Dairy News Australia Feb 2014

January heatwave claims 100 cows PAGE 7

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MILK MONEY WCB sells for $530 million as Bega, MG cash in PAGE 5

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS // 3

Prices climb despite higher milk forecast ANDREW SWALLOW

Nuffield Scholar Tafi Manjala has investigated the red tape that will stifle Ireland’s post-milk quota growth. PG.12

Alex and Robert Robertson have expanded their extensive drainage system to improve pasture growth.

PG.29

John Gardiner has purchased a new forage wagon due to its versatility. PG.31

NEWS ������������������������������������������������������3-13 AGRIBUSINESS ������������������������������ 14-15 OPINION ����������������������������������������������16-18 BREEDING MANAGEMENT ������18-19

WORLD DAIRY markets continue to edge higher, even in the face of an increased offering from New Zealand.

The first GlobalDairyTrade auction of the month closed with the index across all commodities up 0.5% with butter and whole milk powder leading the charge, up 2.6% and 1.4%, at US$4775t and US$5005t respectively.

Skim milk powder was unchanged, while all other commodities eased, cheddar falling hardest, down 4.3% to US$4935t.

Rabobank’s Hayley Moynihan said the sale was “quite a strong result” overall, particularly given major exporter Fonterra’s presale 3.7% increase in forecast sales volume for the coming year.

“Whole milk powder was up for April and May which is an indication there are a number of buyers who are still keen to secure New Zealand product for that period. It’s an encouraging result to see prices up that far out.”

Butter’s bounce was another positive, “rebalancing” the price spread with other commodities as it has lagged in recent months.

Ms Moynihan said China’s demand continues to dominate but prices are underpinned by a host of other countries trying to secure supplies.

“Our view is China imported

so much in 2013 that a lot of other buyers effectively were going hungry because they’ve not been able to secure product,” Ms Moynihan said.

“They’re looking to come back into the market, particularly if there’s a sign of China’s buying starting to ease.”

While Fonterra has increased the amount it expects to offer on GDT for the coming year, volume at last week’s sale was back 7.6% on the same time last year.

New Zealand production is still 5% ahead of last season and every

other exporter in the world, with the exception of Australia, is ramping up production in response to the high prices.

However, a lot of the increased production from the EU and US isn’t reaching export markets, and in the case of the US, the increases in production aren’t as rapid as they could be.

“They aren’t seeing the high prices in the global market reflected in their domestic market. Certainly the margin over feed costs has improved but it has really only been

a modest increase so far.”

Bad weather over winter and a risk averse sentiment among producers who got burnt by responding to the 2008/9 spike in prices are other factors why US supply growth’s only been modest to date, she added.

Sentiment among EU producers on the other hand, notably the Dutch and Irish, is more optimistic as they prepare for the production brake of quotas to be lifted next year.

“They’re going to be the ones to watch over the course of the year.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

4 // NEWS

MG to pursue share scheme MURRAY GOULBURN will pursue its plan to raise external capital through a trade scheme despite its failure to purchase Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.

MG managing director, Gary Helou, told the AGM last November that the capital raising proposal was similar to Fonterra’s Trading Among Farmers plan where the New Zealand cooperative raised NZ$500 million through issuing of non-voting shares.

He told the meeting that MG needed to raise “many hundreds of millions of dollars” to fund infrastructure

upgrades.

Although MG established debt facilities to enable it to pay $500 million for WCB, it has chosen not to fund its upgrades this way, and will pursue the trade scheme.

Mr Helou told ABC radio on January 23 that the two paths (purchasing WCB and the proposed trade scheme) were “completely independent” and that there was no change in their plans.

MG board members and Mr Helou have met with supplier-shareholders through December and January.

“The consultative meetings held throughout December and January were well attended by shareholders and over the coming weeks we intend to refine the capital restructure proposal to take account of the feedback from these meetings,” an MG spokesperson said.

“The board has not placed a definitive timeline on when this review and refinement process must be complete, as we believe it is important to ensure that any proposal meets MG’s needs for the long term.

“However, as indicated to our shareholders at the AGM, we will look to March to provide a further update in relation to the progress of the capital restructure proposal and subsequent timelines.”

At the AGM, Mr Helou said MG planned to hold further supplier meetings in March and an Extraordinary General Meeting in May. Subject to shareholder approval, MG planned to implement the proposed structure by a target date of July 1.

These changes would coincide with

TAF ‘stumbles’ at first hurdle?

SUDESH KISSUN

THE FONTERRA board’s deci-

sion to interfere with the milk payout shows TAF has stumbled at its first hurdle, says agribusiness expert Keith Woodford, Lincoln University.

The board’s decision to keep the farmgate payout at $8.30/kgMS despite a $9 recommendation by the co-op’s milk price panel strikes at the fundamentals of its capital structure, he says.

“In stating that they are now proposing to retain 70c from what the projected milk price would otherwise be, if calculated as per the milk price manual, Fonterra is demonstrating that TAF has stumbled at the first major hurdle,” Mr Woodford said.

“What this decision means is that retentions are in effect going to come from the milk price, despite earlier statements from Fonterra that this would not occur.

Even more important is this means that the rules for allocating income between milk price and return to investors have been cast aside.”

Mr Woodford questioned the milk pricing rules underpinning

the integrity of TAF. We are now seeing the board – rather than a set of rules – determine how money will be allocated between farmers and investors, he notes. “And that opens the door to ongoing tension between farmers and investors, including intensive lobbying of the board by investors.”

However, a Fonterra spokesman says the suggestion that the board’s decision to maintain the forecast milk price at the record level of $8.30 has something to do with TAF is incorrect. Stream returns have nothing to do with TAF, he says.

“It is important to understand that retentions are a vital part of Fonterra’s ability to invest in future growth, stay on strategy and ensure the cooperative maintains its global position.

“Fonterra’s [transparency] about its decision to maintain the forecast at $8.30 demonstrates the integrity of the process for setting the milk price.”

He points out that about 95% of those who have a financial interest in the cooperative are in fact farmer shareholders. Obviously they benefit from the payment of dividends, he says.

“Twelve months on, TAF is meeting its two goals of providing permanent stable capital for the cooperative and more flexibility for our farmers.

“The drought in the second half of the year was the worst in 70 years. It hit the cooperative and our farmers hard. But it would have been a lot tougher without our current capital structure.

“Potentially the cooperative would have been facing the prospects of paying out about $130 million to redeem shares. Instead, our permanent stable capital structure meant we could support farmers with a lift in the advance rate.

Our new capital structure has also enabled us to drive transactions to support our volume and value strategy.”

While keeping the forecast payout at $8.30/kgMS the board also lowered the dividend forecast for the 2014 financial year to 10c/ share.

The co-op says it is in an “extraordinary” situation, with the gap between prices for milk powders compared to cheese and casein being greater than ever.

Mr Woodford did not criticise the board’s decision to

an offer to external investors to acquire units in a listed unit trust that would pay a dividend equivalent to dividends paid to supplier-shareholders.

The unit trust would be expected to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) by July 1.

Mr Helou stressed the cooperative structure would be retained under the plan with farmers retaining 100% control, and that the capital raising would not be used to purchase Warrnambool Cheese and Butter if the opportunity arose.

Hong Kong buyer snaps up UDP

Keith Woodford

take 70c off the milk price. Clearly something had to be done to maintain the integrity of the balance sheet in an extraordinary situation, he says.

“However, as long as Fonterra cannot pay out the full milk price as calculated by the agreed formula then there should be zero dividend,” he said.

“The decision to keep it at 10c rather than zero can only be interpreted as an attempt to appease the investors, who will already be more than a little bit cross.

“My key point is that the necessary decision to lop 70c of the projected milk price shows that TAF was not adequately tested under wide-ranging scenarios. And it has now come up short. The long term implications of this are profound.”

GIPPSLAND-BASED INDEPENDENT dairy processor United Dairy Power (UDP) has been sold to a Hong Kong-based buyer for an estimated $70 million.

The company, owned by Tony Esposito, has been sold to William Hui, a Singaporean entrepreneur based in Hong Kong.

Mr Hui, 46, is chairman and a major shareholder of CD and DVD manufacturer Media Technology, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

In a statement, the company said: “UDP’s strategy remains unchanged and it will continue to pay market-leading prices for milk.

“The ongoing support of our suppliers is vital to our business and they can take comfort from the fact that we will continue to support them and work with them collaboratively.

“There will be no change to the day-to-day dealings of suppliers with field reps or the UDP senior management team. The new owner is looking to support the business and maintain current management and the existing arrangements with suppliers.”

The company has about 150 suppliers, who supply 350 million litres of milk annually. It processes a further 150 million litres purchased from other companies and generates sales of about $200 million and profits of $15 million annually.

The plants produce about 15,000 tonnes of dairy products a year, including butter, whey powder and cheese. The business will continue to be managed by the current team, led by Mark Smith who will become chief executive.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS // 5

Bega, MG share sales push WCB price to $530 million SAPUTO’S PURCHASE price of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter has risen to an estimated $530 million following Murray Goulburn’s decision to sell its 17.7% stake.

MG’s decision to sell – made after Saputo had purchased 50% of existing shares – pushed the Canadian company’s tally past 75%.

This triggered an automatic increase from $9.20 to $9.40 under the terms of its takeover offer. All investors selling their stake will receive these higher terms.

The share price will rise to $9.60 if Saputo can obtain 90% of all shares.

However, Lion owns a shareholding of 9.9%, which it took to protect its cheese supply agreements with WCB. It has said it has no interest in selling at this stage but reserves the right to do so.

The offer period will close on Wednesday, February 12.

Bega’s decision to sell its 18.8% stake in WCB on January 16 pushed Saputo’s stake up to 45.3%. From there, the writing was on the wall.

Bega said it would receive between $94.7 and $101 million from the sale of its shares, booking a profit before tax and costs of between $61.8 and $68.2 million, after originally buying into

WCB in 2010.

Murray Goulburn has said it will receive cash proceeds of at least $92.9 million and gain on investment before tax and costs of about $51 million.

MG managing director, Gary Helou, said the profit was a good result.

“Cash proceeds will support the co-op’s plans to reinvest in its business and to grow market share in Australia and expanding internationally, further assisting us to deliver our goal of increasing the underlying farmgate returns,” he said.

Mr Helou would not be drawn on specific plans for the cash windfall.

Bega’s executive chairman Barry Irvin said his firm’s investment in WCB has been a win-win, even though Bega lost the takeover battle.

“Bega Cheese’s initial investment in WCB and subsequent takeover offer for the company has created significant value for both companies’ shareholders,” he said in a statement.

The United Dairyfarmers of Victoria (UDV), which aggressively championed Murray Goulburn’s bid for WCB, said it looked forward to working with Saputo.

“While the UDV’s preferred position was for WCB to remain an Australian owned company, we respect that

WCB shareholders have determined which was the better offer available,” UDV president Kerry Callow said.

“We understand that shareholders have had a difficult decision to make and we respect the decision they have made.

“Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, Australia’s oldest milk processing company, has a long and proud history of providing value back to its dairy farm suppliers.

“UDV looks forward to continuing to work with the company in the best interests of the Victorian dairy industry,” Ms Callow said.

Suppliers welcome Saputo WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE and Saputo has indicated it is willing to much Canadian money come into the Butter suppliers have welcomed Sapu- expand the plant which shows they have district has got to be a good thing.”

Mr Rea said the local reaction was to’s successful takeover with hope it confidence in the future,” Mrs Keightley overwhelmingly positive, with many will lead to better prices for farmers and said.

“They wouldn’t invest if they didn’t believing the influx of foreign capital will more confidence in dairying.

Shareholders are also enjoying a have confidence and the only way they boost the industry and promote compefinancial windfall after Canadian dairy can be profitable is if suppliers are also tition that will benefit farmers.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to seems to giant Saputo bought more than 75% of profitable. think it will be good.”

“I think it will be a good thing.” the WCB shares at $9.40 per share.

Saputo, Bega Cheese and The takeover has been well Murray Goulburn cooperative received by most local suppliers.

“Saputo wouldn’t invest if were involved in a prolonged Coragulac farmer Shane three-way battle for WCB. McCarthy sees it as a positive for they didn’t have confidence and the only way they can be Warrnambool Mayor Cr suppliers.

Michael Neoh said the takeover “I went to the forum with Lino profitable is if suppliers are action highlighted the important Saputo and was impressed with also profitable.” place of our dairy sector for the the way he spoke,” Mr McCarlocal economy. thy said. “I hope it lives up to the “With the emergence of the middle Drumborg farmer Arthur Peters said promise.”

Mr McCarthy said he was happy with Saputo’s plan to keep existing staff was class in China, demand will only increase. how WCB had been operating prior to good for the business. “In a way I would Our challenge will be to increase capacthe takeover, but was now hopeful of have liked it to stay Australian owned, ity to meet an ever growing demand for better milk prices and stronger compe- but you have to have competition and protein in Asia,” he said.

Cr Neoh recently led a business dellike all farmers I hope this leads to better tition for suppliers. egation to China and it was clear the “I think it gives us a more certain prices. demand for protein was very strong.

“I think it’s a good result.” future and it should keep up competiHe added that Warrnambool City A WCB supplier since 1990, Mr Peters tion to attract farmers.”

The supplier of 11 years has sold his said the sale of his shares would be help- supported the development of a planned shares. “It’s a nice windfall, but not a ful “but it depends on how much capital approach to a food and fibre plan, and hoped all stakeholders including the gains tax will be”. huge amount,” he said.

Sungold Field Days chairman and large corporates would be involved. “We Condah’s Kirsti Keightley predicted Saputo would bring an injection of a former long-time WCB shareholder, would hope that state government might money into manufacturing in the region. Tony Rea of Warrnambool, said Sapu- support the funding of the plan given the “We need to get more young people to’s success was good for local farmers significance of food and fibre to the state in dairying and increase production. and the district’s economy. “To have so of Victoria.”

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

6 // NEWS

Fonterra lifts Pay for spring season price milk to grow the FONTERRA AUSTRALIA announced a step-up

of 16 cents per kilogram of butterfat and 40c/kg of protein late last month for suppliers in Victoria and Tasmania.

It is the second time the company has raised prices by 16c for butterfat and 40c for protein this season.

The company said this brings its current average farmgate price to $6.36 per kilogram of milk solids (kg/MS).

Fonterra Australia also raised its forecast average closing price range for the 2013/14 season to $6.60$6.80 kg/MS. Fonterra said it was able to raise prices as commodity prices remain high – evidenced by the most recent GDT event – and the Australian dollar remains at current lower levels.

Fonterra Australia has also optimised its product mix to ensure its products command a premium from the market, it said.

Bonlac Supply Company (BSC) chairman Tony Marwood said the step-up

sent “a strong signal to all our farmers that BSC and Fonterra are focused on what’s happening onfarm and are working hard together to ensure farm profitability is the number one priority”.

In a statement, Fonterra said individual supplier’s milk prices will vary across Fonterra’s supply regions, depending on the individual farm’s milk profile, pricing options, regional production factors, milk quality, and farm management systems.

The move followed Murray Goulburn’s stepup of 18c/kg for butterfat and 38c/kg for protein late last year.

The cooperative said this step-up takes the weighted-average available price to $6.25kg/MS for its suppliers. It also increased its end of season forecast to a range of $6.30-$6.50 kg/MS. MG managing director,

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Gary Helou, said global demand for dairy foods remains strong and as a result prices for key dairy ingredients, such as whole milk powder, have remained at near record levels for an unprecedented period.

“Other dairy foods, such as cheese and butter, have also strengthened throughout the year.

“This step-up is the third announced by MG this financial year and will deliver an additional $60 million to MG dairy farmers to support business cashflow.”

WESTERN DISTRICT farmer John Hinkley would like more young farmers to understand that seasonal farming is very profitable.

