Dairy News Australia - October 2018

Saputo steps up with price rise PAGE 3 FORWARD THINKING

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OCTOBER, 2018 ISSUE 96 // www.dairynewsaustralia.com.au

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

NEWS // 3

Saputo lifts milk price

South Gippsland Dairy Expo PG.09

SAPUTO HAS announced milk price step-ups for its suppliers in southern Australia and NSW. The Canadian processor late last month lifted its opening price of $5.75 kg milk solids(MS) by 20¢/kg MS to $5.95 kg. The price rise sees stepups of 14¢/kg for butterfat and 28¢/kg for protein.

NSW suppliers will see a price rise of 28 cents a kilogram for butterfat and 42¢/kg protein, taking the price to 52 cents/litre, up from 49.6¢/litre.

Western Victoria farmer Leighton Hart, Deans Marsh, said the southern Australia price rise “brings most of us up to opening price” — a reference to the ‘weighted average’ headline price processors use, but which are paid to well less than the average number of dairy farmers.

“It’s better than nothing. A much needed cash injection,” he said.

The increase will be paid retrospectively from July 1 and paid with September 2018 proceeds during October. Saputo has said it will review its milk price quarterly, in October, January, April

and June, but made the announcement early.

Saputo chief operating officer, Kai Bockmann, said the increase reflects the positive impact of a weaker Australian dollar, despite a decline across all dairy commodities in recent months.

“It is not connected to recent developments in relation to the dairy levy proposed by the (Federal) Agriculture Minister, although we hope the increased price will provide some assistance to those impacted by continued drought conditions and higher feed and water costs.”

Mr Bockmann said the company acknowledged the challenges caused by the current conditions.

Northern NSW-based co-op, Norco, will lift the price paid to its farmers by five cents a litre.

Norco has more than 200 suppliers in northern NSW and southern Queensland.

Chairman and acting CEO, Greg McNamara, told ABC Radio the move would cost Norco an estimated $900 000 a month.

While the increase is initially for milk supplied

for this month and October, Mr McNamara the intention was to extend it.

"The business is performing quite well so we’ve taken the opportunity to put a five cents a litre base price increase on all litres of milk made from September through to October with the intention of trying to take that further," he said.

"The fact that farmers need an uplift in price now not in six months’ time to cope with the current dry conditions especially on the Darling Downs in south-east Queensland where 30 to 40 per cent of our supply is."

Meanwhile, Bega has announced it will trial a simplified milk system in south west Victoria, with the potential to extend it to other suppliers.

The payment structure would comprise one price for nine months and a second price for spring.

The purchase of Murray Goulburn’s former factory in Koroit enabled them to trial the incentive, Bega executive chairman Barry Irvin said.

WestVic Dairy Innovation PG. 23

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NEWS �����������������������������������������������������3–15 OPINION ����������������������������������������������������16 MARKETS ������������������������������������������17–20 MANAGEMENT �������������������������������21–27 ANIMAL HEALTH ������������������������� 28–29 MACHINERY & PRODUCTS �������������������������������������30–35

A soggy Burra Foods CEO, Grant Crothers, with Warragul farmer Joe Meggetto after taking part in the Milk Dunk at the recent South Gippsland Dairy Expo in Korrumburra. Gippsland Jersey ran the competition, where Mr Crothers and other brave souls sat on a dunking machine, to raise money for Beyond Blue. Read more PAGE 9.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

4 // NEWS

Use drought support to stop discounted dairy CONSUMER SUPPORT that helped bring about the ‘drought levy’ applied by supermarkets to their home brand milk must be used to stop discounted dairy products, according to industry groups.

After lobbying from the dairy industry, Woolworths and Coles have lifted select private label milk items by 10¢/litre — Woolworths on its 1 litre, 2 litre and 3 litre lines, although Coles has only applied it to its 3 litre milk.

The idea of a 10-cent levy was floated two weeks ago by dairy farmer Shane Hickey, from Kyogle in northern New South Wales, and the Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation (QDO).

Dairy Connect CEO Shaughn Morgan said “it’s a great first step, but there is much more to create fairness all along the supply chain.”

“Dairy Connect now calls on all supermarket

groups to follow the lead and make the price initiative permanent and, not only in drought impacted states, but nationally.

“The move is a temporary measure focusing on drought affected dairy communities, but we believe the initiative should be national and the price adjustments should be permanent. We also continue to call for all dairy products to be increased in price, allowing for a higher farm-gate price.”

ADF President, Terry Richardson, said drought relief milk is only a temporary measure and not a cure as ADF remains committed to pushing for a permanent end to discounted dairy products, including cheap cheese.

“We urgently need a shared solution to assist in building the long-term sustainability of Australian dairy farmers,” Mr Richardson said.

“There is a groundswell of support for farmers hit hard by the drought and supermarkets have the best opportunity to scrap their discounted dairy products.”

Woolworths will create a Drought Relief Oversight Committee to distribute the raised funds and Mr Richardson has called on them to include the ADF. “What we really need is clarity around how that extra 10¢ will be distributed back to the farm gate in a way that all dairy farmers will benefit,” Mr Richardson said.

“There are many regions of Australia affected by drought with high production costs impacting thousands of dairy farmers.

“We look forward to working with Woolworths on how this will work in practice.”

QDO President, Brian Tessmann, said its

petition for a 10 cent/litre Drought Levy on change.org received over 100 000 signatures.

“We have been receiving phone calls and emails from everyday mums and dads. It has been truly heartening to see so many people wanting to support our industry.”

Mr Tessmann said the minimum price of milk was $1.30 when Coles introduced $1-litre milk in 2011.

“Factor in inflation over the last 7 years, we are talking about a 60 cent discrepancy on 2011 prices.

“Based on an average volume of milk sold per annum of 2.55 billion litres, this equates to a $10 billion-plus loss to the dairy industry over the last 7 years.

“It is a staggering sum and goes a long way to explain why our dairy industry is hurting so much.”

Dairy Farmers welcome Lion drought bonus LION’S PRICE rise across its full range of milk products has been welcomed by its supply group, the Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative (DFMC).

Queensland dairy farmer and DFMC Chair Andrew Burnett said the move by Lion would help its members doing it tough.

He says it was an important step towards supporting the sustainability of Australia’s dairy farmers.

“Any increase in the price of milk that supports our farmers — especially those that are facing drought — is welcomed,” he said.

Lion has announced every cent of the additional 10 cents per litre that it is adding to

the wholesale price of its ‘Dairy Farmers’ and ‘Pura’ milk brands will go directly to their dairy farmers in drought.

“We encourage consumers wanting to support dairy farmers to get behind branded milk because it is an excellent product which returns fairer prices to dairy farmers,” Andrew said.

“Buying ‘Dairy Farmers’ and ‘Pura’ branded milk, with the extra 10 cents a litre added on, helps farmers twice over.”

DFMC is a farmer-owned co-operative comprising 350 dairy farmer members from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. All milk produced by DFMC

is sold to Lion.

“The extra income that this milk price will deliver to drought-affected farmers will make a difference, and help them with the higher costs of feed and water,” said Andrew.

Milk at the new price will be sold across Australia in identifiable ‘Dairy Farmers’ and ‘Pura’ 1L, 2L and 3L bottles at participating retailers from October 1.

DFMC will participate in an independent committee which will oversee the process of distributing funds to drought-affected farmers.

Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative Chair, Andrew Burnett, welcomes Lion Dairy’s drought levy.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

NEWS // 5

ADF changes tune on mandatory code PEAK DAIRY farmer body Australian Dairy

Farmers (ADF) has supported a mandatory code of practice, only six weeks after declaring it would stick to its review of the current voluntary code.

The move surprised the industry but was welcomed by many State farm groups, Farmer Power, dairy farmers and Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud.

The Australian Dairy Products Federation (ADPF) said it was ‘disappointed’ with the decision.

The ADF said a future mandatory code must: ■■ include an independent dispute resolution procedure, with small claims to be investigated ■■ outlaw retrospective milk price step downs ■■ enforce contract and price transparency ■■ be reviewed within three years, including an assessment of the code’s effectiveness In a statement, the ADF said it was a difficult decision and one that it “did not take lightly”.

“There are a broad range of views within ADF’s membership and these views are deeply respected and understood,” it said.

The ADF warned there are still issues to be resolved around the implementation of a mandatory code.

The competition watchdog, in recommending a mandatory code, didn’t disclose the costs

of administration, investigation thresholds, performance standards and accountability metrics.

The ADF will urge the Government to address these concerns through a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS), to be disclosed to industry as soon as possible.

“It’s hoped the introduction of a mandatory code will be a vital step in rebuilding trust and confidence along the dairy industry supply chain,” the ADF said.

The ADPF, which represents the Australian milk processing and manufacturing companies, said it was “disappointed” but was “committed to achieving positive, beneficial outcomes for the industry”.

It said work had been done to update the existing voluntary Dairy Industry Code of Practice to deliver a set of guidelines for negotiating milk price between farmers and processors in good faith, and establish a dispute resolution mechanism.

“We hope this can be used as a framework to inform any future code,” the ADPF said in a statement.

Mr Littleproud has welcomed the ADF’s decision.

He told the dairy sector at the end of August to come up with a united position on a mandatory code and the ACCC report into the dairy industry, which was released in April.

“Now that we have direction from the

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, with Deputy PM Michael McCormack, had urged the Australian Dairy Farmers to come up with a united position on the ACCC report.

organisation representing dairy farmers across Australia, we can move forward. I agree with ADF that a mandatory code must deliver coverage across the entire industry and improve bargaining power for Australian dairy farmers.

“I will work with farm groups to get this code right.”

Mr Littleproud said while a mandatory code should improve bargaining power it is unlikely

to change milk prices.

“The ACCC report stated the farmers were at a disadvantage given processors had better access to market information, and that’s something we’re working on through the milk price index. We’ll continue to look carefully at the issues raised in the ACCC report as we work with industry to come up with actions in response to the report.”

FARMERS FORM NEW DAIRY CO-OP SOPHIE BALDWIN Australia’s latest dairy co-op — Eureka Dairy — has been approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer commission and is looking for suppliers.

ACCC approval gives it the legal governance required to operate.

Interim director, Steve Hawken, said

more than 50 farmers with a milk pool of about 140 million litres are interested in becoming active members.

Mr Hawken said while the group had

he said.

“We remain in active discussions with processors both big and small, including

anyone interested in joining us, regardless of how many cows you milk.

