Dairy News Australia West Vic Region February 2022

FEBRUARY 2022 ISSUE 136

WEST VIC REGION

Getting through tough times

Grant Place came back to the family farm at Pomborneit at the worst possible time in 2014 … but the baptism of fire prompted some good decisions. Pages 4 & 5

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2022

2 // WEST VIC REGION

Working towards ‘normal’ WHO WOULD have thought in February 2019

Chair’s message

that two whole years would pass, and the entire world would still be battling the most miniscule of foes?

Or that a tiny virus could cause such disruption in ways we perhaps had not ever truly contemplated. I think we are all now acutely aware of how interconnected and reliant we have all become on the many aspects that make our industries and communities function efficiently — whether that be transport, freight and the ability to travel, manufacturing and supply chains, workforce, education and training, but most importantly the capability and capacity of our health and emergency services.

Summertime at our farm always brings a little more family time to enjoy — harvest is done, calves all weaned and cows munching their way through crops, safely in calf.

I have been enjoying reviewing the genomic test results from last year’s calves then walking through the mobs to see how close my visual appraisal and pedigree knowledge of each calf correlates to their genomics. And it is surprisingly reassuring! I also find it’s a good time to do some thinking and planning for the coming season. What could we do differently or better?

What are the things we can control and manage,

DAIRY AWARDS NOMINATIONS CLOSING SOON WestVic Dairy’s prestigious Great South West Dairy Awards will return for their 15th season in 2022.

The gala evening will once again acknowledge and celebrate those who are achieving great things in the dairy industry.

Applications are now open for the following seven categories: ■ Dairy Farm Business Management Award.

■

Young Dairy Leader Award.

■

Service Provider Award. Natural Resource Sustainability Management Award.

■

Employee Award. Western Victorian Dairy Industry Honour Board.

■

Farm Photo Award.

The Dairy Farm Business Management Award is the premier award of the evening, combining three previous categories — Farm Business Manager Award, Employer Award and Share Farmer Award.

Farmers and other dairy industry professionals often hesitate to put themselves forward for awards such as these, but the awards are an opportunity to showcase excellence in farming, inspiring others to get involved. As an industry we should be celebrating our achievements and be proud of the work we do.

In addition, the awards offer applicants the opportunity to develop additional skills, boost confidence and network with other applicants doing great things in dairy.

Farmers and industry service providers are encouraged to apply or to nominate a worthy person doing a great job in the industry.

Application and nomination forms are available at www.westvicdairy.com.au Alternatively, you can call the WestVic Dairy office on 5557 1000 to request an application form or to nominate someone who you feel excels in the industry and deserves recognition for their efforts.

Nominations close February 12.

Farm Photo and Honour Board Nominations close April 23.

The winners will be announced at an awards gala evening which will be held at the Warrnambool Racecourse on Thursday, May12.

that will make a difference? And where might we source independent knowledge and assistance?

The WestVic Dairy staff, calendar of events and website is a very good place to start.

Our Ondit Focus Farm project was completed just before Christmas and I would like to thank Dale and Karen Angus and their extended families for their positive and open contribution to this important project. The WestVic support team led

by Laurie Hickey and consultant Paul Groves all added to the comprehensive program delivered over two years. We will soon be announcing the newest Focus Farm participants, and look forward to learning and refining the hundreds of different ways there are to be a successful dairy farmer.

The Dairy Poll vote is looming — and I encourage you to check out the website at https://dairy poll.com.au/home/ — where you will find more details around the four key investment areas of Labour, Regional Services, Climate and Policy Development, and how your projected levy spend would be utilised. Voting opens on February 24 and concludes on March 31.

We are really pleased to be working towards a more “normal” Great South West Dairy Awards for this year, all things COVID allowing. The application process has commenced, and the Awards Gala Evening will be held in Warrnambool on

Thursday, May 12.

Living with COVID will be our challenge for the foreseeable future and while the board is keen for as many activities as possible to be scheduled and completed as planned, we know that there will be the inevitable tweaks required as the year progresses. COVID-19 resources on the Dairy Australia website are being constantly updated and can help lead discussions with your farm team and ensure your protocols are current.

I assume I am not the only one who has reflected on the apparent need for businesses to publicly post signs saying “The whole world is short-staffed — please be kind to those who have turned up”. What an indictment on modern society. I also know that over the past two years, our farmers have continued to “turn-up”; usually doing the work of more than one person, and producing the safest and most nutritious food sources anywhere in the world.

Regardless, kindness and respect for our fellow travellers through this pandemic matters.