“If our processors understood that seasonal farming has a bigger role to play, we would be doing better, banks would be happier and our industry would grow,” the Elingamite farmer said.

“Bankers would give young people a start if they can see they have a system. Dairy farming under seasonal conditions is very predictable if you control the costs.

“When I grew up in the farming world, they consistently dried their cows off and were seasonal farmers.

A lot of young farmers today don’t see that.”

“There is a different challenge when you dry the cows off…you set up the farm for the dry period and to grow more grass through the winter.”

Mr Hinkley is against manipulating the cow to calve when it suits the

John Hinkley

processors. “If out-of-season production is profitable, then why doesn’t the wheat farmer plant his wheat in November? The reason why is that one in 20 years it might work. Why do we think we are so different when we have harsh conditions over summer?”

He said south-west Victoria in the 1990s was the most cost-effective

milk producing area in the world.

“We’re still the same area but have about the third highest costs in the world. That’s because processors have consistently said we have to have a flat supply curve and that can’t work.

“We have to start paying for spring milk – if you pay for your peak the industry will grow.”

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Yarnold has won a $2000 scholarship at the National All Breeds Dairy Youth Camp held in Melbourne last month.

The award recognises the most outstanding participant at the Melbourne five-day camp.

Cameron, from Wingham in northern NSW, finished ahead of

Marty Hore, from Leitchville, Victoria, in the voting to claim the Genetics Australia scholarship.

There were 48 participants from across Australia and New Zealand that attended the camp at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, which focused on judging, parading and handling dairy cattle.

The camp included three Cana-

dian “leaders’’ and taught participants animal husbandry skills for the show-ring and the paddock.

It also included a visit to a farm in West Gippsland.

National All Breeds Dairy Youth Camp co-ordinator Sue Bird said participant numbers had increased by 15 this year, including three girls from Western Australia.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS // 7

Heatwave claims 120 cows RICK BAYNE

THE DEATHS of more

than 100 cows due to heat stress in southern Victoria have been described as the worst ever seen and have prompted concerns that farmers will have to do more to counteract rising temperatures.

About 70-80 cows died in Gippsland and 40 in south-west Victoria at the end of a prolonged heatwave in mid-January, despite farmers taking preventive measures to protect their stock.

The deaths happened at the end of a four-day heat blast which saw temperatures soar above 40°C and stay in the mid-20s overnight, an unusually long succession of heat in southern Victorian areas.

Other dairy farming regions were not so badly impacted by heat stress problems.

While farmers are not being blamed for the deaths, the tragedy has sparked concerns that they will have to do more to care for their cows on extreme days as temperatures continue to soar.

Australia recorded its hottest year on record in 2013 amid predictions that temperatures will continue to rise.

The deaths and hot weather have also hit production across the regions.

Some farms in southwest Victoria lost between five and 10 cows and one lost 14 from a lack of water due to a malfunctioning water trough after the cows broke a pipe.

Deaths were recorded across several properties in Gippsland on the fourth day of the heatwave.

Dr Jakob Malmo from the Maffra Veterinary Centre described the Gippsland deaths as the worst associated with heat stress seen in the district.

“In more than 50 years as a vet in this region I have never seen heat related deaths of that magnitude,” he said.

“There have been one or two deaths on very hot days over the last decade or so, but nothing before

then and nothing like this.

It has been devastating.”

Dr Malmo said lack of shade had contributed to many of the deaths. “It seems some farmers made the mistake on the fourth day of taking their cows to good feed but this left them out in the sun without shade,” he said.

Cows were not likely to eat a lot on extreme days and shade should be the priority. “It is best to try to feed them in the morning and then make sure they have shade and water.”

He added that none of the farmers were negligent.

“We are talking about very good farmers. They

Zoe Vogels

were conscientious and did the right things but may have underestimated the impact of four days of very, very hot weather.

“Everyone has learned some lessons. We have to make sure cows have shade no matter what and we need to regularly check on both their condition and their water supply.

“If they are showing signs of heat stress such as panting, you have to get them to a cool place and make sure they have enough water.”

Dr Malmo said sprinklers helped to ease stress, as would access to a cool water hole. “There is concern about mastitis from being in water but it is better to treat a cow with mastitis than have a dead cow.”

He said farms need to be set up to cope with more hot days.

Farms should have big enough water pipes to ensure they can supply the herd and sprinklers in the dairy.

“When you get temperatures of over 40°C, the risk is always going be

there, especially if we are getting more of this sort of weather.”

Locals rallied around the worst hit farm in Gippsland, donating cows to help cover a substantial loss of production.

Timboon-based vet with The Vet Group, Dr Zoe Vogels, said four days of oppressive heat, hot nights and no wind had led to the deaths, despite farmers taking preventive action.

“These are farmers who were doing everything right,” Dr Vogels said. “They had the cows in shade with water, were checking their condition, and had been hosing them down, but some didn’t make it through that last day.

“One farmer tells me that his cows wouldn’t normally have gone under the sprinklers and would very carefully stay out of their way, but on the last hot day they were all for it and enjoyed a shower,” she said.

Dr Vogels said heat-related cow deaths were rare in the region.

“I’ve never seen cows die from heat stress before and other vets who have been here for longer agree that it is a rare occurrence,” she said.

“If a farmer sees a cow looking distressed, panting or drooling from heat stress, they should try to cool them down by hosing them with cool water - and a fan if possible.”

The cow deaths and hot conditions have put a dent in production but did not make a huge impact.

Farmers in south-west Victoria have reported that production dropped by a couple of litres per cow during the heatwave.

Murray Goulburn field services manager at Maffra, Gregor Allen, said production had dipped during the hot spell but not as much as expected.

“We usually see a drop at this time of year and we were probably 1 to 1.5% below that,” Mr Allen said.

“Farmers have managed it pretty well and we were not hit as hard as expected.”

Despite the best efforts of Gippsland and Western Victoria farmers, successive hot days and nights claimed 120 cows.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

8 // IDW 2014

Push for Australian Dairy Expo A PARTNERSHIP of

the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and International Dairy Week will drive consultation for a potential Australian Dairy Expo.

Victorian Agriculture Minister, Peter Walsh, and dairy industry representatives, including

Dairy Australia chairman, Geoff Akers, and managing director, Ian Halliday, met at IDW last month to learn about the concept.

The showcase of the Australian dairy industry would include all aspects of the dairy supply chain.

IDW coordinator

Robyn Barber asked the cross-section of the dairy industry whether the concept was worth pursuing, potentially as an event held every three years, similar to Beef Australia in Rockhampton, Queensland.

Ms Barber travelled to the World Dairy Expo in

Maddison, Winsconsin, last year for inspiration.

This annual event, which dominates the international dairy calendar, registered 2905 international guests last year, had 843 competitors from 29 countries and 2225 cattle.

It also includes trade

exhibits for commercial dairy farmers. The show is financed by the commercial exhibitors, gate fees and sponsorship.

Ms Barber said the cattle show remained central to the event but did not earn money.

Ms Barber said the Australian Dairy Expo

could strive to do everything the World Dairy Expo achieves, albeit on a smaller scale.

Ms Barber said the Expo, if staged every three years, would mean IDW would not be held in the same year.

The location for the event would need

to address sufficient accommodation, nightlife and have a world class facility, she said.

Points raised by the crowd included joining the Australian Dairy Conference into the event and working with NZ to make an Australasian event.

Holstein claims second interbreed title HOLSTEIN FAIRVALE

Morty Lady 51 was named grand champion cow at International Dairy Week last month for the second time.

It was the third time in six years Lisa Thompson, from Bracknell, in Tasmania, and her parents, Lindsay and Sandra, have won the grand champion award.

The 8-year-old calved at the end of November with twins.

Production statistics include a high of 15,406 litres, 513 kg of butterfat and 465kg of protein in 305 days, which was recorded two years ago.

The Thompsons milk 220 cows and 75% of their herd are registered Holsteins, although they are increasing their number of Jerseys from 50 head.

Judge Juan Jose Felissia, from Argentina, praised her udder, “physical characteristics”, capacity, strength and style.

All six judges then put in their nominations for the Australian champion, placing Lady 51 at the top

of the pack against all the other breeds.

The last time the cow won the award was in 2011 as a 5-year-old.

It will be the last showing for the champion cow, who can now retire in style.

The National Jersey Show proved to be another success under the belt of Brunchilli Jerseys.

The Boyd family from Finley, NSW, were no strangers to the spotlight, having won Premier Breeder and Exhibitor again for the 13th consecutive year.

They took home the major award of senior and grand champion cow with Brunchilli Sambo Priscilla.

Brunchilli also won junior champion with Brunchilli Reagan Rose.

The National Guernsey show finished with a very familiar result when 8-year-old aged cow, Florando SD Koala of the Joyce and Gass families won the supreme title for the third consecutive year.

“What a marvel-

Lowis White, Luccombe Holsteins, Finley, NSW, and Henry Bevan, Bevandale Holsteins, Ravenshoe, Qld.

Interbreed champion with exhibitors Lindsay and Lisa Thompson, Bracknell, Tasmania, with Andrew Dee, Nathan Thomas, Canada, William McKay, Bracknell, and judge Juan Felissia.

lous cow with a beautiful udder, she’s carrying herself and moving terrifically for a cow of her age,” said judge, Blaine Crosser.

Mt Gambier breeder, Jennifer Van Rijthoven, won the top ribbon in the Brown Swiss class with Grasslands Aurum Sashay.

German judge Alfred Weidele said it came down to “functional traits”, highlighting the quality of Grasslands Aurum Sashay’s teats, rump structure and setting, as well as her tail setting.

The Coburn family were awarded champion Illawarra exhibit for Winganna Empire Handsome, a 7-year-old cow.

The Coburns also won intermediate champion, senior champion and best udder, equalling their best IDW haul.

Steve and Gary Joyce, Broadwater, and Kevin Gass, Simpson, were awarded the supreme Guernsey exhibit for Florando SD Koala 7 - its third champion breed ribbon.

The Guernsey, which will be nine years old this year, was bought at the Camperdown saleyards in 2011.

Guernsey judge Blaine Crosser, from the US, said the cow had a lovely udder that had stood the test of time.

Holstein Australia starts centenary celebrations HOLSTEIN AUSTRALIA kicked off

its centenary celebrations at International Dairy Week.

The larger gathering will be followed by a series of local celebrations culminating with a national centenary celebration at the association’s annual general meeting in Toowoomba in October.

“One hundred years of breeding black and white dairy cows is an amazing achievement, and we look forward to celebrating with our members throughout the year,” acting chief executive David Jupp said.

“Much of the association’s longevity is the community spirit amongst members. It’s not just about breeding cows but Holstein Australia membership also provides a forum for lifelong friendships and fellowship.”

Holstein Australia is encouraging all its sub-branches to participate in in some way, either a standalone event, or label one of their regular activities as their centenary even, in what will be a milestone year for the Association.

“We will also be marking our centenary

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with a Centenary Book and a Centenary medallion,” Mr Jupp said.

The Centenary Book, to be unveiled in October, will report on the association’s key achievements over its 100 year history.

It tells the stories of people, cattle, family, friendship, hard work and Holstein breed development.

A Centenary Medallion has also been commissioned to recognise outstanding service to Holstein Australia by individual members. Each of HA’s 27 sub branches will be invited to nominate a member – past or present – as the recipient of the Centenary Medallion.

The medallion will be awarded to a member who, in the eyes of their peers has gone unheralded and given extraordinary service to their sub-branch over an extended period of time.

“2014 promises to be a big year for Holsteins. We are encouraging our members to join in the celebrations of our 100th year, particularly in Toowoomba where it all began,” Mr Jupp said.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

10 // NEWS

World dairy prices to remain high INTERNATIONAL DAIRY commodity prices

are expected to remain high at least for the first half of 2014, according to Rabobank.

Rabobank analyst, Tim Hunt, said the increase of export supply since September last year, as producers have responded to improved margins, has

been largely soaked up by vigorous buying from China.

“Global prices have remained high despite the taps being turned on in

key export regions,” Mr Hunt said.

“China continues to buy exceptionally large volumes of product from the international market

to supplement falling local milk supply.”

Despite a small softening in prices in October and November last year, global prices remained

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high due to an uptick in December.

By mid-December, “Global prices Whole Milk Powder have remained (WMP) held above high despite the US$5000/ton in free taps being turned on-board Oceania on in key export trade, while prices of other key commodiregions.” ties rose between 3% and 5%, as Southern Hemisphere processors switched milk prior year levels in US type towards the higher yielding whole milk dollar terms, opening up large margins for milk propowder (WMP). ducers in intensive feedChina’s buying has left ing regions. the rest of the buyside of Rabobank expects a the international market further increase in Chiwith less supply to go round, keeping the market na’s dairy purchases from the world market this tight, Rabobank said. year. A strong Northern It believes many of the Hemisphere production buyers in regions includseason, following on from ing South East Asia, the an exceptional season in Middle East and North the Southern Hemisphere Africa, have used up should generate more all meaningful back-up than enough exportable stocks after a period of prolonged belt-tightening. supply to exceed China’s additional demand.

They are now strug“2014 will be an intrigugling to secure enough ing period for the global supply to sustain sales of dairy market,” Mr Hunt key lines. said.

With export supply “We expect prices to still in the early stages of hold around current highs recovery, prices edged up before easing from mid to even further in the last late 2014 with continuing quarter last year to ration supply growth in response supply. to significantly improved The global dairy margins. market has entered 2014 “Any subsequent with farmgate milk prices reduction in pricing will at record or near record be limited by structural highs in many export and constraints on suppliimport regions, Mr Hunt ers, the need to replenish said. depleted inventories and Meanwhile the prices ongoing demand growth of commodity feeds such as soybeans and corn have in line with a slow economic recovery.” fallen 10% to 40% below

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

NEWS // 11

Dairy summit to address future growth AUSTRALIAN DAIRY

Farmers president, Noel Campbell, hopes the upcoming National Dairy Farmers’ Summit will lay the foundation for a roadmap for the industry.

“Many of the challenges facing the industry have been well publicised, however, what is needed now is a positive plan that identifies where we, as an industry, would like to be in the medium to longer term and the opportunities that will define our future,” Mr Campbell said.

“This will be critical if we are to grow as an industry sustainably and profitably, thus ensuring we attract and retain the next generation of dairy farmers.”

ADF is hosting the summit on March 13 in Melbourne in conjunction with the Australian Dairy

Industry Council and Dairy Australia. Coles will sponsor the event, which attracted headlines on its announcement.

Mr Campbell said the Summit aims to shape a future vision for the dairy industry and identify the key steps to get there.

The morning session will include keynote addresses on government priorities for agriculture and the place of dairy; addressing challenges and hot to set a new industry direction; dairy’s place in Australia; and setting industry direction through farmer-led innovation.

The afternoon session will comprise workshops to discuss one of six themes: human capacity; farm business fitness; social license/public trust; competitive value chain; market growth; and cohe-

sive dairy community.

More than 100 farmers, dairy processors and manufacturers, state dairy farming bodies, farming organisations and state and federal government representatives are expected to attend.

“Shaped by the thoughts and ideas of dairy farmers from across Australia, the Summit will

Noel Campbell

provide a future-focused forum to challenge the

industry to think ahead in posing its preferred future state and the industry priorities required to get there,” Mr Campbell said.

The involvement and contribution of farmers from across all of Australia’s dairying regions will be integral to the Summit, he said.

“As the title makes clear, this will be a Summit

that is informed every step of the way by the thoughts and ideas of dairy farmers Australia-wide.

“Registration for the summit is now open, and I encourage my fellow farmers to get involved and help shape a positive future vision for our industry,” he said.