“The only requirement is milk must be

a couple of niche processors who have

premium, although we do have avenues

appeared to be quiet, there had been a lot

approached us recently and we are

to help farmers who are experiencing cell

of work going on behind the scenes.

confident there will be some action in this

count issues.”

“We have spent the last few months sorting out all the legal requirements and are now in a position to move forward,”

space after Christmas.

“We are currently building a network of farmers and are happy to hear from

He said the co-op had never lost sight of its initial goal, which had always been to receive a fair and sustainable milk price.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

6 // NEWS

Farmers need more to invest in industry RICK BAYNE

SOUTH GIPPSLAND dairy farmer Peter

Hanrahan, Stony Creek, says payments of $6/ kg milk solids aren’t enough for dairy farmers anymore due to rising costs across the business.

Saputo raised its ‘average’ price to $5.95 kg milk solids (MS), up from its opening price of $5.75.

“They’ll say it’s a great price at $6 but when you consider the price of land, water, all other inputs and the ongoing seasonal challenges, you think why bother?”

Mr Hanrahan said the industry is influenced too strongly by the big processors and receives nothing more than lip service support from supermarket chains, media and politicians.

“There is no respect from the processors for the level of skill, intellectual nous and financial investment of the farmers who supply them,” he said.

“When you see Irish butter on supermarket shelves or cheese produced in New Zealand and

packaged in Australia it leads you to think we’re on our own.

“We need industry bodies to stand up to the processors,” he said.

Mr Hanrahan says drought and harsh environmental conditions are “part of the game” and farmers could cope better if they were paid a fair price, at least 50 cents more per litre.

“It’s frustrating that companies have pushed us to make more milk to make it easier for them to manufacture but the industry has continued to decline and farmers wear all the risk.

“Processors tell us they want growth but as an industry we can’t afford to buy land to expand and we’re getting sold down. “ The lack of access to young, skilled workers troubles Peter, who fears the drain to city areas not only hurts farmers but local communities and sporting clubs.

“The 18 to 35s who were here until the 80s are no longer living in the regions,” he said.

“How do we grow without skilled labour? If things are to grow you’ve got to pay a premium to attract people to the regions but at the prices

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Mr Hanrahan advocates encouraging migrants to live and work in the country.

“Governments don’t play the game because they won’t send migrants to the regional areas,” he said.

“It worked pretty well after World War Two with the European migrants and it could be the same now.”

Mr Hanrahan believes trade agreements have left Australian farmers battling against international counterparts backed by their governments.

After 35 years as a dairy farmer, Mr Hanrahan is adamant the past five years have been the most difficult he’s experienced.

Peter, his son Pat, who is now helping manage the farm, and their two employees and five backpackers constantly scrutinise budgets to stay afloat.

“The next 12 months will be fascinating with so many people leaving the industry and the large slaughtering rate of dairy cattle with dry conditions in the north.

“We’ve all got great passion for agriculture but

Peter Hanrahan on his Stony Creek farm.

the past five years have been incredibly tough, the hardest of my 35 years in the industry.”

Peter’s wife Catherine sits on a health industry discussion group looking at farmer mental health generally and how to provide support to farmers with mental health issues. Peter has concerns for those farmers who are pushed to the limit and are struggling with their health.

“The pressures have become so great and people are not out there communicating like they once were. Everyone’s on tenterhooks and it’s not a healthy way to live.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

NEWS // 7

Dairy farm goes back to school WHEN SCHOOL students started questioning

Troy Peterken’s description of how milk is made, he knew it was time to do something about it.

“We’ve had some kids say ‘no, mum gets our milk from the supermarket’,” Mr Peterken, who runs Inglenook Dairy near Ballarat with his wife Rachael, recalls.

Some city-based students might dispute his story of grass, cows, farms and milk when they hear it in the classroom, but this lack of knowledge about dairy farming has prompted Inglenook Dairy to introduce its own education program.

Inglenook Dairy has started hosting school tours, giving students first-hand experience of how farmers and their cows turn grass into milk and then process it for drinking.

With a new dairy museum and a niche milking facility to complement an existing processing plant, students can see the whole food chain from the cow to the cup.

“We already go out to schools to educate them about the dairy industry and processing. There’s huge demand for that but they wanted to come here and see how it’s done,” Mr Peterken said.

“There aren’t as many farms as there used to be so there aren’t as many kids coming from a farming background or able to access farms. We want kids to understand where their food comes from and why it’s good to support small processors and local communities.

“Kids are getting a bit detached from farm life but they love this sort of stuff when they get the chance.”

Already one Melbourne private school has booked four visits per year and others are adding the farm trip to their curriculum.

The education program is mainly aimed at primary-age children, although Mr Peterken said the more scientific side to processing also appealed to secondary school students.

Inglenook Dairy has been processing for five years. The idea to build the processing plant at Dunnstown, just out of Ballarat, arose out of concerns about low milk prices.

Troy is from a trade background, but Rachael and her parents, Basil and Sheila Britt, had a dairy farm with a century of local history.

Troy Peterken inside his dairy museum.

“We were sitting around the table one night saying the milk price wasn’t good enough,” Mr Peterken said.

“I piped up and said let’s build a milk processing factory and get a better price for local farmers.”

“Kids are getting a bit detached from farm life but they love this sort of stuff when they get the chance.”

He admits the workload was incredible. “When we started we didn’t know anything about pasteurisation or marketing; we were just hard workers. We took two years to build the factory.”

Despite the tough process, they remained confident they had a good product to sell.

“Everyone commented on the quality of Rachael’s parents’ milk; they could tell the difference between farm milk and supermarket milk,” Mr Peterken said.

“We had a massive belief that if the pasteurisation process didn’t alter the taste we’d have a product unlike anything else on the market.”

While they were building the factory — mostly completed by the extended family — the $1 a litre milk price war sent a scare through the camp.

“We were worried that might hit us but we believed in the product and that it’s what people want,” Mr Peterken said.

The dairy museum on the Dunnstown farm of Troy Peterken.

Their equipment goes back to the early days of pasteurisation and the process is kept simple, trying to tamper as little as possible with the natural taste and colour.

They are now processing 22, 000 to 25,000 litres a week, but at full capacity they could do 60 000 to 70 000 litres.

The plant mainly serves small greengrocers and coffee shops. Mr Peterken said the “workability” of the milk was its main appeal.

“Our milk quality doesn’t deteriorate during summer,” he said.

“We get feedback from baristas that they can’t foam supermarket milk and it splits. The coffee scene is a huge market and they realise they need good quality milk.

“Those coffee shop owners have invested a lot of money in their cafes, just like our small business, so they’re willing to pay more for premium milk knowing they will get consistency through the whole year and their business doesn’t suffer.”

Inglenook Dairy is sourcing milk from local farmers and paying a better farm gate price, which was the main reason for starting the business.

They use predominantly Friesian herds, with a

The niche milking facility, designed to show visitors and students how cows are milked.

sprinkle of Jerseys.

“We do a lot of researching and testing the milk to make sure the workability is right. The Friesians provide constant quality and the fat and protein ratios are really good,” Mr Peterken said.

At the dairy education centre, the school tours will see a seven-minute video that tracks the arrival of cows on the farm (six cows were driven from Colac by Rachael’s grandparents after their house burnt down) to the development of the processing facility and functional dairy.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

8 // NEWS

Speaking up for dairy women ALANA CHRISTENSEN

WHEN KATAMATITE dairy farmer Simone Ross went to Canberra as part of the Developing Dairy Leaders Program, she never expected to get a front row seat to a leadership spill.

The tumultuous week of politics, which saw then-Treasurer Scott Morrison become Prime Minister, was the backdrop for the trip in which 14 participants — from farmers, business managers and export sales representatives — presented a series of projects to politicians and department heads.

The culmination of two months of workshops, research and investigation, the first generation dairy farmer, who milks 300 cows on a 259 ha property, said the focus of her research project was one close to her heart — female representation in dairy.

“Only 25 percent of leadership positions are filled by women, and some of those are multiple positions filled by the same woman,” Ms Ross said.

“It’s a hard sector to break into.”

Having had experience herself being the only

woman in the room, Ms Ross said it was important to ensure women are encouraged to enter leadership positions at all levels — not just the top.

“It can lead anywhere. You can be the middleman and do a lot of progressive stuff doing it the right way,” she said.

It was a thought and a passion that she took with her to Canberra, discussing the issue in depth with Queensland Senator Pauline Hanson, who was invited as Ms Ross’ guest to the program’s main function.

Given the nature of her project, Ms Ross said it was only right to invite another woman to hear her perspective on the issue, and she added she was left thrilled with the level of support her project received.

With the support of her mentor, former Victoria Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon, Ms Ross has also presented her findings to both Australian Dairy Farmers and Dairy Australia, who supported the program.

“The ADF are looking to develop a taskforce to address female representation,” Ms Ross said.

“The doors that the program has opened up

Dairy Australia industry capability development program manager Belinda Griffiths (left) and Australian Dairy Farmers president Terry Richardson celebrate Simone Ross’ graduation from the program.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and Simone Ross enjoy a chat.

are incredible.”

ADF president Terry Richardson encouraged young farmers to participate in the program as a pathway to becoming industry advocates.

“The DDLP is an important step in teaching a new generation of industry representatives how to channel their passion for dairy into effective advocacy,” Mr Richardson said.

“Many of the participants came to the

program with little or no exposure to dairy advocacy, but they have now presented and debated ideas, gained professional development and learned how to manage personal and work priorities.”

Ultimately, Ms Ross said she hoped for a stronger dairy industry, where dairy farmers — men and women — could be assured they would get a fair go.

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Participants from the Developing Dairy Leaders Program travelled to Canberra to meet politicians including Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud (front centre) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack (far left).

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NEWS // 9

Farmers make big splash at Dairy Expo conditions for the South Gippsland Dairy Expo at Korumburra last month.

It also meant ideal conditions for silage making and although many farmers took the chance to jump on the tractors before the predicted weekend rain, exhibitors were pleased with the level of inquiry at this specialist event.

Matt “Buddha” Harms led a panel discussion of local farmers, who were completely open as they discussed working through unexpected difficulties with employees and sharefarmers, and the mutual benefits that can be achieved when done successfully.

Sallie Jones of Gippsland Jersey ran a Dunk Off, where Burra Foods CEO Grant Crothers and other brave souls sat on a dunking machine, waiting for a direct hit from enthusiastic locals to send them into the drink.

Money raised went to Beyond Blue as Gippsland Jersey has a brand commitment towards creating social change around rural mental health.

