ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 5 6 January 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy and funded by DPI and Dairy Australia February feed pad tours fter the wet season of 2010-11 and the continuing Arainy conditions, many Gippsland farmers are considering the addition of a feed pad to their farming system. A feed pad allows farm managers to keep cattle off very wet paddocks, assisting with soil and pasture management. Feed pads can also be beneficial in dry periods when pasture reserves are low. The decision to build a feed pad is not an easy one. In the last 15 years, parts of our region have seen only one very wet year and a couple of very dry years. Such infrastructure takes a great deal of planning and money. Often the best way to help with planning is to get out and learn from other farmers. The Future Ready Dairy Systems project is planning on helping with that, in South Gippsland, in February 2012. Two feed pad bus tours will be held and each will visit three for three farm visits. The bus will return to the Recreation Reserve farms to hear the story from the farmers who have been through no later than 3 pm. The same format will be run at Foster on the decision, the planning and the building of a feed pad. Thursday 16 February starting from the Foster Football Club Rooms. On Tuesday 7 February farmers are invited to come along to the Loch Recreation Reserve at 10.30am. Matt Harms will set the Bookings are essential – the sooner the better to Gillian Hayman, scene for the day and Barrie Bradshaw will cover effluent Dairying for Tomorrow Coordinator [email protected] or 0428 management issues with feed pad design before the bus departs 345 493. Innovation Doubles Milk Production airy farmers have remarkably more than doubled farms and infrastructure, including milking systems, have also Dmilk production over the last 30 years despite been important. challenging market, financial and climatic conditions. It is estimated that for every dollar of the combined investment by This has been achieved even with the industry using industry and government of $2 billion in RD&E, there has been a substantially less land and a similar total number of cows. benefit of at least $3.30. A farmers' direct contribution through the R&D levy is a moderate part of the total investment. their return Output per cow has nearly doubled and stocking rates per hectare on investment is therefore many times this. and output per hectare have increased dramatically. Production has increased by almost triple from 2,878 litres per hectare in 1980 to The lessons from the evaluation will help to inform future an estimated 8,419 litres per hectare in 2010. investment in on-farm RD&E projects. For more information including a summary, the full evaluation reports, as well as a brief These are some of the findings from an evaluation jointly economic history of Victoria’s dairy industry, please visit the DPIV commissioned by the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria (www.dpi.vic.gov.au) and DA (www.dairyaustralia.com.au) and Dairy Australia to determine the impact of government and websites. industry investment from pre- farm gate RD&E from 1980-2010. Research, development and extension (RD&E) was found to be a contact us major contributor to enable these improvements, particularly in This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be pasture management, supplementary feeding and improved cow added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more genetics. information or wish to make a comment, please contact kelly hughes, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2398 or [email protected] RD&E is estimated to account for almost half of total production Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee gains in Victoria’s dairy industry. Innovation by farmers and their that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information improved management capability, as well as economies of scale in in this publication.

For more information visit www.gippsdairy.com.au www.dairyextension.com.au There are so many ryegrass varieties out there – which one should I choose? his article is not designed to start a debate on which variety is best, Tbut to highlight some of the basic differences between varieties/ cultivars, to help with decision making. What is the difference between a diploid and a tetraploid variety? The difference between diploid and tetraploid ryegrass is the number of chromosomes per cell, which leads to some other features.

Diploid Tetraploid Plant characteristics: Plant characteristics: • Two sets of chromosomes per cell • four sets of chromosomes per cell What cannot be stressed enough is the • More tillers per plant • Increased cell size, therefore greater importance of grazing management for both • Higher DM content per kg as fed ratio of cell contents (soluble the establishment and persistence of your Management considerations: carbohydrates) to cell wall (fibre) – pasture sward. Regardless of the variety, • Suitable for drier conditions and lower larger leaves grazing management has the biggest impact fertility • Higher water quantity per cell on your pasture performance, which leads • Hardier in terms of coping better with • Increased palatability to cows intake, milk production and overgrazing and persistence Management considerations: ultimately profitability. To find out more • Suitable for high fertility and irrigation about getting the most from your pastures • Can be sensitive to overgrazing, join a Feeding Pastures For Profit (FPFP) leading to poor persistence program this year. See Coming Up for details. What is ryegrass endophyte? When choosing your ryegrass variety Endophyte is a naturally occurring microscopic fungus that lives inside ryegrass. It lives in understand what you are purchasing and harmony with the ryegrass plant. It can improve the ryegrass persistence and productivity know why you have made that decision! by producing toxins that protect the plant from predators. However, the toxins (alkaloids) produced by endophytes can cause animal health issues in livestock. For further advice in selecting a variety / cultivar that is suitable for your needs please Chemical Effect on insects Effect on animals contact your trusted agronomist, seed Peramine Deters insect pests, especially the None known retailer or consultant. feeding and the egg laying of Argentine For this article the following references Stem Weevil (ASW), a major pasture were used: www.sepwa.org.au/pastures/ pest in New Zealand comparison, www.stephenpastureseeds.com. Lolitrem B Deters ASW larvae feeding. Causes ryegrass staggers, a au, www.evergraze.com.au/ nervous disorder in animals. LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=23170, www. Ergovaline Provides resistance to Black Beetle, Affects temperature regulation, agricom.co.nz a major pasture pest in northern increasing respiration rates, Contact: Bree Walshe, DPI Maffra New Zealand especially in warm and humid conditions. In response, animals Australian Dairy Conference reduce intake. comes to Gippsland Ryegrass cultivars are now available with novel endophytes that may have little or no The Australian Dairy Conference will celebrate animal health problems. The table below lists some endophytes and their effects. Ask your its tenth year with what is expected to be its reseller for further information. biggest and best ever event to be held in Gippsland for the first time in the event’s Ryegrass endophytes and their effects on ryegrass persistence and livestock history. No endophyte Wild endophyte AR1 AR37 NEA2 Endo5 Conference in a nutshell Monday 20 February - Tour departing Persistence Lacks persistence Good Good* Good Good Good Melbourne for South Gippsland (a second bus Control pests No Varies with will leave from Traralgon). Both buses will wild type Yes** Yes Yes Yes return to Traralgon that evening. Tuesday 21 February - East Gippsland tour Causes staggers No Yes No Some has Very Very continues, returning to Warragul for the official been low low opening function and Tom Reid Oration at the observed risk risk Warragul Arts Centre *Persistence may be reduced by black beetle or root aphid when present. Wednesday 22 February - Conference Day 1 **No control of black beetle and root aphid. and Elanco BBQ dinner at Lardner Park, Warragul What is the difference between an annual, biennial and a perennial? Thursday 23 February - Conference Day 2 at Annual Biennial Perennial Lardner Park, followed by Rabobank Gala Dinner at Kernot Hall, Morwell As the name suggests, its A plant that can persists for By definition is a plant that Friday 24 February - Visit to Ellinbank Research life span is for one year. An two years. lives longer than two years. Centre followed by afternoon tour of local annual ryegrass seed has In terms of ryegrass it has farms and tour bus return to Melbourne awns. awnless seeds. The full program, conference registrations, The ryegrass performance, palatability, persistence and endophyte type are all cultivar and event sponsorship and exhibition prospectus or variety specific. For example ‘Victorian Rye’ is a perennial, diploid, wild type and a high are available at www.australiandairyconfer- ence.com.au, or phone conference managers endophyte ryegrass variety. Esther Price Promotions on 1800 177 636. 2 Gippsland farmers invited to dairy poll meetings ippsland dairy farmers “The committee provided a thorough approximately $0.0032 per litre of milk. review of industry needs and the activities This equates to approximately $3200 per Gare invited to participate of the levy spend by Dairy Australia,” Mr year for a farm producing 1 million litres of in a round of national forums Griffin said. He added: “Few other industry milk. decisions have been subject to such with Dairy Australia’s scrutiny. As chairman of the group, I Is there a need to change it? The current levy rate has not increased managing director Ian believe that the 10 per cent increase is since 1997. A 10 per cent increase in the necessary. I believe my fellow dairy Halliday discussing the Dairy current levy rate is considered necessary farmers will also see the need to maintain by the Dairy Levy Poll Advisory Committee Poll 2012. services at their current level.” to fund the current level of scope of Dairy Poll 2012 will give farmers a say in A 10 per cent increase is well below CPI services provided to the industry. how they will support their industry over and will be the first levy increase since the next five years. 1997. How much money is collected from the Levy? The poll will decide how much farmers will Mr Halliday said that he and the board fully Dairy Australia is primarily funded by the invest in industry activities, which currently supported the 10 per cent increase, Dairy Service Levy, which amounts to deliver more than $3 of benefits for each $1 although, there will be a need to draw down approximately $30.6 million per year. The spent. reserves to support the activities of Dairy Federal Government provides matching The hour-long forum, which includes a Australia over the next five years. payments (an average $17 million per year for the past eight years) for expenditure on light meal, will be attended by He said the dairy industry’s peak bodies – eligible research and development. An representatives from GippsDairy, Australian the Australian Dairy Industry Council, the independent assessment has estimated that Dairy Farmers (ADF) and the United ADF and the Australian Dairy Products farmers receive a benefit of $3 for each $1 Dairyfarmers of Victoria. Federation – had agreed to the Dairy invested by Dairy Australia. There will be five sessions in Gippsland Australia five-year strategic plan as part of including: the levy vote process. What does the Levy fund? As the national services body for the Leongatha: February 8, 11am at Mr Halliday highlighted the need for the Australian dairy industry, Dairy Australia Leongatha Community House, 16 Bruce dairy industry to invest in its future as it acts as the collective investment arm of the Street has done in the past. He said the 10 per industry. Dairy Australia is investing in Warragul: February 8, 7pm at Danny’s, cent increase proposal in Dairy Poll 2012 essential research and development, Logan Park, Howitt Street will achieve the results needed by the extension and industry services that Yarram: February 9, 11am, at Yarram industry. Country Club, 322-338 Commercial Road individual farmers and dairy companies Maffra: February 9, 7pm at Duart All dairy farmers will receive their voting cannot efficiently undertake themselves. Homestead. 20 McLean Street entitlements in December, followed by a The largest total investment is in direct Orbost: February 10, 11am at Orbost Golf voting pack containing their ballot paper in on-farm activities to improve margins and Club, Bonang Highway February 2012. Ballot papers must be productivity. These activities include returned by 16 March 2012. pasture productivity, cow productivity, Please RSVP to Pauline for catering by management of grains, farm systems and phoning 03 9694 6761 or emailing pzahra@ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS people. In addition to these pre-farm gate dairyaustralia.com.au When is the Dairy Poll? investments there are major investments in post farm gate areas such as trade reform, Each year dairy farmers’ contributions Farmers will be sent advice of their voting improvements to processing, and the (approximately $30.6 million per year) and entitlements in early December. The ballot pursuit of high value markets and products. government matching funds (approximately papers will be sent in early February when Detailed information on the programs and $17 million per year) provide a budget for the poll opens. The poll closes on 16 March services funded by your levy payments can Dairy Australia that is invested for the 2012 with counting to commence on the 19 be found at www.dairyaustralia.com.au. benefit of all levy payers. March 2012. What are the proposed Levy Poll Gippsland dairy farmer and ADF president Why do we need a Dairy Poll? options? Chris Griffin said it was essential to The federal legislation governing Dairy The industry led Dairy Levy Poll Advisory continue this scale of investment to provide Australia requires a levy poll to be Committee is in favour of providing three industry activities that will grow and conducted at least every five years. The last options, as was the case in the 2007 Levy provide future guaranteed success for the Dairy Poll was held in March 2007. Poll. dairy industry. Who is managing the Dairy Poll? Option A: a 15 per cent increase from the The Federal Government requires Dairy The Levy Poll process is led by the current $0.0032 per litre to $0.00368 per Australia to go to its farmer shareholders at Australian Dairy Industry Council as this is litre, which equates to an increase of about least every five years seeking their opinion an industry wide matter. Strategic direction $480 per 1 million litres of milk produced on the levy rate. is provided by the Dairy Levy Poll Advisory per year. Dairy Poll 2012 will offer three options for Committee, which comprises 20 members Option B: a 10 per cent increase from the farmers to vote on; (i) a 15 per cent who are representative of each dairy region current $0.0032 per litre to $0.00352 per increase of the levy, (ii) a 10 per cent and sector. The committee is chaired by litre, which equates to an increase of about increase of the levy or (iii) a no levy option. ADF President Chris Griffin. This group $320 per 1 million litres of milk produced guides/directs the Levy Poll working group per year. This is the recommended option. The options were decided upon by a Dairy in the implementation of the key Poll Advisory Committee chaired by Mr components of the levy poll process. Option C: to have a zero levy, which means Griffin. The members of the 20-strong Dairy Australia will cease to exist and there committee were drawn from all industry What is the current levy rate? would be no mechanism for the delivery of sectors and a wide cross section of dairy Levies are raised on the fat and protein the Australian Government’s matching farmers representing a range of views. content of milk. The current rate is funds. 3 Facing the facts about Facial Eczema Photo and Facial Eczema (FE) are the same thing aren’t or summer toppings of paspalum. This creates the favourite spore they? haunt – dead and decaying matter. No, let’s start off with establishing the differences between the Monitoring and Treatment two. Photosensitivity (photo), leading to sunburn, is a sign. Facial Managing FE and the associated liver damage is about being eczema is a disease of the liver of which photosensitivity is one proactive. Dairy Australia has funded a Sentinel Farm Surveillance sign. Photosensitivity commonly results from a diet rich in lush, Program for the 2012 FE season. Twenty-four farms across green grass or from liver disease. Gippsland will perform regular pasture spore counting with results To explain … Cows eat grass. Grass is green. The green is posted on the web. Connect via a link on www.dairyaustralia. chlorophyll which is converted in the rumen to phylloerythrin com.au. These results will give you an idea of conditions in your which is absorbed into the bloodstream and eliminated by the liver. locality and will be a guide to commencing pasture spore counting on your property. Too much green grass in the diet overloads the liver with phylloerythrin which is not fully removed from the bloodstream There is no cure for FE. Management options put in place and the blood level rises. If the liver is diseased and cannot remove before ingestion occurs are the best way to minimise impact on normal levels of phylloerythrin the amount also increases in the your herd. Key management strategies to combat this disease blood stream. With raised levels in the bloodstream, phylloerythrin include… gets into the skin where it reacts with ultraviolet rays from the sun 1. Avoid the toxin and causes sunburn. • Minimise the amount of dead and dying leaf litter as well as toppings. Thus, any reason for raised phylloerythrin levels in the blood • Carefully manage pre- and post-grazing heights to make sure the stream (a good green grassy spring or a liver that is diseased and cows are not eating into that last 25 mm. Closely monitor cows not performing efficiently) will lead to photosensitivity. eating into the pasture; hungry cows eating into the trash – Therefore, during spring it is common to note cows with photo. If toppings or decaying undergrowth. you run your hand across a cow’s back, you can feel a • During high risk periods use safer pastures (clovers, kikuyu, tall two-millimetre raised “edge” between the white and pigmented fescue, chicory). (red/brown/black) skin. • Feed low-risk forage crops. • Conduct your own spore counting to target dangerous pastures. What is Facial Eczema (FE or facial) To organise this for your own farm contact your vet for the cost, FE is not a skin disease. It is a liver disease. Dairy farmers and procedure and turn around time. advisers need to be aware that the major economic impact of FE is from sub-clinical liver damage. 2. Protect the animal with zinc if the toxin is ingested • Zinc needs to be in the diet two to three weeks before pastures The fungus Pithomyces chartarum is produced in the dead and become toxic. dying leaf litter of pasture. It’s spores are coated with the toxin • Protective blood zinc levels of between 20-35 µmol/litre is sporidesmin. FE occurs when cattle ingest the toxic spores from the achieved by daily dosing of 20 mg/kg liveweight of elemental pasture. The toxin is absorbed from the intestine and reaches the zinc. liver, where it causes severe damage, first to the bile ducts and • Discuss the various methods with your vet/nutritional adviser. then to the liver cells themselves. About 14 days after ingestion, Zinc supplements must only be fed where nutritional and or the signs of facial eczema appear. A symptom of FE is veterinarian advice has been sought. photosensitivity. • There are restrictions on the types, quantity and duration of the FE is most common in late summer / autumn. The fungus needs zinc product that can be fed to help manage FE. Make sure the warm, moist conditions for growth and may reach dangerous levels product that is being fed is specifically recommended for FE on pasture following humid periods of 72 hours or more during prevention / management. which the temperature at ground level does not fall below 120C. • The delivery method of the zinc supplement and associated risks Moisture from light rainfall or recent irrigation must also be and management needs to be considered. Zinc in a grain/pellet present at ground level. mix will lock you into feeding a set rate of concentrate for the duration of that silo. Water-based administration does not achieve Generally, at least two "danger" periods of up to two or three weeks required blood levels and should be avoided. apart are required for enough fungus to grow to cause the disease. • After feeding elemental zinc for 100 days seek advice from your Freshly produced spores are the most toxic; if fungal growth stops veterinarian about blood testing a proportion of the herd for after a change in weather, the residual spores on the pasture lose blood zinc levels and pancreatic function. their toxicity within 1 or 2 weeks. The fungus will grow on most • Note: Zinc does not prevent FE if given after the sporidesmin pasture plant species; however it does favour perennial ryegrass challenge, nor does it have a therapeutic effect when given orally because of the ability of ryegrass to produce plenty of dead and to animals that are displaying clinical signs of FE. Zinc cannot dying leaf litter. The fungus grows in the litter at the base of the reverse liver damage but can help reduce the risk of further liver plants; most toxic spores are found in the bottom 25 mm of the damage due to sporidesmin. pasture. Liver damage can occur when a large dose is ingested on • An application has been placed with the APVMA for registration one occasion OR a low dose is ingested continually. Pastures over of a zinc bolus for use in cattle. Hopefully it will be on the market 20,000 spores per gram of pasture will be toxic if ingested for long early in 2012. enough. Reminders Seasonal and farm conditions • Monitor cow behaviour, particularly if the cows are agitated at Warm and moist conditions hold the greatest risk factor for spore the night milking –cupping up, reddish udders etc. growth. Monitor the humidity, overnight temperatures and • Don’t forget about other classes of stock – young stock and bulls moisture levels for your own farm to warn yourself when you can also be affected by FE should commence pasture spore counting. You will know which Who do I contact for further information and advice? areas on your farm are more prone to warmer weather overnight. Your veterinarian and/or nutritionist. The other key factor is the amount of trash / litter – for example, do you have a lot of paddock toppings lying around from the spring Bree Walshe and Jack Winterbottom DPI Maffra 4 Nar Nar Goon Focus Farm operated by Michael and Ancret Shipton with farm owners Geoff and Debbie Bramley. GippsDairy Greenhouse gas emissions for the one year period of electricity use evaluated equated to 204.3 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. It was estimated that milk cooling and water heating each consumed around 44,600 kWh per year. It was in these areas that focus farms targeted improvements can yield the biggest savings. Performance of both the precooling and the glycol chiller systems Energy Audits at Focus Farm Dairies were deficient. More information is available in the full report.

Each of the Focus Farms examined their energy use at the dairy and identified areas where improvements could be made. The first step was to conduct an energy audit that specifically looked at the following items on the Focus Farms: Willowgrove Focus Farm operated by Mick and Paula • Milk Harvesting Hughes. • Milk cooling • Water Heating Based on their energy use the greenhouse gas emissions for the • Cleaning and effluent year equated to 80.5 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. • Feed system Compared to some similar sized farms this farm’s electricity • Shed, office and workshop consumption and costs were relatively low. Milk cooling and water • Lights heating combined to consume approx 70 per cent of electricity • Dairy water and stock water use at the dairy. (At your dairy you may have others). Milk cooling represented the largest proportion (41.1 per cent) of The assessments were carried out by Gabby Hakim from Agvet the cost of electricity at the dairy. Projects in Warragul. It was estimated the farm’s milk cooling consumed almost 25,000 He suggested that small changes such as improving plate cooler kWh per year. It appeared that performance of the refrigeration performance can make a big difference to the cost of electricity system may have been poor. Suggestions to follow up on this bills over the year, and of course the amount of carbon pollution issue were made. produced. It may be a matter of operating existing equipment more efficiently, or replacing out-dated/less efficient equipment. In the latter case, determining the payback period is important. A very small part of the data from four of the Focus Farms is shown below. Copies of the complete reports are available. Contact John Gallienne Mob 0407 863 493, e-mail: gallienne@dcsi. net.au Foster Focus Farm operated by Helen and Kevin Jones and Middle Tarwin Focus Farm operated by Rod and their family. Lyndell Cope The pie charts below display the electricity consumption and Based on 12 months electricity use, greenhouse gas emissions costs at the dairy for a year. Greenhouse gas emissions equated were equated to be 148.9 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. to 216 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. The audit identified that milk cooling and water heating combined Typically heating water is a major consumption area however for to consume approximately 62 per cent of the electricity used at the 12 months evaluated there was only modest hot water use the dairy. Milk cooling represented the largest proportion (43.3 (approximately 700 litres per day) leading to modest power per cent) of the cost of the power used at the dairy. It was an area consumption and cost. Issues were however raised about the worth further investigation. performance of the refrigeration system at the dairy. It took 210 minutes to cool 3800 litres of milk from 20 degC to 4 degC, however a cooling time of 143 minutes or less should be achievable eg a reduction of 67 minutes.

The Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy and is funded by the Geoffrey Gardiner Foundation, Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. For more information about Focus Farms: contact John Gallienne 0407 863 493. 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 12 to 20 days per leaf (depending on soil moisture). Area of farm to graze each day 1/30th to 1/60th of grazing area in 24 hours. FEBRUARYRecommended pre-grazing Graze to the dominant species at its most optimal Stock decisions time. Graze ryegrass at, or near, the fully grown • Cows are vulnerable to heat stress when third leaf the temperature is over 30 degrees Recommended post grazing Research shows that grazing to 4 to 6 cm pasture Celsius or when there is a combination of decision residual ensures higher plant survival into autumn. warm temperatures and high humidity. This will lead to less erosion and reduced weed For tips on ways to manage your herd germination. in hot weather, visit the Cool Cows website at www.coolcows.com.au or www. Seasonal management tasks If pasture growth rates are low, consider setting up dairyaustralia.com.au a sacrifice feeding system. Paddocks that have been • Make sure your cows have access to pugged and/or paddocks needing re-sowing are plenty of cool drinking water (200 to 250 ideal for this. litres per cow) (especially hot weather). Estimated daily evaporation 8 to 10 mm per day without rainfall or irrigation • Facial eczema - refer to article in this (hot days). edition. Average daily pasture growth rate Dryland estimated 8 to 12 kg DM/Ha/day. • Check your young stock and dairy cows Irrigated estimated 30 to 50 kg DM/Ha/day. for any signs of pink eye and treat early. Discuss with your trusted veterinarian measure the water applied. This will Business the use of vaccinations to aid in determine if the pump and nozzles are • Maximising income is one side prevention. working efficiently and delivering the of business profit, the other is • High protein supplements may be volumes of water you planned. With flood understanding and controlling costs. If required for young stock if they have a irrigation, calculate the water used on a you are not in the habit of doing budgets low amount of green pasture available to particular area, to identify and therefore monthly, now is a great time to make an assist growth and development. target improvements on the less efficient appointment with your financial advisor/ areas. accountant, to discuss the actual business Feeding • Match your irrigation intervals, with performance over the last six months and • Feed test your home grown silage and evaporation and plant demands, this will make decisions on the future direction of hay.. These feed tests can be used to help maximise water use and plant production. the business. more accurately balance the cows diet. • If water is short, identify and apply irrigation to land with crops or pastures People Water of the greatest water use efficiency. • If you did not have a holiday over the last • MID – Make yourself aware of the few weeks, book one! Time away from discussions about the SRW 2030 plan and Effluent the business is important in recharging how it impacts you financially, as well as • Application of effluent to crops or any the batteries. Studies have shown the delivery of water to your farm. green pasture will assist with feed over that performance (especially decision • If you have not done it before (or not the summer to early autumn period. making) is improved with regular time for a while), it is important to measure • It is a good time for irrigators to plan off and when holidays are taken. the amount of water you are applying to shandy the dairy effluent or apply it at each irrigation (ML/Ha). With spray direct to crops or pasture. irrigation, catch cans can be used to

ComingUp GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr Focus Farms Field Days Feeding Pastures for Profit Programs What is the difference between the Carbon The current two year round of the six These programs will be coming up in Farming Initiative and the Carbon price GippsDairy Focus Farms is finishing. autumn 2012. West Gippsland, Thursdays policy? How will both of these policies affect A series of field days is being held in April 19th and 26th, South Gippsland Fridays your farm? What are some of the February to allow people following the April 20th and 27th, locations to be opportunities for farmers? What practical progress on individual farms to visit and confirmed. Maffra DPI Tuesdays April 24th options can you consider now to reduce the assess the farms and their dairy farm and May 1st. Bairnsdale DSE Thursdays impact of these policies and improve businesses for themselves,. May 3rd and 10th.If you would like to book a profitability into the future? place to take part in one of these programs, For further information contact Jason Note: All field days are planned to run from contact Frank Mickan, DPI Ellinbank on McAinch 5147 0839. 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. Lunch provided. 5624 2259 or Jason McAinch, DPI Maffra on 5147 0839. Willowgrove - Wednesday 1 February, with Feed pad days – see separate article Mick and Paula Hughes. Tuesday 7 February – starting from Loch Middle Tarwin - Friday 3 February, with Clearing the Carbon Confusion – Recreation Reserve at 10.30am Rod and Lyndell Cope. Orbost February 23rd at 11am Thursday 16 February - starting from the Nar Nar Goon - Thursday 9 February, with These sessions will help set the record Foster Football Club Rooms at 10:30am. Michael and Ancret Shipton and farm straight about the current policy owners Geoff and Deb Bramley.Foster - environment relating to carbon and how to Bookings are essential – Gillian Hayman, Wednesday 29 February, with Kevin and best approach it from a farmers perspective. Dairying for Tomorrow Coordinator Helen Jones. Speaker: Neil Baker, Macalister [email protected] or 0428345493. Demonstration Farm For further information contact: John Questions answered during the sessions will Gallienne 0407 863 493. include: 6 ISSN 1441-7391 H ow Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 5 7 f ebruary 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy and funded by DPI and Dairy Australia Food for thought – Emerging forage trends ouldn’t it be good if there was A potential concern is the control of establish before the onset of summer heat. Wone plant that grew exactly broad-leafed weeds. These herbs are both Their roots will be well into the soil and be the quantity and quality of feed sensitive to herbicides used to control able to continue to grow through summer. weeds, particularly plantain. So the key Later sown crops often grow much less your herd required every day of the here is to control weeds a season or two over the first spring/summer. Direct year? before sowing. With this in mind, select drilling the herb, without cultivating again, Unfortunately, there are times of the year paddocks now for sowing to herbs in decreases the potential of seeds coming to when we have feed gaps. Purchasing feed spring. Spray for a complete kill then the surface to cause weed problems later. cultivate the paddock. Sow the paddock or conserving spring surplus are both good As these crops tend to have a fairly open with a short-lived annual that will not be options but tend to be higher cost than growth habit and grow relatively slowly in affected by herbicides used to control direct grazing. Sowing annual crops also winter, there is a temptation to sow a broad-leafed weeds during late-autumn or works but this is often at higher cost than companion species. Sowing a prostrate winter. Grazing cereals are a good choice grazing perennials. clover such as sub or white clover is a good as they provide good autumn winter feed option. In addition to allowing the herbs to On Victorian dairy farms, there is an and can be grazed out in late-winter to grow close to their potential there are emerging trend towards inclusion of high prepare for sowing to plantain or chicory. If several other advantages. They fill in the quality summer active perennials on a summer weeds are also a problem, sow a gaps and reduce the weed problems, they portion of the grazing area to fill key feed summer grass crop such as millet to allow provide high quality feed and they provide gaps. control of summer weeds before sowing to nitrogen which improves the yields of Project 3030 identified the value of summer herbs the following spring. chicory and plantain. Some sow perennial active perennials in the feed system. Two For best results, direct drill the plantain or grasses, but ryegrass tends to be fairly promising options are the herbs, chicory chicory in early spring. This allows them to competitive and tends to reduce the amount and plantain. Both are able to produce high of herb in the stand. Tall fescue is more amounts of feed during the warmer open so is a better match than ryegrass. months, with the feed being of high quality. They can be used to support high milk Both herbs will benefit from the strategic production or to grow out young stock. use of nitrogen fertiliser, and can be treated Farmers have found it beneficial to have much like ryegrass in terms of rates. summer active species on a portion of the So if you think this might be something grazing area but they are a little different to that suits you, have a chat to those that manage than ryegrass. They do best with have tried it first. If it still sounds attractive, rotational grazing. Chicory does not like it is suggested a small area is sown initially wet feet. They do not stand pugging while you come to grips with its damage. They tend to be short-lived management requirements. perennials, providing high yields for 2-3 years. Both can regrow from self-sown For more information, contact Greg O’Brien seed, so with the right management, the DPI Ellinbank phone 5624 2288 or go to stand can last longer. It is important to do www.project3030.com.au some homework to be sure it is something chicory performed well in project 3030 that suits your farm system as well as your trials. management style and skills. contact us This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a comment, please contact kelly hughes, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2398 or [email protected] Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

For more information visit www.gippsdairy.com.au or www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy The building blocks for good laneways ow’s a great time to review materials. Hydrated lime, evenly spread and Crushed limestone can make a suitable your annual maintenance plan uniformly incorporated to a depth of material for surfacing. It is generally spread N 125mm, will allow soft clay to become as a 50-100 mm layer, but needs firm which might include some plans for stable once compacted. Cement can also be compaction. Sand alone does not make an laneway construction or renovation used as a stabiliser in foundation layers. ideal surface it is abrasive on cows’ feet and washes away too readily. work around the farm. Some If the material available does not create a practical tips are outlined below. satisfactory foundation it is possible to use A temporary fix for rough or muddy areas a geotextile, an industrial fabric used in includes using materials like woodchips or Laneway Construction earthworks to cover the shaped base layer sawdust. Woodchips are used in many The foundation and surface layers of a before adding the top layer. While porous laneways in South Australia to provide a laneway each require the use of materials and allowing the water to pass through, softer surface for the cows to walk on. that will withstand the threat posed by water and constant use. Paying more for geotextiles hold soil and rock in place and Maintenance good quality materials may save money in will prevent the surface layer from being Regular laneway maintenance also helps to the long run once you have factored in pushed into the foundation layer, prevent problems such as lameness and costs of lameness and mastitis, extra particularly from wheeled traffic. The costly, major repairs. Any maintenance maintenance or laneway replacement. geotextile will distribute applied loads over program should have two focuses – keeping a wide area. However, be aware that this the surfaces repaired and maintaining could be an expensive option. effective drainage. Materials - Surface Layer Ongoing Repairs Surface materials must form an Potholes should be filled and compacted as impenetrable barrier to water and not be they occur and it’s also a good idea to deal harmful to cows’ hooves. The ideal material with drain blockages quickly. includes a mixture of gravel, clay (15 – 30 Materials - Foundation Layer Annual Tasks Topsoil and grass should be removed percent) and sand. The fine particles fill the gaps between the larger particles, binding Surfaces should be graded annually. before laying the foundation layer. Topsoil Tractors on laneways cause the surfaces to is not suitable for use in the foundation the material together. It also gives the surface a long wearing and smooth finish. lift and rut quite quickly as does regularly layer. The material removed from the table holding stock on laneways. drains may be used provided it is not Correctly crowned, this material will shed topsoil. Moist sub-surface soil is usually water and protect the foundation. Use a tractor blade to cleanout the edges and drains, as a build up of grass and suitable unless you are in an area which Incorporating 0.3-1 percent cement into the manure can affect drainage. Prune or has dispersive sub-soils which are unstable clay capping mixture can help stabilise the remove trees near laneways – they block when wet. surface and prolong its life. Well rounded sun and wind and keep laneways from gravel less than 25 mm in diameter is The material dug out to make effluent drying out. ponds may also be suitable for laneway preferable to large stones as they can be foundations if not required for dam kicked aside, leaving the surface Contact: Darold Klindworth construction. Soft clay is unsuitable for use susceptible to water penetration and DPI Ellinbank damage. in foundations unless stabilised with other Tel: 5624 2222

GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr ComingUp The current two year round of the six program go to www.australiandairyconfer- GippsDairy Focus Farms is finishing. ence.com.au or phone 1800 177 636. HNGC Coming Events Foster - Wednesday 29 February, with Kevin Energy use in the Dairy Information Also check the What’s On Events Calendar and Helen Jones from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. Session for Gippsland and other dairying regions Lunch provided. Thurs March 1. See details in article this activities at http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/ For further information contact: John issue. agriculture/dairy/dpi-services-to-dairy-farm- Gallienne 0407 863 493. ers/whats-on Feeding Pastures for Profit Programs NCDEA courses for the period of These programs will be coming up in February – April 2012. Clearing the Carbon Confusion autumn 2012. West Gippsland, Thursdays All courses are available at Warragul and Orbost February 23rd at 11am at DSE April 19th and 26th, South Gippsland Fridays Leongatha Office April 20th and 27th, locations to be Courses for Dairy Farm Production These sessions will help set the record confirmed. Maffra DPI Tuesdays April 24th Managers: straight about the current policy and May 1st. Bairnsdale DSE Thursdays Whole farm planning for Dairy farmers environment relating to carbon and how to May 3rd and 10th.If you would like to book a Wednesdays February 29th, March 7th, 14th best approach it from a farmers perspective. place to take part in one of these programs, and 21st 10am-3pm. Speaker: Neil Baker, Macalister contact Frank Mickan, DPI Ellinbank on Develop and implement a breeding strategy Demonstration Farm 5624 2259 or Jason McAinch, DPI Maffra on Wednesdays March 28th, April 11th, 18th Questions answered during the sessions will 5147 0839. and May 2nd 10am-3pm. include: Courses for Dairy Farm Business Owners: What is the difference between the Carbon Final Focus Farm Field Day at Foster Lead and manage industry organisations Farming Initiative and the Carbon price The last in the round of field days on the six Tuesday February 28th 10am-3pm, policy? How will both of these policies affect Focus Farms is being held on Wednesday 29 Thursday March 1st Evening session your farm? What are some of the February at the Foster Focus Farm. Tuesday March 6th 10am-3pm and Tuesday opportunities for farmers? What practical October 16th 10am-3pm options can you consider now to reduce the Meet with the farm family Kevin and Helen Estate planning impact of these policies and improve Jones, Facilitator John Mulvany and Mentee Tuesdays March 13th, 20th, 27th, April 10th profitability into the future? Matt Hall. and 17th 10am-3pm RSVP essential for catering contact Jason The field day will run from 11.00 am to 2.00 For more information contact 56 241 401 McAinch 5147 0839. pm. Lunch is provided. All Welcome Australian Dairy Conference For further information contact: John Focus Farms Field Days Mon Feb 20 – Fri Feb 24. For the full Gallienne 0407 863 493. 2 Emissions, profitability and production from the Dairy Farm Monitor Project number of farms are proving of carbon dioxide equivalents per tonne of profitability also have the highest milk there are ways to maintain or milk solids produced (t CO2 -e/t MS), and production per cow. This suggests that A ranged from 6.9 to 15.6 t CO2 -e /t MS. these farms with higher milk production even increase on farm production This is higher than the average in 2009-10 per cow are more efficient at producing while reducing greenhouse gas of 10.2 t CO2 -e /t MS. Methane was the milk per cow through having a lower emissions on their farm. The main gas emitted accounting for 73 percent proportion of energy required for of all emissions. Nitrous oxide and carbon maintenance and therefore they are able to results from the latest 2010-11 dioxide were the other main emissions lower their emissions intensity relative to Dairy Industry Farm Monitor accounting for 18 percent and nine percent production. Project (DIFMP) have also shown respectively. More information on the breakdown of these emissions and their Figure 2. Milk production per cow is emissions intensity are, on average, sources is available in the greenhouse gas greater on more profitable farms lower on the most profitable farms. section of the DIFMP report. Actions to improve the emissions Emissions and profitability performance on farms can have multiple Emissions intensity was lowest on the most benefits for the business, such as profitable quartile of farms, as measured by increasing farm health and profitability. A return on assets. Higher emissions per list of management actions is available from product were recorded by farms with lower the DPI climate risk website www.dpi.vic. profits. The relative contribution of gov.au/climaterisk. They aim to help farm methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide businesses take control of their own is shown in figure one below. This analysis has shown one influence on situation and continue to look for options to emissions intensity is milk production per improve resource use efficiency. Figure 1. Emissions intensity (t CO2 cow. It does not fully describe all the –e/t MS) decrease as farm profits influences of reducing emissions on farm as The Dairy Industry Farm Monitor increase it ignores other production relationships. Project Any changes to the farming system aimed The 2010-11 DIFMP report has been at reducing greenhouse gas emissions need completed, the fifth since the project began to be considered in context of the whole in 2006-07. Profitability, production and on farm system, including the impacts on farm greenhouse gas emissions were profit and risk. analysed on 74 farms from across the northern, south west and Gippsland The DIFMP annual report can be accessed regions of Victoria. The project, a joint via the project website at www.dpi.vic.gov. initiative between DPI and Dairy Australia, au/dairyfarmmonitor or send an email to showed a return to form with average Production influences [email protected]. return on assets increasing to 6.2 percent The lower emissions intensity on the most profitable farms can be partially explained The greenhouse gas emission audit was up from 2.2 percent recorded in the conducted using the Australian National previous year. by higher milk production per cow on these farms. Figure two below shows that on Greenhouse Gas Inventory method. Greenhouse gas emissions average more profitable farms have higher Claire Swann, DPI Epsom On average emissions intensity, or gross milk production per cow. Eleven of the farm emissions per product, was 10.9 tonnes farms in the top quartile of farm Energy Use MDF Travel and Learning s electricity prices rise and the energy bills Scholarship 2012 Aassociated with running a dairy farm increase, Great opportunity for study that benefits the MIA Yarram dairy farmers are looking closely at their costs. The MDF has established an annual scholarship up to the value of AgVet Project’s ‘shed detective’ Gabriel Hakim will be working with $10,000 for the recipient to undertake a study tour that will benefit three farm businesses to uncover possible savings in energy within the dairying community in the Macalister Irrigation Area (MIA). the cow shed. Gabriel will visit each farm prior to an Information Any topic that will contribute to a more efficient dairy industry will Session on March 1 2012. The focus of the audit will be to be considered. understand where energy is being used in the dairy sheds, where the costs are greatest and what measures can be taken to reduce The scholarship is open to anyone of any age working in the dairy them. The learnings from these visits will be shared at an industry in the MIA. Preference will be given to applications Information Session at Lachlan & Vicki McLeod’s property, Won received from farmers but will not be limited to only farmers. The Wron Road, Calrossie, between 11 am and 1 pm on Thursday proposed study tour must benefit the farmers of the Macalister March 1. Irrigation Area. The study tour is expected to be for a minimum of two weeks. Darold Klindworth from the Department of Primary Industries will also give an overview of energy use in the dairy and discuss The successful applicant will be assigned a mentor with experience alternative energy sources and new technologies. Involved in the in their nominated field of study to assist with developing the study CowTime program for many years, Darold has a wealth of tour. It is expected that, upon return, the scholarship recipient will knowledge and will answer the many questions likely to come up prepare a report for wider distribution and participate at least two around this topic. See energy options from Darold in this issue. events organised by the MDF to share their findings. MDF staff will support the planning of the study tour as well as the For further information or to RSVP for catering purposes please preparation of the follow up presentations and report. contact Gillian Hayman 0428345493 or [email protected] Hurry, applications close on February 21st 2012 This event is funded through the Federal Department of Agriculture, Call Neil Baker on 0488 175 366 or email [email protected] to Forestry & Fisheries as part of the Future Ready Dairy Systems discuss your great idea, for an application form and for help and Project. advice in preparing your application. 3 • Feeding had been pasture only. Started Dairy Levy poll to feed some grain in March 2006. Ross GippsDairy returned home in November 2006 on is now open wages. Started on 8% share of milk he Dairy Poll 2012 gives income July 2007. Recently share farmers a say in how they will focus farms increased to 12% of milk income. T • Started milking in new 50 unit rotary support their industry over the next Final Field Day with the mid August 2009. five years. • Started to feed cows to production in Anderson Family 2011/12 lactation. The levy will decide how much farmers will invest in industry activities including research and development, extension and Current situation: industry services and trade reform, • Milking area 120ha irrigated pasture. improvements in processing and the pursuit The Denison Focus Farm held • 121 ha dryland block nearby. Used for of high value markets and products. its final Field Day in December dry cows and fodder if the seasons – it proved to be a great allows. Separate young stock JD area. The current levy rate has not increased opportunity to hear about the • 36ha support block owned by Ross and since 1997. A 10 per cent increase in the Kelly used for young stock and fodder. current levy rate is considered necessary by activities in their farm business. The irrigation water has been the Dairy Levy Poll Advisory Committee to Graeme and Chris Anderson are gradually transferred to the milking area. fund the current level of services provided working through the process of bringing • The milking herd are Friesian-Jersey to the industry. A 10 per cent increase is son and daughter in law, Ross and Kelly cross. well below CPI, it is about an extra $320 per into the farm operation. * 300 spring calving (10 Aug-mid Oct. 1 million litres of milk produced per year. Joined 7-8 weeks). Many dairy farming families will relate * 150 autumn calving (1 Mar-early May. Gippsland dairy farmer and ADF president to their story: Joined for 7 weeks). Chris Griffin said it was essential to • Graeme purchased the original 48ha * 23 carryover cows. continue this scale of investment to provide dairy farm in the early 1960’s. * 25 autumn calving dry cows. industry activities that will grow and provide • Graeme and Chris set up a partnership * There are 35 rising 2y/o autumn 2012 future guaranteed success for the dairy with Chris’s parents in mid 1970’s with calving heifers, 90 heifers have been industry. the purchase of the neighbouring joined to calve next spring. property; a rotary dairy was then built. * 73 autumn 2011 heifer calves, plus 95 There are 3 options for the Levy Poll • Purchased 40ha over the road in the spring born heifer calves are being mid-late 70’s for running young stock. reared. Option A: a 15 per cent increase, which This block has been used by the milking • Conserving sufficient high quality equates to an increase of about $480 per 1 herd for several seasons. An underpass fodder is a major task. 876 rolls silage million litres of milk produced per year. was built in March 2009. and 476 rolls pasture hay conserved this • Purchased 35ha dryland block in late season, approximately 20 rolls silage and Option B: a 10 per cent increase, which 1970’s. 350 pasture hay carried over from 2010. equates to about $320 per 1 million litres of • Renovated the rotary dairy in 1994 up to milk produced per year. a 32 unit platform. Farm Production and Feeding History Option C: to have zero levy, which means Dairy Australia will cease to exist and the 2004/05 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 services it supports will not be available to Pre grain (to end Nov) farmer and the industry. feeding Cows Milked 400 380 420 460 520 Your voting packs should have already Stocking rate arrived. To have your say on this very (cows/ha) 3.33 3.16 3.5 3.8 4.33 important issue you must return your ballot Litres – total 1,647,110 2,553,680 2,714,135 3,409,700 1,725,600 papers by the 16th of March 2012. Counting - per cow 4,118 6,720 6,462 7,412 3,318 will commence on the 19th of March 2012. - per ha 13,726 21,280 22,618 28,414 14,380 Detailed information on the programs and Kg BF – total 67,146 111,210 118,914 140,681 63,799 service funded by your levy payments can - per cow 168 (4.13%) 292 (4.35%) 283 (4.38%) 306 (4.12%) 122 (3.7%) be found at www.dairyaustralia.com.au - per ha 560 927 991 1,172 531 Kg Prot – total 53,484 90,695 96,942 123,855 61,918 - per cow 133 (3.24%) 239 (3.55%) 231 (3.57%) 269 (3.63%) 119 (3.58%) - per ha 446 756 808 1,032 515 Kg Grain/cow (Triticale) 0 1,234 1,873 2,092 980 (Canola/wheat blend) 431 282 Milk : Maintenance Ratio 50% - 50% 63% - 37% 63% - 37% 65% - 35% 44% - 56% % Imported energy 11% 22.8% 34.7% 48.9% 50.5% Est. Pasture consumed on milking area - t Dry Matter/ha 12 14.4 12.7 11.5 5.3 - t Dry Matter/cow 3.7 4.5 3.6 3.0 1.2

4 Estimated pasture consumption for The table below provides a checklist for some of the physical and financial factors for the 2011-2012 is 11.9 tDM/ha on the milking farm. area. This is based on the required feed for Farm Data Summary cows producing 580 kg MS/cow at the Actual 2010/11 Predicted 2011/12 predicted feeding levels. Lactation Lactation

Craig McWhinney the Focus Farm Effective area (ha) facilitator makes the following points about Milking area 120 120 the farm and the family: Runoff 157 117 • Measurable changes have been made in Maximum Cows milked 460 500 farm productivity and related farm Stocking rate (cows/ha) financials. These have come through Milking area 3.8 4.2 increasing stocking rate while at the Total area 1.7 2.1 same time getting inputs right to increase production per cow. This has Labour been achieved while continuing the Person units/year 3.55 3.56 emphasis on good quality pasture as the Cows/person/year 130 141 first feed input. Gross Income $/cow 3,200 3,440 • Farm financials have been continually Milk Income $/cow 2,990 3,210 monitored particularly cost efficiency of all inputs as stocking rate has been Total Costs $/cow increasing. Herd costs 196 188 • There is a keen willingness to put up a Shed costs 75 82 challenge when reviewing feeding, Feed Cost 1,267 1,409 particularly grain. Family members -Fertiliser 130 152 measure and critically assess any change -Nitrogen 126 156 for themselves. -Fodder making 146 76 • An aspect where change has occurred -Concentrates 659 751 but difficult to measure relates to Ross’s -Irrigation 103 137 growing confidence to become more -Fuel & oil 42 55 involved in the dairy industry and the -Lease (Runoff) 26 27 management of the farm. Another is the willingness by Graeme and Total Variable Costs Chris to step back from much of the $ Per cow 1,539 1,680 decision making – handing it on to Ross $ Per hectare (total) 2,556 3,552 and Kelly. Overhead costs A very positive outcome for Graeme and $ Per cow 744 775 Chris is freeing up time for them to $ Per hectare (total) 1,236 1,638 spend on other interests, or travelling to visit family and friends. Cash Surplus per hectare ($ total) 1,524 2,084

Predicted Feeding and Production Note: Cash Surplus is not Farm Profit. It is the amount available for servicing debt, capital 2011-2012 (December 2011 onwards) expenditure, tax, and personal drawings etc. For the remainder of this financial year the For a copy of the notes from the final field day on the Denison Focus Farm contact John following program has been developed. Gallienne phone 0407 863 493 or email: [email protected]

Month Cows Kg MS/cow Litres/cow Grain fed (kg/cow) Pasture Milked Triticale Can/Wheat kgDM/cow The Focus Farm Project is an initiative December 470 1.91 26 6 1.5 11.8 of GippsDairy and is funded by the January 400 1.91 24.5 6 1.5 10.5 Geoffrey Gardiner Foundation, Dairy February 270 1.80 23.1 6 1.5 10.5 Australia and GippsDairy. For more March 310 1.89 23.7 6 1.5 10.5 information about Focus Farms April 420 1.83 22.9 6 1.5 8.5 contact John Gallienne. May 485 1.64 21 6 1.5 7.5 June 420 1.84 22.7 6 1.5 7.3 Considering wind power? hinking about harnessing the that indicates the power output for power you might be able to harvest. Ask Tpower of the wind? With the particular wind speeds. One rule of thumb around and look on the internet for what increase in electricity prices, more is that the wind speed should be between 7 devices are available to predict wind power and 12 metres per second (25 to 46 km/ potential. Some devices will also give you people are considering other hr) for best benefit. Is your place that an indication of the solar energy available options to power their homes and windy for enough time to make it at your site. It may pay to do this dairies. worthwhile? homework before you commit your hard won dollars to alternate systems. Wind power is one of the options for places One way to check is to install a device to with a lot of wind. The big question is: “is record the wind speed over a period of Darold Klindworth there enough wind to make it worthwhile?” time. A year is best but even six months DPI Ellinbank Each wind turbine will have a power curve will give you some indication of what wind Phone 5624 2269 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 12 to 20 days per leaf (depending on soil moisture on dryland farms). 10 to 12 days per leaf for irrigated pasture. marchArea of farm to graze today 1/40th to 1/60th dryland areas. 1/30th to 1/36th of grazing area in 24 hr (irrigated) Soil testing and fertiliser requirements • If applying your autumn fertiliser it is Recommended pre-grazing Graze ryegrass at, or near, three leaf stage (Note: recommended that amounts used are decisions graze to dominant species, paspalum and kikuyu based on recent soil test results and past dominate pasture require faster rotations). management of the paddocks. Recommended post grazing Graze down to 4 to 6 cm residual pasture after • Apply fertilisers when there is less decision grazing. This will ensure a quicker response to chance of heavy rain washing it into the autumn rains, less soil erosion and less space for drains and streams. Ideally this should weed germination compared with grazing to less be at least 4 to 5 days before a major than 4cm. forecast rainfall event or irrigation. • This is a good time to empty your effluent Seasonal management tasks Spray broadleaf weeds approximately six weeks ponds, applying the effluent to pastures after the autumn break. Repair or re-sow any badly and crops. Effluent needs to be applied at pugged pastures. a rate that is agronomically acceptable. ie Estimated daily evaporation 6 to 8 mm per day without rainfall (hot days) no more than 60kg of K per ha and 60 kg Average daily pasture growth rate 15 to 18 kg DM/ha/day (South and West of N per ha. It is recommended to have Gippsland, but highly variable). Those with the effluent tested before applying to get irrigated rye grass pastures can expect an the most benefit. estimated 30 to 35 kg DM/Ha/day. Establishing pastures or crops environment/Feeding-and-nutrition/ and pits are clear of weed and grass to • March is an ideal time for the sowing Facial-Eczema.aspx minimise holes from rodents. of pastures into well prepared seed • If facial eczema is suspected, then call a beds. Use appropriate seed sowing veterinary practitioner. Affected animals Business rates for whatever method you are using should be sheltered from direct sunlight • Maintain and keep your records up to (broadcast needs a higher rate than drill) if possible. date. Accurate records- particularly of and roll to retain seed bed moisture. • Cows in late lactation have the medications (S4- veterinary script drugs) • Many paddocks that were pugged last opportunity to gain condition more and chemical use for quality assurance winter and spring and not repaired efficiently if sufficient good quality feed programs and residue trace-back and may have thinned out. These can be is allocated each day. If your cows need disease investigations these records are oversown with an annual ryegrass, to gain condition before they calve again valuable. rape or perennial ryegrass to assist in now is the time to do it. • Accurate records of stock movements, in increasing the productivity of the pasture • It is a good time to assess which cows particular agisted stock or stock moving in the coming year. are in calf, make a decision about which properties with a different PIC number, • Monitor newly sown pastures or crops empty cows will be sold and what will be must be recorded on NLIS. for pest or weeds and treat appropriately. milked through on an extended lactation. The most appropriate insecticide or People herbicide to use for control can be found Water Issues • It is important to have an up-to-date Will. on the following web site http://services. • Watch out for blue-green algae outbreaks Consider reviewing it every 2 years and a apvma.gov.au/PubcrisWebClient/ in farm dams as water volumes drop maximum of every 5 years. welcome.do and as the weather warms up. If you • Your Will is an important part of have a bright blue-green paint-like scum succession planning. It is worth Cows on your dam, be cautious about using consulting an expert when reviewing • Ryegrass staggers will be more prevalent this water for stock or in the dairy. or developing your Will. Did you know at this time of the year. Affects can Isolate stock from the dam, provide an that when property (land) is held as joint be reduced by providing good quality alternative water supply and consider tenancy (2 or more people) your portion supplements like silage or hay to the testing the water to identify if the algae is upon death automatically becomes the milkers, young calves and yearlings to toxic. If you think stock may be affected, asset of the other joint tenants? The dilute the amount of endophyte they contact your vet. asset/s owned as joint tenants are not are consuming on a daily basis. Avoid included in your Will. Therefore, if your unnecessary stress and herding of stock. Fodder Will is contested, only assets that are • Facial eczema. Maintain vigilance • It is a couple of months since the silage determined to be within the Will can and monitor farms counts around you was done and it is easy to forget about be challenged. This can be a used in by looking up website http://www. once it is in plastic. It is important to succession planning. dairyaustralia.com.au/Animals-feed-and- maintain the area around silage bales Options for heating hot water! f you are looking at options to reduce your reliance (UDV) members are eligible for gas rates better than the average Ion “mains” electricity, one option for heating hot domestic costumer. water for the dairy is using gas heaters. As a variation on the theme there are now several systems installed in Gippsland where solar panels are installed for the Instantaneous gas hot water heaters are very efficient at heating preheating and the final heating is done by gas instantaneous water and have no storage losses. There is no doubt that these heaters. systems can heat the water to the temperature required. If more water is required than one gas heater can provide it is possible to Darold Klindworth couple together another one to provide the desired volume in the DPI Ellinbank time desired. And keep in mind; United Dairyfarmers of Victoria Phone 5624 2269 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 5 8 m arch 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy and funded by DPI and Dairy Australia Bull selection – independent information at your fingertips ull selection is a job that comes genomic information (ABVg) and bulls with pedigree information of any bull with an Baround once or twice a year. overseas proofs that have been converted Australian proof, genomic data or Interbull The bulls you select will have a by Interbull to reflect likely performance information. under Australian conditions (ABVi). lasting effect on your herd – both 3. SELECTABULL the good ones and the bad. It is For any bull of interest you have a number SELECTABULL is available on the ADHIS important to choose bulls that meet of alternatives to examine his suitability for web site (www.adhis.com.au) and is a tool your breeding goals. your situation. that helps you find bulls that meet your particular needs. You enter you own 1. The Good Bulls Guide It is not always easy to compare bulls on personalised breeding objective and The good bulls guide is updated and offer from different companies based on SELECTABULL supplies you with a list of released twice a year – in both hard copy the material supplied by the companies, bulls that meet those requirements. You and on the web (www.adhis.com.au) and however independent information is can then examine the full ABV listing provides a simple way to compare bulls on available which allows you to compare bulls before deciding which bulls should be part some of the major traits of interest. A on the same scale. of your bull team. number of lists are provided with the top The Australian Dairy Herd Improvement bulls for key traits such as production or All these tools are free to use, although you Scheme (ADHIS) is the keeper of the mastitis resistance. will need to register for SELECTABULL. Australian Breeding Values (ABVs) for the DPI and ADHIS offer free workshops to 2. DISPLAYABULL Australian dairy industry, the measure of help you make the most of these tools. DISPLAYABULL is available on the ADHIS genetic merit under Australian conditions. web site (www.adhis.com.au) and is a tool For more information or to register your Included in their database are bulls with that allows you to search for any bull of interest in a workshop, contact Ashleigh Australian proofs (ABV), bulls with interest and display the full ABV and Michael at DPI Leongatha on 5662 9901. Take a Pit Stop at Farm World - are you roadworthy? en heading to Farm World pits or be issued with a yellow sticker for Mwho may have been follow-up maintenance! neglecting their health and feeling Where: Farm World 2012, Lardner Park – more like a clapped out bomb than under the verandah on the southern end of a Sprintcar will have the chance to the Baw Baw Pavilion put their body through the pits for When: Thursday 22 March and Friday 23 a free health check. March Pit Stop checks include oil level (blood pres- Pit Stop was developed by Gascoyne Public sure), chassis (waist measurement), shock Health Unit WA, is run by local health and absorbers (coping skills), and more. community organisations and is proudly supported by GippsDairy and Farm World. The challenge is on for the men of Gippsland to see if their bodies will pass the

For more information visit www.gippsdairy.com.au or www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy Repairing the damage from last winter ast autumn and winter tested many dairy farmers smooth. This may take some time depending on the depth of resolve in south and west Gippsland in dealing with pugging etc. He intends having all this done by the end of March, L including topping up the pasture by drill sowing in perennial extended wet conditions. ryegrass. Depending on the damage done by the smudging, he As a result DPI and Gippsdairy organised a series of “Getting will need to drill sow around 10 kilograms of seed per hectare as a through this wet winter” field days to support dairy farmers minimum amount followed by rolling. He will then fertilise all managing their soils to reduce/prevent serious pasture damage renovated areas once completed. due to pugging. Some local farmers were also asked to pass on Tim advised that it would be wise for people to get in early with their own experiences and plans of what they were doing to reduce booking contractors, as there was likely to be a backlog of repair the damage that could be done to their wet pastures by cattle work that many would like to have completed by the end of grazing and machinery movement. autumn. If paddocks were not repaired by the end of autumn then Many of these farmers did manage to reduce the extent of the there would be a real chance that pasture productivity will be damage done but some form of pasture restoration work will still suffering again and late sowing will lead to management issues as be required to regain pasture productivity in the medium to well. severely affected areas of the whole farm. This article aims to Finally, Tim was keen to use nitrogen in his fertiliser mix to capture some of the work that was done by one of the farmer encourage the growth and development of any germinating speakers to date and to inform us about what work they plan to do ryegrass. This would assist in the quick re-establishment of dense this coming autumn. Spring turned out to be very wet, pastures over his farm. complicating and extending silage and hay making resulting in less pasture recovery work being done and hence more being carried There will be another case study story from a farmer who has over to this autumn. undertaken works to repair the damage done last winter in next months newsletter. One of the farmer speakers, Tim Cashin at Leongatha South, has already embarked on repair work on his 121 hectare farm. In the By David Shambrook, DPI Leongatha ph 56629913 spring, Tim sowed two very badly pugged paddocks (6 hectares in total) on his 40 hectare lease area to summer fodder crops of rape and turnips with some clover seed as well. The plan being to spray these paddocks with Roundup for weed control once the crops are finished, before drill sowing with perennial ryegrass. On the home area of the farm he has set about redoing the drains and laneways to ensure they can cope with the next wet winter. The drains are being deepened and cleaned out. Note the drains are located on the inside of the fencelines so the cows are not walking in them to the shed. He has also improved future drainage on his flats by installing “humps and hollows”, sometimes referred to as “ploughing in lands”. This is a practice used by many Gippsland farmers in the Figure 1 (above) an example of the wheel rut marks needing past with very flat land trying to cope with traditionally very wet repair and figure 2 (below): Hump and Hollow works winters. Tim has humped and hollowed 16 hectares of the farm that was prone to regular flooding to quickly remove surface water rather than have it sitting for extended periods causing loss of pasture and providing conditions more suited to undesirable water loving plants such as glyceria, docks, buttercup. “Humps and hollow” is the raising up of the soil into lands with hollows (drains) on either side. This is usually achieved by ploughing or using a large grader. Some top soil needs to be “dragged back off the humps into the hollows to provide some fertile soil to re-establish pastures in the hollows, preferably before heavy rains occur.” Tim’s drains are 12 metres apart in this case and will allow the cows to graze the major part of this area even when it is very wet. Previously this area was almost unusable for a large part of the year. Further information on the use of “hump and hollowing” for improving drainage is available in the DPI information note “Managing Wet Soils: Surface Drainage” and can Figure 3 (below): Drains, inside fencelines, re-established (other be accessed from the DPI website. words that might be used are: reformed, cleaned out, etc.) This work, now having been completed, will now need to be re-sown with perennial ryegrass and fertilised. This will be completed by the end of March. The cost of these works was estimated to be around $500 per hectare, not allowing for the cost of seed and fertiliser, but certainly well worth it, especially given the potential future benefits of reduced pasture damage and lost milk production. For the remaining pasture restoration work that needs to be carried out, Tim plans to smudge another 40 hectares that was identified as needing to be smoothed out using an old piece of railway line dragged behind the tractor until the paddocks are 2 Cash - It just comes in and goes out! t the start of the 2010/2011 term loans that may have been interest So what about now? only loans were transferred to principal Aseason, several Gippsland Some recent general comments from bank and interest loans. Reducing debt in a low discussion groups were asked what staff, who see any changes in dairy to moderate equity situation is sensible would be a reasonable price to be business financial positions, have been business because it increases business paid for milk to cover farm working along the following lines: strength, even if it increases the tax expenses, a payment to the owner • “Most people have been able to liability. (It has almost become “trendy” undertake, and plan to undertake, farm for the effort involved, and to justify not to reduce debt and assume that works, without increased borrowings. investing in the assets. capital growth will create increased Top of the list for action from January equity!) “The more the better” was an obvious onwards - farm tracks, simple permanent • Update or improve some capital answer but the range suggested was from feed pads, drainage and a reasonable infrastructure, without increasing debt $5.40 per kilogram milk solids (kg MS) or holiday.” (from cash flow). 40.2 cents per litre (c/L) to $5.80/kg MS of • “Debt reduction is a priority with some • Perhaps even put away some farm 43.2 c/L. The final average 2010/2011 price people and we would now have 75 management deposits (FDM’s) or some paid across Gippsland was around $5.61 percent of clients on principal and superannuation. (with a broad range across farms), so, on interest compared to two years ago, when • Prepare for the tax payment of a the face of it a reasonable milk price was most were interest only.” reasonable 2010/2011 due in April 2012. paid. On most farms, too, this coincided • “People are wanting a bit of a buffer this with good seasonal conditions. year, because of the cautionary note Which, if any, of the seven actions listed about milk prices; they are waiting to see However, individuals within these same above were done by individual dairy the surplus before doing much.” groups have been very quick to point out businesses, of course depended upon the • “There’s not a lot of big stuff happening - that in cash terms all of that money may not stage of that business as well as individual spending is mainly about consolidation” have been received until August 2011, and priorities. For example, a young couple who that there was a lot of catch up have just purchased their first farm and are The actual cash milk price paid for this “maintenance” type expenditure that had in development stage will act very year’s milk so far is between $4.40/kg MS not been spent in the previous two seasons. differently (low drawings, heaps of R & M, (33 c/L) and $4.70 (35 c/L), with an At a quick glance, the milk price paid in essential capital, creditor reductions, debt anticipated final price of $5.10/kg MS (38 2010/2011 did not necessarily transform servicing and reduction) to a couple in the C/L) to $5.40/kg MS (40 c/L), 7 percent to into a “good” cash position at the end. But twilight of their careers (higher drawings, 10 percent down on last year. Based on this, closer inspection would show that a typical tax, FMD’s, super). a high cash surplus would not be expected, well managed Gippsland farm of around but there still should be some surplus after 280 cows with $700,000 worth of debt (70 The frequent comment up to Christmas production and fixed costs for discretionary percent equity) would have had a 2011 has been, “Yep, we’re paying the spending. Those people who had an reasonable cash surplus and used it to monthly bills and doing a bit to the farm, expensive wet winter will be just catching achieve specific goals. but there’s not much left”. The cash up. received from 2010-11 milk payments was a The surplus is likely to have been allocated A few dairy farmers run a monthly cash “catch up and consolidate” period. to some of the following: flow budget so this surplus, if it exists, will • Extract reasonable drawings from the be obvious. Others have a rough idea of business. how they are travelling, based on an annual Even if this year produces only a small • Clear any outstanding creditors (more budget. No matter how they identify it, surplus astute farmers will get the most than 30 days overdue). astute farmers, will see any surplus as an out of it. • Spend on much needed repairs and opportunity that may not be there next year maintenance (R & M). This was up by Like most surpluses it will rarely be big and tag it for some of the activities listed about $20,000 on previous years to an enough to do all that is required, so it above; others will not be as focused and average of $38,923 (ONFARM Group needs to be identified, discussed and wonder where the money went at the end data). In some cases, expenditure was prioritised over the next few months. of the year. extreme, with very high track repairs to The critical factor is, if over the past 12 John Mulvany preserve the business. months the cash flow has become better, On Farm Consulting • Reduce debt, particularly short term then it is important to limit the spending, equipment and livestock debt. Longer to ensure you don’t return to your cash position of June 2010.

contact us This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a comment, please contact Jessie Horton (Acting) Program Manager - Gippsland, Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2232 or [email protected] Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. 3 Salmonella outbreak and a high rate of empties saw milker numbers settle at a peak of 410 cows. The remainder of season 2010-11 saw an outbreak of Facial Eczema, devastating GippsDairy production and the hopes of recovery to the production lost earlier. It seemed like a case of a good season gone to waste.