For interested interstate farmers unable to

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from Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and it is they who are the biggest beneficiaries of Australia’s Free Trade Agreement with South Korea.

The FTA (which the Ricegrowers Association declared an FTA in name only, as it excludes rice) signed off in early December after four years of negotiations.

Australian cheese producers will gain duty-free access to Korea’s growing middle class market. Australian cheese exports currently face Korean tariffs of up to 36%.

Cheese, butter and infant formulas are in the deal, with varying timelines for tariff removal, while powdered milk has been excluded.

South Korea is a growing market for the world’s dairy products, importing 196,000 tonnes of dairy in 2012, of which Australian products only accounted for 9%.

The Federal Government said independent modelling showed the FTA would be worth $5 billion between 2015 and 2030 and boost the economy by about $650 million annually after 15 years.

Agricultural exports to Korea will be 73% higher after 15 years as a result of the FTA and overall exports to Korea will be 25% higher resulting in the creation of more than 1700 jobs, the Government said.

The agreement eliminated tariffs of up to 300% on Australian agricultural exports such as beef, dairy, sugar and wheat but excluded rice, while removing a 5% tariff on Korean car imports, amid other benefits.

The FTA also demands South Koreans gain Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval before investing in any Australian agribusiness worth more than $53 million, compared to the current threshold of $248 million on most foreign business investments.

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attend, Mr Campbell encouraged them to register their views with their local State Dairy Farming Organisation (SDFO) or State Farming Organisation (SFO) to ensure their voice can still be heard.

The Summit is free to attend with registration now open online at www. australiandairyfarmers. com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

12 // WORLD

Fonterra launches $250m bond issue in China FONTERRA’S $250M bond issue in China is largely to expand its domestic milk supply on its China farms, says ANZ rural economist Con Williams.

The co-op needs to invest capital if it wants to hit its objective of one billion litres of milk produced in China by 2018, Williams told Dairy News.

“That is part of its strategy to plan to square the milk curve a bit in New Zealand and that’s critical to its longterm strategy to build more of a presence in dairy nutrition and consumer businesses in Asia.”

Fonterra announced last week it has raised 1.25 billion Chinese renminbi (about NZ$250 million) through a five-year “dim sum” bond issue (Chinese renminbi raised offshore) as part of its commitment Fonterra chief financial officer Lukas to developing its China Paravicini . business.

Fonterra chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini says the funds raised will be used for growth of its businesses in China and refinancing some of its existing China operations. Growth includes further expansion of its consumer, foodservice and farming operations.

Fonterra president Greater China & India Kelvin Wickham says the co-op has had a strong focus on driving growth in volume and value as it develops its integrated business model in China. “Last year we successfully launched our premium milk brand Anchor and also launched a new paediatric formula product tailored for the China market under the Anmum brand.

“At the same time China is expected to see a continued gap between the demand and supply of raw milk so our farming business will continue to build supplies of raw milk to meet local consumer demand.

“Our foodservices and ingredients businesses, which import products from New Zealand, are also expecting to see continued growth.

“The renminbi bond issue will support the growth of our whole business, in particular our consumer brands business which are a key focus for growth given it is at an earlier stage of development,” Wickham says.

This is the second time Fonterra has issued bonds denominated in Chinese renminbi. The first time was in 2011 when it became the first Australasian company to tap the dim sum market.

New Zealand Nuffield scholar Tafi Manjala says farmer discussion groups are more sophisticated in Ireland.

EU quotas abolished but red tape remains

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bit by including consultants’ and bank managers’ email addresses in emails they send to farmers.

“If we know you’re the trusted advisor for a business, we ‘cc’ you into discussion so you can help with ongoing discussions or support for the farmer.”

Mr Manjala was impressed by Irish farmer discussion groups, which take information sharing to a higher level.

Each group had a facilitator who accesses farmers’ production information and farm data and then puts it on a document available only to the group.

It means discussion groups are able to make better suggestions on actual data rather than rough.

“Ireland is ahead of us in farm systems research and many countries lead us in using social media to share farm practices.”

Mr Manjala met with the professor emeritus of social science in psychology at Stanford University, Albert Bandura, and discussed his theory on social learning, which suggests that subjects need to see similar people making gains through a process before they themselves do it.

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grass, and I completely agree with them.”

One of Mr Manjala’s goals was to learn how to better help the spread of information between farmers, and from researchers to farmers.

He promotes closer collaboration among rural professionals, in line with the aim of the New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management.

Though New Zealand farmers are supported by such rural professionals as bank managers, farm consultants, fertiliser representatives and vets, these are not always on the ‘same page’ and can give conflicting advice, thus confusing farmers, Mr Manjala said.

In Ireland, more rural professionals talk to each other, guarding against conflicting advice.

“When a consultant suggests there’s an option to increase the stocking rate, the bank manager might say ‘hang on, we don’t have the money in the budget to pay for the extra infrastructure’.”

Getting rural professionals to work in partnership need not be difficult, and Mr Manjala said Northland DairyNZ members have been trying to do their

DE

•

ALTHOUGH THE strong Irish dairy sector and union are getting ready to ramp up production after the end of milk quotas in 2015, European dairy farmers still face excessive red tape, capital issues and expansion blocks.

So says New Zealand Nuffield Scholarship recipient and Northland DairyNZ regional manager Tafi Manjala after six months in Europe, South America and North America.

Mr Manjala travelled through Canada, the US, Ireland, England, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Denmark, Mexico and Brazil to connect with rural leaders and professionals and explore how to better communicate current and new ideas to farmers.

Mr Manjala said although milk quotas will finish in 2015, the single farm payment scheme, paid to farmers for owning and working on land, looks likely to stay in place until 2020 at the earliest.

The average Irish farm is 34ha and landowners must actively manage the property year-round

to get the subsidy, Mr Manjala said.

Dairy farmers looking to expand are having difficulty finding the land to do it. “There needs to be alternative ownership models to generate enough revenue that owners need.”

Farmers are also struggling in the UK, Mr Manjala said.

With processing facilities controlled by retailers, farmers are price takers, and with high-input systems they only break even, at best. “Pasture-based farmers made 8–10c/L surplus.”

High input costs and heavy debt are causing difficulties for farmers in Denmark too, where farmers were offered loans 120% larger than the value of the properties they intended to develop.

Mr Manjala said the industry there is now in such disarray that the price of dairy land had fallen 50% and most farms are being bought by Dutch farmers.

Farming leaders Mr Manjala talked to were surprised at New Zealanders’ moves away from grass-based to high-input systems.

“People overseas talk about our competitive edge being

•

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

WORLD // 13

US dairymen want halter on Kiwis SUDESH KISSUN

THE NEW head of US

dairy farmers’ lobby group wants reforms of New Zealand’s dairy policies as part of a final TradePacific Partnership deal.

In his first monthly commentary to farmers, National Milk Producers Federation chief executive Jim Mulhern said a priority for the organisation is to maximise the value of the pending TPP trade deal to US dairy farmers.

Negotiations of this pact will likely determine this year whether the TPP final agreement represents a net positive opportunity for the US dairy sector, Mr Mulhern said.

Jim Mulhern

“We need greater disciplines on non-tariff barriers, as well as greater access into Canada and Japan, in order for a TPP agreement to be useful to America’s dairy farmers.

We also need reforms of New Zealand’s dairy policies as part of the deal.”

Mulhern replaced Jerry

Kozak, who stepped down on January 1 after 22 years with the US dairy industry. The NMPF represents 35,000 dairy farmers.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade deal under negotiation by 12 countries: New Zealand, US, Singapore, Chile, Brunei, Australia, Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia, Canada, Mexico and Japan.

Japanese dairy farmers oppose the TPP, fearing

the accord will wipe them out by triggering an influx of cheaper imports. Some Japanese media reports suggest the Government is seeking to exempt agriculture from the pact.

However, TPP is not the top item on Mr Mulhern’s list. He said establishing a new and better safety net for dairy farmers is his top priority.

What should have been achieved by the US Con-

gress in 2012, and what had a chance of getting done last year, was passage of a new farm bill containing the Dairy Security Act, he says.

NMPF and its members have been working hard with Congress since 2009 to devise and pass a new dairy programme.

The good news is that it appears we’re on the cusp of getting a farm bill done as 2014 begins, he said.

“Members of the House and Senate are returning to Capitol Hill this month, and finalising the farm bill is also at the top of the list of New Year’s resolutions for them.

“I am cautiously optimistic that the farm bill negotiations between members of the House and Senate agriculture committees will produce an economically and politically viable bill.

It’s been bedeviled by controversies ranging from the marketing of catfish and eggs, to the level of spending on food stamps and crop insurance; but differences over these items can and will be resolved.

Mulhern said another item that’s a holdover from the past, but that is also critical to the success of the dairy industry, is immigration reform.

EU milk tipped for global market THE END of milk quotas in Europe from 2015 will add

another dimension to the global milk supply, says Fonterra chairman John Wilson.

Mr Wilson told said there are differing views on whether milk supply out of Europe will increase once quotas are lifted.

Given that EU’s milk consumption is relatively stagnant, he believes increased production from the bloc will end up in the global market to meet growing demand.

He said Fonterra‘s joint venture with Netherlandsbased A-ware Food Group is an example of the co-op tapping into the changing EU dairy environment.

Fonterra and A-ware Food Group are developing a new cheese plant and dairy ingredients plant in Heerenveen in the north of the Netherlands. A-ware will operate a cheese plant and Fonterra will operate a dairy ingredients plant alongside it.

Cheese will be produced for A-ware’s customers in Europe and the whey and lactose produced will be processed into premium nutrition dairy ingredients for Fonterra’s global customer base. A-ware will be sourcing milk from Dutch farmers, who are expected to ramp up production when the milk quotas go. Wilson said this could add another billion litres of milk to Fonterra’s global pool.

Mr Wilson expects global growth in milk production to be 0.5% higher than a year ago.

Global dairy demand is forecast to grow by 120 billion L by 2021, 40 billion L of that in freely traded markets – largely the emerging markets. New Zealand is expected to see 2% or 3 billion L growth during the same period.

Mr Wilson said this highlights the importance of Fonterra’s strategy to support New Zealand milk by ensuring access to global milk pools so we can accommodate demand growth.

Current global demand for milk products is growing at just over 2% per annum. In China, demand is expected to grow 7% by 2020 – but milk supply will grow by only 4%.

China’s dairy industry is changing rapidly, with evidence this year of consolidation at the farming and manufacturing levels of the supply chain, said Mr Wilson.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

14 // AGRIBUSINESS

New Zealand vs Australia – who does better at the farmgate?

AS THE CURRENT season has

unfolded and payouts have heated up over the ditch, many farmers here are asking the inevitable question – how do Australian farmgate prices compare to New Zealand’s?

To address this question more fully, we need to look beyond the current season and examine a long term comparison.

Freshagenda’s analysis of payments made by Australian manufacturers compared to Fonterra’s over the past 13 years (including a forecast for 2013/14) show Australian prices have been ahead by around A$0.19/kgMS on average.

This is once adjustments have been made for protein – measured as “crude’ in New Zealand and “true” here, and converting NZ prices to Australian dollars.

What the green and black bars on the chart indicate (in US dollars this time) is that since 2009, Australian farmgate prices have been more resilient when there have been downturns in the international market, while New Zealand’s prices have responded more quickly and fully when commodity prices head upwards.

One of the major reasons behind this observation is the different exposures to the world market of the two industries – more than 90% of New Zealand’s production is exported while Australia’s exports have hovered around 40% of output in recent years.

With a greater focus on retail products and contracted sales in Australia where commodity price changes are slower to take effect, domestic returns tend to lag the more volatile movements of the international market. This is great for the Australian industry in a down turn, but frustrating when global commodity prices move up, and the local market doesn’t quickly respond.

Another factor is product mix. The lines on the chart track prices in US dollars of the major commodities (in terms of milk use) for both industries – ched-

FRESH AGENDA JO BILLS dar cheese for Australia and whole milk powder for New Zealand.

While over time cheddar returns have tended to be more stable – whole milk powder prices – powered by China’s insatiable demand have been pushed much higher than cheddar at times, particularly this year.

Australia’s cheese production is almost equally split between domestic and export, and Japan remains our largest export market – at least in value terms. Once again, many of these sales are subject to longer term agreements, so cheese prices tend to be more stable.

Currency is also an important driver of real returns to farmers in both industries.

The Australian dollar has been strong in recent years, due to factors well outside the dairy industry’s influence, and that has affected the competitiveness of our dairy exports.

Interestingly in the current cycle, as the US currency is strengthening against most others, New Zealand’s dollar is actually being held up by the strong performance of dairy – which represents a large proportion of the Kiwi economy.

As a result, the two currencies are now moving closer together.

The mechanisms for determining farmgate price in New Zealand have also changed in recent years, as Fonterra has undergone its capital restructure and established the Fonterra Shareholders Fund.

In order to have a transparent

way of retaining profit, and therefore paying dividends to investors – Fonterra first introduced the Global DairyTrade (GDT) online auction platform in 2008 to establish a reference price for traded commodities, and then introduced a “Milk Price Manual” in 2011/12 that calculates payout with a formula that is directly linked to the GDT auction results.

That said, we saw the Fonterra Board override the manual just before Christmas – maintaining its record payout forecast despite the manual calculation indicating a higher rate should be paid, based on milk powder returns. In reality, higher milk intakes meant Fonterra was no doubt facing lower returns from products that weren’t covered by the manual formula.

While this demonstrates the Fonterra Board still has some discretion when it comes to determining payouts, there is probably less opportunity to smooth farmgate prices between years

than there was previously in New Zealand.

For many farmers the concern behind this question of Australia versus New Zealand is that our industry is losing competitiveness and will continue to trail our Kiwi neighbours to a larger extent into the future.

The differences in farmgate prices are just one indicator of the divergence in the two industries over the past decade. The New Zealand industry has developed its capability to efficiently process large and growing amounts of seasonal milk and market its product to the fastest developing markets around the world.

While there has been a push to value add, commodity products are still a dominant part of the product mix. In Australia, in the face of a stagnant or shrinking milk pool, manufacturers have looked for opportunities to maximise returns, shifting their product, customer and market mix higher up the

value chain wherever possible - through a less-efficient supply chain. This hasn’t always been easy given New Zealand’s advantages in terms of scale, delivery and access to expanding markets such as China.

There are clearly risks and opportunities inherent in both approaches and New Zealand’s performance will and should continue to be a benchmark in terms of the value the Australian industry can extract from the marketplace. However, as this analysis shows, those comparisons need to be made understanding the important differences between the industries, and over the long run – rather than for a single season.

• Jo Bills is a director of Freshagenda, a Melbourne-based consulting and analysis firm that provides food value chain insights and solutions to a wide range of clients from farm to retail.

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AGRIBUSINESS // 15 Dai

Global supply falls short of Export demand remains st expectations

agribu

Notwithstanding the challenges includingonly a a few cen market perspective,With the season –2011/12 incremental change in milk production (year-on-year) worsening drought in Cali2013/14 Southern HemiEur weeks from ending, attention is now fornia – growth expected sphere dairy seasonfocused is Pro on 2012/13 milkisprices as farmto accelerate through 2014 increasingly a ‘done deal’.