Gippsland Jersey launched a special calendar in April that featured 12 dairy farmers who shared their personal story about their own mental health journey that was distributed via tanker drop to all Gippsland dairy farmers.

“The ripple effect of the calendar has been incredible,” Sallie said.

“We know that mental health issues surround us and people are facing battles we don’t even know about. The more conversations we can have to reduce the stigma and encourage people to seek help, the better.”

Warragul farmer Joe Meggetto features in the calendar and talked about his journey with mental health before taking his turn on the dunking machine.

His advice: “Just talk to somebody. I did and now it’s like the weight of the world is off my shoulders.”

Burra Foods CEO Grant Crothers waiting for the inevitable on the Big Dunk machine.

Graeme and Jenny Cope, Fish Creek, with Kelvin Jackson, Toora, and his daughter, Sophie.

Athlone dairy farmer Andrew Warner with son, Riley.

Peter Notman, Notman Seeds, with Wonthaggi farmer Simon Park.

Panel members Gordon and Sylvia Vagg and Paul Cocksedge, Leongatha; Lisa and Paul Mumford and Aaaron Thomas, Won Wron; Matt Long, Rabobank; Mark Wilms, Michael O’Brien and Andrew Balfour, Nambrok.

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Big Dunk participants Grant Crothers, Burra Foods CEO; Joe Meggetto, Warragul; Sallie Jones, Gippsland Jersey; John Hutchison, Lions; consultant Matt Harms.

Consultant Matt “Buddha” Harms – renowned for his alter ego each year – sought to find the secret to a harmonious working relationship in the dairy industry.

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Gippsland Jersey founder Sallie Jones with Lions Club member and Big Dunk participant John Hutchison.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

NEWS // 11

Kirin looks to sell Lion Dairy JAPANESE BEVERAGE giant Kirin Holdings said it has started a strategic review of its LionDairy and Drinks unit, looking at a possible sale among its options.

Lion-Dairy and Drinks owns the Masters and Yoplait brands, among other dairy and beverage brands, distributed in Australia.

"It is appropriate at this point in time to consider the best pathway forward to maximise its sustainable growth potential for the future," Kirin said in a statement.

It also said options included retaining the unit and investing in it and that no decision has been made yet.

Kirin has been reviewing its business portfolio, which spans alcohol, beverages, food and drugs at home and overseas.

GIPPSLAND TO HOST HARVEST FEST Harvest Fest 2018 is an exciting new boutique farming and lifestyle event, shining a light on Victoria’s food bowl of Gippsland.

Held from November 9–11 at Lardner Park, and set among picturesque rural surrounds, McPherson Media Group

Last year, it sold its money-losing Brazilian beer business — bought for $US3.9 billion in 2011 — to Heineken for $US1.09 billion.

"Lion Dairy & Drinks has restructured itself and improved its profitability since 2015 through the ‘Turnaround Project’ launched in 2014, and the ‘Kirin Group 2016–2018 Medium-Term Business Plan’," Kirin said.

"Having improved its business performance … it is appropriate now to consider the best pathway forward to maximise sustainable growth potential for the future."

All options are being kept open, Kirin said, including an all-out sale. No decision had been made.

Lion is a significant player in fresh milk markets in Queensland, NSW and Western Australia.

(publisher of Dairy News Australia) and Lardner Park’s latest event is set to draw patrons in excess of 20 000.

“This jam-packed event boasts enticing Food Courts with an array of cuisines, snacks and brews; an extensive Farmers’ Market with the best of the region and beyond; demonstrations from the Harvest Fest Kitchen; a learning series of lectures which are set to inform, entertain and excite; craft and handmade goods workshops; live entertainment, kids

Collecting about 10 per cent of the national milk, it owns prominent brands Pura and Dairy Farmers fresh milk, Yoplait and Dairy Farmers yoghurt and the specialty cheese brand Tasmanian Heritage.

Dairy analyst Steve Spencer, of FreshAgenda, believes a break-up of the business is likely.

“It has effectively been for sale for several years,” Mr Spencer said.

“A breakup is probably more realistic, as flavoured milk and specialty cheese would be of interest to a few players, but the fresh white milk business is not especially attractive to others.”

Lion Dairy is not expected to end up owned by either Saputo and Fonterra.

“Neither is likely to make more major investments in this country until existing assets improve and demonstrate profitability,” Mr Spencer said.

entertainment and more,” Harvest Fest events manager Susie Filleti said.

In addition to the industry innovation, the event also celebrates the generations of farming families and businesses that grow the renowned produce of the region, along with their rich farming history, culture and tried-and-tested techniques.

“This beautiful produce not only helps to feed so much of the state; it is also featured in the trendiest restaurants, cafes and products on the market,” Ms Filleti said.

Kirin first entered Australia’s dairy sector in 2007 when it bought the local manufacturer National Foods for A$2.8bn; Fonterra, which owned a 19 per cent stake in National Foods in 2007, lost the bidding war to Kirin.

A year later Kirin moved to buy another Australian dairy business, Dairy Farmers, for A$910 m.

In 2009, Kirin snapped up the Australian beverage business Lion Nathan and merged these new assets with National Foods. Two years later, Kirin renamed the overall Australian arm Lion.

In 2015 the Canadian dairy giant Saputo bought Lion’s ‘everyday’ cheese business for A$137.5m, taking control of the Coon, Cracker Barrel, Mil Lel and Fred Walker brands. Lion retained the ‘specialty’ cheese brands South Cape and King Island Dairy.

“Gippsland’s agribusiness sector is a significant employer in the region, with over a third of business involving agriculture and fishing; and with the region containing 16 per cent of all farm businesses in Victoria.”

Ms Filleti said the team are incredibly excited about this stellar new farming and lifestyle event and the great weekend it will offer all patrons.

“This broad-ranging event will appeal to all,” she said.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

12 // WORLD NEWS

Time for action on poor assets FORMER FONTERRA director Leonie Guiney says she expects the new leadership team to act on loss-making assets.

Ms Guiney is standing for the New Zealand coop’s director elections.

She said shareholders seemed prepared to give the new chief executive Mile Hurrell a chance and she was encouraged by his presentation at a shareholder meeting in Ashburton last week.

“I would expect action on loss-making assets in the near term if he is to be able to strengthen our position to invest where we have advantages,” Ms Guiney said.

Fonterra directors and management met farmer shareholders around the country last week for an annual results update; the co-op last year suffered a shock $196 million loss, the first in its

17-year history.

The Ashburton meeting was also attended

by Fonterra chairman John Monaghan and chief financial officer Marc Rivers.

Ms Guiney said farmers asked lots of “good probing questions” on the co-op’s balance sheet.

They also questioned the co-op’s China strategy, some asking what changes will be made to it.

The tone of the leadership’s intentions encouraged her, she said.

“They talked about a complete stocktake of where our capital is allocated, how it is delivering and whether it can continue to.

“The test of that sentiment is whether they are prepared to depart from existing strategy and exit loss-making investments even if they are part of ‘integrated strategy’. I got the impression from

Fonterra posts $196 m loss FONTERRA HAS posted a $196 million loss for 2018, the first in the co-op’s 17-year history.

The 2018 annual results announced today make grim reading for farmer shareholders; normalised EBIT was $902 million, down 22 per cent, gearing ratio was up from 44.3 per cent last year to 48.4 per cent and return on capital was 6.3 per cent, down from 8.3 per cent.

The co-op posted a profit of $745 m last year.

Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell says the co-op’s business performance must improve.

“There’s no two ways about it, these results don’t meet the standards we need to live up to. In FY18, we did not meet the promises we made to farmers and unitholders,” Mr Hurrell said.

Leonie Guiney.

Miles there was a preparedness to do that.”

Ms Guiney believes the poor financial results have arisen from years of poor investment decisions.

“I remain concerned as to whether there is acceptance that this result is not just a consequence of management and dividend decisions from one year; that this is chickens coming home to roost after years of allocation of capital outside our capability, and prolonged defence of the same with the consequence of eroding equity.”

Ms Guiney disagrees with Fonterra leadership’s view that the balance sheet is strong and the co-op is in good heart.

“Current debt levels are high risk in an environment where we are losing milk and have much to do to regain the trust of shareholders and the

NZ Government; but it can be done.”

She notes “the jewel in our crown is our strong ingredients business and that management’s commendable progress in higher value ingredients is being overshadowed by the overall business performance”.

“But the jewel is subsidising the rest of the business and I would have liked to have seen a stronger commitment to ending this erosion of value and protecting our balance sheet and hence our future as a farmer-owned co-op.”

Ms Guiney said she heard no indication that shareholders favour splitting up the co-op as some commentators have suggested. “That is not the solution; I heard a desire for change in the way we operate, not to abandon the co-op model.”

“At our interim results, we expected our performance to be weighted to the second half of the year. We needed to deliver an outstanding third and fourth quarter, after an extremely strong second quarter for sales and earnings — but that didn’t happen.”

Mr Hurrell said that in addition to the previously reported $232 million payment to Danone relating to the arbitration, and $439 million write down on Fonterra’s Beingmate investment, there were four main reasons for the cooperative’s poor earnings performance.

“First, forecasting is never easy but ours proved to be too optimistic.

“Second, butter prices didn’t come down as we anticipated, which impacted our sales volumes and margins.

“Third, the increase in the forecast Farmgate Milk Price late in the season, while good for farmers, put pressure on our margins.

“And fourth, operating expenses were up in some parts of the business and, while this was planned, it was also based on delivering higher earnings than we achieved.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

14 // NEWS

Major milk research looking deeper PETER BURKE

A FIVE year, $11 million research project in New Zealand will investigate milk properties of different animals in a bid to produce new high value milk products.

Led by Professor Warren McNabb, of New Zealand’s Riddet Institute, the project will seek better mechanistic understanding of the various milks produced in New Zealand including cow, goat, sheep and deer.

A particular aim will be to develop new products for babies, very young children and elderly people.

Mr McNabb said that understanding the mechanistic differences in milk is critical because, while two foods may have similar composition, the nutritional consequences when these are eaten could be quite different. The key point is how the nutrients are structured within the food.

“The idea behind this program is to look at the way those milks are structured in their raw state as well as when you process them into yogurt, cheese, etc.

"If you understand the structure/nutrition relationship you can really affect the way [the consumer] receives important nutrients from any food.

“Ultimately the aim is to understand how cow, sheep, goat and deer milk release nutrients."

Mr McNabb said once it’s understood how these interactions occur, the researcher can then see what can be done from a processing perspective to improve the nutritional value of milk and milk products.

The researchers want to understand how milks are digested and now nutrients are released into the body and what are the consequences for the consumer.