• Season 2011-12 commenced under extremely wet conditions, and milker numbers settled out at 438 (below budget). focus farms Extremely wet conditions and possible liver damage from the previous Facial Eczema outbreak saw production struggle to Cope Family Focus Farm Faced reach target right through early lactation. Challenges As a result, it appears that production will total 220,380 kg MS (503kg MS/cow), well behind the initial estimates of 246,400kg MS (560kg MS/cow). Calving has been shifted 3 weeks earlier, also impacting production this season. The Middle Tarwin Focus Farm held its final Field Day last month. The farm is operated by Farm goals and achievements to February 2012: At the commencement of the Focus Farm Rod and Lyndell set a Rod and Lyndell Cope. They are supported on range of goals they would like to achieve as a family and as a the farm by their herd managers Adrian and Focus Farm. Karina Damschke. These goals were as follows: Since the Focus Farm started Facilitator Matt Harms and the Support Group have had plenty of issues to deal with both within Farm Goal Achieved? the farm and brought on by the seasonal conditions. Herd: increase herd to 420; √√ √ Milker numbers appear to Total farm area is 200ha, with a 173ha milking area, plus 80 ha breed more AI heifers be where Copes want them to turnout block at Tarwin. They have a 50 stand rotary dairy, be for this farm. various hay and machinery sheds that also act as calf rearing Farm: future water supply − √ commenced dam process; facilities and well laid out subdivision with 69 milker paddocks (dams or river); Farm fully farm fully fenced each 2-3ha. fenced and stock water to all paddocks; The farm has been purchased in “chunks” from Rod’s parents, the Pastures: conserve and most recent taken on in 2009 under a long term lease √√√ Still opportunity to consume better quality grass; arrangement. Rod and Lyndell own around 160ha of the total consume more pasture 200ha. Dairy: investigate milk meters _ _Early stages of for dairy; Investigate solar commencement A summary of the growth in farm production is: panels for dairy electricity; Policy: preparation for carbon What lies ahead? • Season 2008/09, prior to the start of the Focus Farm, the Copes emissions policies; were milking 330 cows producing 185,672 kg MS or 562 kg MS/ cow. Labour: more time off for √√√ • Season 2009/10 milker numbers increased to 380 cows everyone in the business; producing 213,621kg MS or 562kg MS/cow. Succession and the future: √√√ A new farm labour • Season 2010/11 commenced with milker numbers expected to contract milkers, share farmers, structure is in place that allows be 430 cows and a target production of 230,940kg MS or 558kg leasees? for successful implementation of MS/cow, however a higher than expected loss rate due to a the short to medium term plan.

Rust – another fungus ust had an impact on Gippsland pastures last Key Points: Rautumn and as a result of this it may carry-over • Maintaining a good moisture profile will limit rust into this autumn. Research reports that rust can • Application of nitrogen is known to help • When resowing choose cultivars that have been selected by plant reduce dry matter yields by as much as 37 percent. breeders for their resistance to rust The common rust on ryegrass is crown rust, caused by the fungus When a paddock has a broad scale infection of rust, the rust will de- Puccinia coronata. plete the plant’s sugar reserves and root growth. Rust also impacts The fungus causes yellow blotches on the leaves of fog grass, on tillering due to this reduced growth. ryegrass, tall fescue and cocksfoot species to name a few. The rust These paddocks should be grazed earlier to limit the growth of the fungus enjoys humid conditions, warm dry days and dewy nights. fungus. Feeding Pastures For Profit principles are consistent with The fungus spores infect the leaves which reduce the palatability. this approach for pastures infected with rust. Earlier grazing is This in turn leads to decreases in milk production if cows are forced required as the pasture quality will be get worse. As early grazing to eat this pasture. Infected leaves die prematurely and severely is likely to reduce the cows’ pasture intake, supply an economical rusted plants become stunted. alternative to maintain production. Rust has a greater impact on sensitive cultivars and “stressed” For further information refer to DPI Agriculture Note “Rusts in plants, with plants that have moisture or nutrient stress being even ryegrass” AG0723 by Rod Clarke, Knoxfield. Available on the DPI more susceptible to rust. website www.dpi.vic.gov.au search for ‘rusts in ryegrass’ or phone Jason McAinch at DPI Maffra on 5147 0839 for a copy. 4 Other activities as a part of the project • There has been a Greenhouse Gas audit conducted. • An energy audit identified the areas of greatest power use. Milk cooling uses most power and while vat capacity and power availability were major issues little could be done to reduce costs. • FeedTests have been taken to monitor the quality of feed inputs. • Soil tests have been used by the group to monitor nutrient requirements and changes. • A valuable discussion on Facial Eczema with Jack Winterbottom from DPIV.

The Business Physicals.. Season 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2011/12 to Refer to Table 1 (to the right) Budgeted date (end Dec) *The area available varied throughout Cows 380 410 440 438 2009/10 as the new section was renovated Milking ha 173* 173 173 153 and came into milking area. Therefore the Stocking rate 2.2 2.37 2.54 2.86 actual milking area was not 173ha for the full Support area (ha) 30 78 80 80 season this also had an influence on pasture Production total (kg MS) 213,621 230,000 246,399 126,792 consumption per hectare. Per cow 562 561 560 289 Cereal grain input(t/cow as fed) 1.65 1.62 1.8 0.91 Protein grain input (t/cow as fed) 0.3 0.48 0.3 0.15 Fodder purchased Nil Nil Nil Nil Dry matter consumption t DM/ha 9.0 9.1 9.9 8.0 t DM/cow 4.1 3.85 3.9 2.8

And the Business Financials... Season 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2011/12 to Refer to Table 2 (to the right) Budgeted early feb. ** The operating surplus is the amount Herd costs ($/cow) 190 199.97 199 120.42 remaining after Farm Working Expenses Shed Costs ($/cow) 70.10 65.30 88 51.71 have been paid, and is required to service Feed costs ($/cow) 976.14 1207.20 1174 444.41 debt, pay principal, living, tax and capital Overheads ex labour ($/cow) 357.88 283.46 302 190.55 expenses. In the case of this farm, projected Farm Working Expenses ($/kg MS) $3.35 $3.76 $3.72 $3.30 capital expenses are included within Paid labour ($/cow) 281.52 348.73 320.65 N/A operating surplus in order for the group to Total labour cost/cow see the impact of farm decisions on the (paid + imputed) 565.75 612.14 547 N/A budget. Operating surplus required** $235,000 $235,000 $240,000 $250,000 Operating surplus obtained** $219,393 $314,365 $293,986 $231,644 Difference over required minimum -$15,607 $79,303 $53,986 ? EBIT $181,722 $170,365 $220,869 N/A ROA 4.6% 4.1% 5.3% N/A Labour analysis: When previous employees Dianne and Phil decided to leave it created an opportunity to reconsider what Rod and Lyndell would now require from their paid labour, and under what structure was it best to employ. The Support Group set about defining the tasks, the time it would take and therefore the “package” on offer. Adrian and Karina Damschke applied and got the job, and have brought to the farm some great skills and lots of experience. This has allowed Rod to step out of much of the day to day activity that was taking much of his time and removing duplication. The result has been happy owners, happy employees and a productive workplace. This may go down as one of the major successes of this Focus Farm. 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Cow numbers 380 410 438 Refer to Table 3 (to the right) Paid labour hours** 4800 5586 5621 *imputed labour is at $25/hour Imputed labour* hours 4320 4800 4000 **Contractors used for pasture renovation, Total $/cow paid +imputed* $565.75 $612.14 $549 and fertiliser spreading that do not appear in 50 hour FTE 3.5 4.0 3.7 these figures. MS/50 hour FTE 60,901 57,500 66,587

Six GippsDairy Focus Farms in the one spot! That is the aim of the booklet that has been The booklet contains all of the information For a copy of the booklet contact John put together following the last of the field presented at the final field days on the Gallienne phone 0407 863 493 or email: days held during December and February Focus Farms; each is a very different story. [email protected] providing your postal at the conclusion of the latest round of The farms involved covered farm address. Unfortunately we cannot supply it GippsDairy Focus Farms. ownership, share farming and leasing electronically. arrangements. Farm development and Since late 2009 Focus Farms have been at consolidation are interesting themes with This Focus Farm Project is an Nar Nar Goon, Willowgrove, Denison, plenty to consider, farm production and initiative of GippsDairy and is funded Maffra, Foster and Middle Tarwin. They financials always form a key place in the by the Geoffrey Gardiner Foundation, reflected a range of dairy farm businesses, data presented. Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. farm family situations and locations.

5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 12 to 15 days per leaf (depending on soil moisture on dryland farms). 10 to 15 days per leaf for irrigated pasture. aprilArea of farm to graze today 1/35th to 1/45th of grazing area in 24 hours. Establishing and managing new Recommended pre-grazing If there has been sufficient autumn rain, it is pastures decisions important to allow pastures to grow beyond two • Try to get pasture seed in the soil before leaves before grazing. This generates superior the end of April (earlier the better). root mass and development; and as a result greater Particularly those of you who may want to leaf area for photosynthesis and increased pasture oversow due to thinning out last winter/ growth rate. spring. • Control broadleaf weeds in new and old Recommended post grazing Don’t graze below 4 to 6 cm. This ensures pastures once the weeds are about 3 to 5 decision faster growing ryegrass plants in autumn, and less cm in diameter (6 to 8 weeks old). Weeds soil erosion and space for weed germination. are likely to be an issue in many pastures Average daily pasture growth rate 15 to 25 kg DM/Ha/day on dryland farms that suffered pugging last winter/spring. following autumn rainfall. Those with irrigated rye • To reduce ryegrass staggers use one of grass pastures can also expect an estimated the new ryegrass varieties with novel 15 to 25 kg DM/Ha/day. endophyte (eg AR1) which has less effect on cattle than wild endophyte. Estimated daily evaporation 4 to 6 mm per day. • Do the ‘pluck test’ to check when ready Seasonal management tasks Identify barley grass dominant areas and spray out for grazing, eg when leaves tear off rather with herbicide recommended for annual grasses. than roots coming out of the ground. Then re-sow with perennial ryegrass. Avoid overgrazing; leave at least 4 to 6 cm residual. checking for pesti virus (especially if for grazing and feeding cows with wet • Graze if canopy closure (no visible bare there is a new bull on the property) soils. Things to consider include on-off ground) is beginning to occur. and vaccinating to prevent Sexually grazing, stand-off areas or feedpads. Transmitted Disease’s such as vibriosis. More information can be found at Feed buying plan • As always, keep accurate records- www.dpi.vic.gov.au. • Dairy Australia’s Grains2Milk program particularly of medications (S4- • Perform track maintenance before advises farmers to have a feed buying veterinary script drugs). In residue winter. Clean out drains especially plan. Having a whole year plan connected trace-back and disease investigations around culverts. to your budget means you won’t need to these records are valuable - as are on buy on the spot, week to week. property stock movement details. It also Water Issues • Quality of hay and grain is generally gives people confidence in the quality of • Make sure your effluent ponds are good, with not much being weather Australian dairy products. emptied to create maximum storage damaged this year. It is still important to capacity for the coming season’s rainfall. know the quality of the feed, given that Heifers • Irrigate if necessary and remember the prices should remain fairly stable and • Feed quality supplements to dairy value of late irrigation. attractive to those wanting to feed into heifers. Advice from InCalf suggests • Make a note in your diary of irrigation the autumn/winter period. that heavier, well grown heifers get in trouble spots that need maintenance. • Check out Dairy Australia’s fortnightly calf easier, produce more milk in their Farm channel maintenance, irrigation Grain and Hay Report at lifetime, compete better with mature stop maintenance and pump maintenance www.dairyaustralia.com.au cows and survive longer in the milking need to be planned ready for the next herd. irrigation season. Cows • Following the wetter than normal year • Assess your current water supply • If autumn calving, prepare for the start of we had last year soil moisture levels are needs and capacities, if upgrades or mating. probably still quite high this could mean maintenance of them is required do so • Make sure you have the necessary bull that pugging damage could be an issue before winter arrives power! Consider checking fertility, again this coming winter. Have a plan

Program aimed at farmers looking to NCDEA Short Courses (run at make changes Leongatha and Warragul) ComingUp The 2012 Feeding Pastures for Profit (FPFP) program for Gippsland is a practical Develop and implement a breeding Solar Hot Water Field Day system to assist farmers to find the correct strategy Where: Zekiman’s Dairy, Tinamba – grazing rotation, grow quality grass, and Wednesday March 28th 10am-3pm Rosedale Rd (4 km south of Tinamba – look improve the bottom line. The program is Wednesday April 11th 10am-3pm for signs) suited to dairy farm owners, managers and Wednesday April 18th 10am-3pm When: Friday March 23rd 2012 at 10.30 am farm staff who have direct control of the Wednesday May 2nd 10am-3pm What else? You get a free lunch! pasture grazing management on the farm. Locations: Warragul and Leongatha Does solar hot water stack up when it The program will run in: comes to saving dollars on power? Can it - West Gippsland on Thursdays, April 19, 26 Estate planning help to offset the expected rising power - South Gippsland on Fridays, April 20, 27 Tuesday March 13th 10am-3pm bills when the carbon tax commences? A - Maffra on Tuesdays, April 24, May 1 Tuesday March 20th 10am-3pm full energy audit of this farm’s dairy will be - Bairnsdale on Thursdays, May 3 and 10. Tuesday March 27th 10am-3pm done as an example of where savings may Tuesday April 10th 10am-3pm be made. A number of speakers will cover More? Frank Mickan (West Gippsland) Tuesday April 17th 10am-3pm these issues. 5624 2222, David Shambrook (South Locations: Warragul and Leongatha For further details or to register interest Gippsland) 5662 9900. Jason McAinch Contact Luke Prime, Ph 56 241 401 for contact Neil Baker on 0488 175366 or (Maffra and Bairnsdale) 5147 0800 more details and to register. [email protected] GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 5 9 a pril 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy and funded by DPI and Dairy Australia Feed Pad Findings ver 100 farmers attended two to silage bunkers and the rest of the farm recent bus tours held in South as well as truck and tractor access O • Design the pad to suit the type of feed Gippsland. The purpose of the you will be using and make sure your tours was to visit farms and learn choice of feeders are right for the feed to from farmers about how they had be fed planned, designed, built and were • Decide from the start whether you will using feed pads within their be feeding cows in batches or the whole herd at one time farming systems. • Cost the project carefully and understand Some of the key learnings over the two how it fits with your budget days and visits to 6 feed pads were; • Well planned rock pads are less • Consider carefully if you need a feed pad expensive and may suit your system (you may have well draining soil or • Ask Council about planning permits suitable location to feed cows already) • Decide if it is a sacrifice area or loafing The days were held as part of the Future area that is desired rather than a feed pad Ready Dairy Systems Project which focuses • Understand the purpose of your feed pad on managing climate variability. This - summer, winter feeding, to minimise project has been funded by Dairy Australia feed wastage etc and the Federal Department of Agriculture, • Give yourself time to plan, design and Ray Stefani from Fish Creek addresses the Forestry and Fisheries. construct, rather than rushing. crowd • Ask around, look at a range of pads to • Get the slope and drainage right Detailed notes are available from gain ideas and design one to meet your • Site the feed pad carefully considering Gillian Hayman 0428345493 or needs slope, effluent capture, cow flow, access [email protected] Food for thought f only feeding cows was as easy spore counts in their local area. She told Andrew out here sharing such information as making sure there was enough the crowd that prevention, in the form of shows the depth of leadership that is being I zinc oxide in the feed, is a good viable developed in the dairy industry.” grass in the paddock. Dairy option, with no cure available for the farmers know, however that it is a potentially lethal liver condition. scientific business that seems to get more complicated each year. With Andrew Wood from Fonterra led a discussion on transitional feeding. He that in mind, the Young Dairy recommended that farmers use a high fibre Development Program (YDDP) diet to keep the rumen full during organised a feed information day to transitional feeding. Ionic salts, protein, help farmers keep up with the latest fibre, grain, vitamins and minerals are all in feed-related research. important to the diet during this period, he said. The day, at Dean and Bec Turner's farm at Yannathan last Wednesday saw discussions YDDP Gippsland co-ordinator Kylie Barry on transitional feeding, summer feeding said the strong turn-out showed that Sharni Blackney, YDDP co-ordinator Kylie and methods of using nutrition to prevent farmers want practical information on how Barry, Kellie Brian and Dean Turner and minimise health problems. they can increase productivity. “This was check-out the dairy system. Kristy Evans from Irwin Stockfeeds really hands-on information that can make a concentrated on the current facial eczema real difference to how farmers think about For more information please refer to threat, urging farmers to closely monitor the way they are operating,” she said. www.yddp.org.au the Dairy Australia website for updates on “Having young people like Kristy and

For more information visit www.gippsdairy.com.au or www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy Pasture recovery from last winter on a difficult soil nyone who knows the “Shady Creek” soils north of kill of the bent grass was not achieved and it started to re-establish AYarragon and Trafalgar know how diabolical they itself. Repeat spraying is often required for this persistent weed. can be in a very wet winter. The topsoil varies from 50 Of the remaining 35 ha, Shelby plans to spray the bent grass – 100 mm and once this is broken vehicles sink to their affected areas with an off-label herbicide treatment + 3 L/ha axle in the “spewy” structureless clay subsoil. Last Roundup P. Max + disc + powerharrow/airseeder in Tetilla (15 kg/ winter the extremely wet conditions led to a severe ha) + Nui (10 kg/ha). In recent years, Shelby has sown Tetilla (20) deterioration on some areas of the laneways and + Nui (10) + Balansa (3) in the autumn after reasonably success controlling the bent grass with the above spray mix BUT the paddocks resulting in some cows being sunk to their off-label treatment stopped the Balansa from setting seed, severely bellies. set back PRG species whilst he felt the ARG was much less Last September DPI and GippsDairy organised some field days to affected. Shelby was aware of the potential outcome with the provide ideas to farmers to prepare for recovery of pugged ryegrass as this was stated on the spray label but he considered pastures once the wet weather had passed. At these days, we were this to be the lesser of two evils compared to the bent grass fortunate to hear from several farmers in both South and West presence! Gippsland about how they planned to tackle this recovery phase. The areas not affected by bent will be power-harrowed only and One such farmer was Shelby Anderson who farms (114 ha) on the sown with the PRG and ARG at the above rates. fringes of Trafalgar East and Westbury and has about 10% light Severe pugging (20 ha) sandy hills. The rest of the farm being 40% of the Shady Creek soils Shelby did sow one of five heavily pugged paddocks in late (Figure 1) on the “upper plateau” and about 50 per cent peat soils September with chicory but was bushwacked with 55 mm rainfall on the Trafalgar flats, which have their own peculiarities. Shelby’s soon after germination plus drizzly rain for another few days. The farm has an ongoing problem with bent grass on much of the farm chicory plants were about 2 – 3 cm high and sat in water for nearly and kikuyu grass encroaching from the roadside on the drier, three weeks so looked very sick and allowed grass and weeds to sandy slopes. get a hold. Plant growth was also severely reduced in the odd area Like all the speakers, Shelby’s recovery plans were modified by the when the spew was brought to the surface by pugging or during changing weather conditions into spring and summer. This was renovation (Figure 2). further compounded because he is a one man operation and also He had also planned to sow some sorghum in the badly pugged both a fodder conservation and agricultural contractor. He does areas but due also to the heavy November rains (~165 mm) and bring in some casual labour when absolutely necessary, but his cup cool overcast weather into December, the soils were still under 15 does flow over. – 16ºC. He estimated that he was well off with grass due to the In mid August last year Shelby estimated that about 47% of his November rains and he was in demand to make fodder so gave it a milking area was lightly pugged in mid August, medium damage miss. Now he regrets that decision since late December/early on 35% and about 18% severely pugged. He also had a small gully January turned reasonably dry. which was and still is in danger of developing gully erosion. This is The remaining heavily pugged areas will be treated for bent grass typical of Shady Creek soils once water rushes down through and non-affected areas will be treated as discussed in the medium uncovered topsoil into the dispersive spewy clay subsoil. Shelby’s pugging strategies. laneways sustained severe damage on large sections of his tracks, especially the high traffic (cattle and tractor) area on the approach Other management activities to the dairy. No smudging done as the grass grew too well before it could be So what has Shelby been able to do to date (Late Feb.) and what is carried out. Effluent (25 mm) was applied to some paddocks after planned for the near future? silage harvest. No fertiliser applied with the seed. In April, Shelby is planning to top dress the grey soils (Shady Creek soils) with a Light pugging (54 ha) mix of muriate of potash and urea (180 + 60 kg/ha respectively) On the lightly pugged soils, due to other higher priority areas and the peat flats with super and urea (180 + 60 kg/ha needing restoration, his plans to smudge + broadcast + roll were respectively). put off. However, in late September he did manage to spray out and The severely affected main track to the dairy had been reformed sow a couple of paddocks (9.5 ha) with a mix of Tetilla annual earlier and needs further attention as the spewy subsoils have ryegrass + Nui perennial ryegrass. Unfortunately the wet period continued to dry out recently. The gully erosion area is planned to resulted in a very slow germination and the later warm spell be fenced off this year to reduce further erosion. The potential allowed the white clover seed bank sitting in the soil to take off, its gully erosion drain line will be fenced to keep animals out. competition severely setting back the ryegrasses. After a couple of grazings, this area has now been oversown with a mix of Tetilla Seasonal conditions may require changes in pre-planned pugging annual ryegrass (15 kg/ha) + Nui perennial ryegrass (10 kg/ha) + damage restoration work on the different soil types. Successful Balansa clover (1 kg/ha). bent grass control needs to be done over several seasons as it is a well adapted and highly invasive weed. Ensure ongoing problems The remaining lightly pugged paddocks will be oversown with such as weeds and soil fertility are addressed well before resowing, either Nui or Bealey PRG (~25 kg/ha) this autumn. if possible. Get on top of maintenance and/or construction of Medium pugging (40 ha) laneway and feed pad/stand off areas before too much rain sets in. Of the medium pugged area, one paddock (5 ha) was sprayed with Note: if you’d like to use any of the information in this article 3 L/ha Roundup PowerMax, about 25 mm effluent slurry applied a please check the suitability of sprays and seed mixture for the few days later and then disced two weeks after initial spraying. application. Seek further advice and read all labels. Shirohie millet (30 kg/ha) was then sown by a powerharrow/ airseeder at the end of December. Much to Shelby’s disgust, the For further information contact Frank Mickan, crop “sat there” and, due to the relatively dry January, a complete DPI Ellinbank, on 03 56242259. 2 Australian Dairy Conference Tours t is no surprise that the Australian our local and international guests to visit. • Clear fertiliser policies. IDairy Conference farm tours All of the farm owners and managers had • Herd policy. Most were using AI from top were a hit. Over 60 people attended one very clear quality – they all have very APR bulls and had tight calving periods. the tours over West, South, clear goals and have identified their Genetics was quite important on the bulk Macalister and East Gippsland. strengths in order to succeed in their of these farms. respective decision making for their farm. Tour participants got to experience So despite scale differences, irrigated and • Feeding was thought of as a strategy 6 entirely different farms all of non-irrigated country, location differences rather than a recipe. Feeding was clear, which were kicking big goals. The and certainly financial turnover differences uncomplicated and targeted with enough the conference tour participants got to see flexibility to take advantage of good best part of these conference tours feeding margins if they became available. was the ability of the host farmers how different management approaches can to articulate what their goals were be successful if matched with the right Although quite different from the outside goals and stage of careers. each business had identified its place in the and how they had reached them or Each farm had a very unique story of how industry by defining its strengths and were going to achieve them. they got to where they are today. Each had challenges looking into the future. Some businesses had identified opportunities for The conference tours visited a range of a different lesson to be learnt and each had growth while others it was a time for farms on dry land and irrigation dairy a different financial position. What is very consolidation and for meeting other goals country. We would like to thank Peter and clear though is that every single one of aside from financial ones. Each famer was Elaine Notman (Poowong), Owners Ian & them is focussed and successful. The focussed and had done a lot of research Joanne Cash and Sharefarmers Michael conference tours picked up that every farm into where they were heading and for most and Brianna Armstrong (Korumburra had a defined: of them if was going to take a lot to shake South), Kevin & Helen Jones (Foster), • Farm system and the manager knew the them off course. Graeme & Chris and Ross & Kelly scope and boundaries of the system they Anderson (Denison), Macalister operated. For a copy of the conference tour booklets Demonstration Farm Managers Mike & please contact DPI dairy extension staff Sarah O’Brien (Riverslea), Benn & Peta • Pasture or crop policy on the farm. Each from Maffra, Leongatha or Ellinbank, or go Thexton (Gormandale), Grant & Leesa having quite hard and fast rules of what to www.dpi.vic.gov.au and follow the links Williams (Hallora), and Allan McCracken was and was not going to be planted on for agriculture – dairy and then (Labertouche) for their hospitality and for the farm and how each feed base was publications. giving such a range of farm businesses for going to be managed. Tassie tour inspires he 2012 Don Campbell Other farm visits included one of the oldest Memorial Tour has been hailed rotary dairies in the state, which also had T the minor problem of having to regularly as one of the most successful yet. walk cows across a busy highway! A The five day Young Dairy once-a-day milking property with minimal Development Program (YDDP) inputs was an eye-opener, while a farm in event saw 14 young farmers from the process of transforming from a Victoria and South Australia inspect cropping to a dairy property was also of a variety of dairy properties across great interest. northern Tasmania. GippsDairy organised the event with support from the National Centre for Dairy above: Inspecting Grant Archer's centre pivot Education Australia (NCDEA). irrigated farm at Simmons Plains were (from DairySA and the UDV District left) Chelsea Connor, Greg Saddlier, Mel Council 5 also helped finance the Halse and Mark Dowel. tour. Right: Shane Zuidema, Ilene Page, Jake Connor, Aaron Elix listen intently. YDDP Gippsland co-ordinator Kylie Barry Below: The Tour group at the aptly named said participants had returned from the Paradise in northern Tasmania. tour brimming with ideas that they would take back to their local farming communities. “The Don Campbell Memorial Tour is all about using the Kylie said the late Don energy and open-mindedness of young Campbell, a Gippsland dairy farmers to spread innovative practices farmer and industry leader, across the wider dairy community” she would have been pleased with said. “It's also about getting young people what was achieved on the tour. together to experience different regions “With the help of Leanne Bunn and network with other dairy from NCDEA we were really professionals.” able to turn the five busy days into a worthwhile learning The tour started at Launceston before experience for the participants,” heading out to Smithton where they spoke she said. “This tour is about to a biological dairy farmer about his inspiring the next generation of production methods. A box robot dairy dairy leaders and I reckon it system at Togari was one of the highlights more than achieved what we set of the farm visits, with participants out to do.” fascinated by the three-herd automated milking system. 3 Pasture recovery from last winter on a difficult soil left: Figure 1. Hernes Oak soil profile, very similar to Shady Creek GippsDairy

focus farms Share farming for milk flow to match milk price

The Nar Nar Goon Focus Farm has a 50-50 share farming arrangement that started in July 2008. When the Focus Farm family Michael and Ancret Shipton commenced they milked 230 cows at the peak in their first year. Figure 2. Affect of prolonged Michael, Ancret and their family Kassie age 6, Mitchell 4 and Ava waterlogging on 5 months are now well settled into the farm and the share germination of farming agreement with farm owners Geoff and Debbie Bramley chicory is proving to be very successful.

Both families are satisfied that they are benefiting from the arrangement where their focus is on matching calving times and feeding and hence milk flow, to the encouragement through milk price to supply their dairy factory year round.

At times of the year feed inputs are costly – but by continually Figure 3. Heavy monitoring both production and costs they avoid any ‘guessing pugging area at and hoping’ strategies. 12/08/11 When the Focus Farm started Michael and Ancret’s goals for the next 3-5 years were: 1. Increase our income by: - Maximising milk production and feeding efficiencies. (Continually working on these)

2. Increase our asset by: - Debt reduction (Achieving this) - Adding value to our livestock through genetics and registration (Program is working well) Figure 4. Heavy pugging area at - Increasing livestock numbers (300 cows and replacements) 21/01/11 (Now moving to 400 cows in 2013) - Expanding to a second farm, to enable us to grow more cow numbers (Still working on this).

Some of the main challenges we have faced achieving these goals are: - Getting the balance right between consuming as much pasture as possible without compromising milk production. We don’t want to cut feed costs if it means we end up with hungry cows. - Contending with mastitis and health problems. - Arranging the calving pattern to maximise returns.

Farm Overview: • The home farm consists of 133ha of which 120ha is milking contact us area plus an additional 30ha milking area from an adjacent This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more 66ha (five year) lease block. information or wish to make a comment, please contact Jessie Horton, Dairy • There is another 51ha temporary turn out lease block Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2232 or [email protected] adjoining at the east end. (The new Pakenham racecourse Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. complex at Tynong), This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all • A 50 unit rotary dairy, 150 cow feedpad and calf rearing shed. liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. 4 • Michael and Ancret are supported on the farm by Adrian, a full 2011-12 Budgeted Farm Production time employee assisting with all farm duties and running the Total litres 2,562,630 litres operation if Michael and Ancret are away. They also have a Fat percentage 3.88% casual staff member for milking. Total fat kilograms 99,641 kg Protein percentage 3.4% Some achievements to date: Total protein kilograms 87,221 kg - Stock numbers have now built up to 611 head comprising of 293 Average milk price 46 cents/litre milkers, 35 autumn and 36 spring calving heifers, 144 autumn 2011-12 Budgeted Farm Income yearlings and 87 spring calves Milk income $1,186,113.97 - Production is at 635 kg milk solids/cow. (Includes quality bonus) - Half the herd are AI registered Michael and Ancret’s 50% Milk Income share $593,054.22 - Cell count has been maintained below 100,000 in the past 12 Michael and Ancret’s 50% share of budgeted farm costs months. Land lease 21,187.56 - Calving pattern has been split to maximise the opportunity to Grain 127,772.00 match milk price. This year autumn calving started on 1 Hay 2,500.00 January and runs through to early May. 240 head currently Seed 10,000.00 calving - 180 cows plus 60 heifers. Spring calving covers August Sprays 3,250.00 – September, there are 100 cows and 36 heifers. Fertiliser 33,000.00 - Next year the autumn calving will start one month later on 1 Contractors 22,500.00 February to provide a better lifestyle for Michael, Ancret and Dairy Supplies 6,000.00 their family over Christmas and January. Fuel/oils 4,500.00 Power 10,200.00 - Two years ago it was felt 250 cows were the maximum for the Water 2,005.00 farm. That has been overtaken, from autumn 2013 it is planned Other 12,250.00 to milk 400 head. Total expenses $255,164.56 - The feeding system in the dairy was ‘improved’ in September $337,889.66 2011 to allow a simple feeding to production system. Ironically Michael and Ancret’s own budgeted income and costs it has taken considerable time to get it right. Now the autumn Carried forward $337,889.66 and spring groups can be fed separately, particularly in relation to their protein intake. This is now proving to be an advantage Calf sales 5,200.00 for milk production and cost saving. Cull cows 10,000.00 - There is a range of products added to the silage fed on the pad. Total $353,089.66 Depending on the time of the year they have put in potato mash, Herd health/vet/AI 64,000.00 orange pulp, apples and more recently pears. Repairs & maintenance 12,000.00 - The farm location at Nar Nar Goon means these by-products are Bank charges 8,400.00 available with little freight cost. Telephone/internet 2,340.00 - The feed pad holds 150 cows- they would like to expand its size Administration 8,400.00 to hold 400 cows. Wages 60,000.00 Total costs $155,140.00 - During Michael and Ancret’s first wet year many cows became lame, production fell and 30 cows needed to be culled. “The Budgeted Cash Surplus $197,949.66 concrete in the yards was too aggressive on the cows’ feet’ says Note: Cash Surplus remaining for personal costs, debt and capital Michael. The problem was solved virtually overnight when they expenditure etc. purchased rubber conveyer matting and covered the yards plus entry and exit points. It needed 250 square metres of matting For a copy of the “Six GippsDairy Focus Farms in the One Spot!” and cost $14,000. They installed the matting themselves. notes from each of the final field days on the Focus Farms contact - Following the serious flash flooding in early 2011, 2.4 km of John Gallienne, phone 0407 863 493 or email [email protected]. lanes were upgraded and 4km of drains across the milking area au providing your postal address. were improved. This Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy and is - They have very successfully mated heifers coming into the herd funded by the Geoffrey Gardiner Foundation, Dairy Australia and with sexed semen. GippsDairy.

managers and farm staff who have direct Gippsland) 5662 9900. Jason McAinch ComingUp control of the pasture grazing management (Maffra and Bairnsdale) 5147 0800 on the farm. The program will run in: NCDEA Short Courses (run at Program aimed at farmers looking to - West Gippsland on Thursdays, Leongatha and Warragul) make changes April 19, 26 The 2012 Feeding Pastures for Profit - South Gippsland on Fridays, April 20, 27 Develop and implement a breeding (FPFP) program for Gippsland is a - Maffra on Tuesdays, April 24, May 1 strategy practical system to assist farmers to find - Bairnsdale on Thursdays, May 3 and 10. Wednesday April 11th 10am-3pm the correct grazing rotation, grow quality Wednesday April 18th 10am-3pm grass, and improve the bottom line. The More? Frank Mickan (West Gippsland) Wednesday May 2nd 10am-3pm program is suited to dairy farm owners, 5624 2222, David Shambrook (South Locations: Warragul and Leongatha

GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 12 to 15 days per leaf on irrigated and non-irrigated pastures. This may be faster or slower depending on temperatures and soil moisture (on dryland may farms). Establishing and managing new Area of farm to graze today 1/35th to 1/45th of grazing area in 24 hours. pastures This may be faster or slower depending on • Try to get pasture seed in the soil before temperatures and soil moisture (on dryland farms). the end of April (earlier the better). Recommended pre-grazing Allow pastures to grow beyond two leaves before • Control broadleaf weeds in new and old decisions grazing. This generates superior root mass, pastures once the weeds are about 3 to 5 pasture growth and reduces “pulling.” For autumn cm in diameter (6 to 8 weeks old). and split calvers consider slowing the rotations • To reduce ryegrass staggers use one of to develop a wedge. Sacrifice paddocks and the new ryegrass varieties with novel supplementary feed are useful tools for extending endophyte (eg: AR1) which has less the rotation. effect on cattle. Recommended post grazing Maintain grazing residuals at 4 to 6 cm. This • Do the ‘pluck test’ to check when ready decision ensures faster growing ryegrass and less soil for grazing, eg: when leaves tear off erosion and space for weed germination. rather than roots coming out of the ground. Average daily pasture growth rate 15 to 25 kg DM/Ha/day on dryland farms • Particularly for the first grazing avoid following autumn rainfall. Irrigated rye grass overgrazing; leave at least 4 to 6 cm pastures can also grow at similar rates. residual. A short, light grazing is a good Estimated daily evaporation 4 to 6 mm per day. option for the first grazing. Seasonal management tasks Early renovated paddocks might be ready to graze, • Graze if canopy closure is beginning to assess using the “puck test”. If sowing in May plan occur. for a longer period before returning the paddock back into the grazing rotation. Feed buying plan • Dairy Australia’s Grains2Milk program advises farmers to have a feed buying that heavier, well-framed heifers get in Water Issues plan. Having a whole year plan connected calf easier, produce more milk in their • Make sure your effluent ponds are to your budget means you won’t need to lifetime, need less help at calving and emptied to create maximum storage buy on the spot, week to week. cope better with herd competition. capacity for the coming season’s rainfall. • Quality of hay and grain can be variable, • Irrigate if necessary and remember the with some sources suffering from Milking management value of late irrigation. weather damage last spring/summer. • Following another wet summer soil • Make a note in your diary of irrigation Know the quality before purchasing. moisture is still quite high and may trouble spots that need maintenance. Purchased feeds should complement mean pugging damage earlier and over Farm channel, irrigation stop and pump your home grown feed to provide your a prolonged period this year. Have a plan maintenance need to be planned ready herd with a cost-effective, balanced diet. for grazing and feeding cows with wet for the next irrigation season. • Check out Dairy Australia’s fortnightly soils. Things to consider include on-off • Assess your current water supply Grain and Hay Report at www. grazing, stand-off areas or feedpads. needs and capacities, if upgrades or dairyaustralia.com.au More information can be found at www. maintenance of them is required do so dpi.vic.gov.au before winter arrives. Heifers • Perform track maintenance before • Feed quality supplements to dairy winter. Clean out drains especially heifers. Advice from InCalf suggests around culverts. Upcoming YDDP sessions or young dairy farmers the While the exact details of the session are Day 5 (5th June 2012) - journey from milk production to still being finalised, YDDP Gippsland Employee rights and responsibilities, and F co-ordinator Kylie Barry said the schedule financial success can seem a long Day 6 (6th June 2012) - plan would include: and difficult one. With that in mind, Succession planning with a family basis. Day 1 (1st May 2012) – the The Young Dairy Development These workshops will be available (by Where am I going? How do we get there? Program (YDDP) has developed application) to 25 young farmers from (lifestyle, risk, growth, pathways). the highly acclaimed “4 Teats – Gippsland. Participants can choose to do all Churn Milk Into Money” program. Day 2 (2nd May 2012) – six days or just apply for four or five days of All about the dairy business. the event. The last two days will be open to Described by one participant last all YDDP members across Victoria. year as “a mind blowing Day 3 (22nd May 2012) – experience”, the upcoming event Pathways to share farming, leasing and Information will be sent out to YDDP ownership, vendor finance options and members. Alternatively, contact Kylie at promises to be even better. personal experiences of those in the dairy [email protected] or phone This year, the seminar will be held over six industry. 0428 889 337 for more details. days, providing an in-depth look at the Day 4 (23rd May 2012) – pathways to establishing a financial Getting into the “nitty gritty” of career rewarding career in the dairy industry. pathways, including a case study. 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S u e 1 6 0 m ay 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy and funded by DPI and Dairy Australia Facebook for farmers ippsDairy wants to be “liked” technology and the willingness of farmers GippsDairy wants to be at the forefront of by dairy farmers. A new and service providers to share information that” Dr Auldist said. G have been real strengths of the Gippsland GippsDairy Facebook page has Because of the interactive nature of dairy industry,” she said. “We see it with Facebook, GippsDairy believes that farmers recently been launched, offering programs like Focus Farms where farmers and service providers will be able to find or the region's dairy farmers a digital open their paddock gates and their financial request information when they need it. “We platform for information and records to help promote a better and always want to hear from farmers about smarter industry.” discussion. The new page already what support they need from industry boasts plenty of news from around Social media is seen as a particularly useful organisations like GippsDairy,” Dr Auldist the region, but GippsDairy wants tool when issues arise that require said. “Facebook will allow another avenue the input of dairy farmers and immediate action. News of a facial eczema of communication that can help farmers service providers to help shape the outbreak, for instance, could be spread via increase profits and productivity and ensure Facebook and Twitter, reaching affected Gippsland remains one of the world's Facebook page's content. stakeholders with an immediacy that could leading dairy regions.” be vital for fast and effective reactions. GippsDairy executive officer Dr Danielle For further information contact “Facebook is definitely not just a toy for Auldist said the dairy industry needed to GippsDairy on (03) 5624 3900. embrace social media as a tool for kids – it has the potential to improve the spreading knowledge. “Embracing new way we operate as an industry and YDDP's new co-ordinator ippsland's new Young Dairy co-ordinator role would be to help as many passion for the industry and an ability to Development Program young people as possible to achieve their work with young dairy farmers.” G ambitions within the dairy industry. co-ordinator, Irene Baker, has taken “Whether it's forging a career in farm Anyone interested in joining YDDP can a hands-on approach to learning management, getting into a share-farming contact Irene at yddpgipps@gippsdairy. about the industry. A former animal arrangement or owning their own dairy com.au or phone the GippsDairy office health officer with DPI, Irene has farm, it's important that young people have on (03) 5624 3900. been a relief milker for several the support to help them fulfil their dreams,” Irene said. years, giving her a valuable insight into dairy life that complements her “One of the strengths of the dairy industry is the way farmers and service providers academic qualifications. share their knowledge and experience” Recently moved to Drouin South from Irene said. “I hope we can utilise this to Leongatha with partner Ken and sons Josh, help the next generation of dairy farmers 8, and Ashley, 4, Irene is keen to carry on make their way in the industry.” the good work of outgoing YDDP Former YDDP co-ordinator Kylie Barry, co-ordinator Kylie Barry. “This is an who has taken on other duties within exciting role for someone like me who GippsDairy, said Irene's passion for the already enjoys being part of the dairy farming sector and down-to-earth attitude industry,” she said. “Gippsland has such a make her ideal for the role. “Irene is the strong dairy industry and so many great perfect fit for the position and we're young people working in it, that it makes delighted to have her on board ” Kylie said. this a very exciting position to take on.” “I've had a wonderful time over the past few New YDDP Gippsland co-ordinator Irene years with YDDP and it's great to pass the Irene said the challenge of the YDDP Baker with sons Ashley (left) and Josh. baton to someone like Irene who has a Managing late sown paddocks espite the best of intentions to sow paddocks early Other considerations Din the autumn, workloads, weather, late arrival of Given the disadvantages of late sowing, it may be better to delay seed or contractors and other things often results in renovating the paddock until spring when the job can be done in favourable growing and weed control conditions. paddocks being sown much later than desirable. This article is aimed at showing the effects of late sowing Applying a nitrogen fertiliser to the existing pastures may encourage existing ryegrass to outcompete winter grass and also provides some ideas about what you can do satisfactorily for this winter. with paddocks sown late May/early June. A paddock containing capeweed will be a source of reasonable Effect of late sowing on pasture growth quality feed through early winter but, if it is not spray-grazed in late Assuming adequate moisture, research has shown that for every autumn/early winter or sprayed out completely in very early three-week delay in sowing from early March, annual pasture yield spring, it will be a disaster coming in to spring. can be decreased by approximately 600 kg dry matter per hectare (kg DM/ha) and also resulted in greater weed growth. If you are a DIY pasture renovator, consider paying a contractor to do some areas earlier in autumn to avoid late sowing. Being forced to sow later in cold (and usually wet) conditions will have a greater effect on winter growth than if you put the fertiliser From more information please contact Frank Mickan on on late so don’t delay the sowing. The fertiliser can go on after (03) 5624 2259. sowing, if necessary. Pasture germination and subsequent growth will be slow when sown late, allowing broad-leaved weeds and winter grass to grow quicker to fill the bare ground. What can you do to manage late sown paddocks? Direct drill instead of cultivate If at all possible, avoid cultivating paddocks if sowing late, as late germinating pastures and crops will be very prone to pugging if and when grazed. This will result in heavy dry matter losses, lower quality pasture at grazing and increased weed growth coming into spring. Paddocks full of yellow flowers and/or winter grass (poa annua) is not a pretty sight. In addition, think of the consequences if we have another very wet winter. Above: Good Increase sowing rate germination on left Recent DPI research by Joe Jacobs in Project 3030 has shown that increasing the sowing rate of annual ryegrass (one diploid and two tetraploids) in South West Victoria has resulted in greater pasture yields and less weed growth. The trials conducted in April showed that increasing the sowing rate from 30 to 40 kg/ha resulted in Right: Capeweed in extra growth over the full growing period. Assuming a utilisation newly sown pasture rate of 80 per cent, he measured an average, over two years, of an extra 850 kg DM/ha between 20 and 30 kg/ha sowing rate and 1,040 kg DM/ha between 30 and 40 kg/ha. Apart from being very economical, even allowing for the extra cost of seed and fertiliser, weed growth was reduced somewhat. Also, the sowing spacing Below: Good used was 100 mm compared to the traditional 150 mm spacing. germination on left Annual ryegrass sowing rates have been traditionally 20 to 25 kg/ ha in Victorian dairying areas. Select the most appropriate species Fescues, chicory and most annual clovers are slow starters at the best of times so avoid late sowing of these or, at the very least, consider the need for weed control if sowing these late. However, some forage cereals (forage, dual purpose barleys and some triticales) are suited to late sowing and may provide one grazing if direct drilled versus sowed into a cultivated bed. Compared to ryegrass they do not tolerate pugging or waterlogging but can grow well in cold, wet conditions. Their main forte will be as a silage crop if taken off at the flag leaf to boot stage, eg: when still vegetative. It will most likely be difficult to wilt and will require a silage additive at harvest to ensure a favourable fermentation. Harvesting at the late milk to soft dough stage, requiring no wilting, may be an option. However, expect lower quality but a very high yield, barley providing better quality being cut at this growth stage. contact us This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a comment, please contact Jessie Horton, Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2232 or [email protected] Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. 2 Grape Marc for Dairy Cows? n what is probably the first experiment of its type in Some people have been concerned that cows might get drunk on Ithe world, Dr Peter Moate and colleagues at DPI grape marc, but there is no alcohol in DGM and little alcohol in Ellinbank Centre researched the impact of feeding EGM. Similarly, the presence of hard seeds is only an issue in FGM. During the drought, some farmers had “bad experiences” grape marc on milk production and methane emissions with feeding grape marc. However, there is anecdotal evidence that by dairy cows. during the drought, some farmers fed their cows on grape marc Methane emissions from dairy cows can be reduced by around 20% that had been lying about for several years exposed to air, in effect through the feeding of grape marc. But what exactly is grape marc? grape marc compost. Grape marc is the skins, seeds and stems left over after grapes For every negative report of this type about grape marc, Dr Moate have been pressed to make wine. There are three types of grape says he has had a number of anecdotal reports praising its use. marc available in Australia, fresh grape marc, dried ground pelleted One farmer from NSW said that based on his 20 years experience grape marc, and ensiled grape marc. of feeding EGM and DGM to his dairy cows, his cows loved to eat What is the difference between fresh, pelleted and ensiled the grape marc, that it supported milk yield and made the cows’ grape marc? coats glossy. Another dairy farmer from England said he had fed Fresh grape marc (FGM) is the grape marc produced immediately dairy cows with grape marc for the last 15 years and he was very after the grapes are pressed. FGM may be very wet, and it contains happy with the results. grape seeds that are generally very hard. FGM is difficult to Finally, a Google search showed that farmers in Georgia (a former handle, expensive to transport and may be of low nutritive value Soviet republic) have traditionally fed grape marc to their cattle for because the seeds (which contain a lot of energy in the form of hundreds of years. The take home message from all of this is that grape oil) are so hard they often pass completely through an DGM and EGM are feed resources that, if they can be purchased animal. and transported at a reasonable price, are alternatives to our There is a possibility that FGM might be contaminated by chemical traditional feed supplements if fed as part of a balanced ration. sprays and fungicides that are used in vineyards to control moulds Table 1. Results of a DPI Ellinbank experiment on feeding which might then transfer to meat and milk. For this reason, Dairy either a control (CON) diet, or diets containing either dry Australia has advised that caution should be used when feeding grape marc (DGM) or ensiled grape marc (EGM) to dairy grape marc to dairy cows and that grape marc should only be cows in late lactation. sourced from an accredited supplier.

Approximately 78% of the grape marc available in Australia is dried Dietary Treatment CON DGM EGM ground pelleted grape marc (DGM) and it is sold as stock feed Parameter from accredited suppliers. The DGM stockfeed is commercially heated and distilled to inactivate the majority of any chemical Number of cows 12 10 9 sprays or fungicides that may have been sprayed on the grapes in Feed intake (kg DM/cow per d) the vineyards. Alfalfa hay 13.2 8.9 8.8 Crushed wheat 3.8 3.8 3.7 Ensiled grape marc (EGM) is just FGM that has been ensiled in a Minerals 0.1 0.1 0.1 similar fashion to pasture silage. The ensiling process preserves Molasses 0.2 0.2 0.2 the grape marc and during months of storage, the grape seeds are Dry grape marc 0 4.9 0 softened and “plumped up” so that when EGM is fed to cattle the Ensiled grape marc 0 0 4.7 seeds are digested. Theoretically, EGM could contain chemical Total dry matter intake 17.3 17.9 17.5 residues, so farmers intending to feed EGM to cattle need to Milk (L/cow per d) 14.6a 15.4a 12.8b ensure that they source EGM from an accredited supplier. Fat% 4.94a 3.99b 4.91a What did the experiment show? Protein% 3.56a 3.52a 3.47a The results of the DPI research experiment are summarised in Fat (g/cow per d) 720a 613b 608b Table 1. The cows were in late lactation and were fed either dried Protein (g/cow per d) 517a 540a 437b (DGM) or ensiled (EGM) grape marc. Total dry matter intake was Means in the same row followed by different superscripts are not affected. Milk yield was reduced by feeding the EGM, but not statistically different (P<0.05). by feeding the DGM. Protein test was unaffected but protein yield was lower when feeding the EGM. Milk fat percentage was lower when feeding DGM and milk fat yield was significantly less when Left: Ensiled grape mark feeding both products. An important finding from this DPI research was that methane emissions were reduced by approximately 20% when cows were fed either product. Feeding either product substantially changed the fatty acid composition of the milk resulting in higher concentrations of healthy milk compounds (as described in table 1). In the next stage of this research DPI plans to investigate the impact on cows in early lactation. The use of grape marc on the farm Since the findings of this research were first released in early December 2011 there has been considerable discussion about the pros and cons of feeding grape marc to cattle. Aside from the concerns about chemical residues, most other concerns have focused on the difficulties associated with feeding FGM to cattle. right: Dry pelleted grape When looking at the practical side of feeding grape marc, Dr Moate marc suggests that the feeding of FGM to cattle would be difficult to justify. 3 Changing with the seasons GippsDairy anaging the wet winter, deciding on a feed pad, Mconsidering chicory, saving energy in the cow shed, calving dates and riding the dairy roller coaster have been some of the topics investigated by the Future focus farms Ready Dairy Systems (FRDS) project in the past 2 years. Four New Focus Farms Are Starting Many Gippsland dairy farmers have shared their experiences and knowledge throughout the project. 500 people attended 14 events focused on managing dairy businesses in our variable climate. The project began after a number of long, GippsDairy in conjunction with Dairy Australia dry summer periods and finished after an extremely wet winter and have started another round of Focus Farms that mild summer. will operate until June 2014. The farms are Continually working in & with the elements, farmers are aware, more located at Loch, Binginwarri, Newry and Drouin than most that no two seasons are the same! It is this challenge that keeps the job interesting. It is also a challenge when the seasons South. GippsDairy Chairman John Versteden vary greatly. Whether it be an infestation of cockchafers, says the farm families involved in this round waterlogged paddocks or extremely dry conditions, farmers are bring great diversity both in terms of location, innovative and come up with new ways to manage these challenges. farm system and farming goals. The FRDS project has run across Australia and many case studies have been gathered. There is a wealth of information available online Loch focus farm (on the South Gippsland highway) at frds.dairyaustralia.com.au. Paul and Louise Sherar are share farming. As part of the 60/40 The FRDS project in Gippsland was managed by a regional group share, they receive 60% of proceeds and provide 100% of labour, including Tyran Jones, Judy Johnson, Andrea Killeen, Annette Zurrer shed and herd costs and most mobile plant. The effective milking (GippsDairy), Melanie Smith (GippsDairy), Neil Baker (Macalister area is 100 hectares (ha), carrying 300 cows. Demonstration Farm), Matt Harms (Onfarm Consulting), Greg O’Brien (DPI), Mik Harford (Fonterra), Mark Jago (Murray They have a philosophy of rearing every heifer calf born as they Goulburn) and Gillian Hayman (Dairying for Tomorrow see their herd as a growing asset; once excess calves are weaned Co-ordinator). The project was funded by the Australian Department they must leave the farm. As a result they lease a further 52 ha of of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries together with Dairy Australia. land to accommodate these surplus heifers.

The Facilitator for this focus farm is Matt Harms. Some issues to address through the Focus Farm include exploring the boundaries to stocking rates via better pasture management, fertiliser use and feeding to maximise profit. A more family orientated goal is to have a better work/family balance for Paul via additional labour.

Newry focus farm (near Maffra) Jon and Lauren Ryan along with Laurens parents operate an equity partnership leasing a milking area of 240 ha, a heifer turnout block of 38 ha and an additional dry cow turnout block of 38 ha.

The daily management of the dairy farm business is carried out Stuart & Jenny Bland opened their farm to share system changes due to by Jon. It has recently moved to milking 660 cows in a split dryer conditions – February 2011 calving. The intention is to continue to increase herd size to 900 cows.

The Facilitator for this Focus Farm is Craig McWhinney. Jon says “The challenges that I would like to address while being a focus farmer are many. As a young farmer that’s managing a large growing enterprise I recognise that the decisions I make have a myriad of flow on effects but I sometimes lack the experience to anticipate outcomes. I would greatly value the insights of those with more experience in the dairy industry having had succeeded in their respective fields”. A goal is to maximise the efficiency of home grown forage to profit.

Drouin South focus farm Sean and Jenifer Allen are dairy farming at Drouin South. Total Colin Wright, Judy Johnson, Neil Baker & John Mulvany all spoke at farm area is 71 ha, pasture area is 65 ha. 40% is on the “red” soil the Yarram Dairy Business Forum in May 2011 4 the remainder goes into “grey” soil. The farm has an underpass to • Deal with the growing pressure on infrastructure as a reach the paddocks on the west side of the busy Main South Road. result of buying next door several years ago (260 to 400 cows!) They started milking on the property in May 2011, the herd is During the period of the Focus Farm, $351,000 had been spent on currently 150 cows mainly Friesian and a few Friesian-Jersey infrastructure, including new and expanded laneways and yards, crossbreds. Cows calve from mid July to end of October and are silos, milking machines (20 swing over to 20 double up), and currently on target to produce 455 kg MS/cow. shortly a ute, motorbike, and hay feeder to be purchased before June 2012. $110,000 of this was paid for by using funds from a Facilitator on this farm is Matt Hall. Sean considers pasture capital asset (shares) and the balance of $241,000 came from cash productivity needs to be developed through pasture renovation, flow - not increased liabilities. This equates to $80,333 per year, or attention to grazing management is also an area to be worked on. $211 per cow per year. The dairy needs to change before more cows can be milked, currently it is a six aside double with yard capacity for 220 cows. The farm is now set up to milk 360 - 400 cows depending upon the labour structure. The vat is under capacity for daily pick-up all Binginwarri focus farm (west from Yarram) year round, but twice a day for part of the year will be continued. Trent and Belinda Crawford currently lease Belinda’s mother’s 60 A large proportion of this “development/maintenance” occurred in ha dairy farm and have recently purchased 18 ha of neighbouring 2010/2011, with a higher milk price. The improved infrastructure land which they milk off. has been achieved from cash flow.

Young stock run on out blocks nearby that are leased. They are • Reduce debt milking 140 mixed breed cows this season with a view to some Kevin and Helen want to achieve an improved lifestyle in their expansion in the future without getting too big, they wish to keep 50’s; therefore reduced debt and increased employed labour is an the farm manageable without paid labour. they run a seasonal objective. As of 30 June 2010, the liabilities on the business were calving herd with calving running for 8 weeks beginning 25th July. $1,904,855, mainly to Rural Finance as either principal and interest or interest only. There was also debt on the Prado and Tractor. Facilitator on this farm is Matt Harms. Trent and Belinda say “our main goal is to continue producing more milk without necessarily The anticipated liabilities on 30 June 2012 will be $1,592,276 a milking too many more cows, but by improving pastures and the reduction of $312,579 over 3 years. This equates to $274 per cow genetics of our herd”. In their first season they produced about per year reduced debt. A significant reduction in debt has been 600,000 litres increasing to 720,000 litres the next year and are on achieved. The debt reduction and infrastructure improvements target to produce their goal of 900,000 litres this year. amounted to $485 per cow per year.

• Increased employed labour and improved lifestyle Final report from the Foster Focus Farm In regard to “measuring” the degree of success, it is difficult. There have been many discussions on the engagement of staff Outcomes compared to objectives – How did the Support versus more capital on facilities, to achieve better throughput in Group and the Jones family go? the dairy. The outcome has been a bit in both. One clear measure is that, in 2009/2010, there were 3100 paid hours, and in Kevin and Helen Jones dairy farm was already operating very well 2011/2012 it will be 3864 hours, a 25% increase with only an 11% prior to the Focus Farm, as evidenced by them being judged the increase in cow numbers and better facilities. The Jones family has Gippsland Regional Award Winners of the Westpac Dairy Farm gained a better lifestyle and increased employed labour in upgraded Management Competition in 2008/2009. Therefore it was unlikely facilities. A very good guide to this is a more relaxed five week that there would be very big changes in production systems or in annual holiday at the beach. productivity. • Focus on Profit Focus Farm Facilitator John Mulvany suggests a 4% increase in The farm has achieved between a 6% and 9% return on asset productivity over the period is significant but not the highlight of (probably at over current market value rates on the assets - but we the journey. The farm had been through expansions typical of won’t go there!). In “lay man’s” language, the farm in 2011/2012 many, from 260 to 400 cows, there were still many infrastructure will achieve an operating surplus of $435,167, to service debt, pay and human issues to resolve. capital, personals and tax.

In addition, to the Support Group offering their expertise, part of In summary, the Focus Farm has achieved the stated objectives the process was observing how established good profitable and is now on the 360 - 400 cow curve, whereas previously it had farmers make daily decisions to produce the end of year results. the pasture growing ability to milk these numbers but not the critical components to support it. Continued consolidation and • Survive 2009/2010 debt reduction is now the objective. The Jones family have been The 2009/2010 season opened at a milk price of $3.40/kgMS and very open with their financial position and believe that this is an no promise of step-ups. The industry was on its knees and, at this integral part of the Focus Farm Project. price, very few budgets balanced, including Kevin and Helen’s. The approach was a survival “bare bones” year, as evidenced by The previous round of Focus Farms was an initiative of their cost structure of low overheads and farm maintenance. The GippsDairy and funded by the Geoffrey Gardiner milk price increased to $4.40 by the end of the year and the Foundation, Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. budget surplus was $52,921, even after $54,657 of farm improvements. Return on assets was 6.1%. 2009/2010 had been better than just survival.

5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 14-20 days per leaf on irrigated and non-irrigated pastures. This may be faster or slower depending on temperatures and soil moisture (on dryland june farms). Feeding Area of farm to graze today 1/40 to 1/55 of grazing area in 24 hours. • Formulate a feed plan to get through Recommended pre-grazing Allow pastures to grow to the three leaf stage winter. Feed planning helps to compare decisions before grazing, this generates greater leaf area for the rate of supplement feeding against photosynthesis and increases pasture growth rate. supply, giving early signals that allow a smooth transition in the diet as well Lengthen the grazing rotation as temperatures as early signals regarding the need to get colder while maintaining each cow’s total feed purchase feed or apply nitrogen fertiliser. intake through the feeding of more supplements • Plan your transition diet for calving Recommended post grazing Ensure cows leave 4-6cm of residual pasture cows. The aims are to prevent milk fever, decision between the clumps. This will ensure a stronger ensure the cow's energy requirements ryegrass regrowth in the winter, less soil erosion are met, and introduce grain to the diet and less space for weed germination. if a high level of grain is being fed in the Average daily pasture growth rate 9 to 15 kg DM/ha/day on dryland farms following milking herd. A properly-formulated lead feed ration or the use of anionic salts in autumn rainfall. Those with irrigated rye grass the water troughs should be considered. pastures can also expect an estimated 9 – 15 kg Even a low level of milk fever in the herd DM/ha/day. has many flow-on effects including calf Seasonal management tasks Consider the possibility of a wet winter and losses during calving, downer cows and strategies for managing waterlogged soils; cow health issues in early lactation. Learn especially if sub-soil moisture is already high. more at www.dairyaustralia.com.au in the feeding and nutrition section. • Be prepared for an increase in metabolic Weed Control diseases, particularly if cows are over- • Look to control broadleaf weeds like Cow Health conditioned or have had access to green capeweed and erodium with appropriate • Although mastitis can be managed in pasture in the three weeks prior to herbicides before they grow too large. many dairy cows, some don’t respond calving. Have treatments on hand as the Doing it now is more economical and to treatment, leaving culling as the cows calve. effective. Newly sown or repaired only option. Removing cows with pugged paddocks may be the highest chronic infections reduces the bacterial Replacement Heifers/Calves priority. challenge to other clean cows and helps • Think about contract rearing the heifers • If looking to apply nitrogen, avoid using to protect the healthy, young cows to take the pressure off the dairy farm it on paddocks full of capeweed, to that are the future of the herd. Refer milking area and the farm staff, whilst reduce the chances of nitrate poisoning to the Countdown Downunder at www. ensuring the future milkers are well when grazed. countdown.org.au for more information grown and a business asset. For details on guidelines for culling cows because of mastitis. on what contract rearing is, setting Financial Issues • Make sure your calving paddocks are weight gain targets or for an example of • Organise your expenditure and income sheltered and on a well-drained soil type. a contract, contact InCalf on (03) 9620 records to prepare a cash flow budget for A calving shed is useful, but not essential. 7283 or visit www.incalf.com.au next financial year using next season’s Try to keep calving areas clean and free • Best immunity occurs where colostrum expected milk prices. of mud, this will reduce the incidence of is fed in the first six hours. All calves • Start preparing for doing this year’s tax mastitis as well as certain types of scours should be topped up with two litres return by getting your financial records in calves. Rotate the area used from year of top quality colostrum by teat or organised. This can also help if preparing to year. oesophageal feeder when removed from an analysis of how the farm performed • Wet soils and laneways are possible the calving pad or paddock. If calves over the year. during winter, so monitor the dairy herd have not sucked, they should be fed four • Look at your expected cash situation at for lameness and treat promptly. For litres of top quality colostrum by teat or the end of the financial year. If there is more information about treatment and oesophageal feeder. Have stores of good a good surplus then seek some advice prevention of lameness visit quality colostrum available for these from your accountant as to how to best www.dairyaustralia.com.au circumstances. manage it. ComingUp Nuffield Scholarship applications now including a scholarship for a dairy farmer the June 5 and 6 event will offer invaluable open supported by Dairy Australia. Applications insights into two of the more complex The 2013 Nuffield Scholarships aim to close June 30. For more information visit: issues of farm management. increase practical farming knowledge and www.nuffield.com.au/schols.html management skills. The scholarships give The sessions, which have been described Australian citizens the opportunity to study Planning for success as “a mind-blowing experience” by farming practices in New Zealand, Europe, The final two days of ’4 Teats - Churn Milk previous participants, will be held at Asia and the Americas into Money’ are a must for anyone Century Inn, Traralgon. For further details interested in succession planning and contact Irene at yddpgipps@gippsdairy. Up to 20 scholarships are available for employee rights. Open to all members of com.au or phone the GippsDairy office on primary producers across Australia the Young Dairy Development Program, (03) 5624 3900. GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 6 1 j une 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy

Prepare for tax time Milk price Some suggested tax planning options include: means buy it but don’t buy machinery thinking it efficiently reduces tax. The The outlook for farmgate milk prices in Prepay expenses depreciation benefits on a $50,000 baler Gippsland, based on current commodity Bringing forward farm expenses from next may mean only a $2,250, best case, tax price and exchange rate expectations, is for year into this year allows you to reduce saving. While the tax man gets a bit less, an opening price range of $4.30 to $4.60 per taxable profit this year. The advantage of you now have $47,750 less in cash flow (or kg Milk Solids (MS) down from an average pre-purchasing is that you are buying in debt repayments over the next five opening price of around $4.75 per kg MS in inputs which would have been purchased in years). 2011. This implies a full year average price 2012/2013 so the eventual cash flow in 2012/13 between $4.65 and $5.00 per kg position is no different. Prepayment items Farm Management Deposits MS down from around $5.10 to $5.40 per kg could include grain and supplements, FMD are still a reliable tool for surplus MS in 2011/12. fertiliser, semen, vet supplies, or fencing cash flow. goods. Conversely, other tax reduction The forecast is an indicative range as Superannuation options such as paying into superannuation factors make it difficult to be definitive Tuck some surplus cash flow into or farm management deposits can place about outcomes for individual farmers. It superannuation. Be sure you don’t need the pressure on cash flow for the 2012/2013 does, however, represent a decrease of cash until retirement as it is hard to access year. $45,000 in 2012/2013 for an average once put away. Superannuation is also Gippsland farm producing 120,000 kg of Reduce debt useful if off-farm succession planning is milk solids. All farmers should contact their Clear outstanding creditors and reduce happening now or in the future. field officers for an income estimate for short term equipment and livestock debt. Pay tax 2012/13 as soon as that processor’s price is Reducing debt in a low to moderate equity Sometimes the best option is to not spend announced. situation is sensible business because it anything and pay the taxman. It may sound increases business strength, even if it Tax time silly but if cash flow is tight and loan increases the tax liability. This year has many farmers showing repayments are high you may need the taxable profit. This builds on the good Invest on farm extra cash. For example, by not spending 2010/11 year meaning many have been able Use cash flow to improve some capital $30,000 and just paying $6,000 tax, you still to get back on track regarding maintenance infrastructure without increasing debt. Do have $24,000 in the bank to spend on the and debt servicing. Many have made the same with repairs and maintenance, bills when you need it. It’s all about cash payments to principal as well as interest. which are tax deductible. flow. Now is the time to give careful thought to ensure you maximise tax savings without Careful with new machinery purchases For further information refer to the depleting cash reserves. If you need machinery or equipment by all March 2012 “Cash flow Cash - It Just Comes In and Goes Out!” article and Tax planning will depend on your situation the May 2011 “Taxing Times” article and the tax system you are under, ie cash at www.gippsdairy.com.au, and the versus accruals, simplified tax system Situation & Outlook report at www. versus non simplified tax system etc. These dairyaustralia.com.au/Statistics-and- can significantly alter the outcome of your markets. Please note that the options tax planning and should be discussed with suggested above may not be suitable your farm or tax advisers. Most dairy for your situation therefore please farmers are aware of their tax position by contact your local tax expert before doing interim reporting before the end of making any decisions. the financial year. Protecting pastures this winter any farms are entering this the paddock some of the herd would walk • Apply nitrogen fertiliser while paddocks winter with large areas of wet to the back of the paddock while many, are accessible. M especially the less dominant animals, would • If using a bike spreader, consider dual soils following persistent summer/ tend to hang around the front. At the next wheels (Figure 2). autumn rains. It is now late May feed in the same paddock, a few more cows • Lay soft material such as sawdust/ and this year is beginning to look headed to the back but usually not all the woodchips, hay at yard entrances and like a typical Gippsland winter of herd got there, so less pasture damage. exits to minimise lameness. Some farmers even locked their cows in for • Use automatic gate openers (Figure 3) to old, where the soils are very wet, the day/night break. avoid crowding at the gate, and for the but with some areas of some farms cows to walk at their own pace to the The farmers said it was critical in this not having any issues in relation to shed, reducing lameness. scenario that the paddocks contained a • Agist dry stock off farm. pugging damage. high pasture cover. Some also said that they trained the cows over a few days to not Talk to a range of farmers who successfully My mantra is: Avoid pugging damage expect a gate to be opened or extra fodder managed the very wet conditions last at all costs. Even a small amount of to be given whenever a tractor/bike travels winter and tap into their practical pugging can lead to a reduction of 20-30% in up the laneway. This avoids cows needlessly experiences. They will have some tips I pasture production, not to mention severe rushing up to the gate and causing pasture have not covered, or know about. pugging (50-60%). This could lead to a bleak damage. Bit of pain for longer term gain. picture with the possibility of milk prices Other sources of information: being lower, reduced milk production, On-off grazing. This involves putting 1. DPI website: www.dpi.vic.gov.au/ higher costs because of increased use of animals into a day or night break of pasture agriculture/dairy/managing-wet-soils supplementary feeding, re-sowing, thinner and removing them as soon as it even looks 2. Dairy Australia website: http://www. cows, mastitis, lameness, etc. like being damaged. The gate is usually left open. Obviously, the cattle then need to go dairyaustralia.com.au/Home/