US ers consider strategies for the coming Milk production is well as margins remain favourthe year. In able. some domestically-focused The USDA’s forecast past its spring peak, and has regions, renegotiated contracts for 2014 US milk produc- incorproduct sales are focused GLOBALimpacT IMPACT gLobaL to porating lower reduced JOHN DROPPERT tion is prices over 93and billion litres, ‘tier on an April-June 2014 JohN DropperT $5.0 one’ access are undermining representing 2% growth farmer delivery period. Weather influences still haveconfidence signifi- on 2013. and supply stability. For EU-November 28 data cant potential to ‘upset the farmers reb Shifts in private label contracts and promany in export-oriented revealed a 4% increase in apple cart’ at farm level (as slow regions, a lower price outlook relative to cessor rationalisation have seen milk milk deliveries compared we saw a year ago), but if dem the current season not only adds to the companies adjust their intake requireto that month in 2012. In anything this would drive ma ments and pricing to meet the changchallenges of doing business, but seems member states such as prices higher. to w to contradict the positiveand medium the Netherlands Ire- term ing demands of a highly pressured retail New Zealand looks rate outlook of Asia-driven land (the latter updairy 19% demand marketplace. Lower contract prices and likely to enjoy an extended for the month) an appeseason as farmers cash in slow a lack of alternative supply opportunigrowth. tite for post-quota growth on record farmgate pricDairy Australia’s indicative outlook ties present challenges in a market with flows. 2012 milk production in the US those in south-east Asia and the Middle imp is readily withprices – limited manufacturing capacity. Despite is up around 4% on 2011 for the year to East maintain consistently higher eco- on ing; but the sustained for southern farmapparent, gate milk some farmers willing to supply recovery required published in the recent Dairy 2012: Sit- these challenges, the underlying domes- April (leap year adjusted), whilst early nomic growth rates that support Chi pay super-levy fines for to dislodge commoduation and Outlook report, is for an tic market is stable, with steady per-cap- data suggests EU-27 milk production increased dairy consumption. How- of t exceeding quotas, rather ity prices is more likely to opening price range ofproduction. $4.05-$4.40/kg ita dairy consumption and a growing finished the March 2012 quota year up ever, the surge in supply has outpaced than suppress come from the Northern uct and a fullHowever year average ongoingprice chal- range population providing a degree of cer- 2.3% on the previous year. New Zealand demand growth in the market.

Hemisphere. That’sMS where This situation has seen the scales tinu lenges have furtherMS. The tainty beyond the current adjustments. production is widely expected to finish between $4.50 and seen $4.90/kg attention is beginning to contraction countries turn as the seasonalreport transi-considers In the seasons following the 2008 this season up 10% on last year - a huge tip in favour of buyers in dairy mar- larg theinwider market picsuch as Italy.

On tion in supply looms. ture and summarises thebalance, many factors financial crisis and subsequent com- market influence given 95% of NZ milk kets, with commodity prices retreat- wit industry forecasts at play; the key theme of the current sit- modity price recovery, farmers in is exported. Argentina is also enjoy- ing steadily over recent months. Butter urb The question indicate the current uation being that of re-balancing in the export-oriented regions have seen solid ing solid production growth, but a sig- prices are down some 30% from their wit modest growth traremains not if the global supply growth (see chart) - with nificant supply gap in Brazil prevents 2011 peaks, whilst powder prices have the dairy supply chain. jectory is expected world’s suppliers In regions oftoAustralia focused on higher-cost competitors in the North- much of this additional milk from leav- lost more than 20%. Farm gate prices gro continue, with catch up toproducing the drinking have subsequently been reduced in cap many farmers ern Hemisphere amongst those expand- ing South America.

2014milk, milk deliveries demand forface dairy, tipped to hit 147 bilDespite wider economic uncer- most exporting regions. The average ma a re-balancing market in the form ing output as their margins increased. (up 1%). but when. of renegotiationlionoflitres supply contracts This season, favourable weather con- tainty, demand has remained resilient basic farm gate price for milk in France to b 2% and 1%supply. ditions have further enhanced milk as importing countries like China and for example, dropped 12% from 32 Euro anc and reduced accessThe to ‘tier one’ growth for the US and EU Most in the industry respectively represent had expected the United around 4 billion extra litres States to produce a rapid of milk – just under half supply response followof Australia’s annual total ing a large 2013 corn harvest and rapidly increasing production.

However, much of this milk prices. This hasn’t happened - November and growth will be soaked up December milk output was by recovering domestic austraLian DairY, ASEAN-Australia-New consumption, while convirtually flat compared rice and wine exporters to Zealand FTA (AANZFTA). tinuing supply gaps in to the same months in theand biggest China Russia have left“Protectionist senti2012. Declining cowMalaysia num- are ment over agricultural winners inother a free trade such as the markets bers have been blamed: agreement (FTA)East, signed Africa andgoods is rife and growheavy culling last year out- Middle parts of Asia short of prodweighed the supplybetween of ing across the globe, so the two counaustraLian Fo uct. replacement heifers, and in this context it is pleastries last month. company Freedom Fo short, though the restocking is expected The to deal, In ing Australia has managed signed after Group Ltd is to build take at least the first half of market is looking to the to forge an agreement seven years of negotianew milk processing Northern Hemisphere for 2014. Feed is readily availwith Malaysia that has tions, allows a liberalised to cash in on growing indications that a price able but quality is below dealt with some sensiarrangement demand in Asia. correction is around the par in many places,licensing keepfor Australian liquid milk The plant, to be bu corner, sedate supply tive agricultural issues ing per-cow production growth and ongoing relatively static, andexporters hamnot effectively covered by and allows southeast Australia, w * pering farmers’ ability to fordemand AANZFTA,” says Fraser. access higher strength value provide the first Australian gr Ultra is a true step up in yield performance, offering consistently little clue as to the timing.“While under the get the most milk from theproducts.

Sealing the deal: Malaysian trade minister Mustapha Mohamed retail fields expansion in U high across seasons, yearsthe and regions.

CONTACT NOTMAN with PASTURE SEEDScounterpart FOR THEyields LATEST Pricing remains buoyant, cows they have.

Australian Craig Emerson after signing deal.

AANZFTA agreement It guarantees Aus10 years.

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or so called ‘behind the tion of this agreement, of rules-of-origin dechad tariffs bound at zero, Malaysia gives coun-product Australia will run the betterany returning ers are more risk averse much remains to be done border’ restrictions.”

However; with dairy and rice are two sec- laration processes and than historically, opting try. It alsostreams. allows open plant. Some of its pro *NFVT Results 1991-2012, All NZ Trials Total Yield so many eyes on the prize, to bolster their equity The FTA was signed on for Australia’s farmers to improved marketing access arrangements from tors where incremental will be sold in Austra the question remains not if position before pursuing May 22 in Kuala Lumpur tap into the full potential arrangements for certain market access improve2023 for Australian rice The company says the world’s suppliers catch expansion – a sentiment

by Australia’s Trade the Asian region and on Wednesday ments have been negotiwith all tariffs eliminated given Asian consumYou’recommodities. invited to our FarmofField Day 2014 19and February up to the demand for dairy, many Australian farmers Competiveness Minisbeyond.

The10:30am Malaysian market ated under the Malaysian from by 2026. at the Notman Dairy, Ogilvy’s Lane, Poowong ers’ rising incomes an but when. would relate to.

The National Farmers’ Federation says the trade

FTA. “This trade deal was

is worth about A$1 billion in Australia agricul-

He says the NFF will now throw its attention

ter Craig Emerson and his Malaysian counterpart

improving diets, dem there will grow for qu

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

16 // OPINION RUMINATING

EDITORIAL

Will the money trickle down the supply chain?

MILKING IT...

Milk vs beer

Wind warning

Hot air warning

YOUR COLUMNIST, in a past life, had the unenviable task of trying to convince a room full of beef producers that Australian beef was not the best in the world.

It was a mock debate, but still a tough position to be in.

However, a tougher project has been launched by the good folk behind the DairySA Central Conference, to be held in the Adelaide Hills on March 12.

They have asked anyone interested to produce a short film, saying why milk is better than beer!

Now, farmers may love their cows and believe in the product they produce, but what do they head for in the fridge after milking on a hot afternoon?

Let’s see if our amateur cinematographers can convince them.

Contact Penny Schulz at penny@dairysa.com.au if you want to have a crack.

THE FOLLOWING story poses a serious health and safety matter and should not be taken lightly.

It seems dairy cows with a serious case of flatulence have simultaneously ‘broken wind’ and blown up a building in a fiery explosion.

Methane gas from 90 flatulent cows exploded in a German farm shed last month, damaging the building’s roof, according to the esteemed wire service, Reuters.

Apparently high levels of the methane gas had built up in the farm shed on the dairy farm in central Germany.

A “static electric charge caused the gas to explode with flashes of flames”, the local police force said in a statement.

One cow was treated for burns. Longer term consequences of the blast on the cows’ health are not yet known.

OH TO be a columnist in our national paper, where facts can be deemed unnecessary if they stand in the way of your argument.

Judith Sloan saw the demise of SPC in Shepparton as a black and white argument – no shades of grey involved at all.

Predictably, it was the union’s fault the business was uncompetitive. Even more predictably, the Government ran the same line.

Shut it down.

And the farmers, well they can either buy the machinery themselves, or convert their fruit farms into dairies. See, a black and white issue solved in 600 words.

Local member Sharman Stone thought otherwise, tweeting: “She’s joking? Sloan in @australian today says orchards can turn into dairy farms!

It costs $2-$3m to start dairying and blocks are too small.”

Now now, Sharman, you’re bringing facts and nuance to the debate.

How will we arrive at an outcome that way?

Advertising Chris Dingle chris@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

From another planet HERE WE go again.

The website www.onegreenplanet.org has come up with a helpful list for the gullible and misinformed.

It has listed several ridiculous ‘myths’ about milk, stating: It is not the best source of calcium; does not aid strong bones; cows don’t need to be milked; and that cow milk is not good for humans (that old chestnut).

With such ridiculous claims, we suggest they change their name to www. onanotherplanet.org

0417.735.001

Editor Stephen Cooke 03.9478 9779 or 0427.124 437 editor@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

Head Office Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Auckland 0622, New Zealand

Phone +64.9.307 0399 Fax +64.9.307 0122

photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written

Publisher Brian Hight Production D ave Ferguson Becky Williams Sub Editor Pamela Tipa

Dairy News Australia is published by RNG Publishing Limited. All editorial copy and

SEEMS THE dairy industry has been awash with cash of late.

Saputo of course has just paid an estimated $530 million for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter. This amount will rise if Lion decides to sell its 10% stake in WCB, which would push Saputo’s shareholding close to 90%, which would see it pay $9.60/share.

Bega said it would receive between $94.7 and $101 million from the sale of its shares, booking a profit before tax and costs of between $61.8 and $68.2 million, after originally buying into WCB in 2010.

Murray Goulburn has said it will receive cash proceeds of at least $92.9 million and gain on investment before tax and costs of about $51 million.

On the other side of the state, United Dairy Power has been sold for an estimated $70 million.

Now that Saputo has control of WCB, and Bega and MG have banked sizeable profits for their part, and the privately-owned UDP has changed hands, the farmers crucial to the fortunes of all four are right to ask how they will benefit.

When Saputo made its initial offer for WCB, the price tag was $390m. That was before MG became involved and pushed the price at least $140m higher.

How will this additional money affect its proposed expansion of the processing facilities and its push into Asia (the main reason they pursued the company with such vigour)?

It is a massive company, but the additional funds are not small change.

Essentially, they have paid $530 million dollars for processing facilities and 10% of Australia’s milk supply. In contrast, Murray Goulburn has 33% of the country’s milk supply tied up. It has said it will seek more suppliers, but processors raiding each other’s supply pool won’t help the industry.

All processors need to grow the national milk supply and the best way to do that is to reward their suppliers with a healthier milk cheque.

For all the talk of the Asian food boom (and we do get tired of hearing how it will be the saviour of Australian agriculture), our processors need to claim a meaningful high-value stake and share the spoils with their suppliers.

Extra returns for Australian milk will give suppliers the confidence to invest in their business; international bidding wars don’t.

Of all the talk of investment and expansion, farmers want to see action – and the money.

Published by RNG Publishing Ltd Printed by PMP Print

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

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

OPINION // 17

Overheated cows merely the tip of the iceberg FARMERS ARE famous for having their eyes on the sky and predicting the weather from their deep knowledge of seasons past, often going back many generations. Unfortunately, the past is no longer a good guide to the future.

Last year was Australia’s hottest year on record, with the hottest summer and the hottest January and September on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. By itself, one hot year doesn’t make for global warming, which is why it’s important to stand back and see the bigger picture.

In Australia, the number of record-high temperatures exceeded record lows by about five to one. Rainfall in southern and parts of eastern Australia is dropping and, when it does come, the rain is apt to arrive in torrents, raising the risk of flood. The continent’s average temperature is now nearly a full degree higher than it was in 1900, in line with global warming predictions.

The problem as was recently explained by climate scientists at the University of Melbourne shows the odds against these very hot weather conditions being due entirely to natural variability are 100 to one.

In other words, the warming cannot be

explained by natural causes alone. Climate change is happening and in all likelihood is caused by human action, whether we like it or not. The future of the dairy industry, then, depends on how well it accepts and adapts to this truth.

According to 97% of climate experts, human activity is making the weather hotter than it would otherwise have been if left to its own devices.

The long term financial impost on agriculture of an increasingly warmer, drier world is much larger than a carbon price which would help to slow that change.

In fact, for most producers and consumers alike, the effect of a price on carbon would almost certainly be swamped by the costs of more hostile weather.

Let’s look at the dairy cow as an example. Dairy cows feel the effects of heat in numerous ways..

Hot spells are known to drop milk yields, by up to a quarter in some studies. A return to normal production levels may take some time. Relatively simple measures, such as adequate shelter and water, are often enough to prevent the sort of tragedy that saw around 80 cows perish near Maffra, NSW, in January’s heat wave.

In the long term though, many scientists warn the climate is likely

tion as a sector that takes climate change seriously is being undermined by the Federal Government’s policy uncertainty. The Australian Dairy Industry Council has backed its farmers and manufacturers to play a major role in OPINION reducing emissions intenMARK WOOTTON sity with the right Commonwealth support, despite being one of the to change in fits, starts, most vocal opponents of and jumps, rather than a the carbon tax.” nice, gentle, slow rise in This foray into the cliaverage temperature. This mate debate is undermakes the task of adaptastandable. The dairy tion on farm trickier. industry, through Noel And it’s not just the livestock that must grapple Campbell, is saying something needs to be done. with more extremes. The In a subphysical mission and mental Many scientists effects of warn the climate to Federal Parprolonged is likely to liament’s hot, dry inquiry of weather, as change in fits well as cat- and starts, rather the Coalition’s astrophic than a slow Direct fires and rise in average Action floods, temperature. policy, Mr are perCampbell haps better argues the lack of policy understood by farmdetail at present is making ing families than most. it risky for investors. In Farmers are a resilient line with these arguments lot, but our resilience has the Climate Institute has limits that could be sorely long argued the Governstretched in the years ment should reveal the ahead. policy details of its own The Dairy industry is direct action proposal aware of the risks of clibefore they repeal the curmate change both from a rent clean energy legislaphysical but also from a tion. policy perspective.

Despite a weakened As was reported in the global economy, debt Weekly Times on the Januand extreme weather, the ary 29, “Dairy leaders fear their international reputa- value of our agricultural

Looking for a way to save fodder costs?

exports has continued to grow strongly. But our future is tied to the fate of the world. What happens elsewhere affects us here. In particular, rising Asian demand for animal protein generates major opportunities for Australian producers, but, as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank warns, even a few degrees rise in the average global temperature has the potential to undo decades of economic growth in the region.

Should the growth in demand stall in our export markets, this would be an impact of climate change on the Australian dairy farmers as much as the heat waves and drought here. And don’t forget, climate change will bite into the affordability of fuel, feed, and other inputs.

A key element of Australian agriculture’s strong competitiveness is its world-class quality management, from paddock to plate. The task now,

for all farmers, is to make sure our competitiveness is shored up by high-quality environmental performance, including in the carbon arena, and despite politicians’ shenanigans.