“The industry has a real interest in how to position milk as part of a whole holistic diet,” Mr McNabb said.

“It is not necessarily to find a particular protein in milk with some biological activity and then work out how to link that; it’s more to ask how do you manipulate whole milk into its products to maximise nutritional value?

“And how do we position milk in our diet because of its intrinsic health properties?”

Mr McNabb said research done in Australia shows that if people had been drinking the

recommended 500 ml of milk a day, the savings to the health system there would have been huge.

Milk is a complete food containing minerals, trace elements and nutrients not found in other

CONSUMERS SUSPICIOUS STRONG EVIDENCE is emerging that consumers are suspicious of processed foods, says Professor Warren McNabb.

People want fewer processed foods and would prefer foods they view as more natural. They want to know where their food comes from and the effects of food on their health.

This is a trend that will get bigger and bigger, Mr McNabb said.

“People are concerned about the environment, climate change and sustainability and they are starting to add dimensions of that when they think about food.

“There is a rapidly growing trend towards ‘sustainability nutrition’ from a consumer perspective."

To meet these consumer trends, the researchers hope to better understand the properties of the various milks; they

foods, he said.

“Milk is one of the animal foods that is concentrated full of nutrients that are important to us."

will look at ways of exploiting these by developing ‘co-products’, e.g. two types of milk mixed together possibly with a plant additive.

The health factor is intrinsic to developing milk products for export, with particular emphasis on increasing the value but not necessarily the volume.

That’s why the research is especially ‘value-add’, Mr McNabb said.

"How can you crack this high end, these high value substantiated foods?

“If you make a claim, be it an environmental or sustainability or a health claim, then that needs to have scientific substantiation.

“Given the power of social media and the speed at which information gets around you need to have scientific credibility.”

Mr McNabb said the markets NZ will target in the next 20 years will be in Asia and other regions where people are health conscious and can afford to buy the high quality products the researchers are seeking to produce.

Professor Warren McNabb.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

16 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Shameless in quest for good publicity

MILKING IT...

Expensive vision It’s an unfortunate fact that consulting firms are being appointed and paid a huge amount by the Federal Government.

You can google it for some sombre reading.

These firms effectively look at your watch and tell you the time — for a very large fee.

Now, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud is going to pay Ernst & Young A LOT of money to develop a strategic vision for Australia’s rural innovation system.

The future of Australian ag certainly needs a plan and needs to be addressed.

However, paying a mob top money (including overseas travel) to publish a report on information already present is not visionary.

Can Mr Littleproud make a commitment that any ‘strategic vision’ will be implemented?

What funding will be provided so this vision doesn’t just end up on a shelf collecting dust?

Proof of Origin Further backslapping from the Ag Minister with his announcement that pizza chain Domino’s is the first major fast food outlet to voluntarily display greater Country of Origin information on its website and app.

“I asked fast food stores to give their customers country of origin information and Domino’s delivered,” he tweeted.

If customers read the Country of Origin information they will see that the cheese on these pizzas is actually imported from the USA.

Dreams turn to ashes

Building bigger barns

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Last year’s AFL Grand Final win by Richmond saw him sell more than 50 Tigers fire drums at the Elmore Field Days, which happened to fall the week after the Grand Final.

Rohan was hoping for a Collingwood win last month, anticipating further brisk business.

However, turns out his dreams, much like the Magpies supporters, ended in ashes and dust.

Here’s a pitch that will have the greenies seeing red.

Intensive, high-yielding farming may be the best way to meet rising demand for food while conserving biodiversity, a new study has found.

Organic farming has long been considered more environmentally friendly than intensive, conventional farming, but a study led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, UK suggests perhaps not, provided more natural habitat can be “spared the plough”.

Nature Sustainability reported that the study had researchers working with 17 organisations in the UK and worldwide, including people in Poland, Brazil, Australia, Mexico and Colombia.

They analysed data from hundreds of studies of four large food sectors — Asian paddy rice, European wheat, Latin American beef and European dairy.

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We can imagine the meeting at Coles HQ. Woolworths had come out with a ‘drought levy’ on its private label range of milk to the applause of the public and the dairy industry.

Coles could not afford to be seen as indifferent to the farmers’ plight but its application of a drought levy to its 3 litre range only saw it win plaudits from the Federal Agriculture Minister without returning as much money back to farmers.

It was a very cynical win-win for the company that introduced $1/litre milk back in 2011. It certainly wasn’t a win for the farmers.

The Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation, who has rallied for the end of this price discounting since it was introduced, put the ‘money returned’ to farmers via the levy in perspective.

The lobby group said the minimum price of milk was $1.30 when Coles introduced $1-litre milk in 2011.

By factoring in inflation over the last seven years, the QDO says it is a 60 cent discrepancy on 2011 prices.

Based on an average volume of milk sold per annum of 2.55 billion litres, the QDO says this equates to a $10 billion-plus loss to the dairy industry over the last seven years.

Staggering when you see figures in black and white — and easy to see why the supermarkets will continue to hold milk at that price. Far cheaper to pay someone like Curtis Stone an exorbitant fee to peddle the message that supermarkets are good for farmers.

The QDO harnessed a groundswell of good favour from the public by starting an online petition to call for the supermarkets to pay a levy. They received over 100 000 signatures.

Although the QDO and the Australian Dairy Farmers do not have the resources of our supermarket duopoly, they need to harness public sentiment to create change in discounted dairy.

It started with milk; then it was cheese; the supermarkets won’t stop.

It is imperative to get help from Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud. He was quick to take credit for placing pressure on the supermarkets to get them to act.

Let’s see if he has the mettle to create long-term change.

Publisher

Shepparton Newspapers Pty Ltd

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Newsprinters Pty Ltd

Production

Stacey Taylor

Editor editor@dairynewsaustralia.com.au Dairy News Australia is published by Shepparton Newspapers Pty Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of Shepparton Newspapers Pty Ltd.

Regional editor Geoff Adams

news@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

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Head Office 7940 Goulburn Valley Highway Shepparton, VIC 3630 Phone (03) 5831 2312 Postal address PO Box 204 Shepparton, Victoria 3632 Australia

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

MARKETS // 17

Freedom investment flagged GEOFF ADAMS

THE SHEPPARTON UHT dairy factory of Freedom Foods will become the cornerstore of the company’s dairy push with $70 million earmarked for investment at the site during the next 12 months.

The company is planning to boost its milk throughput on the site from 300 million litres to 500 million.

Freedom Foods announced its net profit of $19 million on sales of $353 million for the 2017– 18 financial year last month.

The company already has 40 dairy farm suppliers, and managing director Rory Macleod said they would be encouraging existing suppliers to lift their production to meet the increased capacity, although there may be opportunities for new suppliers in the future.

Freedom has an agreement with dairy supply company ACM to supply 100 million litres

Processing at the Freedom Foods factory.

annually, but Freedom is developing its own supplier base, providing what Mr Macleod said was a price, “not the highest, but not the lowest”.

“We are very focused on our existing base and encouraging them to grow their production, before we seek out new suppliers.”

The Shepparton factory processes UHT milk for overseas markets and Freedom Foods has now become the largest supplier of contract packed milk brands to China and private label milk in Australia.

Mr Macleod has told investors that volume through the Shepparton site has increased and additional volumes will start during the first half of the 2019 financial year, reflecting demand in Australia, South-East Asia and China.

“The Shepparton UHT operations continue to be well placed to benefit from the significant changes occurring in the production structure of the Australian dairy market and the increasing

Taking a sample is processing room operator Rob Heard.

demand from export markets in South-East Asia, China and the Middle East,” Mr Macleod said.

The company is also planning to expand nutritional manufacturing at its Shepparton site.

Freedom Foods owns an interest in Moxey Farms, in NSW, but Mr Macleod said the company was not interested in buying farms in Victoria for direct supply to Shepparton.

During the past financial year the group finalised installation at Shepparton of additional

CHINA COPS MORE TARIFFS The Trump administration has applied a 10 per cent tariff to $200 billion of Chinese imports from September 24.

RaboResearch dairy analyst Emma Higgins said President Trump has also threated this tariff could be lifted to 25 per cent by the end of the year.

“He also warned that if the Chinese were to take retaliatory action against US farmers or industries it would ‘immediately pursue phase 3’. This would involve tariffs on an additional $276b of Chinese goods.”

In other world news, Ms Higgins said if Russia is to be self-sufficient in dairy and replace dairy imports lost with the

one-litre format capacity and also upgraded processing capability and downstream packaging.

The increase in processing capacity would align and support growth in UHT filling capability at Shepparton to meet demand in domestic and export markets including South-East Asia, China and the Middle East, Mr Macleod said.

“The expanded processing capability will provide flexibility to further increase UHT filling capacity as market demand increases.” trade sanctions in 2014, it would need to increase its milk production by 20–25 per cent.

The Russian Minister of Agriculture has previously said Russia needs 6–8 years to achieve full self-sufficiency in milk.

These comments come as a project begins with the Vietnamese dairy company TH Milk, now building a dairy plant in Kaluga.

Ms Higgins said milk production in Europe is gaining momentum despite the heatwave that spread across parts of the continent.

EU milk supply is in positive territory for July 2019, with growth of 1 per cent year on year. German production has risen 2.8 per cent; Irish production 3.1 per cent; while the Netherlands has dropped by 1.2 per cent.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

18 // MARKETS

South America starts to stir

GLOBAL IMNPACT JOHN DROPPERT

SOUTH AMERICA, with its abundant natu-

Argentina’s milk production grew just over 7 per cent for the first half of 2018, as did that of Chile, whilst Uruguay is up 6.5 per cent for the year to July. Brazil (pictured) had been following a slower trajectory (up 2 per cent for Q1) but has since slowed.

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ral resources, is an oft-cited land of opportunity for agricultural production, including dairy.

However, volatile climatic and political conditions, together with widespread infrastructure challenges and competing land uses have historically kept the level of dairy production and exports well below expectations.

In addition, rapid growth in the Brazilian economy through the 2000’s boosted dairy consumption in that country to the point where Brazil became more of a dairy importer than exporter.

Within the protection of the Mercosur trading bloc, Argentina and Uruguay became major suppliers to their former competitor.

Apart from the market opportunities closer to home, both of these countries had less dairy product to sell for most of 2016 and 2017, as repeated floods inundated key dairy regions.

More recently, things have changed. From late 2017, weather conditions moderated and — with the exception of Brazil — farmgate milk prices rose.

The better weather also boosted crop yields, which saw grain prices ease. More stable economic conditions and lower inflation helped improve the general business environment, and reduced financial pressure.