Many farmers learnt valuable lessons last somewhere and be topped up with high Standard-Items/Search 3. Contact a DPI dairy extension officer season and, despite this year’s summer/ quality supplement. This IS extra work but (03) 5624 2222 and order a wet soil autumn conditions not being ideal, have worth the effort in minimising pasture management booklet. focussed on the maintenance of tracks and damage and minimises a reduction in the feed pad/loafing/calving down areas, etc. year’s profit. Many have also bitten the bullet and either By Frank Mickan, DPI Ellinbank updated, enlarged or constructed new and If possible, grazing should be confined to better laneways, feed pads, stand-off and the drier paddocks while the wet paddocks calving down areas, etc. and will recoup become less so, but then reinstating them their costs in a relatively short time. in the rotation as soon as possible to maintain the pasture wedge on the whole A few farmers have improved drainage by farm. Maintaining the rotation is crucial to forming paddocks into humps and hollows, allow the grass to grow back to near its sometimes called “ploughing in lands” potential (2½ - 3 leaves) rather than (Figure 1). This drainage system is very speeding it up and running out of grass useful on flats which become waterlogged next time around. This eventuality will and where there is very little fall. result in even more severe pugging, Unfortunately, over the long period of dry increased supplementary feeding, etc.. years in West and South Gippsland many farmers flattened out their paddocks to If lacking infrastructure to hold cows when they are Off, it is amazing where short make equipment use easier. Ideally, after Figure 1. Humps and hollows very heavy rains these paddocks, and any term stand-off areas can be found or sub-service drained paddocks, should be created on most farms. Often another pair left for at least 24-48 hours to drain and for of eyes, or looking outside the square, can the soils to regain some strength before be very useful in finding a suitable site. grazing, Mind you, this area will probably become a boggy nightmare, so any planning for easy If I don’t have infrastructure to stand access and effluent run-off, preparation, animals off pastures, what can I do? laying of a hard surface and covering with There are several options and management sawdust/wood chops/bark, etc. is time and techniques farmers may wish to consider money well spent BEFORE being used. for minimising pugging damage. Now is the time to do something, NOT when the cows are up to their tits in mud! Last season, some farmers fed the cows Figure 2. Bike spreader with duals before they went to the wet paddock so that Suitable areas may be an old cow yard, they tended to lay down until later in the often with a cement base, next to the morning or only walked short distances to updated/new dairy, even if this area is only “top up”, thereby causing minimal pugging. used to feed cows as they leave the shed. This can be achieved by increasing the bale Other options could be dead ends or very feed or supplementing with silage or hay wide areas along the track and areas in from troughs as the cows leave the dairy. front or behind the hayshed. Other sites The fodder should be as high quality as could be unused roads or rail tracks, treed possible to maintain milk production as it areas, block grazing a sacrifice paddock, on will be filling in for the shortfall in high the laneway itself (fenced over a section to quality pasture. prevent walking back and forth) or even back on the cow yard. An alternative some farmers tried was to offer the milkers their full daily break. They Some other tips are: Figure 3. Automatic gate opener were also fed 3-4 kg grain at each milking • Install two entrances into paddocks off time. Their argument was that on entry to the laneway to reduce traffic in/out. 2 Dairy effluent – make sure your system is in order airy farmers are required under legislation to believes there is or is likely to be pollution occurring, you must Dmanage dairy effluent. This valuable resource can show them the system at the time they arrive on your farm (EPA add nutrients to the farm’s soils, improving production. Act, section 55, Powers of an authorised officer). To continue operating dairy businesses within our What is the value of my effluent? local areas, the dairy industry must comply and ensure Effluent, which was once seen as a waste product, is increasingly that there is minimal nutrient loss into the broader being used as a nutrient-rich addition to fertiliser programmes. On average, the sludge pond on a Gippsland dairy farm with 300 cows catchment areas in which we farm. Here are some will contain around 750 kg of nitrogen, 150 kg of phosphorous and commonly asked questions about dairy effluent and its 810 kg of potassium. This could be worth as much as $8000 a year management. – literally money down the drain if it's not used properly. What do I need to comply to? These figures don't take into account that dairy effluent has a pH The dairy effluent must be managed in order to comply with the of around 7.6, meaning it has a liming effect. The organic material objectives of the Environment Protection Act 1970 (EPA Act) and in effluent is also a useful addition to the farm, providing energy associated policies, which includes: for soil microbes, stabilising soil structure, increasing water • All effluent from the dairy, feedpads, standoff areas, underpasses storage capacity in the ground, storing carbon and supplying and tracks must be contained and reused (most commonly nutrients. spread back on pastures and crop). In really wet conditions how should I manage my effluent? • Effluent must not enter surface waters (including billabongs, Effluent ponds are designed to store rainfall during the wetter canals, springs, swamps, natural or artificial channels, lakes, months of the year if the ponds are emptied over the drier periods lagoons, creeks and rivers). and the solids removed every 3-6 years. In wetter years careful • Runoff containing effluent must not leave the property boundary. planning is required to ensure the ponds are emptied over the drier • Effluent must not enter ground waters either directly or through months. Therefore, if effluent ponds are managed correctly they infiltration (for example seepage from ponds). shouldn’t overflow during the wetter periods. If the effluent system • Effluent must not contaminate land (discharging effluent onto is too small and can not hold all the effluent generated over the the same small area over time will cause nutrient overload and winter months then increasing the effluent system volume may be contaminate land). required. • Offensive odours must not impact beyond property boundaries. What happens if I do not comply with legislation? The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has recently updated its compliance and enforcement capacity. If you fail to comply with the above obligations, the EPA will issue a remedial notice and in some cases of evident pollution you may receive a sanction (official warning/fine). The remedial notice is a statutory document and will instruct the farmer of the non-compliance, set out timelines for compliance and suggest a way to comply. If the farmer remedies the situation the notice is revoked. If no or insufficient action is taken, a sanction through an official warning, fine or prosecution can result.

What rights do I have? If you currently find yourself in the situation where the effluent EPA staff visit farms to ensure farmers are managing their effluent ponds are too small, the effluent should be applied to pasture away systems properly. If a representative of the EPA arrives on your from waterways and wet paddocks, during periods of dry weather farm to inspect your effluent system you can ask them to make an to avoid runoff. Alternatively, an additional storage area may be appointment and come back at a time that suits both parties. Be utilised to pump and store water in the short term. Effluent aware that the EPA representative can inspect without a landholder systems need to be updated when there is a change in the number present. If the EPA representative is acting on a complaint and of cows milked or in the volume of water used in the dairy. Install a rainwater diversion device, which will divert fresh water off dairy yards and feed pads, to minimise the volume of water entering the ponds. Ensure freshwater runoff from shed rooves is not entering the ponds and consider reuse of effluent water for yard wash. How do I find out more information about managing effluent on my farm? 1. GippsDairy fact sheets and case studies www.gippsdairy.com.au 2. Effluent and manure management database or DairySAT at www.dairyingfortomorrow.com.au 3. DPI website www.dpi.vic.gov.au contact us This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a comment, please contact Jessie Horton, Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2232 or [email protected] Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. 3 Australia’s wettest two-year period GippsDairy ureau of Meteorology figures show Australia has Bjust had its wettest two-year period on record. The average rainfall for Australia during 2010–2011 was 1409 mm, just surpassing the old record of 1407 mm set focus farms during 1973–1974. The frequent heavy rains from spring 2010 to autumn 2011, and again in late 2011, contributed Binginwarri and Loch Focus Farms - to the majority of the rainfall. Different Pathways but Sharing a The frequent heavy rains were due to the back-to-back La Niña Common Goal events during the two-year period. La Niña conditions are very warm sea surface temperatures in the eastern Indian Ocean and to the north of Australia. La Niña brings warmer ocean waters and enhanced tropical convection to the Australian region. The new Focus Farms at Binginwarri and The 2010-2011 La Niña event was one of the strongest in history, Loch are underway and already there is producing record-high Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) values and record-high sea surface temperatures. This La Niña event declined some interesting data coming forward. They through winter 2011, and a weaker La Niña re-emerged in spring operate in different environments and the and persisted into the summer months of 2012. families have some very different goals, The wettest two-year period in 2010-2011 ended a record sequence however they share one common goal – they of dry years in parts of southern and eastern Australia. The records show that as of the end of December 2009, southeast Australia had place significant emphasis on their farm the driest 11-year, 10-year, 9-year, 8-year, and 7-year periods on family lifestyle. record. Facilitator at these Focus Farms is Matt Harms. Matt describes The extended dry period in southeast Australia was characterised by the activities of these young families associated with each farm both a decline in autumn and winter rainfall, as well as an absence of business as measured, and very strongly orientated to a long very wet years in general. The most significant rainfall changes were term future in the industry. a 10–20 per cent reduction in autumn and winter rainfall across the southeast since 1996. Loch Focus Farm Paul and Louise Sherar and their The substantial rainfall decline in autumn and winter was mainly three young sons Thomas, Zac and Blake are share farming. As influenced by a reduction in low pressure systems (cold fronts), and part of the 60/40 share, they receive 60% of proceeds and provide an increase in the number of high pressure systems. The main 100% of labour, shed and herd costs and most mobile plant. rainfall and runoff seasons occurred between April to November, with less rainfall falling in summer. They have a philosophy of rearing every heifer calf born as they see their herd as a growing asset; once excess calves are weaned The trend of rainfall reductions in autumn and winter was not they must leave the farm. As a result they lease a further 50 reversed by the wettest two-year period in 2010-2011. The high hectares of land to accommodate these surplus heifers. rainfall events were not associated with winter-time storm systems Goals of the Loch Focus Farm: and thus this doesn’t indicate a return to normal conditions for the • Lift production on the farm with current milking area and southern Australian winter season. ensure that the best job is being done with the inputs being The bulk of the above average rainfall during 2010-11 fell during the used. northern wet season with tropical-influenced weather systems • Cross-breeding and herd performance- what can it deliver? bringing monsoonal-like rainfall to much of the continent. By • Build equity and look at investment options with this equity. contrast, dry conditions persisted in late autumn to early winter • Where do Sherars go on this farm and beyond this farm- (April to June) during the 2010 and 2011 across southern Australia. replicate and take on a second farm, lease or purchase? • A more family orientated goal is to have a better work/family For more dairy-related weather information join the 500 balance for Paul via additional labour. As part of this strategy other subscribers to the DPI newsletter “Milking the they want to go to a February calving - joining started 25 April Weather” by contacting Greg O’Brien on (03) 5624 2288 or for a 1 February calving. Cows can be dried off before email greg.o’[email protected] Christmas and the school holiday period.

Both days go from 10.30am to 3pm and often ask about the rights and ComingUp provide lunch and tea/coffee. responsibilities of employees and employers. The session will bring in the John Mulvany from OnFarm consulting will best information the dairy industry has and July seminars lead the discussions using real life will provide a comfortable environment for • Rights and responsibilities of employees examples and contributions from expert employees to discuss their situations. The and employers (Tues July 10) speakers. He said “Succession planning is day will provide clarity to those trickly • Succession planning (Wed July 11) hard, it creates tension and can take 2 – 3 employment issues and essential links to years to plan properly. It needs to do the The sessions are part of the YDDP information and farm employment experts. right thing for all family members and not business event called “4 teats – Churn milk expose the one taking on the farm to high into money”. They have been developed to levels of risk.” Both sessions are at Century Inn, 5 Airfield answer many of the requests put to YDDP. Road, Princes Highway, Traralgon. Please All dairy people should feel they can come Irene Baker says Young Dairy RSVP for catering purposes, or for to the seminar and workshop sessions. Development Program (YDDP) members information contact Irene at 4 Summary of key ‘farm physicals’ • Estimated production of 520 kgMS/cow or 72,600 kgMS total. • 105 effective hectares (ha). • Grain use of 1.7 t/cow as fed. • 295 milkers in 2011-12, so an effective stocking rate of 2.81 • Pasture consumption of 3.8 tDM/cow or 7.6 tDM/ha. cows/ha. • Turnout area of 54 ha (all leased). • Estimated production of 510 kg milk solids (MS)/cow or • No paid labour. 150,284 kg MS total (difficult to actually determine because • 57% of farm income is spent on production costs. there are three calving dates and constantly altering cow numbers). 2012-13 Binginwarri budget: • Grain use of 2.1 tonne(t)/cow as fed. Hay purchased as A first draft was presented to the Focus Farm Support Group required. based on a milk price of $4.68/kgMS. It is working on 150 cows • Pasture consumption of 3.4 t dry matter (DM)/cow or 9.5 producing 520 kgMS/cow and grain inputs of 1.7 t/cow at $310/t tDM/ha. average cost. The operating surplus is $140,411 or $936/cow • Turnout area of around 88 ha (leased 50 ha and owned 38 ha), (required to pay debt, tax, dairy land lease, capital expense and costing $14,340 annually. living). The remaining cash surplus is $16,126. • Paid labour worth around $45,000 per annum and a total labour input (paid + imputed) of 3.8 full time equivalent (FTE), worth Note: The GippsDairy Focus Farms like other dairy farm $1.01/kg MS or $585/cow. businesses in the region will need to contact their dairy company • 58% of farm income is spent on production. supply officers when milk price is announced to obtain income estimates for 2012-13 as part of gaining a clearer understanding of Summary of Key ‘Farm Financials’ the implications for their farm system. • Farm working expenses (herd costs, shed costs, feed costs, overheads and paid labour) totalling $3.42/kg MS in 2011-12 Dry cow and calving plans: (predicted). Trent was asked to describe the dry-cow process on their farm. • Milk price paid of $5.52/kg MS (predicted closing). He has provided the following valuable contribution: • Operating surplus of $1300/cow for the farm (available to pay • Cows will be dried off in batches one batch per week, cows due debt, tax, living and capital expenses for both Sherar and farm to be dried off that week are separated from the herd 4-5 days owner). before they are due to be dried off and fed hay and 2 kg grain • Total assets for Sherars of $576,100 (opening values) and in order to slow milk production. liabilities of $121,946, giving a net worth of $454,154 (opening • All cows get 7-8 weeks dry period, some high cell count cows values). will get 9-10 weeks dry. All cows are blanket treated with 600 mg cloxacillin and teat seal. 15 cows that will be induced (due Binginwarri Focus Farm after 21st September) will be dried off 8 weeks before planned Trent and Belinda Crawford and daughters Stephanie and induction date which is 60 days before due calving date. All Charlotte currently lease Belinda’s mother’s 60 ha dairy farm and cows Preg tested early so very accurate calving dates are have recently purchased 18 ha of neighbouring land which they available. also milk off. • All cows and maiden heifers receive 7in1, B12, multimin and Bovillus S. during dry period. Maiden heifers and cows to be This is their third season on the farm. In their first season they induced will be drenched 2 weeks before calving. produced about 600,000 litres increasing to 720,000 litres the next • All cows will be dried off by end of June and milking ceases for year and are on target to produce this year’s goal of 900,000 litres. the family to go on holidays during the school holidays. Hence some of the later calving cows get a longer dry period but Before coming to the farm they were share farming on a large holidays are more important. 5 young empty cows will be 600 cow farm for two seasons. With two young children they milked through by neighbours and return to the herd when decided it was best to scale down. Prior to that Trent had worked calving commences. as a mixed practice veterinarian for 7 years. • Cows due in the first week of calving will stay at home for the dry period and receive pasture and home grown hay, the rest Goals of the Binginwarri Focus Farm: will be trucked to the turnout block 8 km away and fed pasture • Lift production from the farm with current milking area. and pasture hay until 2-3 weeks before due date when they will • Maintain and improve profitability from a small farm. be trucked back to the home farm in batches. Springing cows • Improve the genetic merit of the herd as displayed through are fed pasture hay adlib and 2.5 kg commercial lead feed for improved production. 2-3 weeks prior to calving. • Increased pasture production from the existing milking area. • Build equity in the farm business. For more information about the Focus Farm project contact John Gallienne on (0407) 863 493 or e-mail Summary of key ‘farm physicals’ [email protected]. • 70 effective ha. • 140 milkers in 2011/12, so an effective stocking rate of 2.0 The Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy; it is funded cows/ha. by Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. [email protected] or phone the Literacy” will be delivered over five sessions training from the Australian Institute of GippsDairy office on 5624 3900. on June 20 and 27, July 18 and 25 and Company Directors for all successful August 1 from 10am - 3pm. Childcare candidates. People with a vision for the Wanted 12 female farmers funding is available if required. “In Charge” Gippsland dairy industry are strongly Are you a female farmer who wants to is supported by the Gardiner Foundation, encouraged apply by early August. improve your financial management skills. WHK and WestVic Dairy. For more improve your business profits and build information or to register please contact New directors will be invited to attend the wealth, and help the farm team build better GippsDairy on (03) 5624 3900 or email general board meeting on October 1 and plans? If so, a financial literacy program for [email protected] formally begin their role at the AGM in late women is due to start in Warragul in June. October. Visit www.gippsdairy.com.au for The program is delivered by Tahlia Sinnott more information or contact the GippsDairy GippsDairy board positions (a senior accountant with WHK with a dairy Positions will be available on the GippsDairy office on (03) 5624 3900 or farming background). board for farmers and for people with [email protected] The 25-hour program “In Charge Financial specialist skills. GippsDairy will provide GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 16 to 25 days per leaf (depending on soil moisture and temperature). Area of farm to graze today 1/48th to1/75th of grazing area in 24 hours. juLYAverage daily pasture growth rate 10 to 18 kg DM/Ha/day across Gippsland. If all Calves/Heifers your pastures are short and your average cover • Try to ensure that all bobby calves, across the farm is low, then the daily growth rate including those for sale, get a drink of could be much lower. good quality colostrum in the first 12 hours after birth to help with immunity Recommended pre-grazing The target for maximum pasture growth and against diseases. This also assists in the decisions for all stock consumption at this time of year is close to the end prevention of scours and the need to treat of the third leaf stage of growth. Ryegrass pastures them for it. should be at the 2 leaf stage, at least, before grazing • Calves can only be transported for sale to allow for the full potential of pasture recovery. If if they are at least five days old and must paddocks on offer are less than 2 leaves, slow down be healthy enough to stand and move rotation. unassisted and cope with transport. • Heifers’ require good quality Recommended post grazing To maximise pasture production, do not graze supplements (pellets or good quality hay decision for milkers and young pastures lower than 4 to 6 cm between clumps. If 9 MJ/kg or better) to provide the energy stock this is occurring, add high quality supplement for and protein for growth, if the pasture diet milkers and young stock and lower quality for dry is not available over the winter. stock. Seasonal management tasks Be flexible with pasture area allocation during wet Cows • Aim to have your cows’ condition score at weather. Consider options such as on/off grazing drying off around 4.5 to 5.4, see InCalf for and stand-off areas which aim to minimise treading more details. damage while accessing available pasture. • Prevent nitrate poisoning when grazing Cattle traffic is what causes pugging damage, cows forage oats, brassicas, or ryegrass walk to find feed, try to feed out as early as possible pastures containing capeweed or or offer feed before cows reach the paddock. marshmallow by avoiding grazing within 21 days of nitrogen application and by Fodder energy-in-dairy for some options that including other low risk feeds in the diet. • Prepare a fodder budget to get you may be worth considering. • Don’t put hungry cows on potentially through to spring. If required, be high nitrate pastures such as annuals or prepared to buy some in to meet your Business hybrid ryegrass. Instead feed with hay or stock needs. • Prepare your cash flow budgets using supplement prior to grazing any pastures the announced opening milk prices to containing elevated nitrate levels. Irrigation see what your financial position will be • If poor track surfaces are causing • Enjoy the break from irrigation and plan for the year. lameness and foot problems, consider for the next irrigation season, including • Complete your final quarterly BAS for adding sawdust, woodchips, even hay, at channel and irrigator maintenance. the year and collate your years financials the lead in/lead out from the dairy shed. for the tax accountant. • Plan your transition feeding to minimise Dairy Shed • Consider assessing your business’ the risk of metabolic disorders in fresh • When the cows are dry take the performance, calculate your pasture or calving cows. For more information opportunity to carry out your annual consumption using the DPI online tool go to www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Farm/ shed maintenance tasks eg check (www.new.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/ Feeding-cows/Nutrition-management. milking machine function, replace dairy/pastures-hay-silage/calculator), aspx rubberware etc calculate your per cow production and • Dairy Australia have put together some • Look at the possibility of reducing your set new targets for the current year. information notes on managing the dairy power usage in the dairy, which should Create a plan to reach your pasture herd in wet conditions. These can be lower costs. Refer to the DPI web site consumption and per cow production found at http://www.dairyaustralia.com. www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy/ targets. au/wet-conditions. Farm water resources now available he Department of Primary integral part of a farm business, through and unregulated surface water which was TIndustries (DPI) Farm Water dry times and wet. These resources, which developed in conjunction with Southern Solutions project has produced a include a farm water balance calculator, Rural Water. Agriculture Notes, farmer stories, key number of publications and In addition, there is a Farm Water Planning contacts and technical booklets can be resources relating to farm water for Presenters' Resource Kit which suits those applicable to any farm situation at any time. use by both service providers and working with farmers and who anticipate farmers. The best place to find the resources is on presenting information on farm water, or the Farm Water Solutions page of the DPI wish to build their skills and knowledge in The Farm Water Solutions project, which website www.dpi.vic.gov.au/ this topic area. began during the long dry spell, focuses on farmwatersolutions. The publications are The kit is a combination of printed booklet graziers and dairy farmers reliant on suitable for both farmers and service and CD. It is designed as an awareness streams, groundwater and rainfall into providers. All are printable from the level farm water planning training session dams, for stock, domestic, dairy shed and website and some are noted as also being plan, and is modelled on sessions that are other non-irrigation purposes. available in hard copy from the DPI/DSE currently run in Victoria. For more Customer Service Centre. Understanding the current farm water information about the kit, please contact situation and planning improvements in The latest publication, soon to be released, Benita Kelsall at DPI Ellinbank on phone infrastructure and management are an is Trading Water Licences for groundwater (03) 5624 2218. 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 6 2 j uly 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy

Solar hot water ictorian farm businesses are under pressure from financial year. The associated carbon emissions were 102 tonnes of Vrising electricity costs and an increasing focus on CO2 -equivalent. greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Electricity Hot water – uses a typical three-cycle wash requiring 700 litres of prices are expected to continue to rise in the future hot water daily, heating water off peak to 90 degrees C. The hot due to metering costs, infrastructure replacement and water generates 22,265 kWh annually or 61 kWh of heat per day. the introduction of a price on carbon emissions. The cost of water heating is $3,117 and is our ‘do-nothing’ option. Comparison of Technologies The Victorian Department of Primary Industry (DPI) project Flat Plate Evacuated ‘Dairy Industry Farm Monitor’ has shown that dairy shed tube electricity costs have increased over the past five years by an average of 22 per cent. These shed costs accounted for Capital cost (including installation) $10,550 $11,040 approximately four per cent of variable costs in 2010-2011. Government rebates $2,592 $2,916 The DPI project ‘Economic analysis of technologies to reduce dairy Capital investment $7,958 $8,124 energy consumption’ has investigated five different technologies ‘Do nothing’ option $3,117 $3,117 commonly used on dairy farms that have the potential to improve Annual savings $1,344 $1,512 energy efficiency. A partial discounted net cash flow budget over Years to break even (before interest and tax) 6 6 10 years was used to analyse the technologies. In this edition the Consumption saved annually (kWh) 9,600 10,800 findings associated with solar hot water will be discussed. Emissions saved annually (t CO2-e) 11.6 13.1 Technology A solar hot water system uses energy from the sun to heat water. Note: Solar collectors (panels) on the roof absorb the sun’s rays and heat • Price of electricity is assumed to increase annually by 10% the water, which then flows to a storage tank ready for use. • The savings in energy consumption is based on the energy savings from investing in the technology compared to the ‘do There are two main types of solar hot water systems, the flat plate nothing’ option. collector or the evacuated tube collector. Both have positives and negatives and are suited to different applications and climates. For a more detailed comparison of the different systems refer to www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy/energy-in-dairy or • Flat plate collectors can be more sensitive to frost and are contact Darold Klindworth or Barrie Bradshaw DPI Ellinbank on generally heavier and larger than evacuated tube systems. (03) 5624 2222. • Evacuated tube systems are generally more expensive than the equivalent flat plate system and are able to heat water to a higher temperature, hence they are considered a better option for commercial operations. Cost benefits The cost benefit analysis is based on a case study farm in South ComingUp Gippsland miking 240 cows on a milking area of 130 ha. The dairy shed is a 20 unit swingover built in 2003 and is well maintained. Flood Recovery Field Days The farm produces 1.7 megalitres of milk. DPI, GippsDairy and Dairy Australia will be running a series of Electricity - The source of electricity is brown coal accessed flood recovery field days in Central, East and South Gippsland. through the state’s electricity grid. The tariff rate is time of use The issues of mastitis, lameness and options for repairing or with peak rate of 22 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for power from renovating paddocks will be discussed. The dates and exact 7 am to 11 pm. An off peak price of 14 cents per kWh applies to locations for these events will depend on need. Please contact other times and weekends. Milking takes 2.5 hours with the David Shambrook, DPI Dairy Extension Officer, on (03) 5662 morning milking predominantly off peak. The case study farm 9913 to register your interest. used 84,000 kWh of electricity at a cost of $14,960 for the 2010-2011 GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr Alternative winter forages for a variable climate ecently the Victorian • timing of when feed is provided to the The more common options sown by Department of Primary cows; farmers and the options included in this R • expense of feed provided to the cows; guide are: Industries (DPI) released a guide • risk of achieving desired yields and • Annual ryegrass called Alternative winter forages for quality, and health risks to cows; and • Italian ryegrass a variable climate - A selection guide • ease of management (to grow, manage • Perennial ryegrass and feed to cows). • Hybrid ryegrass for Victorian dairy farmers. The • White and sub clover guide was developed due to the The majority of farms are, for good reasons, • Forage cereals – wheat, barley, triticale, going to continue to use pasture for the changing nature of Victorian dairy oats and rye corn main grazing option for their herd. This • Other clovers e.g. Persian (shaftal), farms and because forages are now pasture will normally be ryegrass based but balansa, berseem, strawberry thought about differently. may be another species depending on an • Lucerne individual farmer’s preference or where • Vetch The Victorian dairy industry has always their farm is located. This still normally • Peas needed to deal with seasonal variability, but allows a percentage of the farm to be sown • Brassicas due to increased intensity of farming - down to alternative forage options. This • Herbs – chicory and plantain together with volatility in milk price and area can be managed strategically to help • Fescue – winter and summer active input costs - there is an increasing cope with seasonal variability. • Sulla emphasis on the need for adaptive What are the options for sowing in strategies. Forages (pastures and crops) To receive a copy of this guide either autumn? electronic or in a hard copy please contact can play a key role in helping to manage There are a number of different species seasonal variability and fill gaps in the feed Tom Farran DPI Tatura: tom.farran@dpi. that could be selected to be sown in autumn vic.gov.au or (03) 5833 5297. budget. or winter. The guide will help to narrow Feed is the largest cost on dairy farms and which options have the most potential for growing conditions are a major variable. any given farm paddock. There are many Therefore, it is important for dairy farmers options available when sowing in autumn. to select the most appropriate mix of There is however no new, magic ’silver forages and adaptive feeding strategies. bullet’ out there, just steady improvements. Each region will vary in climatic conditions The guide’s aim is to detail the role that and soil type, so care must be taken in forages can play on dairy farms to help with choosing the correct species and cultivar the management of climate variability and for the specific locality. risk, as well as help producers to select the right forages for their situation. The role forages can play Forages are grown on a dairy farm to provide a feed source for the cows. This may be from direct grazing by the cows or to conserve the fodder and feed it back to the cows at another stage. The guides shows that different forages often change the: • quality of feed provided to the cows; • quantity of feed provided to the cows from the same area; Reminders august Pastures/forages Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 15 days per leaf and decreasing by the end of the month. Area of farm to graze today 1/45th of grazing area in 24 hours Average daily pasture growth August pasture growth averages 20 kg DM/Ha/day (without N) across West and South rate Gippsland. Other areas of Gippsland may be at the upper end of this range. If all your pastures are short and your average cover across the farm is low then daily growth rate could be much lower. Improved pasture with good nutrient supply and higher sunlight hours will have higher growth. Recommended pre-grazing Check that ryegrass pastures are at the 2½ -3 leaf stage between the clumps. If less than this, decisions for all stock lengthen the grazing rotation. If the paddocks are still very wet and/or severely pugged, then may need to “On-off” graze or use a sacrifice paddock to extend the rotation. Recommended post grazing To maximise pasture production, try not to graze pastures lower than 5 cm between the clumps decision for milkers when the cows leave the paddock. Adjust the level of supplementary feeding according to whether and young stock the grazing residuals are above or below 5 cm. Look at the change/ response in terms of milk production, pasture residual and cow condition. Seasonal management tasks Given it’s a wet winter you may have some pugging damage or areas that have been under water for some time. Start planning how to use these areas to grow feed over the spring, maybe spring ryegrass sowing or a crop. Refer to specific information about managing wet pastures or contact your local extension officer, milk supply officer or consultant. 2 Size isn't everything “Get big or get out!” Sound familiar? The topic of farm While this data indicates that the larger the farm the higher the size and the question ‘is bigger always better?’ annual return on assets, when the distribution of returns over the continues to be hotly debated by farmers, agricultural total period is examined, as shown in the ‘box and whisker’ plots in Figure 2, we see slightly different results. economists and farm management consultants all around the world. In Figure 2, the middle horizontal bar indicates the median or middle value for the data set, while the top and bottom horizontal In general, the arguments for increasing size stem from the belief bars of the ‘box’ represent the first (25th percentile) and third that by increasing the size of businesses farmers will be able to (75th percentile) quartile ranges respectively. The middle 50 per take advantage of economies of size. That is, they’ll be able to cent of farms sit within this range. produce more with lower input costs per unit of production. The reduction in costs comes predominantly from spreading total Finally, the long vertical ‘whiskers’ at each end of the boxes overhead costs over a greater level of production. represent the total range for all data. While extra large farms achieve the highest average and median return on assets, medium Following the release of the Dairy Industry Farm Monitor Project and large farms performed similarly and had a greater range of annual report for 2010-11, additional analysis was performed on the returns than extra large farms. data set examining the influence of farm size on income, costs and profitability. Large farms recorded a similar minimum return on assets, while Firstly, participant farmers were asked their opinion on the the minimum recorded by medium size farms was much lower. influence of farm size on profitability. Of the farmers who These results indicate that while on average extra large farms responded more said they didn’t think farm size influenced recorded a higher return on assets, well managed medium and profitability compared to those that thought it did. large farms can perform equally as well as extra large farms. Of those who didn’t think farm size influenced profitability, the most common response was that profitability is more dependent on farm management than the size of the operation. Close behind was the response that as farms get larger they become less technically efficient and therefore profitability remains proportionally the same as that generated by smaller farms. The most common answer of the farmers who indicated that farm size did influence profitability was that they believed farm size influenced profitability up to a point, after which greater size only yielded proportional increases in profit. The second most common response was that farm size influenced profit by enabling larger farms to decrease their overhead costs proportionally compared to small farms, thereby taking advantage of economies of size. Figure 2: Distribution of return on assets (%) by farm size, 2006-07 Part two was an analysis of the influence of farm size on farm to 2010-11 profitability from 2006-07 to 2010-11 based on the project data set. For this analysis farm size was classified by the number of cows Despite these higher average returns reported by the extra large milked. farms, individual farms across all categories have performed strongly across the years. This was reflected in the number of Table One: Farm size category definitions farms from all categories ranked in the top 25 per cent on an Farm size Cows milked annual basis. Small Less than 150 Medium 150-300 These results indicate that as opposed to ‘get big’ the axiom to Large 301-500 which dairy farmers should adhere in the 21st century is ‘get Extra large Greater than 500 smart’. While farm size has an influence over income, costs and profitability, farms of all sizes have the ability to generate strong Whole farm performance of farms of differing sizes over the five year project period was examined in terms of return on assets and business returns and smart farm mangers are already making this return on equity. Return on assets is the earnings before interest happen. and tax expressed as a proportion of the total assets under Electronic copies of the Dairy Industry Farm Monitor Project management. This performance measure indicates how efficiently 2010-11 feature article are available by emailing Farm.Monitor. the assets managed by the business have been used to generate [email protected] or from www.dairyaustralia.com.au/ profit. dairyfarmmonitor In Figure 1 you can see that in general larger farms have generated For more information contact Daniel Gilmour on (03) 5561 higher returns on asset over the past five years. 9911.

contact us This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a comment, please contact Jessie Horton, Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2232 or [email protected] Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any Figure 1: Average annual return on assets (%) by farm size, 2006-07 error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this to 2010-11 publication. 3 Mixing antibiotics in Pit Stop health check milk is a risky he Pit Stop health check run at Farm World this Tyear revealed some significant issues relating to the health and wellbeing of farming men. The health practice check looked at six main areas: Chassis check (waist airy Australia has been investigating the causes of circumference), fuel additives (alcohol consumption), Dantibiotic residue detections in dairy calves sent oil pressure (blood pressure), spark plugs (testicles), for processing over the past two years. Taking extractor (colorectal cancer) and shock absorbers shortcuts when medicating calves greatly increases (coping skills). It was organised by the Central West the risk of antibiotic residues. Gippsland Primary Care Partnership and sponsored by GippsDairy. According to Dairy Australia’s Manager Animal Health Kathryn Davis, most violations involve antibiotics used to treat calf scours, Some 124 men participated in the confidential health screening test which required participants to either answer a few questions particularly the oral “sulfa” products such as Scourban, SD333, or have some measurements taken. Depending on the answer or Streptosulcin Forte and Neosulcin tablets. measurement, the results were either a pass or a take action. “The most common mistake identified by the on-farm Where there was a ‘take action’, recommendations for action were investigations is accidentally using contaminated equipment to made and further information on this aspect of their health was feed calves destined for sale,” Ms Davis said. “Farmers may mix a provided. calf scour treatment in milk and put it in a multifeeder to medicate The main areas for concern highlighted by this health check was a group of heifer calves without realising that the antibiotics the high diabetes risk, with 61.3% being on the borderline and 4% contaminate the equipment. The antibiotics are difficult to remove needing to take action immediately. High blood pressure was even if the feeder is thoroughly washed.” another area where there was concern with 21% on the borderline and 34% needing to take some immediate action. “If a calf is ill enough to need a dose of antibiotics, it should be injected with antibiotic or dosed individually with a syringe or a pill Alcohol consumption was not a real issue with 21% possibly dispenser to ensure that it receives the correct dose. This needing to change their habits in this area. Around 18-26% needed equipment should also be clearly labeled and used only to treat to seek further information in regard to their testicles and prostate calves. It’s also important that your calf housing system allows you cancer. With a similar number who may be in need of further to physically separate replacement calves from sale calves and assistance in coping with everyday farm life. Some were advised to treated animals from non-treated animals,” Ms Davis said. seek out ways to reduce or alleviate stress that may be a contributing factor. One of the best things farmers can do to prevent accidental The target audience was older farming men and some 78% of the contamination of sale calves is to purchase separate feeding 124 who participated were 45 or older. Of those who participated, equipment for their bull calves, label it accordingly and use it only 39.2% were highly recommended to visit their General Practitioner for this purpose. or doctor. All of the participants were encouraged to visit their doctor, showing the results of the check up and to discuss what A local vet suggests using electrolyte replacement therapy for the the results indicated. treatment of scours in calves. This method avoids any chance of antibiotic residues being an issue and in a lot of cases is the most This result is a very strong reminder that it is not only important effective in clearing up the scours. to have a well-functioning farm to generate cashflow for your business, but it is also important to have good health to be able to For more information please refer to ‘Rearing Healthy Calves – run your farm business. All farmers, not just the men, are how to raise calves that thrive'. You can order a free copy from encouraged to visit their doctor at least annually. It is a time to Dairy Australia at www.dairyaustralia.com.au/healthycalves, by discuss how you are travelling and whether you need to change contacting Kathryn Davis on (03) 9694 3723 or GippsDairy on (03) any part of your farm activities to have a more enjoyable, healthy 5624 3900. life. Those who participated in the Pit Stop health check were encouraged to see their doctors in six months. For further information contact Relationships Australia on (03) 5174 1100.