To hold the view that the world’s leading climate scientists have got it wrong, that farmers have more to fear from climate policies than from climate change itself, is radical and deeply concerning. Like all parts of our business we need to manage the risks that come with climate change.

A prudent and pragmatic risk management approach is shared by a lot of farmers and global food companies like Unilever and Fonterra, with both making public statements accepting the challenge of a low-carbon economy. Fonterra has taken a proactive approach to climate change—the kind that should serve its members well in the long term. The company suc-

cessfully lobbied government for assistance to help farmers understand their energy use and make savings. In fact, it showed that the costs of the previous government’s carbon price could be offset by straightforward energy efficiency measures. Unfortunately, that message was lost in the political fray and scaremongering that ensued and undid the Clean Energy legislation.

Let’s not beat about the bush, a carbon price does pose challenges for some producers, but there are far bigger risks to farmers: lingering policy uncertainty and political flip-flopping, to name one; the sheer physical reality of a changing climate, to name another. Overheated cows are merely the tip of the iceberg, a rapidly melting one at that.

• Mark Wootton is principal and manager of Jigsaw Farms, Hamilton, Victoria and Chair of The Climate Institute.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

18 // BREEDING MANAGEMENT

Low risk but high return RICK BAYNE

JOHN HINKLEY has

enjoyed seasons in the sun and seasons in the rain in 30 years of dairy farming, but he has never wavered from his belief in low-risk, seasonal farming.

Keeping a lid on production costs, maintaining a fertile cross-bred herd, feeding almost exclusively home-grown pastures and maximising the benefits of spring rainfall have been the keys to his success.

The low-risk system means Mr Hinkley is not frightened by dry years and has been able to maintain a consistent return on capital of 8% or more, regardless of weather conditions.

Milking 525 crossbred cows off a 320ha milking platform with a 160ha run-off at Elingamite near Cobden in south-west Victoria, Mr Hinkley has pegged production costs

to $2.85 kg/MS plus the variables of labour and leasing costs.

The farm averages production between 380-420 kg/MS per cow.

Mr Hinkley grew up on a small dairy farm at nearby Tesbury but was working as an office clerk for the local shire when the dairying bug hit at age 26. “I guess I just wanted to be like my dad,” he said.

He and wife Jan started in 1984 with 12 Friesian cows on 64ha.

His mentor, Colacbased farm management consultant Kevin Maher, introduced him to the seasonal farming system.

“It made sense to me.

Seasonal farming is how we’re going to get the industry back on track,” Mr Hinkley said.

“To grow the industry we must get processors to pay farmers for making spring milk.

“The simple philosophy is calve them, join

WHO:

John Hinkley WHERE:

Elingamite WHAT:

Seasonal farming

them and dry them off.”

With a focus on profit over production, the system is working.

The Hinkley farm has consistently stuck with a single mid-May calving. “That is in synch with when the season starts.

It gives us the chance to set up the farm for the season.”

For three years in the mid-1990s the farm went away from its traditional calving time, moving to late June and feeding a lot

of grain.

“We got caught up in the production cycle. We still dried the cows off but the profit in those three years of chasing high production was the worst in our time of farming.”

Apart from that brief sojourn, profit takes precedent over production levels.

“You have to build a system with a certain level of returns and control the costs,” he said.

The farm moved to cross-breeds in 1995 after leasing more land.

“We realised we needed more cattle. Everything we could possibly get hold of we reared. By 2000 we realised the cross-breeds were far out-stripping the rest of the herd, in production, conception rates, toughness…every way.”

From 2000 the farm has used a New Zealand based animal because of the seasonality of their

The Hinkleys use a crossbred herd.

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John and Jan Hinkley started their dairy operation in 1984 with 12 friesian ows on 64ha.

system. “They are very strong seasonal farming enterprises over there. It has been fantastic for us.

We go on size, rather than an actual breed.”

The farm calves on a range of 450-500kg.

They use A.I. for six weeks and mop-up bulls for seven weeks. A conception rate of between 4 and 8% not in calf is testimony to the farm’s success. “If you dry off, it will breed fertility into your system,” Mr Hinkley said.

The farm uses LIC genetic products to assist the process, chosen because LIC has a seasonal calving system.

While he concedes his stocking rate of .65 per cow per hectare and production rate of around 400 kg/MS seems low in today’s farming environment, however when the industry was struggling in recent years the farm John Hinkley has never waivered from his belief in lowrisk, seasonal farming.

retained a return to capital of 8%.

“That is because of lowrisk, seasonal farming.”

The cows consume 90-95% home-grown feed.

“Fully feeding cows off home-grown pasture is the optimum of our operation.”

The farm uses only 400-500kg of supplements per year, which is part of the low-risk strategy.

“Why should farming be any different to any other industry when it comes to minimising risk?

You enjoy it much more when you take risk out of it.”

Dry seasons don’t worry him; in fact he sees opportunities and positives among the challenges.

“You dry your cows off 10 days earlier and you set your next year up…what’s wrong with that?”

The farm achieved

record production two years ago when many farms were struggling.

“We set next October up in the previous October. We work out what we need to grow on farm and what our stocking rate needs to be, to minimise our risks going into summer.

“Banks like to know you’ve got risks under control and banks like profitable farms.”

The farm has an ongoing process of pasture improvement, keeping the “typical dairy country with loam and heavy soils and about 850mm of rain” in good shape. They try to dedicate about 10-15% of the farm to summer crops, a bit lower than industry standards but sufficient for their needs.

“We aim to be environmentally and economically sustainable farmers,” he said.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

BREEDING MANAGEMENT // 19

Push for herd data rewarded DAIRY FARMERS are

being asked to provide as much mating data as they can for inclusion in the April 2014 Australian Breeding Values (ABVs), to help improve fertility in the dairy industry.

The amount of fertility-related data contributed by dairy farmers to the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) has already increased significantly.

Between October and December 2013, dairy farmers submitted 858,110 mating records, of which 123,325 were from cows that had not previously been part of ABV calculations.

This is more than double the average increase over the last three years for the same period.

The increase follows a recent upgrade of one of the key herd management software packages used on dairy farms, Easy Dairy.

Dairy Futures CRC’s CEO, Dr David Nation, said this was an excellent start to a coordinated industry effort to boost dairy cattle fertility.

“Dairy farmers need breeding values in order to select for fertility, and breeding values are only reliable if they are based on plenty of good data,” he said.

“Improving dairy cattle fertility is one of the CRC’s key research focuses, and we know that a lot of quality fertility data is being lost. Farmers collect it for their own herd management, but it does not always flow from farms to data processing centres.”

The solution was a coordinated effort between Dairy Futures CRC, the ADHIS and a range of other parties to maximise the industry benefits from the work being done on farms.

Since early 2013, the project team has been working to identify and remedy barriers that prevent fertility data being included in breeding value

calculations.

Dr Nation said the upgrade by Easy Dairy was very timely and had produced immediate results.

“This recent boost in data is a very promising result from early adopters of the upgrade, and we hope to see even greater impact as more farmers get on board,” he said.

ADHIS extension and education manager, Michelle Axford encouraged farmers to ensure their data was included in Australian breeding value (ABV) calculations.

“We know there is a lot more quality data on farms that could be used to bring about faster genetic gain within herds,” she said.

“We’re asking farmers who use herd management software to check they are using the most recent version, and make sure they enter mating data by mid-February so it can be included in the April 2014 ABV calculations.

“We expect to see better fertility breeding values in April because more data is flowing.”

Dr Nation said the fertility data project was just one of a number of ways the CRC was working with other industry organisations to improve dairy cattle fertility.

“Earlier work has improved the fertility ABV by incorporating more fertility-related indicators into the calculation model.

This ongoing work with fertility data will unlock the benefits by channelling more data into the calculation.

“Collectively, we believe our fertility work will increase the six-week in-calf rate by 10% over time, which would return the fertility of the national dairy herd to levels not seen since the 1990s,” he said.

The research is being conducted by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victoria.

Dairy farmers submitted 858,110 mating records between October and December 2013.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

20 // MANAGEMENT

Change of diet improves profit at Jaspers Bush Justin Walsh with his show cows at International Dairy Week.

NSW DAIRY farmer Justin Walsh has

changed the diet of his herd in recent months, increasing production and improving his profitability.

Justin is the co-manager, with his father Colin, of the 200 hectare family farm at Jaspers Brush, near Berry, where they are milking 220 head, with hopes to increase numbers.

The herd comprises 95% Holsteins with some Jerseys, and Justin also manages the Waljasper Holstein Stud.

The Walshes had always used pellets in the dairy but Justin said the cost was preventing them from expanding their herd.

“Whichever way we looked at it, we knew pellets were the biggest cost,” he said. “We used pellets because it was convenient and we didn’t want the extra work associated with traditional feed mills.

“We spoke too many of our industry contacts and one in particular suggested that a fully automated system with almost no extra work from Skiold & VMS might be worth looking at.”

After speaking with Martin Liese of Skiold & VMS, based in Jimboomba, Queensland, they purchased a complete Skiold Flex Mix plant including a Skiold disc mill two months ago. Skiold & VMS also did the complete installation.

“I was impressed with the level of expertise Skiold & VMS offered throughout the design, sales and installation of the feed mill.”

It has increased their versatility,

“If I want to milk up to 500 cows down the track, I don’t need to spend more.

It’s ready to go,” Justin said.

The switch from pellets to grain is saving an estimated $200 a day and the mill and associated equipment, including silo and auger, will pay for itself in 18 months.

With these savings, Justin is already thinking of the day they replace their old 18-a-side swing-

WHO:

Justin Walsh WHERE:

Jaspers Brush, near Berry WHAT:

Change of diet

opening up many feeding options.

“There are very few things we can’t feed cows now. We can adjust to whatever is most cost effective,” Justin said.

“We are feeding barley, wheat and canola at the moment – that is the base of the ration. We might do corn and lupins if they get cheaper as well as anything else that might suit.”

The rule of thumb at the moment is 40% wheat, 40% barley, 10% canola then additives. He was surprised at how his herd adjusted from pellets to 100% grain.

“The odd girl was a bit fussy but there was no real problem.

“Our milk production has gone up because we have more milk producing ingredients in the mix. Our pellets contained 10-20% millrun but we can replace that with grain now.”

They grind and mix 1.6 tonnes a day, with cows fed 7.5 kg over the course of a

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day. The Skiold Flex Mix control system means no extra labour and will automatically produce the desired feed mix.

“The Flex Mix control also keeps records allowing us to know the quantity of ingredients we are using and what recipes we have made.”

The Walshes plan to have around 10-12 rations from baby calves right through to the milking herd. “When it comes to our show animals we can easily customise a diet for a particular individual or group with the touch of a button if needed.”

The mill will be set up to run on offpeak power.

The Skiold disc mill and flex mix control easily caters for their requirement of 600t of grain a year.

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The seasons continue to vary in the district, with two very wet winters followed by two extremely dry springs.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

MANAGEMENT // 21

Limit production losses with proper feed testing FARMERS ATTENDING International Dairy

Week were urged to properly test their supplementary feed sources to avoid compromising production.

Geraldine Perkins, from CRC AgriSolutions, told an industry information breakfast that not enough farmers were getting optimum value for their feed investment because they don’t feed test, and many that don’t test are taking an overlyoptimistic guess about their feed quality, or are incorrectly estimating dry matter percentages, which

can have a big impact on dry matter intake.

“There are more farmers who are testing their feed now than there were five years ago, but still not enough,” Mrs Perkins said.

It was important for industry service providers to encourage their clients to feed test.

“If you don’t do it you run the risk of compromising production,” she said.

“If you think your feed is better than it is, you’re not going to hit your milk production targets. The tests will help you to balance your rations more accu-

rately in order to achieve better results.

“At the end of the day, there’s no point kidding yourself; you need to know exactly what you’re getting so you can make decisions about adequate supplementation to achieve your desired energy and protein levels.”

She urged farmers to not necessarily purchase the cheapest feed options when buying in feed.

“Even if something looks expensive on a per tonne basis, it is important to break it down to a cents per megajoule or cents per unit of protein basis to

IN BRIEF Robotic dairy appointment IT IS HOPED a new robotic dairy appointment will drive the uptake of robotic dairy technologies across the industry.

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tion is funded by the DPI and will work closely with the University of Sydney, Dairy Australia and the Future Dairy project.

DPI manager dairy and intensive livestock industries, Tim Burfitt, said the new robotic dairy role will help the dairy industry tap into new technologies and improve the efficiency of their business.

understand the true feed value.”

Mrs Perkins added that feed found to be low grade could still be used on lower production cows or to supplement dry cows.

Feed Central Shepparton branch manager Kim Colwell said the information breakfast gave clients and the local farming community an opportunity to find out the latest details about feed testing and local production levels.

Ross Read, from Feed Central’s Shepparton branch, demonstrated the new NIR feed testing facility which is the only one of its type approved by leading international laboratory Dairy One for use in Australia.

This optical nearinfrared technology gives unmatched performance across the full wavelength range of 400 to 2500nm and tests for moisture, energy and protein, or more demanding parameters such as amino acids, ash or fibres, producing accurate results in less than a minute.

Geraldine Perkins of International Dairy Week

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

22 // MANAGEMENT

Measure so you can manage GEORGE REVELEY

I OFTEN hear farmers talk about more cows meaning more milk production, but although true sometimes, more commonly, a few less cows will make a farm more efficient and profitable.

The farm system will dictate the correct stocking rate, with it possible to have high and low profitability in all production systems.

But ultimately profitability is determined by the operator’s ability to achieve the planned combined result from efficient use of cows, feed and other farm resources.

Over the years, cows have become more efficient at using feed to make milk, to the extent where farmers actually need fewer cows every year for the existing feed resource.

This has been well demonstrated in a number of trials and in the demonstration at the Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF) in

New Zealand. It runs a pasture system with pasture baleage being the only supplement, where a significant drop in the herd size by 40 cows helped to facilitate an increase in milk production from 420kgms up to 485kgms/cow.

It also resulted in cash savings, as a smaller herd means fewer replacements and reduced costs for things like wintering, health and mating.

Clearly there are physical and biological limits to potential efficiency gains but every year farmers are making gains in the levels of production of both harvested pasture and production per cow.

Calculated example of fewer cows which are more efficient Let’s take a farm with 14,000kg pasture DM, reliably able to be eaten by the herd, and they purchase a further 2,500kgDM/ha as wintering and silage: Using the feed source above Table 1 shows how feed is much more profitably used

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at 3.15cows/ha than 3.53cows/ha assuming management is skilled enough and the overall environment is such that the production per cow can be achieved.

Table 2 represents the same total feed but with an average of 12.0MJME/ kgDM, showing the other key driver of stocking rate and profitability – feed quality.

Knowing how much feed is produced and consumed in a farm system and being able to manipulate the numbers around that are key to resetting and maintaining profitable farm systems as the costs of inputs and milk price change.

Simple recording and benchmarking tools provide farmes with the tools and background numbers needed to analyse and therefore predict with a greater degree of accuracy what will happen when changes are made to a farm feed supply or stocking rate.

As with anything in farming, the general rule is always to measure, so you can manage.

14,000 2,500 16,500

11.5

kgDM Pasture eaten/ha kgDM Supplement eaten/ha total eaten MJME/kgDM average

Table 1

kg ms/cow cows/ha ms/ha

360 3.53 1270

380 3.43 1302

400 3.33 1332

420 3.24 1360

440 3.15 1387

360 3.68 1325

380 3.57 1358

400 3.47 1390

420 3.38 1419

440 3.29 1447

Table 2

kg ms/cow cows/ha ms/ha

Body condition scoring made easy with new smart app DAIRY

AUSTRALIA has released a new smart phone app to help body condition score cows more effectively.