Whilst the renewed economic slowdown in Brazil (and more recently Argentina) is likely to impact dairy demand, other opportunities are emerging.

Russia’s ongoing embargo on most of its other dairy suppliers has generated some openings, whilst the US trade disputes with China and Mexico could also benefit South American exporters.

Milk is increasingly available to take advantage. Argentina’s milk production grew just over 7 per cent for the first half of 2018, as did that of Chile, whilst Uruguay is up 6.5 per cent for the year to July.

Brazil had been following a slower trajectory (up 2 per cent for Q1) but has since slowed.

Overall volumes are roughly steady for the first half of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.

Denmark

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

EU-28

MARKETS // 19

Q2-18

Production may be up, but the payoff in trade volumes is yet to materialise. For the first two quarters of 2018, total export volumes from South American suppliers fell 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2017.

All countries have seen falls with Brazil the most severe (down 36 per cent), followed by Chile (-12 per cent) and Uruguay (-9 per cent).

Argentina has seen a more modest 2 per cent decrease, having had a particularly severe drop in 2017 and thus a weaker comparable.

At a product level, the biggest volume dairy commodities traded within and out of the region tend to be wholemilk powder (WMP), condensed milk, and (to a lesser extent) whey powder and cheese.

Of these, only WMP has seen gains, with 12 per cent more exported for the first half

of 2018. Far from Russia or China, this growth has been driven by Algeria, with South American suppliers delivering over 44 000 tonnes of product as part of the Algerian government’s regular tenders — a threefold gain from the same time a year prior.

Algeria’s tenders are highly price-competitive and widely discussed in dairy trading circles.

Anecdotal reports suggest that over the last few months, South American sellers have become increasingly noticeable in other pricing negotiations globally.

As the chart shows, there is a lot of ground to make up.

Whether the current nascent turnaround is the beginning of a sustained re-emergence, or another false dawn, remains to be seen.

• John Droppert is Senior Industry Analyst with Dairy Australia.

H2-18

Exports from major South American suppliers 8.0

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2016

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Argentina

Brazil

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Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

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2017

2017

2018

Uruguay

Q2 2018

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

20 // MARKETS

Brexit hangs over Eucolait meeting FRESH AGENDA was fortunate enough to attend and present our global market outlook at the September Eucolait meeting in Brussels last month.

Eucolait, or the European Association of Dairy Trade, represents the interests of European exporters, importers and wholesalers of dairy products.

Founded in 1959, Eucolait has over 500 member companies in 16 EU Member States and a number of associate members outside the EU. We were told this year’s September meeting was particularly well-attended — an indication of the uncertainty facing the global dairy market at present.

Not surprisingly for such a trade-focussed gathering as this, the impacts of Brexit and US-initiated trade conflicts were hot topics of discussion.

With just six months until Brexit is a reality — as of the 29th of March 2019 — it is startling to hear the impact of the uncertainty on the ground.

There is significant contingency planning underway for traders who have no idea what the new reality for trade with the UK will be.

Whatever the final deal, EU traders are preparing for increased costs that come with the end of “frictionless movement” of products to a dairy deficit market in the UK. Any investment in infrastructure under the circumstances is seen as extremely risky, and caution is the order of the day.

FRESH AGENDA JO BILLS

Having built the large SMP stockpile that continues to overhang the market and distort the relative pricing of fat and protein, the official maintained the buying and tendering process will continue with caution, so as not to disrupt the market!

Despite the move to twice-monthly tender sales from September onwards, it seems most Eucolait members expect the intervention stockpile will take another 15 to 18 months to clear.

Finally, following a hot and dry summer for large swathes of Europe, there was a significant discussion about the ongoing impacts on milk production.

While milk growth has rebounded in a number of member states, it was acknowledged that production had been supported on many farms by drawing down feed stores which are usually deployed in autumn and winter.

On this basis the EU Commission’s Market Milk Observatory (MMO) revised its forecast for EU milk production down to 0.9 per cent growth in 2018, implying the remainder of the year will be down on the previous year.

As the impacts of depleted feed reserves linger into 2019, the MMO expects moderate growth of 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent in 2019.

It’s a more subdued production outlook that could provide some support for commodity prices.

With less than six months until Brexit is a reality it is startling to hear the impact of the uncertainty on the ground.

For UK importers there are moves to diversify their supply base and, under the circumstances, a closer alliance with the US could be on the cards.

Ireland will be most affected, and as an Irish representative at the meeting observed, Brexit will mean that exporters won’t be trading with natural partners and the outcome will be added cost throughout the supply chain.

In terms of the Trump Administration’s approach to trade there was acknowledgement that under the leadership of EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker direct trade conflict has been successfully de-escalated — at least for the time-being.

EU dairy is an easy target for the US given the significant trade deficit that exists, but for now there has been no direct impact.

The EU is aggressively pursuing export market diversification through free trade agreements.

A senior EU trade negotiator briefed Eucolait members on the modernisation of the EUMexico FTA which has recently been negotiated.

Improving reciprocal access was seen as an important outcome for the EU, a lesson learnt after the closure of the large Russian market, and Mexico, given its reliance on an increasingly unreliable trading partner in the US. The Mexico agreement was welcomed

by Eucolait members, but one of the most

interesting points was the “protection” of geographical indications (GIs) baked into the deal.

A geographical indication, as defined by the European Commission, is a distinctive sign used to identify a product as originating in the territory of a particular country, region or locality where its quality, reputation or other characteristic is linked to its geographical origin.

The protection of GIs is now a fundamental baseline in the EU’s negotiating position with any trading partner.

The EU’s insistence on GIs like Italian Parmesan and French Roquefort protects billions of euros of agricultural export value, particularly for France, Spain and Italy.

It is central to EU trade policy and something Brussels is prepared to defend to the hilt — a point that was underlined in the Eucolait meeting.

The EU has an ambitious free-trade agenda — in contrast to the isolationist US approach, but with GIs at the core of these negotiations — including those that are starting with Australia — EU producers of protected cheese varieties will not face foreign competition at home or abroad.

The quirks of EU policy were further underlined by the presentation from a senior DG Agri bureaucrat on the machinations of intervention.

• Jo Bills is a Director at www.freshagenda.com.au

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Fresh Agenda Director Steve Spencer presenting at Eucolait.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

22 // MANAGEMENT

Solar can slash bills by 75 per cent RICK BAYNE

SOME DAIRY farmers are looking at alternative supply options as power bills continue to soar with no relief in sight.

WestVic Dairy’s Dairy Innovation Day, held in Warrnambool last month, heard how solarpowered farms could cut 75 per cent from grid power bills.

Raj Subramanian from Crystal Solar Energy showed how farmers could save nearly $75 000 a year with the solar system.

Profiling Bill and Wendy Couch’s Nullawarre farm, where they milk 700 cows, as a test case, Mr Subramanian said it was the largest solar PV installation in Victoria using eArche lightweight solar panels.

A total of 279 solar panels were installed on the farm, with a mix of 270 and 325-watt capacity. The panels weigh 70 per cent less than conventional solar panels, negating the need to strengthen the existing shed structure.

Solar power could provide 27 per cent of the farm’s energy needs; leading to a potential reduction in grid power bills of $74 393 a year.

The case study showed a potential return on investment of 23.7 per cent, based on a $425 708 investment.

Based on a projected 17-year lifespan of the

Assistant manager Reece Taylor with Raj Subramanian from Crystal Solar Energy at WestVic Dairy’s Dairy Innovation Day last month.

A total of 279 solar panels were installed on Bill and Wendy Couch’s Nullawarre farm, with a mix of 270 and 325-watt capacity. The panels weigh 70 per cent less than conventional solar panels, negating the need to strengthen the existing shed structure.

solar product, it could save the farm $180/MWh. A review of the site found the changes could reduce temperature in the shed by up to 9 degrees in summer.

Mr Subramanian said farmers could pay back their investment in about four and a half years.

“As dairy farmers get their power bills, we’re getting more and more coming back to us to ask about solar,” he said.

After eight months of monitoring and performance review, battery storage is now recommended as the next step for the farm’s energy conversion. The 85 kW solar PV could charge a 150 kWh battery storage and still provide 100 kWh for self-consumption.

The battery storage would provide power for morning and evening milking with surplus solar power used during the day to charge the battery.

The farm’s assistant manager, Reece Taylor, said the system had been working well since its introduction in December 2017.

“On a normal good winter’s day with a bit of sun about, we’re using no power during the day, though that’s with no irrigation running,” he said.

“Summer will be the next test,” he added.

The possibility of adding battery storage could potentially make the farm virtually free from grid power.

“We’re looking into the battery side of it,” Mr Taylor said. “We use about 25–30 kWh during milking time, which is three hours, but we’d run them off the battery storage which would mean we’d pretty much won’t use grid power.”

This would require a separate solar system and Mr Taylor said a decision would be made after more data was collated and costs confirmed.

As part of its changes, the farm aims to avoid a demand charge for access to a 219 kW transformer for three phase power.

“We’re trying to lower our peak demand so we don’t have to pay that extra monthly service charge,” Mr Taylor said.

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MANAGEMENT // 23

Soils ain’t soils, even in one paddock RICK BAYNE

SOILS AIN’T necessarily soils, even within the

confines of one paddock.

And knowing the soil profile will allow farmers to optimise soil performance and smart fertiliser applications.

Andrew Whitlock from Precision Ag Services told WestVic Dairy’s Dairy Innovation Day, held in Warrnambool last month, how the soil profile on farms can vary from one extreme to the other, even within single paddocks.

Mr Whitlock farms near Rokewood south of Ballarat, with 1600 hectares of permanent pastures that support a merino sheep base plus 400 ha of cropping.

While what happens on his farm might not necessarily apply to a dairy farm, Mr Whitlock said most farmers of all persuasions are surprised by the variability of their soils.

“I’ve done work with dairy farms and found enormous variability in nutrient levels across paddocks,” he said.

“Pretty much everywhere we map people are

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It’s crazy not to address it. There’s technology out now that can easily manage it through variable rate spreading, spraying or seeding.”

Mr Whitlock said his farm had processes in place to manage soil acidity through grid pH mapping, associated variable rate lime application maps, lab-based grid samples and phosphorous samples.

He also told the innovation day about using EM38 soil conductivity maps for mapping soil textural zones and different soil types across paddocks and then building variable gypsum application rate maps and linking that with elevation data from GPS to build surface drainage plans.