• Jacqueline Suares Chair, WestVic Dairy

Cream of the crop: an inaugural event for women in dairy A NEW event in the Port Campbell

region in late February will highlight the role of women in the dairy industry and give them confidence to use their voices.

Cream of the Crop will be held on Tuesday, February 22 at the Port Campbell Surf Life Saving Club with farm tours in the region the following day, providing opportunity for connection, personal development and education.

Cream of the Crop co-organiser Lucy Collins said the interactive conference was designed to give women skills and confidence to use their voices and achieve their goals. It will feature an array of industry champions and presenters will tell their stories and offer skills women in dairy can put into practice in their personal and professional lives.

“As Cream of the Crop organisers, we’re determined to have the meaningful conversations needed to ensure women are well represented in our industry and given access to personal and professional development opportunities to help them achieve their goals,” Ms Collins said.

“Our role is to work in partnership with women in dairy and support them in their endeavours to ensure a sustainable future.”

Ms Collins said women had long been involved in agriculture but routinely went unrecognised for the integral role they played.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 census data shows about 30 per cent of the dairy workforce are women. Female dairy farmers who work critical jobs on the farm are also taking on leadership roles within the industry, but women

Cream of the Crop organisers Lucy Collins (Dixie), Chloe Brown (Kirkstall) and Renata Cumming (Scotts Creek).

occupy less than 20 per cent of paid management and board positions in agriculture.

“This has to change; it’s commercially imperative,” Ms Collins said.

“Boards with female representation outperform others by nearly 10 per cent, but female presence at the table is not enough unless they have a voice that is actually valued. Research shows three women need to voice the same opinion in a room before men will take the idea seriously, whereas one man alone will be legitimised. Women’s voices offer opportunities for growth and discussion and without them, we’re only hearing half the story.

“Our mission is to provide a safe environment for women to seek connection, conversation and education on topics essential to their work on farm, in farming businesses and in industry support roles,” Ms Collins said. “Cream of the Crop attendees will return to their work, family and community feeling

informed, motivated and supported in their role as champions of our industry.”

Cream of the Crop is being supported by funding partners, including DemoDAIRY Foundation and Fonterra Australia Suppliers Council.

DemoDAIRY Foundation Chair, Ralph Leutton, said the Cream of the Crop event was a terrific example of local dairy innovations that the Foundation was proud to support.

“Our historic agricultural industries, like dairy production, need the next generation to keep them growing and flourishing into the future,” Mr Leutton said. “Cream of the Crop is set up to do just that. By upskilling women in our region across a range of important skills, we know more people will see that dairy has unlimited potential for anyone who wants to be involved, no matter what they want to do.”

More information about the Cream of the Crop event can be found at www.creamofthecropau.com

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2022

4 // WEST VIC REGION

Getting through tough times RICK BAYNE

GRANT PLACE came back to the family farm

at the worst possible time in 2014 … but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The farm at Pomborneit was struggling through one of the worst seasons in memory and had to buy an unprecedented amount of feed.

The following the year things got even tougher when the industry collapsed, and the Places were among those impacted by the clawback imposed by their processors, Fonterra.

“I thought it was the norm and it was always going to be tough; the last few years have been a breeze after that,” Grant said.

The baptism of fire was enough to harden Grant for anything the industry might throw up — but it also prompted some good decisions.

Grant and his wife Majella farm with his parents Terry and Jo, with Grant, 32, now responsible for the day-to-day management.

Since 2014, the farm has grown from 300– 350 Friesian cows to 500–520 this year, added two neighbouring properties, started a beef herd, changed the calving period, and revamped the dairy.

The changes have been successful, and, topped with great seasons during the past two years, Grant now has a much more positive outlook.

The addition of neighbouring properties has increased the total farm to about 650ha, with everything now connected to the original home farm after selling their share of an out-paddock at Leslie Manor.

“It’s all connected now so we don’t have to truck animals, which is nice, but the driving force for buying extra land started in 2014 which was a pretty ordinary year,” Grant said. “We only did maybe 700 rolls of hay and silage for the whole farm and it cost us a fortune the following year buying in hay.”

The first purchase in 2015 was a run-down beef farm.

“The fences were shot, the pipes were running everywhere and there were some paddocks you could barely drive your ute across, but I ripped out every fence and started again,” Grant said.

“We picked up a heap of rocks and the next year we cut 1000 rolls off one paddock. We haven’t had to buy feed since then. We used red scoria from an old quarry on our farm as the base for

Grant Place and his wife Majella have been farming with his parents Terry and Jo at Pomborneit since 2014. After a rough start the future’s looking bright.

all the tracks — that has saved us so much over the years.”

They added another 120 ha to the east two years ago.

