when hail storms came over and I had to lie on the ground to shelter.” Edgar said the main change over his eight decades on the farm was the transition from horses to tractors. “We milked by hand for a fair while then we got machines in, then I made bricks and built a new shed with more modern machines,” he said.
“Later on we used to take our milk to the factory by horse and cart until we got a truck and then from there on we went to bulk tank and refrigeration. The next change was redesigning the shed into a herringbone.” The memories of a life at Toora seem to flood back as Edgar and Gwen share their story. They remember having to wait for traffic caused by the ferry from Tasmania that used to stop at Port Welshpool, and when they started supplying Murray Goulburn after the Toora factory did not pick their milk up for a few days. During the war, Edgar and other young men used to watch for planes from a little building at the bottom of Toora.
“There were times when hail storms came over and I had to lie on the ground to shelter” – Gwen Truscott. “If any aircraft went past you had to ring up Melbourne and report the direction they were going,” he said. Not that they ever spotted any. Another memorable event was when an errant hay bale rolled down the hill. “The contractor put it down very carefully and then it slowly started to move and then it went faster and faster and went through two fences,” Edgar said. “It ended up next to the white line in the middle of the road. Fortunately there were no cars coming.” When asked how the pair met, Edgar jokes: “I don’t know; it must have been a
On the farm: Edgar and Gwen Truscott had a dairy farm near Toora until about 15 years ago.
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010 - PAGE 9
nightmare.” Gwen said she came from Emerald to stay with Edgar’s aunt, who was married to her mother’s brother. “We’re related but we’re not blood related,” she said. Gwen, who turned 83 in December, has written three books: Buchanan’s Muddy Creek Sawmill: An Isolated Settlement on the Shores of Corner Inlet, Five Schools in the Toora District: 1880-1937 (with Coleen Bower) and From St Dennis to Euronga. The third book is about how the Truscotts came from Cornwall to the family farm called Euronga. “The Truscotts were always farmers, but then when the industrial agricultural revolution came about a lot of small farmers lost their little bit of land,” Gwen said. “So they either had to work for somebody else as labourers or turn to something else.” Edgar’s grandfather William was born in 1856 and moved to Australia in his first year. William worked at his father’s bluestone quarry in Brunswick before seeking a farm. He began at Glen Forbes, but 10 children meant he and wife Mary-Jane sought a larger farm at Toora. William leased the property from the original selector for 10 years before purchasing. It was then divided between his three sons, of whom one was Edgar’s father who milked 47 cows. “Everybody had jerseys in those days,” Edgar said. “Jerseys, being smaller, were better on hills. They didn’t chop your farm up so much and they had higher milk solids and butter fat than Friesians.”
Happy couple: Edgar and Gwen Truscott outside their Toora home.
Farming family: Edgar on top of the hay with pet dog Scotty.
PAGE 10 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010
Sheep focus: the hilly terrain of Frank Hirst’s Ranceby property suits the Dorper sheep.
By Brad Lester LIVING in the wet country of Ranceby, Frank and Sharon Hirst knew they would have to focus on meat to capitalise on their farm. Wool was rarely of high quality due to frequent rain and shearing was a hassle when enough consecutive dry days were few and far between. Flystrike, dags, crutching and shearing were hard work when one had to round up headstrong sheep on hilly country, especially as wool prices began to dwindle. Years ago, a quarter of the farm’s income was wool and but now it’s as low as onesixth. But cattle were ruled out on a large scale, as the heavy hoofed animals damaged the mountainous land. Then Frank learnt more about a breed of sheep on the Wild Dog Valley property of Don Hill. The variety was called the Dorper, a sheep bred for meat production rather than wool. Frank had noticed the breed succeeded at carcass competitions, although he is yet to eat a Dorper and find out for himself what the sheep really tastes like. And to make life easier, what little wool the sheep grows mostly falls off in the paddock in summer, saving time and hassles. “The Dorpers have got a greater proportion of meat in their back end and
Gaining popularity: farmers believe the Dorper breed will become more recognised in South Gippsland.
that’s where the more expensive cuts are,” Frank said. The Hirsts have been running Dorpers for two-and-a-half years, initially acquiring rams and then introducing ewes into their flock of Merino-Border Leicester crosses. Frank was wary of whether the sheep – originally developed for dry, flat desert like climates – would cope with the wet and cold hills of South Gippsland but so far, no feet problems have arisen. “Temperament-wise they are proving good to handle in the paddock. In the shed, they are a bit more nervous than other sheep and they are very protective of their young,” he said. A lack of wool has resulted in the breed developing a thicker skin to cope with the elements and Frank believes there is an opportunity for a tannery to open to make leather from Dorper hides. “The other thing is that buyers do not know them as well yet, so they are not paying as much for them as they should be. But this is just a transition phase,” Frank said. “Because they lose their wool, they probably don’t look as appealing as other sheep.” The costs of about $1000 for a flock ram and $300 for ewes are dissuading at first, but Frank believes once the breed’s trend factor fades, costs will drop.
“SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010 - PAGE 11
Wise selection: Trevor McDevitt is making inroads into competitive sheep markets with his choice of the Dorper breed.
Stud succeeds in heartland By Brad Lester LIKE the famed salesman who sold ice to the Eskimoes, a Mirboo North stud is selling breeding stock to Victoria’s sheep heartland – the Western District. Trevor and Barbara McDevitt have sold Dorper ewes to Hamilton and Horsham, and have orders for ewes and rams from Geelong, Bacchus Marsh and Kyabram. They attribute demand for the Dorper breed to its meat quality and the fact the sheep shed their wool. “A lot of commercial farmers have got into Dorpers because they’re finding it hard to get shearers and when they do get shearers they don’t like shearing large heavy rams either,” Trevor said. “The breed is relatively new to Australia but it’s fast getting recognition. A lot of studs are starting up and the commercial operation is also pretty profitable. “Buyers are realising that Dorpers are heavier on the hook than they look and so they are starting to pick them in the yards and the lambs are starting to get the price they deserve.”
Clients are putting the Dorpers over first cross Merinos and the meat quality of the Dorper crosses resulted in one customer topping a local fat lamb market. Lambs dress out at 23-24kg at four to five months old, with a large rear and solid chest. “Since Dorpers don’t have lanolin in their wool, they don’t have that strong, lanolin-type smell in their meat,” Trevor said. The McDevitt flock is based around stud ewes sourced from the famed Roslynmead stud at Echuca. The McDevitts have been running 100 commercial ewes for five years and are now branching into the stud field and considering embryo transfers this year, using semen sourced from South Africa. The Dorpers’ high fertility rate has resulted in a lambing rate of 146 per cent this year. The breed will reproduce up to three times in two years and the McDevitts have encountered minimal issues with lambs. “We started with Dorpers and Wiltshires, but since we only have 40 acres we found it hard to have two separate flocks of sheep, so we went with the Dorpers,” Trevor said. “There’s a lot more work with stud
animals but we’re hoping there will be more financial reward too.” Being initially bred for desert conditions, the Dorpers are able to survive on minimal feed and that
quality has opened new markets for the McDevitts, with sheep sold to drier parts of Australia. But what happens to wool left behind on the grass, as these sheep
shed their wool wherever they feel? Well, there are plenty of wooly bird nests around the McDevitts’ place. To find out more, see www.grandridgedorpers.com.au
PAGE 12 - “SOUTH COAST FARMER”, December 7, 2010
By Chris Brown DURING long days on farms across South Gippsland, the region’s two new vets sometimes call each other.
“It’s really excellent having someone else down here from the same year level and we were such good friends before,” Kim Groner said. “It’s good ringing each other on the road and saying ‘I’ve done this’ and talking each other through things. “It’s good to have that person to talk to at the end of the day when you’ve had a rough day.” Kim, and Anneliese Seager completed university in Wagga Wagga, NSW, together and found their way to the Tarwin Veterinary Group following placements there.
They have been here, working out of the group’s Leongatha, Mirboo North and Foster branches, for three months. These vets work hard, with days that go from 8am to 6pm or even 8am to 8pm sometimes. They are on call and work weekends.
“I intend to hang around and spend a bit of time here. It’s been good so far” – vet Anneliese Seager. One day a fortnight is spent in Leongatha with small animals, but most of the time they are on the road attending to cows, horses (10 per cent of the time) and occasionally a sheep. Anneliese and Kim arrived in the busiest time of
the year, with calving cows and animals affected by the unusually wet conditions. “There’s so much surgery and so much to learn in regards to both large animals and small animals and about the real world,” Anneliese said. Among the real world considerations was whether it was worth saving the life of a calf. “You think you’re invincible when you get out of uni and you don’t think about how much it’s going to cost the farmer and how much return he’s going to get back on it,” she said. Anneliese grew up near Shepparton and said the Leongatha community has been welcoming. “The area is really quite pretty and that makes driving around the countryside much more exciting,” she said. “I intend to hang around and spend a bit of time here. It’s been good so far.” Becoming a vet was something of a childhood dream for Kim. “I moved around a lot as a kid and didn’t have any pets until I was a lot older, and then I spent a lot of time hanging around vets on farms when I was really young,” she said. She grew up in various places and has spent time overseas, and completed secondary college in Ringwood. A family holiday home at Venus Bay introduced her to the region. She also lives in Leongatha. “I’ve loved every aspect of the job. I’m looking forward to the next couple of years,” she said. Kim is also keen to stick around. “I love the work, love the area and the farmers in this particular area are really great,” she said. “They’ve been supportive of having new vets in town and I’ve learnt as much from them.”
Welcome to South Gippsland: vets Kim Groner and Anneliese Seager have been working at the Tarwin Veterinary Group for three months.