Designed in consultation with dairy farmers and advisors, the Cow Body Condition Scoring Tool app is easy to use featuring large graphics to help dairy farmers and advisors get a standardised measure of cows’ body energy and protein reserves at critical times of lactation.

Dairy Australia’s Feedbase program manager, John Evans, said the app will help farmers working with seasonal and split calving herds take greater control over their herd’s feeding.

“The app has been designed to make the body condition scoring process easier so farmers can realise the benefits in their herd’s reproductive performance and milk production.

“In the past farmers and advisors would have referred to photos in books such as the Condition Magician. This app uses the same simple scoring method using the graphics and the touch screen and

it takes only seconds to score each cow,” he said.

The app also features three scoring methods that are also available to suit beginners, intermediate and advance users so anyone is able to use it, Dr Evans said.

Herd results are provided instantly after each scoring event with suggested actions to consider. A results summary including a graph can then be emailed as a permanent record.

Tasmanian-based herd nutrition advisor, Pip Gale, of Vanguard Nutrition, said the app will make the recording process easier for farmers and the high quality of reporting would be of great value.

“The great thing about the app is that you can take it anywhere, anyone can use it and you can circulate the information on the spot,” Mr Gale said.

“It’s often the case that you are out in the paddock with your pen and paper and you are trying to record your BCS average by hand so the app makes the process easier that way. Sometimes you lose the piece of paper so to have a perma-

Pip Gale with the body condition soaring app.

nent record saved on the phone for next time that you can immediately compare with is very handy.”

Farm stakeholders such as vets and farm owners could also be kept up-to-date as the results summary could be emailed. As the results were also offered in graph form they were also easier to interpret, Mr Gale said.

The app is available for both

Android smart phones and iPhone.

To download the app visit www. dairyaustralia.com.au/BCS for a direct link or visit the Google Play or iTunes Apple store.

For farmers who don’t have a smartphone Dairy Australia has also created a new BCS handbook and recording sheets that will be available from the Dairy Australia website.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

MANAGEMENT // 23

Hay weight competition exposes poor judgment FRANK MICKAN

A HAY WEIGHT and quality estimating competition held during the South Gippsland Dairy Expo last year showed some very interesting, but not surprising results.

The results reinforce the importance of weighing hay bales so that farmers do not over-feed their animals, leading to needlessly wasted hay, or do not under-feed, causing lost production (milk or weight) and overgrazed pastures.

The competition also showed that simply looking at a bale of hay is not necessarily a sound way to estimate fodder quality.

Anyone who is purchasing hay (or silage) should seriously consider investing in a feed test and having the quality analysed before doing a deal.

Over the two days of the Dairy Expo, 125 people had a crack at estimating the fresh weight of a large square bale (240 x 122 x 87cm, ie 8’ x 4’ x 3’ bale size) of lucerne hay and a round bale (145 x 144cm, ie 5’ x 4’) of pasture hay.

Before being transported to the Expo the bales were weighed dry at the DEPI Ellinbank Centre, to the nearest kilogram.

The estimations, and obviously “guesstimations” in some cases, ranged widely. Many people estimating weight and estimating hay quality perhaps should have been a lot more accurate than they were.

The actual weight of the lucerne bale was 627kg but weight estimations ranged from 150kg to 2145kg, and the average estimated weight was 717kg. When the outlying six estimates which were under 300kg and four that were over 1500kg are excluded, the average estimated weight was 707kg, which is still way over the actual weight.

The actual weight of the round pasture bale was 415kg and the average of the estimated weights was 429kg. Not too bad, eh? Well, the estimated

weights actually ranged from 124kg to 1650kg. Now that’s shabby. Only 36% of estimates were within 50kg of the actual weight of 415kg, of which two thirds underestimated the weight.

If hay was bought or sold solely on an estimated weight per bale basis, the load of hay will have been very prohibitively expensive or ridiculously cheap.

If we don’t have reasonably accurate weights for the hay bales being fed out, farmers could be overor under-feeding animals.

Over feeding is usually easy to see but under-feeding is often not so obvious and either can have a large impact of your animal’s daily intake and resultant production, and needless expense due to waste.

To pick the winners of the hay quality estimation we assessed both the megajoules of metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter (MJ ME/kg DM) and per cent of crude protein (CP) for the closest nutritive values. These are the most important components of feeds, but this is not to undermine the importance of the per cent value of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) as also being very important.

On the quality front, the round bale of pasture hay tested at 9.6 ME, 10.8% CP and 62.3% NDF. The average estimated quality values for the pasture round bale ranged from 6.7 to 11.0 ME, 4.6 to 16.5% CP and 53 to 80% NDF (with estimated averages being 9.0, 10.9 and 59.6 respectively).

The large square lucerne bale tested at 9.4 ME, 21.8% CP and 41.2% NDF. The range of estimates from contestants was 9.0 to 17.5 ME, 10.2 to 28% CP and 30 to 80% NDF, (with estimated averages being 12.1, 20.2 and 52.9 respectively).

Unfortunately, only 15 people attempted estimating the nutritive value of the large square bale and only 10 for the round bale. However, during some conversations I found many folk do not

have a good handle on the nutritive value of fodders that are being fed.

Even more worrying, was that even though many people understood the importance of crude protein and what that term meant, many did not know what metabolisable energy (ME) or neutral detergent fibre (NDF) stood for, much less what

they meant when used to describe quality of feeds.

These are the basic terms used to describe the nutritive value of all feeds being offered to animals and understanding these terms is the guts between knowing when an animal is being fed for high, medium low production, or not even fed enough to prevent weight loss. With

the cost/price squeeze continually happening over the long term, farmers need to know and be able to use this information to help to stay ahead of the game.

• Frank Mickan is with DEPI, Ellinbank.

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24 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Fine-tuning heat protocols RICK BAYNE

IF YOU think it has been

hot out on the farm... you’re right.

Bureau of Meteorology figures show 2013 was the hottest year on record.

The average temperatures were 1.20°C above the long-term average of 21.8°C, breaking the previous record set in 2005 by 0.17°C. All states and territories recorded above average temperatures and Australian temperatures have warmed about 1°C since 1950.

This year is off to another scorcher with successive days over 40°C across the country.

The increasing temperatures, higher humidity and more back-to-back days of excessive heat are putting more strain on farmers to ensure their herds don’t suffer heatrelated illnesses.

At the same time farm-

and using fans to create air ers are being advised to movement. ensure cooling measures Dr Rod Dyson, princidon’t inflame mastitis pal veterinary consultant problems. and team leader at Dairy Dairy Australia’s Cool Focus in northern VictoCows website outlines ria, said that while these various strategies to help measures are essential, cows cope with the heat. they also increase the risk These include providing of mastitis. shade in paddocks, bringDr Dyson said the use ing cows to a shade shed of shade and sprinklers are prior to milking, sprinvital to keep cows alive as kling cows, ensuring they the region reghave ready ularly copes access to “Cows are with up to five cool drink- particularly ing water susceptible to back-to-back days of temperand ensuring humidity and atures above they have adequate while shade 40°C. “It is a priminerals in is a priority, ority for farmtheir diet. airflow ers to deal with As conis often the heat stress ditions worsen, overlooked.” but they should think about these measures can be ramped up to how they do it and take precautions to reduce the include morning and everisk of mastitis,” he said. ning sprinklings, keeping Dr Dyson said factors cows in a close paddock so they don’t have to walk too leading to increased masfar, changing milking time titis risk included contamination of the teat to later in the day, feedwith bacteria-laden mateing higher quality forage

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rial from cows congregating in small shaded areas, the condition of the teat end and orifice, and milking practices such as sprinkling which leads to wet teats and higher risk of bacteria.

However, farmers can make simple adjustments to reduce the risks.

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trough 50m down a laneway they will defecate less in the shaded area, and you could also consider if the cows need to stay overnight in the same area,” Dr Dyson said.

“If possible, farmers should manage the environment by grading and scraping the area to avoid mud, faeces and urine getting on the teat.”

He suggested a timed on-off sprinkler system.

“That will use less water, provide better cooling, reduce the risk of excessive water over the teat, and the water is less likely to contaminate teats.”

Dr Dyson recommended introducing either a wash and dry program, or just a drying program for wet teats prior to cups on during hot days, to substantially reduce bacteria on teats.

Farmers should also be careful with use of sprinklers after cups-off.

“Ensuring optimal

milking conditions, minimising over-milking and maximising post-milking teat disinfection will reduce the risks,” he said.

Dr Bob Rheinberger, from Ironmines Veterinary Clinic in Mittagong NSW, said farmers should use their “cow sense” in monitoring stock.

“It has been hot but we haven’t seen severe heat stress this summer, mainly because we’ve had cooler nights and breaks in extreme temperatures which have helped them to drop their core temperature,” Dr Rheinberger said.

“Farmers generally act responsibly in monitoring their stock.”

Dr Rheinberger said increased humidity and persistent long-term heat could be dangerous for cows and farmers should watch for warning signs such as increasing respiratory rates and drooling in their cows.

There are several

techniques that can be employed to reduce core temperature and prevent heat stress.

Dr Rheinberger suggested ensuring cows are in paddocks with shade on extreme days if possible, adding shade cloth on dairy yards and using sprinklers to keep them cool.

“A lot of farmers don’t sprinkle their cows with water in the morning because they seem cooler, but I would encourage them to do that if it is going to be an extremely hot day,” he said.

“It might also help to have fans in the dairy yards to keep them cool after using the sprinklers.

There is a concern in feedlots that just wetting the cows could add to the humidity.”

However, Dr Rheinberger warned farmers not to let the TO PAGE 26

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

ANIMAL HEALTH // 25

Reduce the risk of botulism HAPPY NEW Year to all

the readers of Dairy News Australia. I hope you all had a safe Christmas break, and as I write this, the kids are starting back at school eager to engulf themselves in a new year also.

I also wake up each morning and look enviously across the road at my neighbours growing maize crop. It really is a beautiful thing to see.

What it reminds me of though is that I need to write this month’s article about the risk of botulism in silage.

Botulism is a potentially devastating disease caused by the toxins produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum.

The bacteria survive in the environment as a very resistant spore form, and when the right conditions occur, the vegetative (growing) organism multiplies and produces toxin.

The most common toxins we observe causing disease in cattle are the type C and type D toxin and these have been responsible for some very severe outbreaks and some monumental losses of both milk production and livestock.

The botulinum toxin type A is better known as Botox, and is used to smooth the wrinkles on the faces of everyone from housewives to Hollywood stars. The way it stops wrinkles is basically by paralysing the muscles that cause frown lines to form, and when a cow consumes sufficient botulinum toxin it acts the same way, but it will paralyse the muscles associated with swallowing. A cow that cannot swallow will quickly become dehydrated and will die. The toxin has no specific antidote, and only long term intensive nursing care can save but a few affected animals. Most affected animals are best humanely destroyed to prevent suffering.

Silage, whether pit or round bale, is a common source of botulism. This may occur because the silage is poorly made allowing large numbers of the bacteria to reproduce and make toxin in the spoilt, rotting vegetable matter, but a more common way for botulism

ANIMAL HEALTH ROB BONANNO to occur is for snakes or other reptiles, carcasses of mice, rats, foxes or other dead animals, or even poultry litter to contaminate the silage.

Often, when feeding silage out in rings or fed out in the paddock, if the feed is spoiled, cattle will refuse that part of the silage or only a handful of animals will be exposed to the contaminated feed, reducing the risk of widespread disease.

But when silage is fed out as part of a mixed ration using a feed mixing wagon, the contaminated silage is widely distributed throughout the feed, palatability issues are negated and many animals can become ill from only quite a small amount of contamination.

For this reason that I recommend that all producers who feed any amount of silage through a mixing wagon should vaccinate their entire herd on an annual basis, including any young stock.

For herds that do not feed silage at all, or don’t use a mixer wagon, their risk profile is lower to somewhat lower. I still would recommend vaccination in many of these herds as an insurance policy against the possibility of losses. It is this assessment of individual risk that each producer must make, best done in discussion with your dairy vet to determine whether vaccination is best. It forms part of a larger discussion regarding risk management, and because individual producers have different attitudes to risk, different cashflow situations etc, it is hard to make a one size fits all recommendation.

For some of my clients who have very high value individual cows, the loss of just one cow would cover the cost of many, many years of vaccination.

There are a number of vaccination options avail-

able, and it can be quite confusing what to recommend. Ironically, some of the very long-term vaccinations (which only need boosters every 2 or 3 years) actually require a consistent low level exposure to the toxin to maintain the long-term immunity. In low or very low risk herds, they may be an inappropriate vaccine choice.

This is one of the many reasons why you should

consult with your herd veterinarian when deciding on your vaccination program as they are the only animal health professional who can give you unbiased, scientifically sound advice to manage risk and ensure your herd’s future health.

• Rob Bonanno is a past president of the Australian Cattle Veterinarians Association and a Director of the Shepparton Veterinary Clinic.

Farmers must be especially careful of spoiled silage when using a feed mixing wagon.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

26 // ANIMAL HEALTH

Rising cell counts spell loss of profits ADRIAN JOE

ARE YOUR cell counts

increasing and above 100,000 and is your clinical mastitis above 10% of the herd for the whole year? If so, it will be costing you money.

The first step in managing mastitis is to assess what you are doing and critically examine control measures on your farm.

The most common form of transfer of bacteria from cow to cow is in the dairy shed when cups

are put on a cow, because the cups will contain bacteria from milking a previous cow that had clinical or subclinical mastitis.

Bacteria do not enter the teat straight away as it takes time to migrate from the sides of the teat down to the bottom and normally enters the teat canal between milkings.

Teat spraying has been shown to prevent this form of transfer and will reduce cell counts and clinical mastitis by 50%.

Yet poor teat spraying effectiveness would be the

Normal teat.

Rough teat.

most common problem I see when investigating mastitis problems.

In a survey of 200 mastitis problems, 35% of

farmers were achieving good coverage and 35% were using the correct dilution rate, but only 12% of the farmers had both

the coverage and dilution rate correct. This is despite all the communication and education on the importance of teat dis-

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infection as being probably the most important single step in a mastitis control programme.

The next most common issue is teat end damage. Bacteria that cause mastitis have to enter the udder through the teat canal and the cow is very reliant on the integrity of the teat end.

A beef cow rarely gets mastitis because her teat end is smooth and supple from suckling by calves.

A dairy cow is susceptible to mastitis and a major reason for this is teat end damage from machine milking.

Look at the teat ends of 50 cows and if more than 80% of the teats are not smooth and supple, and the teat opening undamaged, then you have a problem. There are many reasons for teat end damage. The machine settings or liner type may not be suitable for your herd or there may be over-milking causing excessive wear on the teat opening.

If there is teat damage then it would pay to have an assessment done as to possible causes, otherwise you will continue to get

new clinical infections and your cell counts will continue to rise.

Another important issue is cup slip. If a cup slips, air rushes in and blasts any infection in the cluster against and into the canals of the other teats. This results in transfer of bacteria into the teat during milking and teat spraying has no effect against this form of transfer. Common causes of cup slip include poor cluster alignment, unsuitable liners and vacuum too low.

The next thing to assess is how well cows are milked out. There should be wrinkles visible on the udder and you should not be able to strip more than 500ml of milk from the udder. There are multiple causes of poor milk-out, but the most common is cow discomfort due to teat damage.

Mastitis happens for a reason. Critically examining your situation is the first step in achieving 100,000 cell count and less than 10% clinical mastitis.

• Adrian Joe is a vet and mastitis consultant based in New Zealand.

Fine tuning heat protocols FROM PAGE 24

temperature of cows drop too fast on hot days. “We don’t see that very often, but is does create the risk of pneumonia,” he said.

Dr Rebel Skirving, from Gambier Vets in south-east South Australia, said access to shade was the most beneficial thing for hot cows but farmers should also use sprays, ensure cows are properly fed and have access to cool water, and have adequate airflow if possible.