“With the way land prices have gone, they have been good investments,” Grant said.

The additional land has allowed more flexibility, including the introduction of a beef herd and rearing and selling 50 to 60 bulls each year.

The farm is on Johnstones Rd on the edge of the Stony Rises. Land east of Johnstones Rd has about 120 to 165 ha of rock-rolled country.

“The land was really tough,” Grant said. “You couldn’t ride a motorbike over it; but now we sow it every year to red wheat and annuals and

The addition of neighbouring properties has increased the total farm to about 650 hectares.

it goes berserk in winter with the volcanic soil.

“It still grew a lot of grass before being rolled but it was hard to manage.”

The west side of Johnstones Rd is more darker soil clay and flats.

Only about half the land is used for the milking platform, with the remainder for young stock, dry cows and bulls and beef.

Terry is one of six dairy farming siblings on four separate farms within 10 km, but Grant and his cousin Tim are the only two from the younger generations to continue dairying at this stage.

“I never thought I’d do it as a kid, but the idea of working for myself every day and not answering to a boss appealed to me,” Grant said.

There is one full-time staff member and another helping with feeding and cow management, and some relief milkers to help out.

The 44-unit rotary dairy has coped with the growth, though the yards had to be expanded in recent years.

“Milking can get a bit slow, but in summer they fly through,” Grant said.

“For nine months of the year, we’d be as quick as any farmer with a 50-unit rotary; it’s only a challenge at the peak times.”

The cows produced just under 30 litres peak this year, continuing the steady growth achieved during the past seven years.

The yards were extended to accommodate more cows.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2022

WEST VIC REGION // 5 Grant attributes the production growth to growing more grass and improving feed.

“The last two seasons have been really good,” he said.

In 2021 they made about 4000 rolls of silage, or more than 10,000 across the four farms with the families working together during the hay season.

Grant wants to build a feed pad and pit in the next few years to increase feed options during winter while protecting paddocks.

In recent years the farm converted from split calving that seemed to stretch over five to six months, to a strict 13-week period starting in April.

The change has been a success, with steady improvement in the in-calf rate before a slight decline in 2021.

“Four years ago, we put collars on and I got a bit harsher with culling cows,” Grant said.

“If they didn’t get in calf, I wore that for a few years but then was happy to cull late-calving cows and bring in more replacements for a few years.

I think we have a better herd now.”

The biggest challenge in recent times has been COVID-19. Grant contracted the virus while attending the cricket and his wife and two daughters were subsequently infected, despite Grant isolating in his bedroom and ensuite.

However, the cows still had to be milked.

“I thought I could have battled through, but everyone was away so I had to call on Mum to do a few milkings. It does knock you around; I was sweating a fair bit for the first days back at work.”

Now back on deck, Grant is upbeat about the future.

“I’m here for the long term,” he said.

“I know production can’t keep going up every year, but that’s the goal — keep growing more grass and producing more milk.”

The Friesian cows have been steadily improving production in recent years.

The past two seasons have resulted in record hay and silage production. Grant is now considering building a feed pad and pit.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2022

6 // WEST VIC REGION

Tinkering keeps costs down

Simone and Nick Renyard’s love of cows is shown in art around their property.

BY RICK BAYNE

NICK RENYARD wasn’t even a teenager back in

1984 when he started tinkering with computers.

Today, his electrical handyman abilities come in handy on his Curdievale farm.

Nick and his wife Simone estimate his input saved $10,000 on the installation of new cow collars, plus he’s been able to spread an electric fence system across the 390ha property, bring the dairy under the home NBN and introduce a water monitoring system.

Embracing easy-to-use technologies is high on the agenda as the Renyards build a new 60-unit dairy.

There have been massive changes during their 25 years of farming just outside Timboon, and they believe future-proofing the business with enough land for home-grown feed, a bigger dairy and new technology will mean a positive outlook.

The farm was purchased by Nick’s grandparents in the 1960s.

“Going back a long way, the area we are farming was once five dairy farms,” he said.

The 390ha home farm is supported by 43ha closer to Timboon to run young stock and a 30ha out-paddock.

The most recent purchase was in 2016, a 120ha neighbouring dairy farm.

“It coincided with losing some leased land so it was the right time and it was only 800m from the dairy,” Nick said.

“It gave us an opportunity to be more selfsufficient,” Simone added.

“The plan wasn’t necessarily to go bigger in cow numbers but to be more sustainable and grow our own feed. It gave us security because we know feed prices fluctuate so much.

“It was a farm that needed a lot of love and we had to spend a bit of money to get it up to scratch, but it’s to a point now that we can grow good feed on it and it’s really good for young stock.”