“It’s all done by contractors. I get someone else to do it and get the benefits. The only thing I need to do is load the map into my tractor to do the spreading, which is easy,” he said.

“The mapping itself is quite expensive but it pays for itself by allowing smart fertiliser applications.”

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Andrew Whitlock from Precision Ag Services told WestVic Dairy’s Dairy Innovation Day, held in Warrnambool last month, how the soil profile on farms can vary from one extreme to the other, even within single paddocks.

for the mapping service plus leaves me cashflow positive. I can save 30–40 per cent on my lime application bills by going down the path of mapping.”

Mr Whitlock said farmers need to know if they have an issue with their soils and then be able to manage it properly.

“I want the right data for each management action,” he said.

His farm has soils ranging from deep sands to clays and paddock sizes much larger than dairy farms.

“It’s tricky to get a variable rate application map in dairy with small paddocks; but we need to start with our eyes open and see what variability we have and understand nutrient loads and then if the pay-off is high enough a solution will follow.”

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

24 // MANAGEMENT

A true all-rounder for summer CORN GROWERS searching for a true allrounder, suitable for grain or silage production, should get their hands on a variety called HM-114 this summer.

Hitting a maturity sweet spot, the Heritage Seeds variety offers a combination of good standability, sowing flexibility and high silage quality, according to Landmark Echuca agronomist and manager Brad Caldwell.

Mr Caldwell’s experience with the variety in the past two seasons has been positive, and has shown that when managed to capture its potential, HM-114 has high yields coupled with high quality.

Rochester’s Tom Acocks is one of Mr Caldwell’s clients, who last summer tried the corn variety with great results.

Mr Acocks and his wife Emma milk 900 cows on their 1300 ha farm and he grew 60 ha of HM-114, 50 of which was grown with overhead sprinkler irrigation and 10 was flood irrigated.

“The flood irrigated paddock yielded 21 tonnes of dry matter per hectare with about 35 per cent starch content,” Mr Acocks said.

“The 50 ha overhead irrigation paddock yielded an average of 24.5 dry matter tonnes per hectare, and just on 40 per cent starch.

“It was a brilliant result and the best silage

we’ve made in a long time.

“There may be some varieties out there that will yield a bit better, but the amount of starch in the feed test was really pleasing to see.

“We’re happy to forgo a bit of yield if we get a better starch content.”

Mr Caldwell said high yielding corn crops needed close attention to nutrition to feed their potential.

“Key things to consider with HM-114 is that with its maturity window, growers need to plant it on time, so in this area they should be looking at an early November sowing,” he said.

“The nutrition has to be right and growers need to manage irrigation, in particular late in the season. . . so it doesn’t suffer a yield penalty.

“I’d recommend growers start with soil testing. If there is any need for soil amelioration like gypsum or lime, they should do that up front.

“It’s common to start with a composted manure if it’s readily available, before sowing the seed with around 250 kg/ha of DAP (phosphate fertiliser).

“Depending on the system, around 500 kg/ha of urea would be added throughout the season, whether that’s deep banded or applied with the irrigation.”

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Heritage Seeds territory manager Reece Hardwidge in a crop of HM-114 corn destined for silage.

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Hay quality ‘a mixed bag’ CROPPING FARMERS are battling through a tough season, with many crops in northern Victoria and southern NSW having to be cut for hay.

That’s the verdict from WB Hunter field services manager Graeme Talarico, based in northern Victoria, who said hay this season would be a “mixed bag”.

“A lot of crops won’t finish off well,” he said.

“The crops won’t have finished off the way we would have liked and some broadacre farmers have been hit by frost.”

In terms of yield, Mr Talarico said he expected hay would be hard to find.

“They (hay varieties) are all going to struggle. Vetch and lucerne hay will be tight.

“Yield will be down for crops put in for

hay but there will be a little bit of hay that would have been grain if it could have been finished off.”

Advanced Ag Shepparton agronomist Luke Nagle said the quality of the hay may be the only positive from this season’s crops.

“When we are talking about quality, we are looking at protein and energy levels, the ease of digestibility and the sugar content of the hay,” Mr Nagle said.

“These are better in drought years. In terms of how it appears, hay grown on dryland looks to be below average yields while irrigation looks really good in terms of yield.

“In terms of the outlook, the forecast — it’s not looking good for tonnage per hectare but the quality of the hay is the only real positive.”

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

MANAGEMENT // 25

New farm gives new lease of life RICK BAYNE

A NEW farm is giving a family dairy operation

at Gazette a new lease of life.

Ryan Lenehan and his partner Jayne Jewell have joined with Jayne’s parents Darren and Kay Jewell to buy the farm.

The 50 ha property was previously used for sheep but had run down before the mortgagee sale earlier this year.

There aren’t too many dairy farms in the area, south of Hamilton, but they are confident they have a good spot and will benefit from the new land.

“I grew up on a dairy between Kirkstall and Koroit, which is some of the best country for dairy,” Mr Lenehan said. “The land’s not really any different to what we have here and there’s a strip that runs through this side of Mount Napier that draws the rain.”

Darren and Kay bought the main 80 ha farm in 2001. Initially they ran calves before expanding and building a dairy in 2008, a 22 a side swing over put together in a converted hay shed

by Darren and his builder brother Stephen.

At one stage they sold 900 calves in a year.

“We were milking 70 cows to do that and that’s when I got the brainwave to put in the dairy,” Mr Jewell said.

They purchased an additional 80 ha out paddock in 2011. “When we first bought the outpaddock up the road it was the worst paddock in the district,” Mr Jewell said. “We ploughed 130 acres straight off and sowed rape and millet and in January we got it fine-chopped and put it down her in a pit and that fed the cows for five months at night.

They also lease a 70 ha block as part of their drive to be self-sufficient home-grown feeders.

Mr Lenehan joined the farm about four years ago. He and Miss Jewell were keen to invest in land and the neighbouring property was ideal, even if it needs some TLC. Jayne has a background in ag finance and is now working on a nearby sheep farm.

“Our whole lives are going to be in

agriculture,” Mr Lenehan said. “That’s where we want to be.”

The expansion has logistical benefits.

“We comfortably milk 170—180 because we cut a lot of silage from the leased farm and bring it back. Hopefully with more land our stocking rate will be a bit better,” Mr Lenehan said.

“We wanted the extra land because we’re more than a cow to an acre and we’re not in a traditional dairy area. We’ll try to only milk 250 but our rotations will be better so there’s not so much pressure on everything.”

“Hopefully we won’t have to purchase brought-in feed. The aim is to be 100 per cent self-sufficient, even over the dry summers,” he added.

The family has a strong emphasis on good pasture and feed management.

As the cows come out of a paddock in the winter, fertiliser goes on every day to keep things going.

They continue to raise and sell at least 400 calves a year, a nice way of supplementing income in tough years.

“We rear a lot of calves,” Mrs Jewell said.

“That’s the thing that has kept us here.”

The first year as a fully operational dairy was probably the worst when the price crashed in 2008. “We got 100 fresh heifers that spring,” Mr Jewell said. “The price crashed in December and we got through the first hiccup with the calves.”

“The best thing we’ve got is that we’re not restricted by tradition and we’re very conscious of growing a lot of grass.”

Mr Jewell says that coming to the farm with a “clean slate” was a big help. “The best thing we’ve got is that we’re not restricted by tradition and we’re very conscious of growing a lot of grass,” he said.

He was initially reluctant to use the services

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of a consultant but now credits nutritionist John Lyons for a lot of their success.

“He (John) reckons we grow as much or more grass than they do in Timboon and management is the key,” Mr Lenehan added.

On John’s advice they have adopted many farming practices. Previously they would sow all rape paddocks all in one day.

“John said there’s more energy in turnips and we’d get more milk in the vat, and he said we should stagger sowing so that as the cows finish one paddock they can move on to the next.”

They have also improved silage making,

going as far as winning a feed test competition at Hamilton Beef Week.

The herd is Friesians and crossbreds.

Mr Lenehan is responsible for the AI breeding.

They use an autumn-spring split calving system with more now being born in spring. Getting them in-calf is a challenge and one of the priorities for improvement.

The cows are producing a bit over 8000 litres.

“We’re trying to lift it. The average was a bit higher when numbers were lower. Hopefully we’ll get up a bit with the new land,” Mr Lenehan added.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

26 // MANAGEMENT

Avoiding decision paralysis RODNEY WOODS

MORE THAN 100 dairy farmers concerned

about the 2018 season attended a series of workshops hosted by Murray Dairy in late August.

The Avoiding Decision Paralysis workshops were held at Koondrook, Katunga and Kyabram.

Topics discussed included how to: minimise loss; manage creditors; make informed decisions based on actual market conditions; and the importance of making a decision and moving on.

Stanhope dairy farmer Rob Schloss spoke to the group about his plans for the season ahead.

He is 100 per cent reliant on the temporary water market.

He has carried over 136 Ml into this season and, as a rule, he likes to have some sort of forward allocation secured.

He is into his third and final year of a water lease which will give him access to cheap water this year (for the past two he has paid above market price).

“I used to purchase my water through brokers but last season I started to source it directly from private sellers to help cut out the brokerage fee and I will be doing that again this year — I do pay market price,” Mr Schloss said.

This season he is looking to milk more cows DNA - September.pdf 3/09/2018 12:40:28 PM through spring and then he1 will make a decision

about cow numbers after that.

“If we are meant to have a warmer than average spring we should be able to get a good growth response and hold numbers.

“Capitalising on spring and getting as much production out of the cows and as much growth out of my pasture (as possible) is my main priority,” Mr Schloss said.

Last season he fed about 2.2 tonnes of grain per cow, but he is looking at cutting that figure back to 1.8 or a bit less for 2018–19.

He is planning on using less total water but compensating with increased fertiliser use.

“The feed outlook is uncertain when it comes to hay and grain but there will be some opportunities with local farmers and I will be looking toward them to nail some of my fodder requirements.”

Mr Schloss said last season was quite a good one for his business.

He was able to reduce some debt and draw down some of his creditors.

“Normally I would irrigate into May but I stopped in April this year,” he said.

“My gut feeling at the time was I didn’t want to get caught if it came in wet — but it turned out I had to buy in an extra 150–200 tonnes of hay to finish the season — which impacted on the bottom line.”

He is part of a Dairy Business Network group

which has become an important way of enabling him to analyse his own farm data, make decisions and improve his management.

He also told the group it was important to live with the decisions you made and accept the consequences.

The workshop also looked at critical decisionmaking throughout the seasons.