“Cows are particularly susceptible to humidity and while shade is a priority, airflow is often overlooked,” Dr Skirving said.

Having enough trees for shade is important, but Dr Skirving said sheds with open air and cloth shades could be successful substitutes.

“Cows tend to eat less in the heat but their energy demands increase and so farmers should encourage extra feeding,” she added.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

ANIMAL HEALTH // 27

Magnesium deficiency can be a production thief before calving JO WRIGLEY

STAGGERS, GRASS

TETANY, hypomagnesaemia, magnesium downer cow: whatever you want to call it, if you don’t have the right program in place, some of your cows will die.

Magnesium deficiency can be a problem when soils are deficient, and by default the pastures will also be lacking. Coupled with cows calving in winter/spring, which is when the weather is cold and wet, the magnesium dietary deficiency is amplified because we can’t adequately get magnesium into our cows through some methods when climatic conditions turn sour.

The critical time for magnesium deficiency to be a production thief is just prior to calving, and then the fortnight after calving while the cow is in negative energy balance.

If she becomes a downer cow or is an induced cow, she can go down again any number of times while she still can’t physically eat enough to sustain her production. At calving, there is a huge demand for dietary magnesium because not only is magnesium diverted to

milk, but it’s required by muscles during birth, and it’s also required to aid in mobilising calcium stores from bones.

There is no denying that downer cows cost money.

Additionally, she will take up a place on the cull or a sale list when you may have other cows that were far more suitable candidates to exit the herd.

Best practice for supplementing magnesium is to alter your strategy to cater for your herd’s needs in accordance with the weather, and within your budget.

Therefore, well before your calves are due, talk to your veterinarian, farm consultant and magnesium supplier to devise a plan most likely to reduce the risk of downer cows on your property.

There are a number of methods that you can use, and it’s likely that achieving the least number of downer cows in a season will need to combine a few of the available methods. Identifying your atrisk cows in the herd is a good place to start. These are older cows and heifers, anything in light body condition, and any cow that has been a downer cow.

These ones you need to

watch, and they may well be among your top producers.

The susceptibility of your property to magnesium deficiency, the size of your herd, and the percentage of cows on your at-risk list, will guide you as to what supplementation methods will work best on your farm.

Improving your magnesium supplementation may reduce the risk of calcium deficiency (milk fever), but the two conditions are different. If cows are going down with milk fever, post-calving calcium supplementation will be required as well.

The common options for supplementing magnesium are: ■■ Dusting magnesium oxide is good and effective in fine weather, but can be hard on equipment and people ■■ Dosatron/Water system is good and effective in fine weather, though cows already magnesium-deficient tend to reduce the fluid intake, and may not drink enough to get appropriate supplementation ■■ Lick blocks are good and effective if the block is hard and can withstand rain, and you need to have enough of

■■

■■

■■

■■

■■

them near feed bins or water troughs so that all cows have access to them. Often they contain other minerals like copper and selenium, which support the immune system and good health at calving Magnesium in molasses is good and effective.

Molasses encourages consumption, and molasses is also a complement feed as it provides energy for rumen microbes to support their efficiency in feed utilisation. Using with a lick wheel to prevent gorging, or adding to supplement can be helpful Organic-farming magnesium recipes that also contain herbal remedies may help, but check the withholding periods of ingredients before use Feeding supplements that have high levels of magnesium, such as magnesium oxide that is either spread on, or mixed through silage Short acting drench – either a daily drench of oxide, perhaps mixed with other things, or a starter drench that contains magnesium and other useful nutrients Long-acting drench

Mastitis by numbers WHEN A bulk milk somatic

cell count is higher than it should be, the guess work often begins.

Farmers can now focus on managing mastitis at the cow level with the DeLaval Cell Counter (DCC), according to DeLaval marketing manager Rowena Harper.

The DCC is a portable instrument for testing milk samples that gives an accurate result within one minute.

It can also be operated during milking when you need the information the most.

Mick and Nicole Uebergang from Ayreford have now reduced their cell count to a current average of 91,000 where several years ago they found it difficult to stay in the premium milk band.

Simple strategies like testing every colostrum cow with the DCC before

putting her in the main herd, and repeat testing cows that weren’t low enough after another five days have made a big difference.

The Uebergangs said getting their cell count down “saved us a fortune in not only dollars, but time, frustration and stress”.

In Ecklin South, Alex Fulton has found that the DCC has improved

his overall herd and mastitis management program too.

“The results are available to us instantly and we can make direct individual or herd management decisions during the course of milking,” Mr Fulton said.

“We continually test cows throughout the season and it has taken a lot of the guesswork out.”

Mr Fulton has also reduced the amount of unnecessary culling of cows, because he is now dealing with facts.

“The DCC paid for itself within the first 12 months, and our cell count average has dropped to around 100,000 with much less work.”

By treating mastitic cows proactively, the cross infection rates are reduced too, further benefiting the herd’s somatic cell count.

Magnesium in molasses is good and effective for cows.

– using a magnesium pidolate drench (Moremag) that has a form of magnesium that can be stored, gives up to 10 days protection from magnesium deficiency.

This means they can

■■

be used either prior to calving, or as cows come into the colostrum mob.

Injectables are an effective treatment for downer cows, but be careful not to overdose

when using lots of bags, and follow the instructions for use. If the cow does not get up within the hour, call your veterinarian • Jo Wrigley is manager director of Dominion Health

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

28 // IRRIGATION

Moisture meters improve planting RELATIVELY-CHEAP SOIL moisture meters can make a big difference to the water use efficiency of irrigated forage crops.

Water meters were installed on dairy farms as part of a collaborative trial involving FutureDairy, NSW DPI and six Hunter Valley farmers.

Farmers involved in the trials used the moisture meters to guide their decisions about irrigating maize crops. They reported a number of benefits including the ability to plan watering schedules several days in advance, and greater confidence in irrigation decisions.

The study revealed that waterlogging occurred at critical crop times.

The Department of Primary Industries collected and analysed soil moisture records from the participating farms.

It expected to find that under-watering and moisture stress were limiting crop yields but it also discovered that over-watering was an issue at times.

Waterlogging tended to occur when irrigation was followed a few days later by unexpected rain, particularly storms.

When irrigating with a centre pivot it can be tempting to apply small amounts of water frequently to keep paddocks at, or above, field capacity.

The risk is that there is no ‘free board’ capacity in the case of rain, so

Dairy farmers are starting to use relatively cheap soil moisture meters to guide their decisions about irrigation timing.

water-logging occurs.

With a moisture meter farmers can confidently allow the soil to dry towards 50% of readily available water (RAW) before the next irrigation, leaving some capacity for rain to be absorbed and reducing water logging.

Assoc Professor Garcia said irrigation timing wasn’t a simple decision.

“It’s a trade-off between the crops’ needs, water availability, expected rainfall, labour availability and cost,” he said.

FutureDairy research has identified the two most crucial times when irri-

gation affects maize yields: crop establishment (up to when six leaves are fully developed), and around tasselling.

“Water availability is important at crop establishment, but it is crucial between pre-tasselling and about three weeks after.

“So if you have limited water, the best way to use it is to fully irrigate the crop when it is around the tasselling stage – two weeks before and two weeks after.

“This is a better option than underirrigation across the whole season.”

Automation saves cost, labour Latest valves A

STRONG agronomic and engineering background has led Melbourne-based irrigation systems specialist, Mait Industries, to develop innovative monitoring and control solutions to assist dairy farmers to improve water management practices.

Mait’s flagship technology is called Intellitrol, an integrated monitoring and irrigation-control system which readily interfaces with a wide range of sensor technologies to provide a convenient automated system to save time and money and increase water-use efficiency.

The development of the system was guided by what customers told Mait Industries that they wanted to know and to be able to do with their irrigation.

No two farming operations are exactly the same; there will be differences in soil type, topography and microclimates, land size, as well as differing crop requirements.

So Mait Industries designed a solution that uniquely fits the particular dairy farm needs.

Intellitrol’s scalability is a key to its popularity and cost-effectiveness across a diverse range of farming enterprises. Its open framework allows the system to grow and evolve over time as needs change.

For instance, it can start off as one sensor and a base station, with sensors and control apparatus added over time to evolve into a totally automated system across the whole farm.

With flood irrigation, Intellitrol eliminates the need to get up through the night to open and shut gates or bay outlets to water the

improve efficiency THE LATEST range of

paddock bays. Automated watering can be programmed at the PC in a matter of minutes to save time and labour.

Mait Industries have developed a raft of innovative hardware, software and firmware that include Intelliweb (web-based data collection and control) and software, such as Intelligraph and Intellipump.

Tel. 1300 739 920

TG DRAINS

AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE CONTRACTORS INSTALLATION OF SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE: PREVENTS WATERLOGGING IMPROVES PASTURE CONTROLS SALINITY MACHINERY IS FULLY LASER CONTROLLED ALL DRAINS ARE GPS MAPPED FOR FUTURE REFERENCE ALSO INSTALLATION OF OPEN ‘V’ OR SPOON DRAINS AND MOLE DRAINAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT: WWW.TGDRAINS.COM.AU

TIM BEETS: 0409 115 474

valves from irrigation company, Netafim, promises increased efficiencies for operators.

The company launched a new generation of cast iron, chemically-resistant polypropylene and plastic valves last year, available in a range of sizes and configurations for irrigation and industrial markets.

Netafim Valve product manager Peter Sullivan said the valves, which replaced the company’s Raphael range, incorporated latest advances in technology to create an extremely efficient valve.

Mr Sullivan said all valves featured lower opening pressures, which would help to reduce energy costs.

“Operating pressures start from just 0.3-0.4 Bar,’’ he said.

“The valves offer high flow range capability and low head loss.’’

Mr Sullivan said an innovative internal body design also provided for extremely fast valve responses.

Other features included ease of connection, a long neck body to the flange, which aids easy assembly and installation, and the valves can be used with a full range of threaded and Victaulic end connections.

There is also a full range of plastic and metal pilots, solenoids and accessories to suit a wide

Netafim Valve product manager Peter Sullivan and chief valve assembly technician Alex Lakous pictured overlooking the new valve assemblies.

range of configurations.

Netafim’s plastic valves come with a universal flange, allowing easy connection to different flanged tables.

Cast iron valves suit standard Table D flanges, but can be supplied in other valve configurations upon request.

“There is capability to self-configure the valves to specific requirements.

They can be hard plumbed in copper and stainless steel upon request,’’ Mr Sullivan said.

The new generation of Netafim valves are manufactured to ISO 9001 international standards.

The cast iron valves are rated to PN16, the plastic valves to PN10 and the polypropylene valves to PN8.

Tel. (03) 8331 6500

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

IRRIGATION // 29

Drainage system boosts productivity sively in terms of getting the most out of our fertiliser and the most out of our paddocks.”

In consultation with Tim Beets from TG Drains, the farm’s extensive drainage system has

RICK BAYNE

SIMPSON, ACCORDING to brothers Alex and

Robert Robertson, is “like God’s country” when it comes to dairy farming.

Blessed with good sandy soils and excellent regular rainfall, the southwest Victorian region is prime dairying land, but even ‘God’s Country’ needs a bit of help from time to time.

With annual rainfall of 900-1000mm or more, the Robertson’s 263ha farm was prone to pugging in the wet season and a lack of water during the dry period.

However, a constantly expanding drainage system that now covers about 35% of the farm has eased those problems, making the farm more accessible, more consistent and more productive.

It has also allowed the Robertsons to expand from 330 to 720 Friesian cows within a decade.

“We’re in a really green belt,” Alex said. “They call it God’s country. We only need a sniff of rain and we’ll be off.”

The drainage, installed

by TG Drains, is well suited to the sandy land.

“The land is what makes the drainage a winner,” Alex said.

been expanding over the past decade.

“We wanted to run more cows per acre, be able to do silage when we want, fertilise when we want, grow more grass, have paddocks recover

and have access to refill the stock water dams quicker,” Robert said.

The system has worked – cow numbers have doubled and they successfully maintain a stocking rate of TO PAGE 30

Robert and Alex Robertson.

WHO:

Alex and Robert Robertson WHERE:

Simpson WHAT:

Drainage system

The brothers farm with Robert’s wife Carol and their mother Bev plus three staff. Their father Ian bought the farm in 1981, which was one of the last farms established in the soldier settlement area.

They also have a 161ha farm at Swan Marsh and are adding a 44ha property across the road from the home farm, which will be ready to go when an underpass is completed.

After running a contracting business, Alex returned to the farm about a decade ago after the death of their father.

Milk production has been climbing consistently in recent years after the farm called in support from agronomists, nutritionists and the drainage system.

“We feed pretty heavily and farm fairly aggres-

“We now have faster flow, with all the convenience of automation.

What used to take four and a half days now takes 22 hours.”

Stephen and Lisa Cox, Yalca, VIC

Stephen and Lisa Cox milk 700 cows, and they installed the software, I had a one when they pulled out their gravity-fed hour lesson and I was ready to go.” arrangement to install a comprehensive pipe and riser system, they needed to Mait Industries provides innovative efficiently control the watering to each monitoring and irrigation of their flood bays at the right time. control solutions for dairying.

Their radio-controlled ‘iNTELLiTROL’ With extensive agronomic and electronics and software system engineering expertise, we can from Mait Industries controls the assist farmers to improve water two pumps and 91 risers. The risers management practices. are fully automated, individually To find out how ‘iNTELLiTROL’ programmed and supply to individual irrigation solutions can save you flood bays, with a sotlar panel to time and money, and increase provide power for every three risers. water use efficiency, contact Lisa programs the times for each pump Mait Industries on 1300 739 920 or to start, and which risers to operate, call Dean Taylor on 0428 994 716 either individually or as part of a designated group. “We looked at three systems. There was nothing that the others offered that Mait didn’t, for about half the price. It was so simple to follow,

www.mait.com.au

Alex Robertson on his Simpson property.

MI11411_280x 187_DN.indd 1

3/02/14 7:41 PM

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

30 // IRRIGATION Robert and Alex Robertson

Drainage system boosts productivity FROM PAGE 29

about 3-4 cows per hectare.

While they admit drainage might look expensive, they say it has been a good investment. “It pays for itself as you go along. You

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

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

BOOKING DEADLINE: February 26 MATERIAL DEADLINE: March 4 PUBLISHED: March 11 CONTACT: CHRIS DINGLE T: 0417 735 001 E: chris@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

keep finding new spots to do and you keep doing more and so you grow more grass,” Alex said.

They estimate their grass growth has doubled over the past decade.

“We wouldn’t have

been able to have these cow numbers without it.”

Another benefit is filling dams over summer.

“Last year we had a dry autumn but because we’ve got the pipes leading down to our stock water dam, as soon as you get a bit of run-off it starts running into the dam. That was an unexpected benefit,” Robert said.

After flooding a few years ago, they decided to add more pipes to slow the rush into dams. “As a consequence, it helps regulate flow going down the creeks; it also fills the stock dam and makes the paddocks dry,” Alex said.

“Now it doesn’t bog up.”

Before the drainage system was installed, boggy paddocks were a regular problem. “You’d put on the spring application and leave wheel marks you could lie in,” Robert said.

“Now we can get around the paddocks, don’t have cows covered in mud, and we can fertilise when we want.”

“It has made it more manageable,” Alex added.

The farm previously calved all year but over recent times has concentrated on calving three times a year because, as Alex puts it, “it pays well”.

The farm has two dams

and an effluent pond which is recycled out to irrigate paddocks, particularly for summer crops.

“We look at it as a necessity,” Alex said. “We’ve got so many cows and so much effluent that we have to dispose of it properly.”

Robert adds it can be used as irrigation on drained paddocks without fear of bogging them.