The Renyards have 540-550 predominantly Holstein cows, but Aussie Red crossbreds have been introduced during the past eight years and they have started a three-way cross system with the first calves born last year.

The new 60-unit dairy will allow for future herd growth.

“The crosses are about fertility,” Simone said.

“The bigger-framed Friesians can be more difficult to get in calf and we had those issues over 20 years. To be more sustainable and viable, we wanted a smaller frame and more fertile cow without giving away good feed conversion efficiency.”

“By moderating the frame size, maintaining feed efficiency and with three-way crosses you pick up hybrid vigour,” Nick said.

“We’ve definitely got a more fertile animal since introducing Aussie Reds.”

The first three-way cross calves are coming into the system.

“The calves look great and we’re getting more than ever,” Simone said.

“Instead of getting just enough to maintain the herd, we now have options to either sell some calves or increase herd size.”

They are planning to edge the herd up to around 600, while being cautious realising good seasons and prices aren’t guaranteed.

Nick expects productivity to improve through cross breeding and continually selecting bulls based on feed conversion.

They are replacing a 32-year-old 50-unit rotary with a 60-unit system.

“As cow size comes down, if we can also lift productivity, we’ll look at the liveweight per hectare and gradually increase numbers,” Nick said.

“The dairy probably needed replacing five years ago but at that time there was no cash

flow; the past two seasons and milk price gave us the confidence to do it.”

After 12 months of planning, construction by GreenCon is now under way.

It is attached to the existing dairy, and equipment such as pumps and refrigeration will be reused while the existing dairy will be gutted and used for shedding and the yards expanded.

There will be a staff room to support their three full-time staff, all living on the farm.

“Fifty to 60 is not a massive step-up in cost and there’s a reasonable chance one of our children will come back on the farm so we wanted to leave it open for opportunities,” Nick said.

“A 60-unit will allow them to milk more cows if they want.”

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2022

WEST VIC REGION // 7 Inspired by the success of other farmers and an Agricultural Digital Innovation grant, the Renyards added cow collars last October.

“At the moment it’s just gathering data but already it has picked out a few alerts for cows with a few health issues,” Nick said.

“We’re being more proactive on health, and experience shows they are incredibly valuable in picking cows that have not recovered from calving.”

“The technology is there, so why not embrace it?” Simone said.

Another relatively cheap but good value addition is the Smart Water app.

“We have a wireless gateway so we can remotely monitor all our water tank levels and adjust pumping in response to those figures,” Nick said.

“As long as I have internet, I can control those remotely, which means we can keep an eye on things when we go away and get onto problems a lot earlier.

“I’ve been able to repurpose a few old 3G antennas to expand our range so we’re now covering 95 per cent of the farm. It all runs off the back of a wireless internet system we have around the farm.

“We wanted to share internet with the dairy without having another NBN connection so I got some bits and bobs and made it happen. It means I can remote access the ID computer or the collars and see where they’re up to milking.

“There are more and more products at a reasonable price where you can remotely monitor things,” he said, which is handy as the couple hopes to travel more in the future.

“We’d like to be in a position to take more breaks and are working towards that with technology and simple systems,” Simone said.

“We’re trying to put that thinking around every part of the new dairy.”

The farm has been benefiting from Nick’s technical expertise for years.

“Many years ago, we bought an off-the-shelf solar-powered electric fence unit,” he said.

“It wasn’t getting through much of winter and we’d only have powered fences during the day. Through researching and setting up solar when away camping, I started to build some knowledge and applied that to building my own solar fence units.

“We had some calves destroy a unit one day, so I put it in a fridge to protect it. The first unit I built is still running and we’ve made a massive saving.

“I estimate we saved about $10,000 on the collars system or we might not have got the coverage that we get without my additions.”

Staff members have Healthy Cow apps on their phones and everyone is in a What’s App group.

The Renyards also get great benefits from being in a discussion group with successful farmers and business owners.

The business is now set up if the couple’s children William, who has finished a Bachelor of Business (Agriculture) at Marcus Oldham, or Laura who works in banking, are keen to return to the farm.

“We don’t want to be this hands-on in 10 years,” Simone said.

“The next generation will have to be savvy and smarter to keep the business growing.

“As an industry, I think we undervalue the skills farmers have and the level of smartness they need to run a successful business,” she said.

“We have to uptake technology and look at different ways of doing things because labour is a big problem for the industry.”

A three-way cross has been introduced to the traditional Friesian herd to improve productivity.

Collars are expected to make a big difference to herd health.

An old fridge has been redeployed to protect the solar-powered fence gear.