Calves/Heifers laneways too fast. Let them move at their own pace and avoid • Jersey calves should be at least 75 kg liveweight and Friesian steep grades on tracks or sharp turns on the exit race. calves 100 kg at weaning. Calves should be eating at least 1 kg • Reducing the number of small stones being carried into the of concentrates plus straw prior to weaning off milk. The energy concrete yard area will greatly reduce your herds hoof wear and in the concentrate and fibre in the straw helps in the early damage. This can be achieved by using sand, sawdust, mulch or old carpet on the approaching laneway. Be aware that some development of calves’ rumens thus allowing for early weaning. sands can be abrasive. • In the event of an outbreak of scours, isolate the affected animals • Reducing the amount of vehicle traffic and any unnecessary to prevent the problem spreading through the rest of the group cattle movement will assist in keeping the laneways and pastures and treat the affected animals with electrolytes as directed by trafficable for longer. your vet. • Prepare the yearling heifers, ready for joining at 15 months, by Irrigation having them on a rising plane of nutrition to encourage cycling. • Undertake maintenance on the centre pivot or spray irrigation • Prepare bulls for joining, lame or infertile bulls will not perform. system and be ready if rainfall eases. • Keep a close watch on soil moisture and irrigate if required Cows (especially spray systems) as early irrigation can improve • Muddy tracks and sharp pebbles may be causing foot problems pasture production for the next three months. in the dairy herd, particularly young cows with softer hooves. • Drainage is important to get pastures growing early in spring. Walking through a footbath or mat as the cows leave the dairy, • Ensure all channels are clean to allow free movement of water. or using feed additives, may help. Check with your vet for • If you get a few dry days, it’s a good opportunity to empty the advice. irrigation water re-use dam onto a dry well draining paddock. • Other causes of hoof damage are pushing the cows along This will allow storage capacity in the re-use system to capture water and nutrient run-off when spring rainfall events occur. 4 Facilities • Dairy too small, it is a herringbone 6 double up. • Silo limiting, it has a small capacity and no roller mill or GippsDairy mineral dispenser. • Milk vat only just large enough for 150 cows on twice a day pick up in spring last year. • Laneways are well formed and capped, 500 metres of new lane was installed last autumn. focus farms • Fencing and stock water is good. Water is supplied from a dam. Report from Drouin South Focus • Effluent system works well - with management! Farm – after two months and many • Shedding is good. factors up for consideration progress • Calf rearing facilities are workable. Finances is being made. • Farm has a strong equity position. 3. 2011-2012 physical measures • Pasture consumption: 8.9 tonne dry matter (DM) per ha / Sean and Jennifer Allen and daughter Audrey aged 3.87 tonne DM per cow two have completed their first year on their farm at • Energy partitioned: 61% to milk and 39% to maintenance Drouin South. After two meetings with their Support • Feed sources: 33.4% purchased feed and 66.6% home grown Group and Facilitator Matt Hall, the progress of feed • Milk solid production: 1179 kg milk solids per hectare, or working through both the short term and longer 511 kg of milk solids per cow, the original budget for this term goals on the farm are starting to take shape. lactation was 455 kg of milk solids per cow. 1. What do Sean and Jenifer want help with; 4. 2011-2012 financial measures • Milk price $4.96 kg milk solids. Short Term Goals • Average grain price $302 per tonne. • Decide what to do with the dairy. Enlarge the current dairy • Farm working expenses (herd, shed, feed and overhead or build another dairy that can milk the cows now and in costs not including labour): $2.95 per kg of milk solids or the future, in a timely and energy efficient way. 57.6% of farm income. • To develop a system, and the infrastructure, to allow • Break even milk price (price needed for milk sales to match purchasing and feeding concentrates in a profitable way. expenses): $4.85 per kg of milk solids. • Continue to develop farm feedbase allowing for increased • Break even milk price (excluding development costs): $3.66 stocking rates to be fed from pasture. per kg of milk solids. • Maintain a low bulk milk cell count. Their ‘dairy dilemma’ is coming to a head! Longer Term Goals Discussions considering the opportunities for the farm to • Have the potential to expand land ownership and milk more develop cow numbers to further increase pasture consumed and profitable cows. total milk solids production involved the development at the 2. Farm details dairy shed and increased young stock numbers. If the dairy project goes ahead they have sufficient animals to move up to People 180-200 milkers in the 2013-2014 lactation. Sean and Jenifer don’t • Sean is full time on the farm. Jenifer is busy fulltime as well, want to be purchasing cows to build their herd. she does the books, pays the bills, works off farm and takes a major role in looking after their daughter Audrey. Progress is being made – but not finalised yet. A second-hand 40 • Sam is their relief milker and does approximately 2 to 3 unit rotary platform and plant has been found. Shire and EPA are milking’s per week. satisfied with the proposal. The rotary would be located adjacent to the existing dairy yards, milk vat capacity will need to be Herd increased. The current milk room could be utilised in the short • The herd began with American bred Holstein genetics and term. has been developed with British Friesian bulls over the last 10 to 15 years. Last year cows were joined to AI Holstein Sean would like to put as much of his own labour into the project bulls. as possible – his proposed timetable is - platform in with a shed over the site by October, and to start milking in the dairy in • 150 cows were milked in the 2011-2012 lactation. March 2013. They are waiting on quotes at this stage before the • The cows were fed 6 kg/cow grain (wet weight) from July budget can be completed and the final decision can be made – to end November then 3 kg grain from December onwards, hopefully by the end of July. with the plan to continue 3 kg of grain until dry off. This equates to 1.31 tonne of grain/cow/year. The following process is used by Sean when drying off cows. • Milk cows in the morning and draft them back into the milking • Heifers start calving June 15th, cows start calving July 15th. shed yard that has been well hosed down and cleaned off. Land • Have breakfast and mentally prepare yourself for the task – • The farm is 72 hectares (65 hectare effective milking area) then back to the dairy. and subdivided into 27 paddocks. It is split by the Drouin – • Sterilise the teats using a 70% methylated spirits and 30% water Korumburra road with an underpass connecting these solution. areas. The country is flat to undulating with a mix of 40% • Keeping the teat area as clean as possible administer the dry ‘red’ and 60% ‘grey’ soil the latter soil type can get very wet. cow treatment. • In July and early August it is planned to graze the milkers • If the cow has a big or low hanging udder, Sean may use Teat on the east side of the road (mainly the drier ‘red’ soils). Seal. • The support area to the farm is 41 hectares and was leased • Walk cows slowly to a clean and dry area where they are fed in early April, it carries 65 calves, 15 rising two year old hay or poor quality silage with restricted access to pasture. heifers and 65 dry cows. Other dry cows have been • Introduce cows to the dry cow paddock and feeding program transferred to agistment. after 3 days. For more information about the Focus Farm project contact John Gallienne on (0407) 863 493 or e-mail [email protected]. The Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy; it is funded by Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. 5 “A good wicket on 158 cows!” ippsland dairy industry statistics show that 62% of The figures to note from this table are: Gherds in the region are between 150 and 500 cows • The $246,261 operating surplus is the real amount left to spend in size (av. 280 cows) and this range of operation on debt servicing, personals, tax and capital. This is a very supplies approximately 67% of the region’s milk. impressive figure, especially for 158 cows, but don’t forget they employ very little paid labour. This may come as a surprise given the ‘get big or get out’ syndrome and push by some towards large herds as a means of • Farm working expenses of $2.78 are very low, despite quite high increasing profit. A total of 62% of dairy businesses seem to be per cow and per hectare production. This highlights the farm saying that, for a whole range of reasons, they are not following efficiency and the operators’ cost control. this path. • When profit (EBIT) is calculated, they do take a hit because if we Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the viability and pay them for all the time they work (which we don’t do in reality) profitability of a dairy farm business and the number of cows it totals $104,000 and we only have 158 cows to spread this milked do not always have a positive correlation. Just like litres, ‘imputed’ cost; hence the profit is reduced to $800 per cow, which farmers do not get paid for cow numbers - they get paid for solids. is still acceptable. Profit is derived by deducting all the costs associated with the production of those solids. • When this profit is expressed as a percentage of the valuable Warragul land the return on asset percentage is only 4.2% which The following case study of a 158 cow herd (peak number in may be regarded as low, but this is because of the farm’s 2011-2012) in the Warragul district, using the actual interim location. 2011-2012 returns, highlights that profit is possible on lower cow numbers; it all depends on the efficiency and cost control of the • Tax planning is critical given a profit of $157,761. operators. The operators still have debt, but have reduced this to a level The business operates on an 80 ha titled area of high value where the focus is on off-farm investments, superannuation, and ($10,000 per ha), with a milking area of 72 ha. A 45 ha turnout area farm management deposits. The existing operating surplus will is leased about 8 km away from the home farm. There is one permit additional labour to be employed if required in the future. calving per year commencing on 23/7- it is a traditional, seasonal Should they increase cow numbers for the supposed automatic calving herd in a high rainfall area. increase in profit? Any such move would have to be very carefully The annual farm program has been designed to fit in with the considered, with the focus on the costs associated with chasing pasture growth curve, be simple and allow an annual overseas that extra production. holiday for the operators. Production is not geared to an ‘out of season’ milk payment system. Generally, the herd is completely Considering the operators have a net worth in excess of $2.2 dried off and there is no milk sent from late June until start of million, it’s not a bad wicket on 158 cows! As you read this the calving. Summer fodder crops have been sown when pasture owners are probably on a beach somewhere in Malaysia! renovation is required, but there have been none grown in the last For further information contact GippsDairy on (03) 5624 3900. three seasons - in fact, the pasture renovation costs for 2011-2012 were $2,231. The owners make their own silage and hay but their machinery lasts a long time and is well looked after. Employed labour is generally restricted to casuals for occasional time off and the annual holiday - perhaps a drawback of the lower cow numbers. The following table presents the interim physical and financial Information from the 2011-2012 year. Save on energy Milking Area 72 hectare (ha) airy Australia has received $1 million in Federal Cows 158 Government funding to conduct 900 dairy farm Solids 87,891 kg total / 556 kg per D cow / 1,221 kg per ha energy assessments across the country. The grant was Stocking rate 2.2 cows per ha one of 28 announced in Round One of the $20 million Grain Fed: 2.02 tonne (T) per cow Energy Efficiency Information Grants program. Dairy Pasture consumed 10 T DM per ha / 4.5 T DM Australia will use the funding for the Smarter Energy per cow Use on Australian Dairy Farms project to provide Average pasture cost $58/T DM farmers with information and technical support to Average grain plus additive cost $275/ TDM ($258/T fresh) improve farm energy efficiency. % Imported feed 27.20% Dairy Australia Natural Resource Management Program Manager Income (based on $5.23/kg MS) $490,883 total / $3,3132 per Catherine Phelps said the funding would help it undertake energy cow assessments in all eight dairy regions across Australia, tailoring it Herd costs $19,319 total / $123 per cow to meet local needs. “It is expected the project will result in Feed costs $159,039 total / $1,006 per supplying farmers with practical solutions for significant savings in cow carbon emissions and energy costs on-farm,” Ms Phelps said. Overheads and paid labour $55,177 total / $349 per cow Total Farm Working Expenses (FWE) $244,622 total / $1,548 per Through on-farm assessments, Smarter Energy Use on Australian cow / $2.78 per kg of milk Dairy Farms will deliver recommendations for dairy farmers to use solids energy in the smartest, most efficient and cost effective way. Ms Operating Surplus (Income less FWE) $246,261 total / $1,559 per Phelps said recommended options could include changes to cow management practices, optimisation of current equipment and/or Owner/Operator labour allowance $103,905 capital investment. Depreciation Allowance $16,000 The project will develop and release targeted information including EBIT (Operating Surplus less $126,356 total / $800 per an on-farm assessment tool and train industry providers to owner/operator labour allowance cow undertake the energy assessments. The project is also being less depreciation) supported by the Australian Dairy Industry Council, milk Return on Asset % 4.20% processors and state agencies. For further information please refer Taxable Profit $157,761 total / $998 per cow to www.dairyaustralia.com.au. 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 6 3 a ugust 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy New era dawns in dairy animal genomics he Australian dairy industry has entered a new outliers; those animals that may have been overlooked but whose Tgenomic era in which dairy farmers are now able superior traits can now be identified through a simple DNA test. to confidently make breeding decisions based on For dairy farmers entering the industry genomics presents an genomic data alone. opportunity to build a quality herd rapidly, making dramatic improvements in performance by choosing elite young bulls on After two years of intensive research at the Dairy Futures their genomic test alone. Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), genomic profiling of 10,000 dairy cattle has achieved a reliability that makes accurate Market impact predictions of the genetics of a bull or heifer for milk production, The industry sets minimum publishable criteria for Australian fertility and other traits that affect profitability. Breeding Values (ABVs) from which dairy farmers make bull selection decisions. The market impact of this new information will On average, the reliability of genomic breeding values for young be the breeding decisions made from among the top 50 genomic bulls with no daughters is now equivalent to a bull proof with 30 bulls (see table). milking daughters. The potential economic value of this new technology is estimated at $100 million over the next 12 years. The changes in reliability for the top 50 genomic bulls shows how quickly the reliability of genomic breeding values is catching up In mid-June Victorian Minister for Agriculture and Food Security with traditional measurements. Peter Walsh joined dairy farmers, scientists and industry leaders on-farm at Maffra to celebrate this major milestone. The results of the 10,000 Holstein cow genomes project have brought several of the most economically important traits up to or “This new level of genomic reliability for key traits confirms the above the minimum publishable criteria. These traits include creation of a viable, new market sector – genomically tested bulls genomic reliability for production (63.9%), survival (43.2%) and with high levels of reliability under Australian dairy farming mastitis resistance (54.8%). conditions,” said Dairy Futures CRC chief executive, David Nation. Analysis of the Top 50 Holstein Genomic Bulls in the Good Making breeding decisions on genomic information alone is set to Bulls Guide become standard practice among dairy farmers, who stand to double the genetic gain in their herds. This will bring forward the April April Improvement Minimum Gap introduction of elite genetics by several generations and produce 2011 2012 Publishable higher performing dairy cows earlier. Criteria Production 56.7 63.9 7.2 63% reliability, Based on overseas experience, the uptake of this new technology is traits daughters in expected to be rapid. In Ireland, less than two years after achieving 15 Aus herds similar levels of genomic reliability 50% of bulls used in dairy breeding programs were young genomic bulls. Survival 39.0 43.2 4.2 25% Professional breeders who market bulls here and overseas will be Mastitis 49.1 54.8 5.7 50% reliability, able to test a range of high performing bulls at a young age; resistance daughters in potentially making these bulls more marketable and adding 15 Aus herds diversity to the sires available for breeding. Dairy farmers purchasing natural sires will have access to a broader market of Workability 52.1 55.4 3.2 57% reliability, genomically-tested bulls. traits daughters in 10 Aus herds 1.6 Environmental factors and farming practices, which vary from country to country, have a critical impact on the performance of Minister for Agriculture imported sires. Bull companies, the majority of which import and Food Security Peter semen from sires proven under US, Canadian, UK or European Walsh, Dairy Futures conditions, can now have their bulls genomically-tested for CRC CEO David Nation performance under Australian conditions. and farm host and genome project The technology will give Australian dairy farmers, who already participants Iain and look globally for suitable international sires, greater confidence in Louise Stewart celebrate selecting bulls that have been genomically tested for Australian the major milestone in conditions. genomic reliabilities at Maffra. Genomics also present the industry with an opportunity to test for Focus on feeding this winter rofitable and sustainable every kilogram of purchased feed returns 8-point scale, and lose no more than 0.6 of a businesses focus their energy more than its worth in milk or body score between calving and joining. Allowing P condition. condition score to fall to lower levels can on aspects of the business they can result in fewer cows in calf, with obvious Indications that the cows need more energy control, and in terms of feeding future consequences to the business. dairy cows this means controlling in the diet include falling milk protein levels Mining cow condition to save on feed costs pasture management, and loss of body condition. Falling milk fat per cent, very loose, bubbly manure, is not an economical. Cows in condition supplementary feed inputs, and displaced abomasums, acidosis and/or lack score three and below are using their feed costs. of rumination often mean insufficient fibre muscle mass as a source of energy. Not only will they not get in calf, they will not In recent years we have seen dairy farmers in the diet. milk, and they have no energy reserves to manage through periods of low milk prices, Too much of a good thing can be an issue combat challenges such as disease. For drought, wet conditions and floods. One and excess protein, often a problem when more information on condition scoring your key lesson we have learned is that the pasture is a large part of the diet, is herd, find The Condition Magician at www. businesses that have kept the cows in good indicated by an ammonia smell in the dairy. incalf.com.au. body condition and producing efficiently Too much fibre in the diet will also restrict recover most quickly from difficult seasons intake. 5. Young stock and maintain profitable businesses. Continue to invest in feeding and managing Understanding the dietary requirements of your young stock well – they are your When it comes to feeding, the following your cows is essential if you are to provide future herd. Well grown heifers get in calf tried and true principles can’t be beaten: them with the right quantity and quality of easier, have less calving difficulties, cope 1. Pasture supplementary feed. Any imbalance in the better in the herd, produce more milk and It’s a cliché to say that pasture is your diet will cost you money as it reduces the have a better chance of staying in the herd cheapest source of feed, but it’s hard to efficiency of conversion of feed to milk. for more lactations that smaller animals. argue the fact in Gippsland. Businesses 3. Purchasing feed Heifer size is largely set in their first year, with the highest gross margins are It’s important that any feed purchased and they reach puberty based on body invariably the farms with high pasture fulfils a need, and is not just the cheapest weight, not age. To ensure they are utilisation. In fact, the most profitable farms feed available. Any feed that doesn’t meet meeting growth targets it is important to from year to year are able to maintain a your cow’s dietary needs is expensive, no monitor their growth either by regular level of three to four tonne dry matter matter what you pay for it. For example, weighing or measuring wither height (for pasture consumed per cow per year. straw (high in fibre, low in energy and targets see fertility section at www. The message is simple: for most of the year protein) may appear cheap, but it isn’t the dairyaustralia.com.au). Assess your graze perennial ryegrass-based pastures right supplement if your cows actually need replacement requirements. If you are when plants reach two and a half to three additional energy in their diet. carrying more young stock than you need, leaves. Also, make sure what remains of the Once you have worked out what you need you may be able to sell the excess and pasture once the cows come out of the to balance the diet you may find there are invest more in those you keep. paddock is around five centimetres in several options that will supply the required There are no silver bullets or quick fixes height. When the pasture is rapidly nutrients. To work out which of the options when it comes to feeding dairy cows, it is growing in spring, graze at two leaves or is cheapest, you will need a feed analysis important to get the basics right. We must canopy closure (whichever comes first) and giving dry matter (%DM), metabolisable focus firmly on what we can control, and on make sure the residual is around five energy content (MJ/kgDM), and crude setting ourselves up for the future. centimetres. protein (CP%). Be careful as there is Maintaining the cows in good order and If you find you are going into paddocks currently plenty of variable quality fodder growing out the young stock are within when plants are less than two and a half from 2010/11 on the market. your control, and must be part of your plan. leaves, your rotation is too fast. Work on 4. Cow condition If you would like to discuss feed getting some feed ahead of you and Cow condition affects fertility, health and requirements or options for your farm lengthening the rotation, that extra week of production. To optimise reproductive contact a DPI Dairy Extension Officer at growth can make all the difference to the performance and keep cows in productive Ellinbank on (03) 5624 2222, Leongatha on bulk of feed available. condition, they should calve down in a (03) 5662 9900 or Maffra on (03) 5147 0800. To achieve this you may need to add extra condition score between 4.5 and 5.5 on the supplements in the short-term, but this will be paid back by the extra pasture growth over the season. When conditions are wet, like they are now, it’s worth considering on-off grazing to reduce pugging damage and give the pasture better regrowth potential. Cows will have grazed most of the day’s allocation after four hours of grazing. If you have somewhere to stand cows off for the rest of the day, your pasture will thank you. 2. Supplementary feed Pasture alone seldom provides a balanced and adequate diet for high-producing dairy cows. Any supplements you feed must complement the pasture and provide this balance. It’s also important to ensure that Maximising pasture production is the key to profitable feeding 2 Soil sampling in the Moe River Catchment n extensive soil sampling exercise involving 39 were also taken from beef properties, forestry blocks and gullies to Afarms, 30 of them dairy, was recently completed in give a complete picture of the nutrients contained in these soils and the Moe River Catchment as part of the Accountable the potential for nutrient movement into the Moe River. Dairying Project. The soil test information from the participating farms on phosphorus and nitrogen levels was provided to each participant The Department of Primary Industries project aimed to gather data with an agronomic interpretation of what the results meant. on the levels of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in the topsoil over a range of different farm management systems. The data showed that as the level of management intensity (fertiliser applications and brought-in supplementary feeds) The soil test data combined with the nutrient management increased, milk production also increased. However, phosphorus information gathered from each farm, will be used in a biophysical levels in topsoil were often exceeding agronomic optima for and economic modelling exercise to develop methods to enable production. informed management of nutrient loads (N, P and sediment). This means it is possible to reduce fertiliser applications, reducing The Moe River catchment was chosen as it is part of a larger the cost of production and the risk of water pollution, without catchment which feeds into the Gippsland Lakes. The Lakes are compromising agricultural production. high-value environmental assets affected by algal blooms. Three major soil types were identified in the catchment from their surface More information on environmental and production trade-offs will soil characteristics. They were the red (Kraznozem) soils such as be shown in the biophysical and economic modelling conducted in around Warragul, the grey ‘bayonet’ soils of Yarragon to Trafalgar the project. and the grey ’peaty’ flats on the Trafalgar flats. Most of the participating farmers were well aware of the need to Overlayed on this were six management systems of varying land follow best practice in regard to nutrient and effluent management use intensity, four dairy farming system types (see the table which to not only do the best they shows the range in dairy farm intensity in the catchment in could for the environment but 2010/11) as well as beef production and forestry. also get better value for money from the fertilisers and effluent The table shows that as supplementary feeding and nitrogen use they were applying. rises so does the amount of milk produced per cow and per hectare. The average dairy farm intensity in the Moe River As more information from the Catchment (30 dairy farms sampled) was between system two and modelling process comes to three. light, the more aware farmers in the Moe River and the wider The milking area was just over 100 ha with a herd size of 248 cows, Gippsland Lakes catchments stocking rate of 2.4 cows/ha. Milk production was about 14,300 l/ will be towards emerging ha (5,970 l/cow), equivalent to around 1,110 kg milk solids/ha per issues on nutrient movement. annum. Nitrogen fertiliser application averaged about 150 kg/ha The aim is to continue the per annum and phosphorus fertiliser about 15 kg/ha per annum on project for at least another year, the milking area. which will help further refine Supplements were used to boost stocking rates and achieve higher nutrient management milk production; the level of concentrates fed was around 1.3 t dry guidelines. matter (DM) per cow on average (3.0 t/ha) and total brought in For more information contact supplements fed averaged 1.7 t DM/cow (4.2 t/ha). David Shambrook on (03) 5662 Soil test information was obtained by sampling three paddocks per 9913 or Kerry Stott (03) 8341 soil type on each farm to depths of 10 cm and 2 cm. Soil samples 2417.

System N P Supplements fed Stocking rate Milk production kg /ha/yr kg /ha/yr t DM /cow/yr t DM /ha/yr cows /ha l /cow/yr l /ha/yr 1 Intensive 300 20 2.3 6.8 3.0 6,300 18,900 2 Moderately intensive 200 20 2.1 5.2 2.5 6,080 15,200 3 Moderately extensive 100 20 1.6 3.6 2.2 5,227 11,500 4 Extensive 50 20 1.5 2.8 1.9 4,158 7,900

GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr ComingUp The closing date for applications is Monday Loch Focus Farm: Friday 24 August, Cuppa 3rd September 2012. 10.30 am, start 11.00 am till 1.30 pm. With GippsDairy director positions Paul and Louise Sherar and Facilitator Matt People motivated to enhance the Gippsland Focus Farm Field Days Harms. BYO Lunch. The farm is at the end dairy industry are strongly encouraged These field days provide an opportunity to of Sunnyside Road Loch – west side of the apply for a position on the GippsDairy inspect the farms, their facilities and town. board. Selection criteria include the ability milking herd. Discussion will cover the Binginwarri Focus Farm: Thursday 30 to commit the time required, networks and feeding programs, production and financial August, Cuppa 10.30 am, start 10.45 am and technical knowledge of dairy farming. budgets and plans for the spring and finish 1.15 pm. With Trent and Belinda Successful candidates will be offered summer. When ravelling to these field days Crawford and Facilitator Matt Harms. training from the Australian Institute of - look for the GippsDairy signs. For more Company Directors. Contact (03) 5624 information contact John Gallienne on Meet at the Binginwarri Hall across the 3900, email executiveassistant@gippsdairy. (0407) 863 493 or email [email protected]. road from the farm (off Tap Tap Road). com.au or visit www.gippsdairy.com.au. au. 3 Thermal Heat Recovery Paul and Louise Sherar, the farming family at the Loch n this second article in a series Thermal heat Focus Farm have been under Ion dairy shed energy efficiency recovery we will look at thermal heat Capital cost (incl. installation) $10,375 significant pressure in recent recovery systems. As discussed last Government rebates months coping with the wet month dairy shed electricity costs Capital investment $10,375 weather and a muddy farm, have increased over the past five ‘Do nothing’ option $3,117 as well as preparing a budget years on average by 22 per cent Annual savings $2,095 for the 2012-2013 financial (DPI Victoria’s Dairy Industry Years to break even (before year. Farm Monitor Project). interest and tax) 5 These shed costs account for approximately Energy 2012-2013 Budget four per cent of variable costs in 2010-11. Consumption saved The final draft of the 2012-2013 budget was Thermal heat recovery is another annually (KWh) 14,965 presented to the Focus Farm Support alternative source of hot water that can help Emissions saved Group. Most felt it was OK under the you to save money. annually (t CO2-e) 18.1 circumstances and required little review at this stage. Grain prices may be an issue if Thermal Heat Recovery Note: they remain high and the budgeted The thermal heat recovery system captures • Price of electricity is assumed to increase average price of $315 per tonne could be heat from the milk vat’s refrigerant gases by annually by 10% too low. extracting the heat produced during milk • The savings in energy consumption is cooling. There may be improved efficiency based on the energy savings from invest- One of the Support Group members made of the milk cooling plant using this technol- ing in the technology compared to ‘do the comment that if we pay all the bills, ogy, however this will need to be quantified. nothing’ option service debt, live and come out with a These systems can be implemented on a slight surplus this year we may be doing range of milk cooling plants. For further information refer to the full re- well. “I think that sums things up at this port “Economics analysis of technologies to stage for the Focus Farm and most other The energy savings in the system will reduce dairy energy consumption” at www. farms in the region,” says Matt Harms, depend on: dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy/energy- Facilitator at the Loch Focus Farm. There • Correct installation of the existing milk in-dairy or contact Darold Klindworth or has been no allocation of funds for Capital cooling system to achieve the target water Barrie Bradshaw on (03) 5624 2222. expenditure. temperature; • The volume of the water tank and the The budget format in this report is quantity of water used during and be- provided as a guide. On many farms a tween milkings; budget or indeed budgets have been • The quantity of milk that is cooled will de- prepared to help plan production, financial termine how much heat can be captured; and farm family aspects of the farm • Type of refrigerant gases and the configu- business during the 2012-13 financial year. ration of the installation, and In other cases this job is still on the ‘to-do’ • The network water temperature. list. You may prefer to work through the preparation of your budget with your Cost benefits accountant, milk factory representative, Using the same case study farm as for the farm adviser etc. previous article on solar hot water, the heat recovery system should heat the 700 litres The Space for your figures in the following of water to 65 degrees Celsius (ºC). The Table is provided to help people get preheated water will enter the existing hot started on their budget for 2012-13. It is water service for further heating to 90ºC on certainly not an exhaustive list of income off-peak overnight. and expenditure.