“We don’t have to re-sow as much because we’re not bogging the paddocks as much. It enables us to cut more silage and when we want to do it.”

They cut between 750 and 1000 dry tonne of silage off the home farm.

They say that the drainage system has allowed the farm to “become more consistent”.

With about 35% of the farm covered by drainage, the Robertsons have no specific plans for future drainage scheme but will continue with the scheme where it is most needed and on their new out-paddock.

“We’ll just do it where it is needed, usually on the wettest parts of the farm and work our way around,” Robert said.

“We’re lucky that we have a 400mm sandy top soil and we can regulate the level of water by using those pipes.”

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 31

Forage wagon fits best A PRIME exam-

ple of the importance of a strong relationship between a machinery dealer and their customer is obvious in the dealings of John and Cherie Gardiner of ‘Avonlea’ at Cardinia, on WORKING CLOTHES the south-east outskirts CHRIS DINGLE of Melbourne. look far to purchase They have a purposetheir McIntosh Multibuilt covered feed shed, crop 900 forage wagon which can hold about 240 through dealer principal cows, just beyond the holding yards for the dairy. Alan Slater at Claas Harvest Centre in nearby WarSo some years ago they ragul. moved away from round “We’ve known Alan bales into more pit silage and needed a feed-out cart since he was a boy when we sold cows to his father. to make it easier in the He is straight up and down feed shed. and tells it as it is. We “We didn’t want to go knew he wouldn’t give us a down the path of a feed mixer”, explained Mr Gar- bad steer.”

The Gardiners built a diner, “we would have new milking shed on this needed an extra tractor 170ha (420 acres) propand there is more time erty in 2011 to replace an involved in mixing.” old herringbone set-up, They didn’t have to

WHO:

John and Cherie Gardiner WHERE:

Cardinia WHAT:

Forage wagon

in preparation for moving from their Five Ways farm when it was sold for turf farming. They had already purchased the property a few years previously to run their dry cows on.

They started milking in February 2012 on a 40 unit rotary and are milking 200 cows at present, all year round, with a total of 260 on the place.

John has been milking TO PAGE 32

John Gardiner with his McIntosh Multicrop 900 forage wagon.

Strength / Quality / Performance

titan Series 7.8 - 25m3 The Titan Series Forage Wagons are built for the serious farmer.

Heavy-duty 13mm floor and elevator chains and larger diameter sprockets are designed to handle larger and heavier volumes of material with ease.

Larger floor and elevator shafts and bigger gearboxes give trouble-free operation and extended service life, with less time needed adjusting chains.

For More inForMation contact

www.mcintosh.net.nz

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

32 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Forage wagon fits best

Total solutions for dairying gea farm tech 39x2

FROM PAGE 31

cows since he left school.

His parents, Harley and Valmai, had run their Avonlea Holstein stud since 1948. The stud is a prominent one and John says that he is breeding functional animals, “because farmers want trouble-free cows”.

They calve all year round, using AI with a well-bred bull to mop up.

“We know our cow families very well, some go back to 1948, and we breed with what we see,” he said.

The McIntosh forage wagon was built in New Zealand with a capac-

Milfos has a complete range of highly efficient milking systems. Each system is designed to suit a number of stalling packages so you have the flexibility to build the best solution to suit your needs.

ity of 14.3 cubic metres with tandem axles. It certainly comes across as a robust and rugged unit.

It is pulled by a five year old Claas 510 tractor and Mr Gardiner says it needs between 90 and 100 horsepower.

It has three floor chains in the main section and the belt cross conveyor, which slides out 200mm, drops the feed out on the right hand side into the feedpad. McIntosh says the elevator angle allows the front of the wagon to be fully loaded against, and will start every time without the need to back

John Gardiner on his Cardinia farm.

off the load.

Mr Gardiner said the feedpad is filled every day and they wanted to keep the operation as simple as possible. The wagon is only used in the feed shed and not in the paddocks to avoid wasted feed.

“Since we’ve been doing it this way, we’ve saved two tonnes of feed per day – and that is substantial.”

When we called in during late January, the feed was a mixture of pasture grass and maize and he said that they were feeding out between 2.2 and 2.4 tonnes each day.

“It depends on the time of year and that may double later.”

Mr Gardiner said they were looking at upgrading but the drop in the milk price in the last 12 months

and an extremely wet winter in Gippsland has put that off for a while. So the wagon had just been returned to work the week prior after an overhaul.

The rest of the machinery on ‘Avonlea’ reflects their loyalty to the Claas Harvest Centre.

It includes a Claas 630 tractor, a Claas baler, rake and tedder, and an Amazone power harrow.

The Houle directional manure spreader offers excellent manoeuvrability and control on all types of terrain. Its agility means less ground impact when turning and hydraulic power-steering and superior quality suspension provide overcome obstacles.

New Holland baler up to 20% higher capacity

WestfaliaSurge IQ Milking Clusters are the world’s first four-way teat clusters with revolutionary technology to ensure maximum milk quality, quantity and udder health.

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They provide faster milk out times, quieter operation, improved udder health, reliable performance and easy maintenance.

PART OF FOR MORE INFORMATION GEAs TOTAL CALL 1800 789 100 FOR SOLUTION THE NAME OF YOUR NEAREST DEALER. Email info.auft@gea.com www.gea-farmtechnologies.com.au

GE11482

Houle

Roll-Belt variable chamber round balers replace the BR7000 series and delivers capacity increases of up to 20% when compared to the previous BR7000 series, according to the company.

It is available in 1.5m and 1.8m maximum bale diameters.

The pick-up has been completely redesigned to boost capacity by up to 20% in silage.

The standard heavy-duty, five solid tine bar pick-up with reinforced rubber tines, which are 10% stiffer laterally and last five times longer, will maintain pick-up performance in difficult, uneven and stony terrain.

The new feed assist roll transfers the crop from the pick-up to the rotor while simultaneously merging the flow of the crop to ensure that it matches the exact width of the bale chamber.

To improve baling flexibility, owners can choose the SuperFeed standard rotor with New Holland’s ‘W’ pattern fingers.

The 455mm diameter rotor maintains high throughput of all crops.

The CropCutter model delivers the densest bales, with 15 integrated knives.

During tight baling windows, stopping to unblock clogged balers wastes valuable baling time.

After extensive consultation with farmers, New Holland has introduced ‘Drop Floor’ functionality.

Operated from the comfort of the cab, when large wedges of crop block the rotor, the floor is simply lowered to provide additional space in the feeding zone, and baling can continue.

The Roll-Belt baler features four 273mm wide belts to improve tracking performance.

The increased belt stability ensures a large contact area with the crop to improve both reliability and bale formation.

Constructed using ultra-modern endless belt technology, these

belts are much stronger as there are no joints.

Furthermore, the belts’ texture has been engineered by design to assist cleaning and to prevent clogged belts for efficient bale formation.

The addition of a second hydraulic density cylinder has increased bale density by up to 5% when compared to the BR7000.

The system which has a density cylinder on either side of the chamber provides improved density control, which is ideal for all operations, as uniformly denser bales improve the fermentation profile for more nutritious crops and storability.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 33

New level of bale density KRONE PRESENTS

a new generation of highcapacity square balers that take throughput and bale density to a new level with its Big Pack HDP II. The new Big Pack 1290HDP II – 4’ x 3’ baler comes in addition to the Big Pack High Speed range of large square balers that was introduced in 2013 with 1290 Standard and 1290HDP 4’ x 3’. Customers around Australia have confirmed very high throughput and density rates with their High Speed machines.

Krone said it introduced a new baler with eight knotters because of customer demand.

The company said the

new HDP II can bale 10% more dense bales or bales at the same bale weight but with even more productivity.

It also allows users that are chasing big weights in straw to add 10% more weight on top of that of current High Density balers allowing for constant straw bale weights between 500 and 600kg.

Contractors and farmers who currently run several balers can literally replace two balers with one, as the new HDP II pumps out up to 70% more bales an hour than the original 1290 HDP baler that was introduced in year 2005,

whilst not compromising on density in the process.

To enter this new dimension of performance, the machine incorporates a number of upgraded components, from the pick-up all the way down to the eight double knotters.

The flywheel now weighs 608kg and is backed up by an intermediate gearbox that increases its speed to 1,180rpm, boosting the

performance and keeping the input power low while ensuring quiet running.

The main gearbox is able to handle a power flow of up to 1,230KW (1,680hp).

The new Big Pack also features the Active Pickup, the crop press roller and the mechanical feed roller as standard specification.

The pick-up also handles extremely wide swaths and short and brittle crops.

The updated VFS

Variable Filling System has its three packer arms reinforced, and its feeder arm now receives larger cam rolls, a modification that increases the capacity of the feed chamber.

The packer elements themselves have been updated on the Big Pack HDP II (larger control arms, larger ball bearings, more tines on the feeder arm), which improves the crop flow and optimises

The new Krone balers can bale 10% denser.

the baler’s stability and operational dependability.

Six pressure rams operate the HDP II chamber doors, the top door being

operated by two 140mm rams and each of the two side doors by two 110mm rams.

Tel. 1800 334 653

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The new Lely Tigo PR loader and silage wagons.

Lely updates Tigo loader wagons LELY HAS further extended its loader wagon range with new Tigo PR loader and silage wagons, replacing the Tigo R Profi model.

There are three models in the in the Tigo PR range with capacities 31m3 to 41m3.

Lely Tigo PR wagons combine new features of the Tigo XR such as movable bulkhead with the capacity of the Tigo R Profi.

The maker cites the machines’ superior crop handling and chopping. The 25mm wide edges on the tines and the minimal space for the knives ensure good results. The feed channel behind the rotor is also much shorter than on earlier models, and this means the grass or other crop is pressed into the wagon faster with minimal contact between crop and steel.

Lely derived the concept for its Tigo PR loader and silage transport wagon from the Lely Tigo XR. The bulkhead design enables the user to transport 6m3 more crop above the shaft. This makes the unit shorter than comparable wagons with the same capacity. This bulkhead also distributes the weight so the wagon handles better on the road and has more manoeuvrability in the paddock.

The new chopping system has 40 knives and is easy to swing out using the tractor panel or two buttons on the left side of the wagon. Because of this, no tools are needed and no loose bolts are swinging about. The new central lock unlocks all knives at the same time. The knives can then be easily removed without tools.

Lely says the most critical time when unloading a silage wagon is the start because the whole load has to move. Depending on the model of the Tigo PR, the bulkhead takes 10-15% of the load with it. This means a lot less weight ends up on the bottom of the wagon so it takes pressure off the floor drive. As soon as the floor drive starts to move, the bulkhead, including the load, tilts backward, pushing on the whole load.

Aitchison uses the world renowned Aitchison inverted ‘T’ boot system mounted on a coil spring and disc coulter undercarriage.

Despite a sowing width of 4.8m the Aitchison 4132T MK2 can be comfortably towed by a 120hp tractor.

›› Excellent trash clearance

›› Direct drill into existing pasture

›› Straighter lines & unique Aitchison boot design

›› Direct drill into maize stubble

›› European airseeder technology

›› Able to drill in arable conditions

›› Transport width 2.75m

›› Better contour following abilities

›› Large capacity seed & fertiliser hoppers

›› Sowing width 4.8m

The Aitchison 4132T MK2 Airpro folds down to a narrow 2.75m transport width this together with large flotation tyres ensures easy and fast transport even over narrow farm roads or bridges.

SUPERIOR PASTURE DRILLS Contact your local Reese Agri Aitcheson dealer for details, or free phone 1800 140 196 Brendan Prentice 0400 540 300 www.reeseagri.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2014

34 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

Holden Colorado lifts its game ADAM FRICKER

HOLDEN HAS fettled

its offering in the competitive ute market, with good results. The big changes are to the drive chain (more power and more gears) and in the cabin (the new My Link entertainment unit).

First, the engine: for the automatic version the 2.8 litre Duramax engine gets 11% more power and 6% more torque, up from 132kW and 470Nm respectively to 147kW and 500Nm; the manual version gets the same increase in power, but torque remains at 440Nm. However, the

five-speed manual is replaced by a much more useful six speed and the engine modifications have improved the availability of torque across the rev range.

We drove the LTZ automatic model, which now gets more kit including rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and a

nifty chrome sports bar.

The extra torque is instantly noticeable and the LTZ felt grunty on the road and effortless off road. Torque is now readily available and the automatic no longer has to hunt through the gears to find it. Holden now rates the towing capacity at a class leading 3.5 tonne.

The chassis dynamics are not class leading – Ranger/ BT-50/ Amarok have moved the goalposts – but the Colorado has surpassed the big selling Hilux, for now. It is fine by

L A I C E P S T R O REP

Holden Colorado

ute standards though and is easy to live with as a daily drive. Loading the tray or towbar up, as its maker intended, settles the ride.

The entertainment system, dubbed My Link, is a well regarded unit now found in other Holdens such as the Commodore and Malibu. It is fitted standard on the LTZ, adding useable navigation and hands free for your phone to the Colorado.

It can also link to your smartphone’s full range

of functions, giving you access to all your favourite apps. Admittedly, extracting full value from that last feature in a truck was beyond us.

Overall though we found the upgraded Colorado a much better vehicle, offering plenty of power and features for the money. It is also a tough looking truck and in LTZ form with the 17 inch alloy wheels and chrome sports bar, it has more than a hint of American pick-up about it.

Monitoring water troughs from home MAINTAINING A reliable supply of stock drinking

NEXT ISSUE: MARCH FARM WORLD SHOW PREVIEW In the March issue of Dairy News we’ll be previewing Farm World. One of the largest field day events in Australia, Farm World attracts visitors from throughout Victoria, southeast of South Australia and Tasmania. It has grown to be Victoria’s largest regional agricultural event, attracting more the 650 exhibitors and 50,000 people through to Warragul between March 21st - 24th.

Farm World allows exhibitors to launch new products, generate sales and leads, highlight industry changes and provide an opportunity to develop and maintain contacts. Make sure farmers know where to find you at Farm World by advertising in our preview.

BOOKING DEADLINE: February 26 AD MATERIAL DEADLINE: March 4 PUBLISHED: March 11

CONTACT: CHRIS DINGLE | T: 0417 735 001 E: chris@dairynewsaustralia.com.au

water is made easier by a new wireless water monitoring system from Gallaghers.

The product accurately measures water levels in tanks or ponds and transmits this to a touchscreen display unit that can be mounted at, say, a house, farm dairy or implement shed.

Easy to operate and install, the system helps farmers keep track of water storage and highlights potential water problems before they get serious.

It’s a crisis averter, says Gallagher’s Mark Harris.

“As well as constantly measuring water levels in storage tanks and ponds around the farm, the wireless water monitoring system can also alert farmers to abnormal water loss caused by problems like broken water pipes or overflowing troughs.

“If the level in one or more tanks begins to decrease quickly then farmers know they have a problem.”

The system uses a high quality sensor to measure water pressure in the tank. Information from this sensor is transmitted via a solar-powered wireless communication unit, mounted on top of the tank, to a wallmounted or desktop touch screen display unit located up to 4km away.

“It’s a big time saver because you don’t have to physically visit the tank or pond.”

Up to nine tanks can be monitored by one display unit. The display features a 2.8inch colour touch screen and can store water level information to give the user a clear picture of historical tank levels over 30 days.

Optional equipment includes a wireless pump controller that allows the remote control of a pump to ensure water levels are maintained as required. A directional long range antenna is also available to increase the range of the signal up to 10 km. The system can also be used to monitor effluent ponds.

We also supply complete feed mills designed for the small or large dairy farmer so why not start milling your own grain today and benefit from the savings Need a new pencil or centreless auger we stock a large range of grain augering equipment at great prices

5 TRIPS TO BE WON!

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