Heading into spring, the group listed watering pasture, conserving as much growth as possible, maximising milk production, pregnancy testing early, calving and joining, considering how to fund a loss and thinking about summer, as some of the issues farmers must consider this season.

Murray Dairy executive officer Lachlan Barnes.

Stanhope dairy farmer Rob Schloss has carried over 136Ml into this season and, as a rule, he likes to have some sort of forward allocation secured.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

28 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Udder health costs dairy $150 m each year MORE THAN $150 million is lost to Australian dairy farmers each year through poor udder health.

Mastitis is the major cause of this loss as it reduces milk yield and leads to poor quality milk.

The investigation of mastitis does not rely on the results of culture alone. A history of bulk milk cell count (BMCC), individual cow cell counts (ICCC) and history of the cows affected including clinical cases and treatments, all

contribute to the investigation and subsequent recommendations.

However, knowledge of the major organisms that are causing clinical mastitis within a herd allows informed decisions to be made regarding treatment and control options.

Treatment vs diagnosis The vast majority of clinical mastitis cases are treated by dairy farmers without definitive

knowledge of the causative organism. The most common reasons for submission of samples for culture are: ■ If there has been an increase in the incidence of clinical cases of mastitis ■ If there has been a sudden increase in BMCC ■ If there has been failure of response to treatment by any given individual or group of individuals

APIAM ANIMAL HEALTH GEMMA CHUCK

Commercial laboratories are commonly used for the culture of mastitis pathogens and can provide microbiological expertise when interpreting the results.

However, there is often an associated timedelay between sample submission and feedback to the farmer.

This time delay can lead to decreased motivation and subsequent action by the referring veterinarian and the farmer. Research has shown that the benefit of antibiotic sensitivity testing at commercial laboratories is debatable for bovine mastitis pathogens.

In practice this means that an antibiotic that is found to be effective in the laboratory will not necessarily be effective in the cow.

On-farm options for mastitis culture

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On-farm rapid-culture systems offer the option of reducing the time delay between submitting samples and obtaining results.

An example of such a system includes the Farm Medix CHECK-UP® Mastitis Diagnostic Tool.

With training and on-going monitoring, this can be used on-farm and allows differentiation and isolation of different common strains of Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, E.coli, Klebsiella, Proteus and Pseudomonas indicated in bovine mastitis.

Prompt knowledge of a specific mastitis pathogen allows strategic management decisions to be made including selection of antibiotic therapy, drying off, culling or change in milking routine.

A recent New Zealand study showed that onfarm culture and selective antibiotic therapy can be implemented successfully on-farm.

This research demonstrated that there was a 25 per cent lower antibiotic usage where selective antibiotic therapy was used based on culture result.

However there was no difference in the proportion of cows that needed to be re-treated for mastitis (between the selective antibiotic cows and blanket antibiotic cows).

The major advantage of on-farm culture systems is the rapid turn-around time.

Samples are quick and easy to prepare and the majority of results are available within 24 hours.

Some veterinary clinics are utilizing this system to provide this service for their clients.

Alternatively, the cultures can be performed on-farm although specific training by your veterinarian will be required.

It is important to be aware that such onfarm culture systems do not have the capability of diagnosing Streptococcus agalactiae or Mycoplasma.

It is strongly recommended to submit both a bulk milk and hospital milk sample to a commercial laboratory to rule out these pathogens.

In summary, there is potential for on-farm rapid-culture systems to reduce antibiotic usage in the treatment of clinical mastitis and to identify animals with infections where treatment is likely to be futile.

This not only guides our treatment decisions but is also more cost-effective in the long term.

• Gemma Chuck is an adviser with Apiam Animal Health.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

ANIMAL HEALTH // 29

An assumption is just an assumption ROD DYSON

WE REGULARLY find that our milking time

and farm visits are quite illuminating.

Not only do they allow us to demonstrate and reinforce procedures that have been discussed both at training courses and on the farm, they also allow us to see firsthand what is actually happening on the farm and in the dairy.

Sometimes things aren’t what you think they are going to be, and I was reminded of this at a recent milking time visit.

It was quite early during the milking when a “bucket” cow came around on the platform.

This was a cow with a clinical case of mastitis, and she was obviously still undergoing treatment, because as the cow reached the cups off operator, the platform stopped and the treatment procedure began.

Much to my surprise, there was no disinfection of the teat end prior to insertion of the intramammary tube of antibiotic!

After cups off, the tube was just inserted into the teat orifice and the contents infused into the quarter. This was followed by a very quick massage of the teat, a squirt of teat spray and then the platform was under way again.

I was stunned!

It had only been a couple of months earlier that we had done a complete dry-off strategy discussion at this farm with both management and staff.

As always, we had stepped through and then demonstrated the actual treatment procedure, in order to achieve as close as possible to best practice.

Also, as part of that discussion, we had iterated how the procedure was really no different to that which should be used for treating clinical cases of mastitis during lactation.

After that batch of drying-off had concluded, we had reviewed the process. Everybody had been very happy with the system used, and the application of the correct protocols at the time of dry-off treatment had gone well.

Our assumption was that the treatment protocol had also been translated across to the treatment of clinical cases during lactation.

But here was the evidence right in front of us suggesting that this was not so!

Our first suspicions were then confirmed when another “bucket” cow came around for treatment.

The lack of teat end disinfection was repeated, so clearly this was actually standard procedure.

Whilst it was a complete surprise in this dairy, overall this is not an uncommon finding.

Another reasonably common procedure we see is the use of teat disinfectant spray alone, without any physical cleaning, as a method of disinfecting the teat end prior to treatment.

Quite simply, neither of these is best practice.

Whenever a syringe is introduced into the teat orifice, there is a risk of introducing bacteria and/ or dirt and faeces from the surface of the teat.

The end result of introducing this material into the quarter is that you may now be asking the treatment you are applying to not only deal with the infection that was already there, but also to deal with the infection you have introduced!

Given that quite commonly the antibiotics we use to treat mastitis are not ideal for the types of environmental infections we introduce as a result of poor teat end disinfection, this may significantly affect cure rates.

Best practice is defined for us in the Countdown 2020 Farm Guidelines for Mastitis Control, published by Dairy Australia.

“Completely disinfect the end of the teats to be treated.” This step is critical.

■■ Disinfect by vigorously scrubbing the teat opening with a cotton ball and alcohol (or teat wipes) for a minimum of 10 seconds.

■■ Check the cotton ball. If there is any dirty colour, repeat the scrub using a clean cotton ball until there is no more dirt seen.”

It has meant that we have reviewed our protocol for discussion and training of these issues on farm to ensure that these procedures for best practice are now clearly laid out.

But we know this is not an isolated case - do you need to review the protocol on farm?

• Rod Dyson is a veterinary surgeon and mastitis adviser at www.dairyfocus.com.au

The recommendation to use 70 per cent alcohol as a disinfectant instead of teat spray is because of the rapid action of alcohol as a disinfectant, and also being clear in colour it does not confuse the issue of any remaining dirt on the teat end, which a brown stain from an iodine disinfectant might do.

The recommendation for scrubbing as opposed to just spraying is to ensure all contaminating material is removed from the area around the teat orifice — continue scrubbing until no more dirt comes off.

Clearly, this best practice applies to all intramammary treatments, both at drying-off and during lactation.

Our assumption that the treatment protocols outlined and adhered to for drying-off were also being used in the treatment of clinical cases of mastitis was wrong.

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• Effective for high SCC cows, fresh cows and cows with mastitis • Compliments herd testing and in-line SCC mastitis detection • Quickly identifies contagious and environmental pathogens • Proven effective when tested by industry experts against latest microbial technologies • Aids in development of effective treatment protocols and implementation of preventative measures • Results in cost savings and reduced use of antibiotics

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

30 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Should it be this hard?

SIMPLE THINGS please simple minds — or so the saying goes. That probably explains (at least partly) my decision to purchase a Chinese wheel loader.

Simplicity was a major selling point. After all, who needs a 35 point suspension with 243 moving parts, when you’re only putting in a couple of hours a week?

All they’re going to do is break anyway. Sliding under the machine to grease each driveshaft linkage and being able to see every mechanism and connection all the way up to the cab, with some idea of what each does — that’s satisfying.

At least until a piece of caked-on mud becomes dislodged and lands square in your face.

And did I mention price? Price is also satisfying.

In my case, the low, low price of a machine simply welded and bolted together in a factory that punches out tens of thousands of them a year.

The point of all of this is that the aforementioned low, low price has given me the scope to kit out the machine with a few useful extras that fulfil some fairly simple wishes.

For example, in recent years I’ve come to the conclusion that a grapple bucket would be a useful tool to have around the place.

You don’t see too many of those in Australia — probably because they’re a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ type implement.

But despite owning various loaders at different times, here I was with a wheelbarrow picking up sticks, prunings or broken hay bales; too bulky to

GRUBNT JOHN DROPPERT

easily fit in a standard loader bucket, too loose to use a silage grab. Fool’s business.

So since I have a cheap loader with a quick hitch (magic!), I’ve been in the hunt for a grapple bucket.

They are surprisingly hard to find in this country, despite the fact that almost every single loader I’ve ever seen in the US (via twitter of course) has one.

After months of regularly searching every platform I could find, I finally located one within my price range.

Obscurely listed as a ‘manure grapple’, it turns out to have been manufactured in Korea — in 2010.

Clearly, this nicely built piece of kit had been waiting eight years for me to come along and put

it to work.

First, of course, I had to fit it up to the Everun loader.

With some blank hooks handily provided by Everun Australia and a talented local welder (i.e. not me), this was accomplished nicely.

The grapple fits, it looks good, and it does exactly what I want it to do.

There’s only one catch. The hydraulic couplings on the grapple are iso-standard ones, like every other machine here.

It turns out that those on the loader may look similar, but they are not. So there is oil. Oil everywhere. Not convenient. Not simple.

It further transpires that the threads to which these non-standard couplings are attached is an obscure metric M20 x 1.5 mm thread.

Not BSPP, BSPT or any of the various other acronyms that I now know as an internet-learned hydraulics specialist.

The significance of this became apparent as I listened to the judgemental pause on each phone call to a dealer or hydraulic shop following my description.

Even knowing well enough to avoid the term ‘Chinese loader’ in my opening gambit didn’t spare me.

I may yet come out in front though. For an amount of US dollars I’d rather not convert to AUD, I have ordered a set of adaptors from the you beaut worldwide web.

When they arrive, they might represent the most expensive 6 inches of piping on the entire machine, but I’ll finally have my grapple bucket; sans the puddle and EPA liability. Awesome.