Tasmanian Dairy Cattle Welfare Guide ost people would be aware RSPCA to develop a revised version of the The Victorian dairy industry will therefore Mthat there is increased “Guide to Tasmanian Dairy Cattle Welfare”. need to abide by a similar set of guidelines scrutiny being placed on all to its counterparts across Bass Strait, so The document provides a set of guidelines this Dairy Cattle Welfare Guide will be livestock industries in regard to relating to best practice animal husbandry relevant to the local industry as well. To animal welfare practices. In fact, and is based on the Tasmanian Animal review a copy go to the DPIPWE website many overseas markets for animal Welfare Act, which sets the standards to (http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/ products such as dairy are now which Tasmanian farmers must adhere. WebPages/LBUN-7VR47S?open) demanding that best practices are New Standards for the Welfare of Cattle are New welfare transport standards are also in place relating to animal welfare. currently being developed for the Victorian being introduced that will set regulated standards for all livestock transport. In response to these demands Tasmania’s dairy industry and once implemented at a State level (under the new Livestock Further information is available on the DPI Department of Primary Industries, Parks, website. Go to www.dpi.vic.gov.au and type Management Act) it is intended that they Water & Environment (DPIPWE) worked AG0004 in the search window. with the state’s dairy industry and the will be nationally consistent. 4 Farm Income Space for your figures Milk income 842,430 Growth Incentive 16,638 GippsDairy Cull cows 20,000 Dairy cows 16,000 Calves 1,765 Rebate 2,345 focus farms Total Farm Income $882,543 Non-Farm Income 0 Loch Focus Farm Budget Settings for 2012-2013 Total Income $882,534 Total Income $

Farm Expenses Space for your figures Physical Features Space for your figures Herd Costs $ Total Kg BF 95,731 per Total Kg PR 72,755 Cow Total Litres 2,017,757 AB & Herd Test 16,665 52 Animal health 20,480 64 Max Herd Size 320 Calf rearing 15,360 48 Av Fat + Protein kg per cow 527 Calf grain 7,057 22 Total production BF + PR 168,468kg Total Herd Costs $59,552 186 Total Herd Costs $ Production BF + PR per ha 1.605kg

Shed Costs Area (ha) 105 Shed & pump power 12, 500 39 Pasture Consumption tDM/ha 10.5 Protective clothing 830 3 Pasture consumption tDM/cow 3.5 Dairy supplies 9,500 30 Total Shed Costs $22,830 71 Total Shed Costs $ Price Total Milk Solids Equiv. $5.00/kgMS

Farm Labour Data Farm Labour Data Feed Costs Fertiliser & Nitrogen 54,375 Cost per cow $631 Effluent/poultry manure 15,400 Cost per kg solids $1.07 Concentrates 201,600 Equiv 40 hour labour units 4.4 people Purchased Dry matter 30,000 Milk Solids per 40 hours labour unit 38,549 kgMS Lime 22,500 Hay/silage 18,000 Leases/agistment 26,745 Business Direction Pasture/cropping/weeds 11,000 A discussion was started and to be continued about cow numbers Fuel & oil 16,267 and options for the Sherars business beyond this season. Freight 4,400 Total Feed Costs $400,287 Stock numbers are as follows: ($1251 per cow) Total Feed Costs $ • 390 adult cows (including first calving heifers this year) •140 R2 heifers some joined for autumn 2013 calving • 131 R1 heifers Overhead Costs There is no shortage of stock! Labour 70,000 Employment oncosts 2,000 Total liabilities: $119,700, much as shorter term HP finance that is Farm vehicles 1,800 almost all paid out over the next two years. Farm insurance 5,656 Repairs & Maint Farm 5,272 Options presented and discussed: Repairs & Maint SF Plant 5,941 1. Sell all surplus stock as culls or into a dairy sale and retire some debt or retain as cash. Other O'head SF 19,000 2. Lease surplus cows out. Total Overhead Costs $109,669 3. Take on a second farm in autumn 2013 and put autumn calvers ($343 per cow) Total Overhead Costs $ there and make the Focus Farm (home farm) the spring calving farm. Total Farm Working Total Farm Working 4. Sell a group of heifers now and gain a year, making this year of Expenses $592,338 Expenses $ tighter cash flow a bit easier through reduced finance commitments. Operating Surplus $290,196 Operating Surplus $ 5. Sell stock and use equity to purchase a turnout block.

These options are all on the table to be discussed over subsequent meetings, including at the ‘Field Day’ on Friday 24 August. The % of farm income on Production Costs: 67%. options have to be considered in terms of the Sherars goals and Farm Working Expenses per kg Milk Solids $3.52 ambitions. Financial consideration needs to be made in relation to equity issues of this business, security requirements etc. Note: 1. Operating Surplus is not Profit, it is available to pay Debt, Tax, For more information about the Focus Farm project contact John Living costs and Capital. Gallienne on (0407) 863 493 or email [email protected]. 2. Operating Surplus per hectare $2,738. 3. Operating Surplus per cow $906. The Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy; it is funded by Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 8 to 12 days per leaf Area of farm to graze today One 1/25th to 1/35th of grazing area in 24 hours september Average daily pasture growth rate 35 to 60 kg DM/ha/day Recommended pre grazing Check that the ‘next best feed’ (the feed that is Pastures/forages decisions for all stock about to be offered to the herd) is at the growth • Assess the risks and options for a short stage that you are targeting. For most of the year or dry spring; this will be between the two and three leaf stage. • Consider the value of applying nitrogen In spring ryegrass will be entering its reproductive fertiliser or a nitrogen blend to boost phase, depending on varietal heading date, and your silage and hay yields; should be grazed well before canopy closure • Estimate your silage and hay occurs. Paddocks should start to be set aside for requirements for the coming year, spring silage when residuals are becoming higher and can be a good time to source extra grass clumps becoming bigger and cut soon after, if for good quality silage; and possible. Be aware that depending on the severity • Plan your summer fodder cropping of pugging, the amount of pasture available for program to take advantage of spring soil grazing may be reduced by 20-50% depending on moisture. whether there is slight or severe pugging. Recommended post grazing Aim to graze down to 4 to 6 cm pasture height Cows decisions for all stock between clumps. If grazing lower than this then • Ensure milking cows are well fed at all more supplements may be required. Try not times during the year, do not reduce cow to allow residuals to increase too much in spring by intake in an effort to gain extra silage speeding up rotation and not maintaining a high harvest. grazing pressure. • Feeding the cows well from calving Seasonal management tasks Assess paddocks for level of pugging damage. will enable them to cycle earlier in Some may require rolling and oversowing, others preparation for the planned start of may be so severe that they may have to be cropped joining. and then re-sown. Be ready to tackle them when • Record details of any non-cycling cows the soil is at the correct moisture content. Soil pre-mating and have a plan for how to temperature wise, chicory, plantain and brassicas deal with them. Don’t wait for the end of can be sown earlier than summer forages. Consider the mating period. the use of nitrogen to boost pasture production and • To reduce problems with lameness, add potentially minimise the use of expensive mulch or wood chips to muddy tracks supplements. and yard entrances.

Calves • Start to consider water budgets which • On steep slopes only soil sample the mid • Provide all calves with good quality will be adjusted as allocations change. slopes as nutrients are transferred via colostrum very soon after birth to • Aim to have the re-use dam empty at the poop and piddle to the slope tops and get them off to a good start. This is start and finish of irrigation to allow the bottoms. irrespective of whether the calf will capture of irrigation run-off or to harvest be kept as a replacement or sold as a rain. Forward planning for summer bobby calf. Refer to the Dairy Australia • If summer fodder crops are a key part publication “Rearing Healthy Calves” for Soil testing and fertilisers of your pasture renovation or forage more details. • Time fertiliser applications to avoid planning for the summer period, be • Calves should be given access to clean run-off. Do not apply to saturated soils prepared with a plan for what, when and water, pellets and a fibre source from or when a significant rainfall event is the rates you will sow. When will you day one. They can be weaned when they forecast. Use the seven day weather need the extra feed? A wide range of are eating 1 kg per day of pellets for two forecast to check for rainfall prior to crops can provide feed from between 6-8 or three consecutive days. This usually spreading fertiliser. weeks to 10-14 weeks. You may have to occurs by about six to eight weeks of age. • Soil testing is critical to making the best modify the plan if conditions are wetter • Weaned calves should weigh at least fertiliser decisions. Spring is a good time or drier than you require. Be flexible and 75 kg for Jerseys and 100 kg for to soil test your paddocks. have a back up plan. Friesians, at two to three months of age • Contact your local fertiliser • Assess the need to upgrade or repair and be seen to be ruminating (chewing representative for a soil sampling kit. laneways damaged due to the wet cud). • Avoid sampling near gateways, water conditions. Make sure you have troughs, tree lines, dung and urine adequate funds set aside to carry out the Irrigation patches. repairs. • Early irrigation is critical to set up the spring growth and tillering in the ryegrass plants.

contact us This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a comment, please contact Jessie Horton, Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - 5624 2222 or [email protected] Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 6 4 s eptember 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy gippsland farms report mixed returns espite the third highest milk price on record the labour costs. This led the average earnings before interest and tax dairy industry has reported mixed returns to to fall from $292,113 in 2010-11 to $210,547 in 2011-12 while net D farm income fell from $195,668 to $113,385 over the same period. farmers, according to an annual Department of Primary Industries and Dairy Australia survey. The average farm in Gippsland milked 291 cows across 189 usable hectares and produced 843 kg milk solids per hectare, an increase Now in it’s sixth year, the 2011-12 Dairy Industry Farm Monitor from 811 kg milk solids per hectare recorded last year. Total Project surveyed 74 farms across the state’s three key dairy pasture consumption was 8.3 tonnes of dry matter per milking regions of northern Victoria, south west Victoria and Gippsland. area. Following on from 2010/11, a year that saw the second highest The top 25 per cent of producers highlighted the strength of well milk price on record and strong returns for farmers across all run dairy businesses, recording profitability levels well above the Victorian dairy regions, 2011/12 again yielded a strong milk price, average. In Gippsland these top farms on average recorded a down only two percent to $5.52/kg MS this year on average. return on assets of 7.5 percent and a return on equity of 14 percent, Despite this drop in milk price the report has revealed a strong rates superior to many other sectors of the economy for the past 12 return on assets of 5.0 percent across the state, down from last months. year’s stellar average return on assets at 6.2 percent. Of little surprise was the fact that the majority of farmers expect Across the three regions, profitability varied as a result of the milk price to decrease over the coming 12 months, with almost diverse seasonal conditions. two-thirds of producers sighting this as a challenge in the coming year. Despite these concerns, and the fact that increasing grain In Northern Victoria a return to traditional seasonal conditions for and input costs were also sighted as a concern, two-thirds of the first time in a decade saw farmers in that region make the producers also indicated that production is likely to increase in highest returns since 2007/08 at 7.6 percent, however seasonal 2012-13. conditions in the South West and Gippsland conspired to depress returns compared to last year. The Dairy Industry Farm Monitor Project aims to provide a comprehensive data set on the physical and financial performance Gippsland and South West Victoria reported return on assets of farm businesses for use by industry, farmers, services providers figures of 3.3 percent and 4.4 percent respectively. For these and government. regions it was a tale of opposing climatic conditions with farmers in Gippsland battling a wet winter and flooding in some regions while The results of the 2011-12 Dairy Industry Farm Monitor Project the long, hot, dry summer experienced in the south west reduced will be delivered in coming months at a workshop co-ordinated by profits. DPI, Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. With a focus on Gippsland, this workshop will also highlight the latest research completed by Figure 1. Historical return on assets for Northern Victoria, the Dairy Directions project. This project will show how to use South West Victoria and Gippsland. economic principles to help make on-farm decisions that maximise profit, based on expected milk response to changes in feed supply. Additionally farmers and service providers will have access to a local leading consultant who will use the information to better understand their individual situation and make sound decisions to steer their farm business through the next twelve months. Details of the workshop will be widely publicised and are also available from GippsDairy. Electronic copies of the Dairy Industry Farm Monitor Project 2011-12 Annual Report are now available by emailing Farm. [email protected]. Hard copies of the report will be available from 15 September 2012. Gippsland farmers experienced the largest drop in milk price, falling from $5.59/kg MS in 2010-11 to $5.37/kg MS in 2011/12; a For more information, contact Daniel Gilmour on (03) 5561 9911 at 4% drop. Variable costs were very similar to last year while DPI Warrnambool or Claire Swann on (03) 5430 4697 at DPI overhead costs rose by almost 9% mainly due to increased imputed Bendigo. In some cases the original plan put - Improve dairy margins and reduce GippsDairy forward by the Focus Farm family is cost of production. decided upon as the best approach. - Generate an operational surplus. • Other issues: Recently at the Binginwarri Focus Farm - Animal health – dealing with ongoing focus farms one group member commented, “The issues ie, lameness, BMCC. Working up Production benefit of fresh eyes and opinions can - Develop and implement an OH &S and Financial Budgets come up with an alternative that leads to a plan for the business. better fit”. - Dairy hygiene. However in all situations on the Focus - Reduce staff turnover and build a Farm the family have the final say in what team environment. Regular readers will know that a is adopted or not on their farm as part of - Check equipment and electricity the project – and deservedly so as they consumption at the dairy. key component of the Focus Farm have the cheque book! project is the time spent by the Family Goals Field Days on the Focus Farms • Build wealth and grow equity for Jon Focus Farm family, along with Attending a Focus Farm Field Day is a and Lauren. their Facilitator and members of good way to see the farm and hear about • For the Clyne family their Support Group in the the issues being tackled on the farm. - Financial improvement of the business These Field Days are open to everyone (cash flow & profitability) development and monitoring of the involved in the dairy industry. - Grow herd size (asset) farm production and financial Interestingly some farmers will travel - Monthly cash flow budgets and cash budget. considerable distances to visit a farm that flow control. they feel has a lot in common with their - Cash flow for infrastructure upgrades Dairy farmers and indeed anybody own dairy farm business. involved in operating a business knows Some considerations for the 2012-2013 that it takes time to review the various Two Field Days were held just recently - at budget. components or activities in the business, Loch and Binginwarri. If you would like a • Cows gather the data and prepare those copy of the notes from these days contact - 350 autumn cows including budgets. John Gallienne on Mobile 0407 863 493, or carryovers. email [email protected] - 280 spring calvers. Once ‘bedded down’ these annual budgets Field Days will be held at Drouin South - 65 spring calving heifers. or plans (whether you like what they are - 75 autumn 2013 calving heifers. telling you or not) help the business to and Newry. When the dates are set for these they will be widely publicised. - 40-50 cull cows @ $500-$550/head. move forward with confidence in any - Bull calves @ $40/head. future decision making. News from Newry - Potential for sale of export heifers. In almost every case issues will arise The Newry Focus Farm is approximately • Production during the year – these can then be 12 km west from Maffra in the Macalister - 4,651,500 litres milk reacted to quickly and more effectively Irrigation district. John and Lauren Ryan - 356,930 kg Milk Solids (MS) based on a clear view. Just how you react are the Focus Farmers; they are in - 475kg MS/cow depends on the issue. partnership with Lauren’s parents Alan • Feeding and Christine Clyne. - 1.48 tonne/cow wheat costing $350/ Farmers ask what process is used on the tonne Focus Farms when setting budgets. This year they are planning to milk 750 cows on 220 hectares of irrigated pasture - Could be opportunity to feed The answer is that the initial Production (3.4 cows/ha). There is a split autumn/ vegetable waste. and Financials come from draft budgets spring calving. - Maize silage to be reviewed - depends that are discussed by the whole group, or on feed budget, production of alternatively that larger group may be As part of the process for setting farm and sufficient surplus pasture to put into divided into four or five smaller groups family goals along with production and silage. each with up to six Support Group financial budgets the following are some of - Fertiliser –based on soil tests, but members – this exchange of information the issues being considered, says their likely to be blends and ideas works well. Facilitator Craig McWhinney. - Nitrogen 4 applications equivalent to urea @ 80 kg/ha @ $750/t The same process is used when Business Goals - Purchased fodder to be reduced, • Improve calving patterns and address considering major changes to aspects of hopefully only straw for calving down. the farm system. Some recent examples herd fertility issues - 6 week autumn joining - 3 weeks AI are: For more information about the Focus and 3 weeks bulls. • What could be the optimum calving time Farm project contact John Gallienne Mob - Spring calving - aim for midpoint of 4 and/or herd size? 0407 863 493, or e-mail [email protected]. weeks. • What could /should be done at the dairy au – modify, renovate or replace the existing - Consider bringing spring calving date infrastructure? forwards - August 10th was suggested. The Focus Farm Project is an • Issues related to the feeding program, • Improvement to underdeveloped areas initiative of GippsDairy; it is funded including the cost benefit of fodder crops of the farm. More subdivision, uniform by Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. on a particular Focus Farm system. paddock sizes, improved and additional fencing, upgrade irrigation infrastructure, stock troughs in every paddock. More detailed plans and costing is now required. • Increase herd size to 800 cows (Stocking rate of 3.6 cows/ha) in the next 1-2 years. • Improve pasture quality and quantity, while decreasing purchased supplements. • Financial Goals: - Improve cash flow, have a buffer for leaner months. 2 Making labour work for everybody etting the right farm for the right farm worker has The People in Dairy website will be another key tool to help meet always been a challenge for the dairy industry. the needs of employers and employees. An employment package G will also be sent directly to farmers, on request. With that in mind, GippsDairy has appointed the region's first Dairy Workforce Co-ordinator. Kylie said technical information and support in regard to general human resource issues would be provided to anyone who needed Kylie Barry will take on the role after spending the past few years it. as the Gippsland co-ordinator of the Young Dairy Development Program. The resources of the NCDEA will be used to raise awareness of career pathways, by using industry developed structures and by The new position, which is funded through the Dairy Levy, will building relationships with regional schools to promote the provide: industry as a career option. • Support for dairy farmers in the areas of employment. • Support for employees looking for work on-farm. GippsDairy executive officer Dr Danielle Auldist said the Dairy • Support for farmers looking for employees. Workforce project will help deal with the labour challenges that the • Technical support to assist farmers in finding the right industry has historically faced. employees. “This is a hands-on role that will offer practical solutions to anyone Kylie said she is excited to be working in such an important area in the industry looking for work or looking for workers,” she said. for the dairy industry. “GippsDairy is delighted to be able to respond to the labour issue, “Dairy employment has long been a difficult issue for many which we know is one that concerns many in the Gippsland dairy employers and employees in Gippsland,” she said. industry.” “This is the first time that a targeted position has been established Kylie can be contacted at the GippsDairy office 5624 3900 or by to help all dairy farmers and farm workers to find what they need email on [email protected] to help their businesses and careers.” Alternatively, come along and meet Kylie at the Dairy Workforce The GippsDairy website will be used to advertise for positions official launch at the South Gippsland Dairy Expo. She'd love to vacant and wanted, making it a dedicated, centralised place for have a chat about any labour problems or issues you have. Gippsland dairy farmers to advertise their employment needs. Dairy Shed Energy Efficiency airy shed electricity costs have increased over the Cost benefits Dpast five years by an average of 22 per cent. These The cost benefit analysis is based on a case study farm in South shed costs accounted for approximately four per cent Gippsland miking 240 cows on a milking area of 130 ha. The dairy shed is a 20 unit swingover built in 2003 and is well maintained. of variable costs in 2010-11. The farm produces 1.7 megalitres of milk. The LPG system should This has prompted a closer look at energy technologies used in the heat the 700 litres of water to 85 degrees C. dairy shed. Claire Swann (DPIV) assessed a range of energy Of the three technologies assessed for their ability to reduce technologies that may reduce energy consumption or costs in a energy consumption and carbon emissions when heating water, report “Economics analysis of technologies to reduce dairy energy LPG has the lowest break-even period, lowest capital investment consumption”. The full report can be viewed on the DPI website: and the greatest reduction of CO2-e. www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy/energy-in-dairy The financial benefit of the LPG system is reliant on the LPG price, In this article we look at the economics of replacing the source of however, for LPG to become untenable would require a gas price heating energy from grid electricity to liquefied petroleum gas increase of 11% annually. (LPG). LPG Water Heating LPG Water Heating Capital Investment $2,900 Technology ‘Do nothing’ option $3,117 In this comparison, the instantaneous gas heating unit is connected Annual savings $759 to the existing electrical hot water service and plumbing. A constant flow unit is installed to the hot water service and the Years to break even (Before interest and tax) 5 solenoid (float) will determine when to draw water from the water Energy supply into the hot water service. The electricity supply acts as a Consumption saved annually (KWh) N/A back up should there be any issues with gas supply. Emissions saved annually (t CO2-e) 22.5 Considerations when installing LPG water heating include: Note: • Volatility of gas prices due to the fluctuations in the market • Price of electricity is assumed to increase annually by 10% benchmarking Australia to Singapore. • LPG to increase by 2% annually • To heat 700 litres of water daily will require renting two • The savings in energy consumption are based on the energy 210-kilogram cylinders. This supply will be adequate for 50 days, savings from investing in the technology compared to the ‘do requiring the filling of each gas bottle on alternate months. nothing’ option • Access will need to be available to allow inspection by the supplier. For further information contact Darold Klindworth or Barrie • Flow rates need to be set accordingly to meet the hot water Bradshaw DPI Ellinbank on (03) 5624 2222 or visit www.dpi.vic. supply requirements. gov.au/agriculture/dairy/energy-in-dairy. • A solar hot water system can be in the gas hot water system to pre-heat water. The complexity of combining different systems needs to be managed. 3 Repairing pastures after pugging damage armers in many dairying regions (eg Gippsland survive (should be obvious by now), rolling will reduce the height Fand parts of SW Victoria) have experienced a wet of the unpugged mounds and will allow essential light to reach winter that resulted in considerable pugging damage. these lower tillers. These farmers will now be full swing repairing or If planning to roll paddocks when the soils are suitable do as many planning to repair pastures that were damaged by as quickly as you can as soils rapidly move from being too wet to being too dry! It may mean leaving sections of paddocks which are pugging or used as a sacrifice paddock during the still too wet for the sake of getting on to most of the paddock that second wet winter in a row. is ready, following up the wetter areas later. If not severely Pastures will have been damaged by pugging to varying degrees pugged, follow up treatment may not be needed at all. from light to medium to severe. Repair options for paddocks with Smudging, on the other hand, often results in the grassed mounds light and severe pugging are usually fairly easy to decide but being knocked off into the pug marks, creating even more bare determining what to do with pugged pastures between these ground and usually will require seeding soon after to produce a extremes is not always so obvious. This article puts some ideas reasonably dense pasture. and suggestions into the mix for you to consider. Direct drill or full cultivation? As you no doubt know, the more a LESSONS FROM 2011 WET WINTER: First port of call is to paddock is worked (full cultivation versus power harrow versus reflect on the 2011 winter where valuable lessons will have been spray + direct drill) the longer it will be before the new pasture learnt from our own and other farmers’ experiences. The same can be grazed to avoid hoof damage and plant pulling. Research applies for many service providers such as the agriculture has also shown that anything that increases soil/seed contact contractors, seed company representatives and seed suppliers. (harrowing or rolling after broadcasting seed or drilling + So what did we learn from rejuvenating pastures from the 2011 harrowing/rolling) results in much better pastures than wet season? Did we choose the right species? Did we sow the broadcasting seed only. respective species at the right time? Did we get caught out with HOW MUCH TO SOW: How much area of the farm is affected lack of nutrients either left in the soil or applied at or soon after with medium to severe pugging damage? Large areas requiring a sowing? Did we control the weed explosion before or soon after full renovation or cropping will result in large areas of the farm not sowing? Did red-legged earth mite, lucerne flea, slugs and other being available for grazing for many weeks. This may not be so pests nip off the newly germinating plants before we realised they critical this spring but depending on what is sown, may result in were even there? Was our method of over-sowing effective or large areas needing re-sowing next autumn or summer. should we have bitten the bullet and carried out a full renovation? Did our newly sown seed rot in the ground from follow up rains? Where large areas will need repair consider a combination of Etc. short term and perennial ryegrass (PRG) sowings in conjunction with a range of summer crops. Consider species with early and Please temper the following comments with the current state of later sowing requirements to even out workload and to have the the paddock (eg still way too wet?), current and near future feed supply coming on hand as needed to fill feed gaps. weather forecast, contractor availability, etc. There may be several paddocks on the farm where only small PUGGOLOGY: Before doing anything, assess the level of pugging sections are severely affected. Consider isolating the badly pugged damage in individual paddocks and estimate how much of the total areas and treating these as separate units whilst possibly still farm area is affected with light, medium or severe pugging utilising the rest of the less affected section of the paddock. In damage. DPI Victoria has developed a simple tool, PUGGOLOGY, many cases, I know that some of the remainder of the paddock which may be helpful to determine the level of severity of pugging may have little damage and some of it may have medium damage, within paddocks. Please see contact details below to get a copy of each area possibly needing separate treatment. PUGGOLOGY. WHAT TO SOW WHEN: For earlier sowing, Perennial ryegrasses To assess the severity of pugging within a paddock, stand with feet (PRG), long rotation, Italian RG and hybrids ryegrasses will not approximately one metre apart (Figure 1) and imagine a one go to head until next spring, and with some summer rains, all will metre square in front of your two feet. Estimate how much actual provide feed next autumn/winter. These will provide the high bare area is in this square metre. How deep are the pug quality feed base that we need in the medium to long term. indentations? Is there any grass in the base of the indentations Consider not sowing Annual ryegrasses at this stage as they will which is likely survive or muddied plants that are likely to re-shoot go to head very quickly and then need replacing within another unless overshadowed by the higher plants? Repeat this several month or so. times in the affected areas you want to assess. At the same time, assess the state of the soil to determine when action can start. To do this, roll some soil between the palms of your hand and try to form a ‘worm’ of about 5-7 cm long and 3-4 mm width. Form a ring. If the worm holds together, the soil is probably too wet to work or even direct drill as the soil in the row may smear (Figure 2) and affect seedling and root growth. If the ring only just crumbles in a few sections, the soil should be suitable to cultivate or drill. WHICH EQUIPMENT TO USE AND WHAT AND WHEN TO SOW. Roll or smudge? Although rolling may compact the soil, most Gippsland soils can be very forgiving and the benefits of rolling far outweigh the disadvantages. Rolling will substantially reduce the roughness of paddocks, rendering paddocks much more friendly to equipment and humans. Look closely at the bottoms of the pugging indentations. If plant tillers in the pug marks are likely to Figure 1. Estimate bare ground in 1 sq. m 4 Treatment of Other options for relatively early sowing (soil temperatures greater than 120C, measured at 9.00 am at 10 cm depth) are the perennial downer cows herbs, chicory and plantain. These are growing in popularity on Gippsland vet is conducting a world's first study many farms, initially to offset red-headed cockchafer damage, but Ainto the treatment of downer cows. Dr Phil Poulton now finding a place due to their other benefits. from the Tarwin Veterinary Group in South Gippsland They are complementary to PRG and known to last three to four is completing a Masters Degree in the nursing of years and possibly longer as we learn how to manage them more downer dairy cows. The comprehensive study, which correctly. Chicory is predominantly summer active (some varieties is funded by Dairy Australia, will look at around 250 are now more winter active) whereas plantain is more productive recumbent cows and how they respond to differing throughout the year. They both need to be rotationally grazed and provide high quality feed most of the year, this varying depending types of treatment. on variety chosen. Dr Poulton, who is in his second and final year of the part-time They are best sown in early to mid spring for quicker research project, said results so far were tending to confirm the establishment but can be sown in autumn, albeit slower to prevailing treatment practises. But he said it was important that establish and potential for more competition from weeds which are the industry had this research to ensure animals were receiving the most appropriate care. difficult to control with chemicals, given these herbs are also broad-leaved. Dr Poulton will look at around 150 downer cows this year, of which 120 will be assessed for the project. He will study the various They both form tap roots which enables them to survive and grow ailments afflicting them and then review which treatments are the through most summers. Once established, chicory is fairly most effective. He will also look at how best to assess which cows pest-proof whilst plantain can provide extra minerals in excess of won't make a recovery. “It's important from the animal welfare those provided by RG/clover pastures. aspect that we don't prolong suffering for animals that can't Forage cereals and cereal/legume mixes can also be sown early recover,” he said. provided the seed does not lay in waterlogged soils for too long. Differences in treatment for each breed of dairy cow are also The earlier the sowing, the higher the yield and usually harvested being looked at, with heavier animals having different needs to after about 100 days growth. If sowing with a legume (pea, annual lighter animals. “If you have a 650 kg Holstein, it might need clover or vetch), match the maturity of both species. If harvested different nursing to a young Jersey cow that's just had her first when the cereal grain is at the late milk to soft dough stage, the calf,” he said. standing crop dry matter content will be about 38 to 42 per cent dry matter and won’t need wilting. Including a legume may require Dr Poulton said farmers should heed Dairy Australia's a short period of wilting and a silage additive is recommended. recommendations when nursing downer cows. The key rules from Dairy Australia include: The usual suspects, the Brassicas (turnips, rapes, hybrids, etc), • provide a clean, dry and soft bedding that offers a non-slip can also be sown early when soils are above about 12oC provided surface when the cow tries to stand the seed is not laying in water for too long, as can occur from • provide a continuous supply of clean water and good feed heavy follow up rains, or if sown in low-lying wet areas. • move the cow from side to side every three hours to ensure her Of the other typical summer forages, millet and mixes containing weight is not always to one side and flexing and extending the millet can be sown when soil temperatures exceed about 14oC hind limbs each time the cow is moved followed by the forage sorghum-types when soil temperatures are • regularly hand strip milk from the udder over about 16-18oC. • regularly encourage the cow to rise • use lifting devices to get her to her feet, never leave cows Hopefully the above provides some new thoughts to consider when hanging in lifting devices repairing pug-damaged paddocks. There are many varieties within • regularly re-assess her progress and diagnosis each of the species mentioned and there are also many proprietary mixes which can be sown at various times of the year. To sort out Dr Poulton said it was vital that downer cows receive swift and the myriad of choices and the pros and cons of each, consult a appropriate treatment once they were on the ground. valued consultant or DPI extension officer and, especially, your Complications arising from extended prone periods include nerve seed company reps and seed suppliers. damage, muscle damage, bed sores, mastitis, pneumonia and hip dislocations. For further information or a copy of PUGGOLOGY, please contact Frank Mickan, Pasture and Fodder Conservation Specialist, DPIV For information on nursing downer cows go to www.dairyaustralia. Ellinbank 03 5624 2259, email [email protected] com.au and search “downer”. Dr Phil Poulton with one of his patients at a Fish Creek farm recently.