The water tank monitoring app has been a simple and cheap addition to the farm’s monitoring program.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2022

8 // WEST VIC REGION

Innovation Challenge to be launched SOUTH-WEST VICTORIA’S farm-

ers will have a chance to share and promote their ideas and inventions with the launch of the region’s first dairy innovation challenge.

The South West Victoria Dairy Innovation Challenge is an initiative of the DemoDAIRY Foundation (DDF).

Innovations in milk harvesting, farm operations and management, fodder production and harvesting, sustainability and the environment are being sought.

These innovations can be in use now or an idea that requires additional research and development.

The challenge will be delivered by the Warrnambool-based Regional Rising, and is open to individual farmers and service providers, and agribusiness companies connected to the dairy and grazing industries.

Expressions of interest to participate will open by mid-February and close in March.

DDF secretary Ian Teese said the challenge would build on the original purpose of DemoDAIRY which was formed as a co-operative in 1991 and established and ran the research and demonstration dairy farm near Terang.

The co-operative was wound up in 2018 and the farm sold, leading to the formation of the DemoDAIRY Foundation, a registered charity aiming to improve dairy industry profitability in south-west Victoria.

“The board wants to identify, initiate and lead new innovations in western Victoria that could have an application to the dairy industry,” Mr Teese said.

The challenge is open to individual farmers and service providers and agribusiness companies connected to the industry.

While focusing on dairy-related innovations, other innovations in the local grazing industries should be proposed if they will assist dairy farmers improve their profits.

“It could be a good idea that they’ve had but haven’t progressed,

or something they already have in place to solve a farm problem,” Mr Teese said.

DDF board member Maggie Leutton said the challenge would give people an opportunity to promote new ideas, start businesses, improve efficiency, and reduce the environmental impact of the dairy industry.

“We think there are a lot of good ideas out there that are not broadly known, and this challenge can help to share those ideas and even turn them into a commercial proposition,” Mrs Leutton said.

Innovation Challenge co-ordinator and Regional Rising chief executive officer Paul Dillon said entrants would be asked to provide details of a problem they had identified and how they had solved or were trying to solve it.

A panel will review the submissions, with prizes awarded to the innovations with the best potential to improve farm profitability. Categories include: Innovations in milk harvesting and handling, livestock and farm operations and management, fodder production and harvesting, off-farm service industries and processing/ marketing, and sustainability and the environment.

Selected finalists will be invited to participate in an intensive short program to identify the best accelerator program to assist them to share their innovations or turn them into a new business or product.

“It’s all about sharing good ideas around the industry,” Mr Dillon said.

“It doesn’t have to be something that’s going to become commercial, it may just be something that is going to be useful to other farmers.”

Implementation of the challenge will be supported by Food and Fibre Great South Coast and Rocket Seeder.

People interested in entering the innovation challenge can contact DDF secretary Ian Teese via email at info@demodairy.com.au or by phone on 0427 358 987.

DemoDAIRY Foundation’s Ian Teese.

MANAGING DAIRY EFFLUENT Agriculture Victoria has developed informative and useful online resources to assist dairy farmers to manage the dairy effluent on their farms.

Choosing a dairy effluent management system Developing an effective dairy effluent system requires detailed planning and often expert technical advice and guidance.

It is important to consider the soil type, distance to waterways, how the system can be integrated into existing infrastructure, management strategies, such as fertiliser application and irrigation management.

It is also important to conduct the appropriate geotechnical investigations to guide site selection.

Choosing the most appropriate effluent system will depend on what is: more

practical, easier to maintain, considering other activities around the farm and has the potential to return the most benefits.

Components to consider in a dairy situation may include:

in Victoria, Agriculture Victoria provides technical resources and training through the nationally recognised Design Livestock Effluent Systems (Unit AHCLSK 506A) in partnership with Dairy Australia.

Types of dairy effluent systems

The Effluent System Designer List

All effluent systems have their advantages and disadvantages. It’s a matter of choosing the system that best suits the farm variables, location and labour capacity.

System types can include direct application to pastures and crops (although a higher risk system), single storage ponds, multi-pond systems or tanks.

Due to the large number of considerations required when planning an effluent system, technical assistance is often recommended.

As the lead agency in effluent and manure systems design and management

This is a list of service provider businesses who have achieved a level of competence based on successfully completing all assessments and course requirements for the Design Livestock Effluent Systems Course.

They are able to offer farmers relevant services with respect to planning, design and management.

For a full range of information notes visit: agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestockand_animals/dairy/managing-effluent — Ashleigh Michael, dairy project officer

Agriculture Victoria has a range of resources available to help farmers manage effluent.