• John Droppert has no mechanical qualifications whatsoever, but has been passionate about tractors since before he could talk and has operated many different makes and models in a variety of roles for both profit and fun.

Mr Droppert’s Chinese wheel loader with his new grapple bucket. How hard could it have been to fit one to the other?

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

32 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Handling the heaviest loads THE MASSEY Ferguson TH7038 Telehandler meets the high capacity requirements for lifting the heaviest high-density bales, offering fast and efficient cycles for loading as well as the power to tow a loaded trailer.

The TH7038 has a lift capacity of 3.8 tonne with a maximum lift height of 7 m.

It is equipped with a hydrostatic transmission

and is powered by a 4.4 litre four-cylinder Perkins engine, which delivers 130 hp.

“This MF TH Telehandler takes our continuous improvement program to an ever greater level,” Massey Ferguson product manager John Russell said.

“The features of the MF TH7038 model deliver customers even higher performance, which allows

The Massey Ferguson TH7038 Telehandler can lift high-density bales.

them to carry out their work in more comfort, with greater productivity and with lower costs.”

It offers 190 litres/ minute hydraulic capacity

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for the fastest work cycles and is the ideal choice for contractors or co-operatives.

The fan inverter is available with an automatic option to keep the engine clean and working at maximum efficiency. This offers speed regulation depending on air temperature or can be adjusted to work at a preset speed, with the automatic mode selected via a button on the dashboard.

A unique four-range hydrostatic transmission provides low speed, high torque delivery through two mechanical gears and two hydrostatic ranges, giving operators the most accurate control during material handling.

An easy-to-set creeper function is ideal for operations that demand low speed at higher engine revs, providing increased control and accuracy for operations such as sweeping, feeding and straw spreading.

Cushion Retract is now fitted to the boom, ensuring a smoother action and prolonging the life of the components.

An additional electric control can be specified to provide a fourth and fifth service to operate demanding implements, such as straw choppers and feeding buckets.

Rotary dairies a cheap, efficient option ROTARY DAIRIES remain a cost-effective

The ability to purchase standard granular urea and dissolve into a liquid in cold water very quickly, can provide a major efficiency gain of nitrogen utilisation which results in an approved bottom line from day one.

The Tow and Fert is a unique machine that is ‘not just another sprayer’. It has the ability to dissolve urea in cold water and apply it combined with growth stimulants like gibberellic acid or capital fertiliser which results in 2 immediate savings; 1. Reduce your N input without impacting dry matter response 2. Reduce number of passes across the farm by combining fertiliser products To get it on with your own Tow and Fert, call us on 1300 630 279 and we’ll hook you up.

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and low-maintenance option for dairy farmers, according to Steve Allenby from Allenby Engineering, Camperdown.

Allenby Engineering built its first rotary dairy — 40 units — in 1988. Mr Allenby believes it was the first concrete rotary built.

“Jack Green (well-known farm adviser who passed away in 2002) came up with the concept of a concrete rotary and we said, ‘we’ll have a crack at it’,” Mr Allenby said.

“They’re still the fastest way to milk cows. You can milk 300 cows in an hour.

“Price wise, people think a rotary dairy will cost $1 m minimum but you can make them for cheaper than that.

“It costs $2000/bale for the platform. So for a 50-unit rotary that’s $100 000. Milking machines will cost anywhere from $2000 a bale to $10,000, but the platform side is cheap.”

Allenby Engineering built the 44-unit rotary for Warrnambool dairy farmer Brad Sheen. The dairy was fitted with Waikato milking gear. The concrete rotary was commissioned in late June.

“I’m milking 300 cows by myself and it’s so much easier,” Mr Sheen said. “ In the old dairy I was having to push cows on and off, now they’re happy to walk on, get fed and walk off. I can’t believe how it’s transformed the entire milking process.”

Mr Allenby said the biggest ‘killer’ of rotaries were rust and lack of maintenance.

“Rust can be hard to avoid but maintenance won’t take a farmer long. If you can fill up the automatic grease pump every three months, it will basically maintain itself.”

Visit www.allenbyengineering.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 33

Round baler for knockout rounds MARK DANIELS

WITH AGCO buying the grassland division of

Lely in 2017, it was always a sure bet that Massey Ferguson would introduce a new round baler baler range, that took the best from the Welger stable, but also build on MF long history of such products.

The new RB Series that is resplendent in MF red, and interestingly is already available in Europe in Fendt Natural green does that with a range of variable chambered machines for the Australasian market, that MF suggests, also have several patented and unique changes that come from both camps, while still incorporating several familiar features that will be recognised by Welger cognoscente.

The range, featuring the choice of two balers, the RB 2160V and RB 2180V produce bales of 0.9 to 1.6 m and 0.9 to 1.8 metres diameter respectively.

The Xtracut versions of the same machines offer chopping units with options of 13, 17 or 25 knives.

The chopping unit sees a helically designed rotor push crop across the hydraulically controlled knives, which in the case of the 17 or 25 knife setups, can be used as single or double banks to adjust the chop length.

Overload protection is offered by the wellknown Hydroflex Control, first seen in the Welger camp, which allows the lower part of the feed channel to drop and reduce the risk of blockages. In auto-mode this happens if small lumps are present, but in the case of a major blockage, the system can be lowered manually to get thing going again.

Ahead of the chopper unit a range of pickup sixes, dependent on model, range from 2.00, through 2.25 to 2.4 metre working widths, with all-important tine to tine distances of 1.60, 1.86 or 2.2 metres respectively, with all sizes using camless, 5-bar layouts, said to allow higher speeds and quiet operation.

The driveline sees a Powersplit gearbox for optimum power distribution, while automated chain lubrication helps prolong chain life and reduce maintenance.

In the 1.23 wide bale chamber, 4 endless belts form the bale, while also utilising a patented sliding tailgate and two additional rollers to quickly form the core of the bale.

Mechanical tailgate latches work in conjunction with the Constant Pressure System, in practice two heavy-duty coils springs, to promote even density throughout the baling process, helping to deliver baling pressures of up to 180 bar.

Supplied as standard with the Varionet system,

Mahindra adds extra power MAHINDRA HAS unveiled its new 3650 PST tractor with PowerShuttle, which is now available in Australia.

Mahindra says the new model has highly responsive hydrostatic steering, making getting in and out of confined areas easier.

The tier IV direct-injection engine is ecofriendly, providing cleaner emissions at a lower cost, with no DPF. Furthermore, the 3650PST is equipped with plenty of hydraulic power (41.6lph) which is all managed effortlessly by the smooth power shuttle [wet clutch] shifting.

With convenience at the forefront of Mahindra’s mind, the tractor has a quick hitch and attach design on the front self-levelling loader, making switching from buckets to pallet forks as well as installing and removing the loader a more simple and efficient job.

Furthering the convenience aspect, the Mahindra 3650 features Cat I and II ball ends

that are easily adjusted to the implement size by rotating the ball.

Additionally, the 3 point linkage has telescopic low links and a class leading linkage lift capacity of 1402 kg at the Ball Ends, which is outstanding for a 50 hp tractor.

Although built to be durable, the 3650PST makes no compromises on comfort.

The side shift gear controls and suspended brake and clutch pedals provides plenty of leg room for the user. The model also supplies a deluxe seat with wide formed cushions and adjustable armrests.

The introductory price starts at $34 990, with loader and 4-in-1 bucket included.

Price is RLP including GST, ex Brisbane and excludes dealer freight and pre-delivery charges.

Visit www.mahindraag.com.au/ tractors/3650-pst/ • This article was supplied by Mahindra.

Massey Ferguson has introduced a new round baler range.

completed bales are net-wrapped, although twine binding can be specified as an optional extra.

Productive days are said to be encouraged by the RB’s Easy Loading System (ELS) and ability to carry up to three rolls of net at any one time, allowing quick changeover as required. Control is delivered by the E-Link Control system that offers a comprehensive view of all the machine

functions, while an E-Link Pro version uses integrated ISOBUS technology to offer a larger, brighter screen, with a broader range of information that includes customer, farm and field information for future reference.

A range of tyre options means machine can be shod to suit all type of operating and topographic situations.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2018

34 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Hay tedder wins award A HAY tedder designed and manufactured in southern NSW has won the coveted Greater Hume Shire Award at the Henty Machinery Field Days.

The award recognises the best new Australian-designed and built agricultural machine and was judged by a panel of indepen-dent judges at the Henty Machin-ery Field Days last week.

It was presented by Greater Hume Shire Mayor Heather Wil-ton and Henty Machinery Field Days director Matt Noll to Berrima Engineering director Martin Morona from Deniliquin for the Berrima Multi-Ted 12–6.

Launched on April 1, the Multi-Ted is the result of fodder producer requests for a machine to improve hay and silage quality by reducing drying time and bleaching.

It is available in working widths from nine to 12 metres, making it perfect for mower widths of 3.5 to 5 metres.

Judge Mark Bowyer said the Multi-Ted sped up the drying process of hay by one or two days.

“This makes a difference to the hay quality and colour,” Mr Bow-yer said.

“The fact the rotors can be hydraulically driven means they can be adjusted in and out, whereas some tedder rakes don’t have that option.

“It has the ability to do three windrows at once and it is a fairly wide machine.

“The rotors can be reversed giving it more versatility and different functions.

“It folds up fairly narrow for transport.”

Mr Morona said the award was great recognition of the work done by Berrima Engineering on design and manufacturing.

“We have spent quite a lot of time on research in developing this new product,” he said.

“There isn’t a lot of reward for it (research and development) financially and it’s great to see when the effort is well received and recognised.

“Especially coming from an event like the Henty Machinery Field Days, as it is quite prestigious and a real boost for us.”

Mr Morona said many orders for the hay rakes had resulted from Henty, with 10 m and 12 m rakes sold off the site to southern NSW producers.

“The Berrima Multi-Ted can be used as a tedder where the crop is dispersed evenly across the ground or as a hay inverter/splitter where it moves mower swaths on to dry ground and fluffs the row at the same time a day or two after cutting,” he said.

“The application tested on the Berrima MultiTed was to move three mower swaths simultaneously off their original cut position onto dry ground and splitting each mower cut into two smaller rows.

Martin Morona from Berrima Engineering, Deniliquin, with the Greater Hume Shire Award for the best Australian designed and manufactured machine at the Henty Machinery Field Days.

“This reduces drying time and bleaching, in turn, improving hay quality.

“Trials carried out earlier this year have

shown the Berrima Multi-Ted reduces drying time by one to two days and has signifi-cantly reduced bleaching in lucerne.”

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