Figure 2. Smeared drill row 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 8-10 days per leaf. Area of farm to graze today ~1/20 of grazing area in 24 hours. october Average daily pasture growth rate 55 to 90 kg DM/Ha/day. Fodder conservation Recommended pre grazing Graze ryegrass at 2 to 2 ½ leaf stage or graze prior • Milk production is strongly influenced by decisions for all stock to canopy closure. quality of the diet. Poor quality silage will Recommended post grazing Graze down to 4 to 6 cm pasture height between put a handbrake on milk production when decision for milkers and for the clumps or to where the cows grazed last time. fed back. This is not the year to spend young stock If current grazing height is higher manage this by lots of money on making large amounts mechanical means, or lower than this, manage of silage. Try to aim at making the through adjustment of supplementary feeding. best quality silage possible to maximise returns and to get better value for money. Seasonal management tasks Topping, silage and apply NPKS fertilisers. • Aim for leafy pastures with short shut up Conserving Surplus Pasture Maximise spring by skipping paddocks that time (4-6 weeks). Pasture ready to be are beyond ideal milker feed and conserving grazed by milkers makes the best silage shortly after. If conditions remain wet consider and regrows the fastest. using an additive or inoculant to maximise • Nitrogen fertiliser can be used to improve conserved silage quality. yields and feed quality. Consider whether this is the best way to help meet the • Consider the use of extended lactation • Daily evaporation for MID farmers can herds future feed requirements. on suitable cows. This can be used to be found at http://www.agua.com.au/ tighten the calving pattern by shortening DPIVic/ and for elsewhere in Gippsland Summer crops the joining period and re-joining suitable check the BOM site at http://www.bom. • Book your contractor as early as possible carryover cows for the next calving gov.au/watl/eto/ and negotiate a sowing date with them. interval. Benefits include concentrating • Recommended total evaporation minus • Have a plan for your summer fodder the workload next calving, reducing rainfall (E - R) since the last irrigation crops, accounting for the quality and the need for bulls and replacement should be 50 mm for flood irrigation quantity of feed you want to produce heifers whilst retaining valuable cows. and around 35 mm for spray irrigated and when you want it available. If these Reproductive performance may also pastures. are to go into what were badly pugged improve (more time “open” before • Keep farm channels free of weeds to paddocks then some flexibility in the time joining). Consider the impact on your speed up watering. of sowing may needed, depending on the herd’s feed requirements, workload and • Check all pumps and filters for correct condition of the soil. cash flow. operation and pressure before the heat of • Sow your summer fodder crops early summer kicks in. before the soil becomes too dry for Calves/Heifers establishment, this means getting your • Reduce environmental stress on Soil testing and fertiliser requirements turnip or brassica crop sown by the end calves. Provide shelter to avoid sudden • Spring is ideal for soil sampling your of October (or even earlier where shorter environmental changes (cold, damp, paddocks. Five sample tests will give a growing seasons are expected). Other draughty or humid conditions) in the calf good indication of your farm’s fertiliser forage crops, like millet, sorghum and rearing area. and lime requirements. many maize varieties should be sown • Over-crowded or cramped conditions can • Transect sampling of paddocks or areas later when soil temperatures are higher lead to rapid disease spread. will provide the best representative (16 to18 degrees Celsius), but with good • At the end of the calf season, clean and samples for testing. Always use a 10 cm soil moisture levels. disinfect all calf pens, sheds, shelters, soil sampling tool to collect the 20 to 30 cleaning tools, veterinary equipment and soil cores needed. Use the GPS to assist Cows feed troughs. with being able to relocate where you • Have a good heat detection system in • Aim for calves to be eating one kilogram sampled for future reference. place and consider starting heat detection of concentrates per day prior to weaning • With the wet conditions we have a month before the start of mating. experienced it is likely that paddocks • Having cows on a rising plane of nutrition Irrigation will need topping up with potassium during joining will help boost submission • With some rain events occurring during and sulphur. For your hay and silage rates. the spring, it is easy to think that the soil paddocks, apply potassium fertiliser • The best heat detection method is a moisture is being maintained. Constant either early or after crops have been combination of paddock observation and checks are required to compare removed. Applying potassium too close use of aids such as tail paint, heat mount evaporation and farm rainfall to make to harvest will lead to raised levels in detectors or electronic motion detectors. sure your irrigation decisions are spot the conserved feed, causing metabolic • Monitor lameness in your herd and treat on. problems when fed out to springing cows. early. contact us This newsletter is published by DPI and ComingUp GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or South Gippsland Dairy Expo Spring AI Training Course in removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a 26th and 27th September 2012 Gippsland. comment, please contact Jessie Horton, Dairy Korumburra Showgrounds. At: Warragul, 3rd October and Sunbury, Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Contact Jaydee Events Pty Ltd on 10th and 11th October. Ellinbank - 5624 2222 or [email protected]. 5659 4219 Contact: Sue Bird, NCDEA. 5667 4502 gov.au The Department of Primary Industries and Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This publication may be of many other dairy related businesses and assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly service providers will be present. appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 6 5 o ctober 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy Tips to avoid spoiling baled silage aled silage is expensive enough DM content too low so bales may be Solution: without pulling the wrapping sunken and mis-shaped, and will usually Ensure bales are square or slightly convex B have undergone very poor fermentation. in shape. Apply extra wrap over off six months later to find mouldy underlapped sections. and/or unpleasant smelling silage. Silage baled under about 38 per cent DM may undergo clostridial or enterobacterial Wherever the ensiling process has been fermentation due to the high moisture compromised (e.g. punctured plastic seal, content. A slower rate of fermentation may baled too wet or dry) dry matter (DM) and also occur if the material is not chopped nutrient losses will occur. This may cause adequately before it is baled. The wetter lower intake by stock and a small possibility the silage towards the base of the bale the of animal health issues. These losses may wetter it was at baling. appear small but when added together it Solution: can significantly reduce the harvest’s value. Round bales should be 40–50 per cent DM. Extra effort to prevent, avoid or repair Large square bales should be 40–60 per problems is financially worthwhile. cent DM. When the DM content is too high use a chopper baler with ALL knives in Baled silage problems can be due to many Bale wrap underlapped place. When the DM content is too low use factors. Let’s focus on two of the major a fermentation enhancing silage additive at Pre-stretcher issues causes; incorrect DM content at baling, and baling. wrapping or sealing problems. The film passes through a pre-stretcher to ensure the film forms an airtight seal on 1. Incorrect dry matter content at the bale. Poorly serviced pre-stretchers baling may over or under-stretch the film, which DM content too high so mould growth can can cause an inadequate seal. This will also occur in the bale. occur if the film runs through the pre-stretcher the wrong way. With round bales, material that is baled too dry (over 50–55 per cent DM) cannot be Dust and rain can settle between the film compacted enough to expel excess air. This layers and will prevent a good seal forming. entrapped air will allow plant respiration Unused plastic rolls stored in the sun and aerobic microbial activity, leading to during the day’s harvesting will not ‘neck DM and quality losses. A certain amount of down’ or stretch as well as they should. mould may also grow depending on the Silage baled too wet without silage additive Solution: quantity of trapped air. These problems can Service the pre-stretcher regularly. Use the 2. Wrapping/Sealing problems be dramatically compounded in over-dry correct gearing for the specific plastic wrap bales if the plastic wrap is punctured as air Problems with wrapping/sealing may used. Store unused rolls away from direct can enter more quickly and further into the produce unevenly shaped and underlapped heat and avoid dust and moisture getting bale. bales between the film layers at wrapping. Despite bales being correctly wrapped with four layers at 50 per cent overlap and 55 per Key points. cent stretch, air will still very slowly enter When making silage, ensure that the forage the bale over time. We recommend that is ensiled at the correct dry matter. Make silage is used within 12 months of baling. sure the bales are wrapped to give at least Odd-shaped bales will make wrapping four layers cover in any one spot and the difficult and inevitably some areas will not pre stretcher is properly maintained. It is get covered by the recommended minimum also vital to seal any holes that are made in of four layers of plastic. Photo 3 shows a the silage bales as soon as practicable to bale where underlapping of the film has assist in maintaining quality. occurred. Less coverage will allow air to For further information contact Frank enter the bale at a much higher rate. Mould due to a puncture in the silage wrap. Mickan on (03) 5624 2259. Milk producing crops ome crops are more suitable for energy (12 ME), have around 16% protein Sowing time is important milk production than others. If and relatively low fibre in bulbs and leaves Time the sowing of the crops so they come S (rapes or kales have very fibrous stems). on tap at the time they are required by the you want good milk production Turnips and leafy brassicas are hard to beat herd to fill feed gaps. from cows eating forage crops, crop for quality. Maturity time for turnips depends on the selection and management are Chicory and plantain are similarly good for variety, ranging from as little as eight important. milk production except for when they seed. weeks up to 16 weeks. Hybrid forage High intake required If cows are eating seeding plants, the brassicas can be ready for first grazing in Basically, milk production is a result of energy will drop from about 12 ME to 10-11 6-8 weeks while others require 10-12 weeks. ME (can be as low as 9). Cows can select intake so we are looking for forage species Herbs are slow to establish and should be the leaves fairly easily from seeding chicory that have high energy, adequate protein sown as early in spring as practical to but in plantain crops seedheads are difficult and not too much fibre. Forage crops with ensure good summer yields. Yields in the for the cows to avoid. Protein is about 20% if these characteristics will allow cows to eat second year are much higher with seeding is under control. NDF fibre is more. Milk production will follow. potentially good growth for another two around 35% but can be as low as 25% in years. As crops will only form part of the diet, winter and as high as 45% when seeding. other feeds in the diet will need to combine Millet and sorghum hybrids require soil Clovers are also a great feed for milk to produce a balanced diet. The milker diet temperatures of ~16°C at sowing. So it is production. Some annual clovers can be should have about 16-18% crude protein, November before sowing can generally sown in spring for summer feed (e.g. about 30% fibre (NDF) and as much energy begin. They can be ready for first grazing 6- arrowleaf). Most have a natural growing as practical. 8 weeks after sowing. Don’t sow too much period that spans from autumn to spring. In summer and early autumn, often pasture at once, as once it is ready to graze it must is in short supply, grain is being fed in Summer grass crops are generally lower in be eaten off quickly before it declines in reasonable amounts along with silage. feed quality and only support moderate feed quality. Protein in summer pasture and silage might milk production. Millet and forage sorghum hybrids tend to have around 12% protein, 10 Other considerations be around 15%, and grain around 12%. So There are other things to consider in ME and 55% fibre. If grasses become protein in the diet might be borderline to addition to crop quality. It is important to stemmy or begin to seed, energy and below optimum. Fibre (NDF) in pasture select crops that will grow well on your protein drop and fibre rises. Rape is and silage might be around 55% and grain farm. Direct grazing is cheaper than sometimes sown with millet to improve its around 10%. Too much fibre in the diet conserving and feeding back. Compare the feed value. might be holding summer milk production growing of a forage crop with other back. For pastures and crops, low energy Stand outs for quality alternatives for filling the feed gap. It is tends to go hand in hand with high fibre, If you are looking for good per cow milk generally uneconomic to crop a productive putting a further handbrake on milk production, brassicas and herbs tend to perennial pasture. production. stand out as summer/autumn options. For For further information contact Frank crops that have significant seedhead Target high quality crops Mickan on (03) 5624 2259. For good milk production, target forage development, manage your forage crop to crops with at least 18% protein and as low in keep it leafy and to minimise seeding and fibre as possible. stem development. Your cows will love you for it. The actual feed value of a particular crop can be highly variable. Lush crops with little stem and seedheads will test higher than average for the crop type. The reverse is also true. So managing the crop for quality is important. The following is a broad guide of the quality characteristics of summer crops. Brassicas have an excellent feed profile for high milk production. They are high in above: Chicory crop. left: Brassica crop 2013 Tertiary scholarships ou don’t have to be a straight-A student to apply for placement-programs.html or contact Kylie O’Donnell on 5122 Yscholarships. Many scholarships are offered 6303. Expressions of Interest close 31st October. exclusively to people who are from rural areas or have Melbourne University difficulty accessing tertiary education. Some are Many different scholarships with different closing dates so for described below. Give them a go! more information visit www.services.unimelb.edu.au/scholarships.

Monash University Rural Finance (i) Scholarships for rural students and under-represented schools; It’s scholarship program is designed to foster scientific, technical, some close 19th October; visit www.monash.edu/study/ management and financial excellence in agriculture. Eligible scholarships/applications/ students from Victoria are committed to careers in agriculture, are (ii) Industry placement program, Gippsland campus. A 3-year under 26 years of age, and in first or second year of a diploma or support program that builds students’ employment skills and undergraduate degree. A postgraduate scholarship is also offered confidence, and provides real experience working in their for a student under 40 years of age. Applications usually close end chosen industry. Includes a $15,000 scholarship in year 3. Visit of May each year. Contact Alana O’Shea on (03) 5448 2600 or visit www.monash.edu/gippsland/study-options/courses/industry- www.ruralfinance.com.au/pages/Default.aspx?PageID=26&id=1 2 Key nutrients depleted by wet conditions et soil conditions can leach key nutrients from agronomists that can undertake soil sampling on your farm to help the pasture resulting in deficiencies in some save you time and to also provide you with independent advice with W respect to interpreting the results and helping formulate a nutrient parts of the farm. budget and a plan for fertiliser. Soil sulphur and potassium levels may be particularly affected by Too expensive to soil test? water logging and wet conditions. So a soil test is essential to make Yes, soil testing will cost money but it is worth it. To evaluate if the sure you aren’t missing out on pasture growth and the flow on soil test will be worth the investment, it’s worth considering first; benefits of this such as less purchased feed, less weeds and well balanced soils and pasture for healthy cows. If you are also What is the cost of soil testing? thinking of renovating paddocks, ensure the new seeds will be To monitor soil fertility levels to make fertiliser decisions may sown into an environment conducive to plant growth, a soil test up require samples from a range of management areas across the front is a good first step. farm. For example, separate tests may be needed for the effluent paddocks, hay paddocks and the milking area, and the differing In addition to leaching, the farm may have also experienced soil types. This typically requires five soil samples but up to 10 for changes to grazing management such as the use of a feedpad or a more complex or detailed program. sacrifice area and may have inadvertently accumulated nutrients in some parts of the farm. Activities like cutting hay and silage may Farmer A sampled five paddocks using a corer and posted the have removed nutrients and redistributed them to other areas of samples off to a lab at a cost of around $600 for the soil samples the farm. Keeping nutrients in balance across the farm is key. and then compares this to the yearly fertiliser cost of $30,000. The Picture 1 below illustrates a basic nutrient balance on farms. proportion of the cost of the soil sampling compared to what was spent on fertiliser is 2% (this cost doesn’t account for the farmer’s The nutrient status of your soil changes over time, so regular soil time to take the soil sample and/or send it off) testing every couple of years is important to keep track of where it’s at and to be able to make informed decisions. What is the cost of not soil testing? The actual cost then needs to be weighed up with opportunity cost of not soil testing, that is what is the cost to the business of not soil testing. The cost of not soil testing might include; • Less plant growth from below optimal plant nutrition • Missing out on applying the right nutrients (fertiliser or effluent) or lime to enhance plant growth by not having enough information about the current situation of the soil. For example, effluent is high in potassium and nitrogen and can be targeted to areas of the property that need it most. • Over applying nutrients beyond what is needed agronomically, so this is a missed opportunity to save money by applying more fertiliser than what was actually needed. • Environmental and social cost – over-applying nutrients may increase the risk of pollution, such as algal blooms and contaminate water supply for your neighbours. An accredited lab should be used to ensure the money you spend Nutrient movement onto and off a dairy farm will give reliable results. Please refer to ‘Sampling soils used for growing pastures, field and fodder crop’ - DPI Information Note if So what’s stopping you from soil testing this season? you need a reminder about how to go about soil testing. You tested a few years ago? There are a range of resources available from the Department of The recommended soil testing frequency is every 2 -3 years. So if Primary Industries website that can help with soil testing (search it’s been a few more years than that, you may well profit from a AG0375, AG1425, or the Fertilising dairy pastures manual), or you fertiliser program based on new soil tests. can talk to Benita Kelsall, DPI Dairy Extension Officer, on (03) Not enough time? 5624 2218. There is a wide range of service providers and consultants such as

GippsDairy AGM powerpoints or videos) on 25 Feb at 5pm. The public meeting will be held over dinner Then they are welcome to stay for balance on October 30th at Duart’s reception of the conference on the 26 and 27 Feb. For ComingUp centre, Maffra. RSVPs essential to Melanie an entry form and more details, go to the on (03) 5624 3900 or executiveassistant@ GippsDairy website. gippsdairy.com.au. Newry Focus Farm Field Day Young farmers. Wednesday 24th October, 11.00 am till 1.30 Dairy Innovators’ Forum A young farmer (18-40 years) will also be pm. The farm is at 479 Upper Maffra Road, The Australian Dairy Conference group is sponsored so they can experience Newry. With Jon and Lauren Ryan. Alan hosting the Dairy Innovators’ Forum at the Australia’s premier dairy conference and and Christine Clyne, and Facilitator Craig Twin Waters resort, Queensland in link with other young farmers from across McWhinney. BBQ Lunch provided. Come February 2013. Two competitions will Australia. Details available from Irene, for a cuppa from 10.30am. When travelling provide complimentary registration as well YDDP coordinator, or the GippsDairy to the field day - look for the GippsDairy as cover travel costs. website. signs. These field days provide an opportunity to inspect the farm, their Farm innovators' award. Dairy Industry Scholarships facilities and milking herd. Discussion will We want to hear about anything from a The Gardiner Foundation, Dairy Australia also cover the feeding programs, their farm clever gate latch to a computer application and the National Centre for Dairy goals, production and financial budgets and that makes a difference to the day-to-day Education Australia (NCDEA) are pleased plans for the summer-autumn. running of your farm. Eight finalists will be to offer ten scholarships in Victoria and a asked to deliver a 5 minute talk/ further ten scholarships nationally of $2,500 demonstration on the beach (no each. The scholarships are open to

3 Making strategic bull choices GippsDairy hile a land asset is improved by adding Winfrastructure and boosting soil fertility, a herd asset grows by producing replacement heifers. The focus farms choices you make in breeding the next generation of heifers have a significant impact on your herd. However, Small Farm Making Tight Decisions the factors that drive farm performance and farmer satisfaction vary between farms. To make sure your bull choices are matching the needs of your business, take a few minutes to set yourself a breeding objective. Trent and Belinda Crawford at the Binginwarri Focus Farm have become accustomed to making A breeding objective is a list of traits that you want to strategically very tight management decisions. There focus is on improve in your herd. To develop your list, think about: operating a small but very productive farm business. • What you like about your best cows Facilitator Matt Harms and members of the Support • Why cows are culled from your herd • What your main sources of income are Group are gaining an appreciation of the farm goals • Any weaknesses you or your adviser have observed or detected and a commitment to fine tuning their thinking in the from your herd test reports way Trent and Belinda have. • Characteristics of your farm system that require specific traits (i.e. a shed design that cannot tolerate slow milking cows, an Goals of the Binginwarri Focus Farm environment that suits a larger or smaller animal) • Lift production from the farm with current milking area; You may need to prioritise the most important traits on this list so • Maintain and improve profitability from a small farm; you have narrowed your breeding objective to 3-5 key traits. With • Improve the genetic merit of the herd as displayed through this list in hand, you are in a great position to select this year’s bull improved production; team. Work with your semen suppliers to find bulls in the Good • Increased pasture production from the existing milking area; Bulls Guide with Australian Breeding Values (ABV) that are above • Build equity in the farm business. average for your list of traits. Breeding objectives work well if they are targeted and used consistently over a few years. Some Farm Facts Both Trent and Belinda grew up on dairy farms. Trent’s parents While genetic improvement compounds year after year, it is often are dairy farming in Queensland, Belinda grew up on their difficult to see long term genetic change. This is why the Australian current farm. Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) will soon release a Genetic Progress Report that uses your herd-recording and genetic They commenced dairy farming in 2007 under a share farming evaluation data to illustrate the genetic progress you are making for arrangement in Binginwarri. At this property they started the profit, production, type, longevity, mastitis resistance and fertility. process of building up a herd with the rearing of surplus calves. The Genetic Progress Report will make it easier to monitor the In July 2009 they commenced a 10 year lease arrangement on effectiveness of your bull choices over the past decade and provide a Belindas’ mother’s farm, which has been used as a turnout block point of reference to assist in evolving your breeding objective over for quite a long time. They funded the revamp of the dairy and time. Watch for news of the release of the Genetic Progress Report improvements to get the farm back into ‘milking order’. This in your area. forms the basis of some of their current debt. Every joining decision has a long lasting impact on a herd. The The lease milking area is 60 hectares (ha). Trent and Belinda impact is permanent and compounds over the generations. A purchased the adjoining 18 ha in July 2011. Turnout area strategic breeding objective helps you make confident bull selection consists of 30 ha leased, there was a further 24 ha leased until decisions to build your herd asset. July 2012. For more information contact Michelle Axford, ADHIS Extension The farm is subdivided into 21 paddocks, with water in every and Education Manager, on 0427 573 330 or email maxford@adhis. paddock, good laneways and an ‘old’ pasture base. The shed is a com.au. 12 swingover with stall gates. The herd is a mix of Jerseys, crosses and some Holsteins. There is a small Jersey stud component. Cow numbers: • 2011/12 season 140 at peak, plus 23 rising 2s and 43 rising 1s • 2012/13 season 144 at peak, plus 43 rising 2s and 33 rising 1s Calving is 100% seasonal. With calving starting around the 25th July - after the school holidays! Milk is supplied to Murray Goulburn under the Seasonal Pricing System. Debt consists of $250,000 on the land purchase next door and contact us the remaining $50,000 on the house and where they live. This newsletter is published by DPI and GippsDairy. If you wish to be Importantly - there is no machinery debt, no overdraft, and no added to or removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you require more information or wish to make a comment, please contact Jessie Horton, factory finance. Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - (03) 5624 Whilst there is some off-farm income, this is all excluded from 2222 or [email protected] Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy the ‘farm financials’ and any vet services that Trent performs are 2012. This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that costed in to the budget at commercial rates to avoid cross the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in subsidisation. this publication. 4 Summary of the key 2011/12 ‘Physicals’ Farm Expenses Space for your figures • 70 effective ha of pasture. Herd Costs $ per Cow • 140 milkers in 2011/12, so an effective stocking rate of 2.0 AB & Herd Test 7,927 55 cows/ha. Animal health 8,856 61 • Actual production of 513 kg milk solids (MS)/cow or 71,830 Calf rearing 3,701 25 Total Herd Costs $20,484 ($141 per cow) Total Herd Costs $ kgMS total • Grain use of 1.914 tonne/cow ‘as fed’ Shed Costs • Pasture consumption of 3.6 tonne dry matter (DM)/cow or 7.2 Shed & pump power 7,475 51 Dairy supplies 7,200 50 tonne DM/ha Total Shed Costs $14,675 ($101 per cow) Total Shed Costs $ • 36% of energy imported (mostly as grain) • Turnout area of 54 ha (all leased) Feed Costs Fertiliser & Nitrogen 15,400 • No paid labour Nitrogen 21,000 Summary of the key 2011/12 ‘Financials’ Grain/Pellets 77,780 • Farm working expenses (herd costs, shed costs, feed costs, Lime 1,800 Hay/silage 8,278 overheads) of $2.99/kg MS Leases/agistment 14,000 • Actual milk price paid of $5.05/kg MS, but including growth Pasture renovation 3,990 incentive $5.14/kg Fuel & oil 6,491 • Operating surplus of $173,498 or $1239/cow Weeds 2,439 • Imputed labour of $101,250 or 1.6 FTE Total Feed Costs $151,158 ($1050 per cow) Total Feed Costs $ • Return on assets employed of 6.7% and an EBIT of $91,448 or Overhead Costs $653/cow Rates 2,500 • Cash surplus of -$1808 after personals and tax, but before Farm vehicles 3,594 off-farm income. Farm insurance 2,000 Repairs & Maint Farm 22,000 The 2012/13 budget Other O'head SF 18,437 The final draft of the 2012/13 has been based on the actual Total Overhead Costs$48,531 ($337 per cow) Total Overhead Costs $ Murray Goulburn opening price for this farm of $4.14/kg. A Total Farm Working Total Farm Working summary of some of the key points is as follows: Expenses $234,848 Expenses $ • Grain of 1.5 t/cow (minimum) at an average price of $360/tonne Operating Surplus $103,831 Operating Surplus $ • PKS at around 26 kg P/ha, 67 kg K/ha, 32 kg S/ha equivalent to around 400 kg/ha 2:1 % of Farm income on • Nitrogen at 184 kg/ha equivalent to 400 kg/ha urea. Production Costs: 69.3%. Farm Working Expenses per kg • Production of 542 kg MS/cow or 78,000 kg total from 144 cows Milk Solids $3.01 • With an opening price of $4,14/kg, this delivers a small cash Imported Energy 28.2% surplus and an operating surplus of $721/cow (to pay lease on dairy, debt, tax, living expenses and capital) Note: • Farm working expenses of $3,01/kg MS 1. Operating Surplus is not Profit, it is available to pay Debt, Tax, Living costs • The first step-up of 8/20 delivers an additional $12,480 to the and Capital 2. Operating Surplus per Hectare $1483. budget (approx) 3. Operating Surplus per cow $721. Key Issues So Far 4. Farm Income on Finance Repayment 17.4%. Some of the key issues discussed on the Focus Farm to date have Physical Features Space for your figures centred on pasture – ‘do we have enough, how much do we need, how much do we ‘juice things up’, should we be renovating the Total kg BF 43,333 Total kg PR 34,667 older pasture base?’ Total Litres 961,941 Under very wet conditions, a lot of attention has been placed on Max Herd Size 144 grazing and management priorities to minimise damage but Av Fat + Protein kg per cow 542 maximise pasture intake. Total production BF + PR kg 78,000 On top of that, there is the key focus of making sure that the farm Production BF + PR kg per ha 1,114 Litres per cow 6,680 is profitable, because the ability to milk more cows to ‘dilute’ out some core costs is not there. Area (ha) 70 Pasture Consumption tDM/ha 8.3 More details about their 2012-2013 budget. Pasture consumption tDM/cow 4.0 Below is the second draft of the Crawfords Annual Budget for 2012 2013. The Space for your figures is provided to help people get Total Milk Solids Equiv $4.18/kgMS started. It is certainly not an exhaustive list of income and Farm Labour Data Farm Labour Data expenditure for all farms. Imputed Hours 4,250 Farm Income Space for your figures Equiv 50 hour labour units 1.6 people Milk solids per 50 hours labour unit 47,716 Milk income 322,920 Growth Incentive 6,000 For more information about the Focus Farm project contact Stock cows 4,500 John Gallienne on (0407) 863 493 or e-mail gallienne@ Calves 4,059 dcsi.net.au. Rebate 1,200 Total Farm Income $338,679 The Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy; it is Non-Farm Income 2,000 funded by Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. Total Income $340,679 Total Income $

5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 8-12 days per leaf. When counting leaves ensure the tiller has a remnant leaf (i.e. was grazed last rotation and is a vegetative tiller). november Area of farm to graze today 1/16th to 1/30th of grazing area in 24 hours. Pastures/forages Average daily pasture growth rate 50 to 80 kg DM/ha/day (long term average year). • Apply urea to maintain or build pasture Recommended pre-grazing Graze ryegrass at 2 to 2½ leaf stage to maintain cover coming into summer. It will also decisions for all stock pasture quality. improve pasture quality by increasing leaf Recommended post grazing Graze down to 5 cm pasture height between the and reducing seedhead production. decision clumps. Consider pre-graze topping to help in • Apply potassium and sulphur fertiliser maintaining the 4 to 6 cm post-graze target. to pugged pastures as well as silage paddocks. This will replace the nutrients Seasonal management tasks Manage the transition from spring surplus to removed in the crop as well as any lost summer (lengthen rotation). Only cut genuine during autumn/winter through leaching. surplus pasture for hay. Shorter lock up times provide better quality hay. Summer crops Estimated soil temperature 14 degrees Celsius. • Sow your summer brassica crop, if not already done. Currentas soil moisture Estimated daily evaporation 6 to 9 mm per day without rainfall. will mean good germination and early Those not in calf can be carried over to Heifers growth. next joining or sold. The top 50 per cent • Check the condition score of the 2½ • Crops such as millet, forage sorghum of cows will produce similar milk solids year old heifers (greater than 120 days and maize can be sown in late November from an extended lactation (www.dpi. in milk) in the herd. They should be at a or whensoil temperatures reach 14 to 16 vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy/handling- condition score of greater than 4. If not, degrees Celsius,. then allocate extra feed or supplement to • Application of dairy effluent onto summer and-management/extended-lactation for more information). lift their condition. fodder crops provides nutrients that boost • The 15-month-old heifers will require a 7 yield. Yield responses will be greater • Consider the merit of sourcing some of your purchased feed requirements in 1 vaccine booster. on crops than pasture. Apply effluent • Do a faecal egg count on 10 marked 15 at harvest when prices are generally at to silage paddocks, after the silage has month old heifers using worm test kits their lowest. Take into account storage been removed or at least 3 weeks before that are available from vets. If drenching cutting. Effluent is high in potassium, so issues, possible seasonal conditions in is needed, then ensure your drenching will replace the potassium removed with 2013 and future price variation. Think equipment delivers the calculated silage. in terms of risk management. Do a feed amount accurately to the heaviest animal • Test your dairy effluent to determine the budget. in the group by weighing (or banding) application rate of nutrients and salts. Calves the heifers, and testing your drench gun. Young crop plants are sensitive to salts, • Check faecal egg counts on the marked so don’t apply salty effluent to them. . • Calves need a second 7 in 1 vaccine to build immunity against Clostridial heifers 14 days after treatment to Ask the testing authority to analyse the confirm the absence of worm eggs, thus diseases and Leptospirosis. effluent for NPKS, as well as Calcium, the effectiveness of your drench. Magnesium and Electrical Conductivity • Consider vaccinating your calves against (a measure of salts). the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) virus, Irrigation otherwise known as Bovine Pestivirus. • Rapidly growing pasture needs good soil Cows • Talk to your vet about vaccinating young moisture to continue growth through • To help guide feeding and purchasing stock for pink eye. spring. The best method of monitoring decisions read the weekly grain and hay • Calves require a high protein and high soil moisture is to install a tensiometer reports on Dairy Australia’s website – phone the DPI Maffra office on 5147 (www.dairyaustralia.com.au) energy diet to keep growing. Monitor their feed quality be prepared to provide 0800 for details. • If you are nearing the end of the joining • It’s time to start mixing the dairy effluent period it may pay to assess the number of supplements as required. • Dehorn calves early before excessive into the irrigation water – summer cows not in calf. A 60 day not in calf rate pastures are very responsive to the heat and troublesome flies arrive. of less than 10% is considered to be good. additional nutrients.

individuals in the dairy industry. These development activities such as course fees, to support farmers through the current scholarships are aimed at building capability travel, accommodation, cost of backfilling economic challenges. and capacity in individuals and at enhancing labour on farm and equipment required for participation in dairy industry training and training and development. The scholarship The campaign gives people the opportunity development activities. recipient must fully utilise all scholarship to better understand their current business funds by December 2013. position and cash flow options using four The funds are to be used to support case study farms. Each farm will host field individuals undertaking Australian dairy Applications including development plan days in October 2012 (dates to be industry endorsed learning and development posted to: Tracy Lloyd, Dairy Australia, announced), and the summer and late activities through education and/or Locked Bag 104, Flinders Land, Victoria, autumn of 2013. Ag consultants will help extension, which will progress their career 8009. Applications must be received by 5pm present the farmers’ technical strategies and in dairy farming, dairy processing/ 19 October 2012 to be considered. For management tactics used such as manufacturing or dairy support services. further queries please contact Tracy Lloyd maximising home grown feed. These activities include those provided by on (0409) 795 970 or (03) 9694 3770. NCDEA, Dairy Australia, Regional Also available are monthly farm business Development Programs (RDP’s) and state Tactics for tight times updates that can be emailed or posted to Departments of Primary Industries. Gippsland dairy farmers managing lower anyone requesting them. Please contact milk prices and higher input costs are being GippsDairy to receive the monthly business Scholarships will be awarded following a offered a helping hand at a series of farm updates or for farm field day dates and dairy industry selection process and management Field Days. The Tactics for locations on (03) 5624 3900 or email commence on 7 January 7 2013. Funds must Tight Times campaign has been developed [email protected] be used for vocational training and by Dairy Australia as a levy funded initiative GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 6 6 n ovember 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy Can I ensile rain affected hay? lastic wrap is not a silver bullet often mouldy and less-than-pleasant to more leaf and less stem, or thinner stems for hay that was rain affected really horrible smelling silage with reduced for the lucerne, the same story still applies P palatability. Let’s not even think of the as in the first scenario. However, there will before baling, for hay that is too consequences if these bales are punctured/ be less air trapped in these more tightly wet or for silage that is too dry. holed and how quick and far air will enter packed bales and you are starting with a The last two hay seasons have resulted in the bale and rapidly head towards compost! higher quality base with plants containing more sugars for the bacteria to work on. farmers and contractors with quandaries Another issue caused by rain is that soil is such as ‘It’s about half to one day off being often splashed onto the forage or The closer this forage is to silage dry OK to bale but now rain is threatening!’ or inadvertently picked up by further tedding matter, and although there will still be a ‘The hay was cured enough and being or raking. This soil contains undesirable drop off in quality, the chances of a positive baled when it started to drizzle’. A response soil organisms which can contribute outcome are somewhat higher. With this by many farmers seems to be ‘Wrap it in substantially toward a poor fermentation scenario, still individually wrap and/or use stretch wrap plastic and turn it into silage’ and plastic won’t prevent this. a preservative but NO PROMISES! or at least ‘The plastic will stop it going mouldy’. Sometimes, you WILL get a win! To There is no magic answer to ‘is it worth increase your chances you will need to wrapping that?’ and unfortunately Mother Hmm, as much as I hate to say this, there is individually or continuously in-line wrap the Nature has not been on the hay/silage no cut and dried right answer. I must also rounds or squares. Do not even think about maker’s side over recent years and this say that sometimes you may get away with saving money by stacking ‘Danger Zone’ year? But, if the raw product was low avoiding mouldy hay by wrapping it but large squares under sheets of plastic as I quality to start with, then the end product more often than not, you won’t! have heard of too many farmers who were will be too! As always your aim should be to Let’s look at two scenarios; disappointed with the outcome. If you think make milker quality fodder and if its not, about doing this with rounds, just stick then you need to remember this come feed First Scenario: Since it’s probably mid to late November/early December when them straight into a compost heap, at least out time. your garden and worms will benefit! making hay, most pastures will have a lot of Figure 1 & 2: Hay baled too wet stem with seed heads prominent. This At approximately $10 to $18/bale to wrap means the quality of the forage on the small rounds to large square bales plus the ground will be well down, probably under cost of plastic, and the added hassle of 9.5 megajoules of metabolisable energy per handling wrapped bales if you’re not kilogram of dry matter (MJ ME/kg DM), equipped to this, even if the plastic did approximately 9 to 11 per cent crude work, is its quality worth the extra cost of protein (% CP) and over 50 per cent neutral wrapping? detergent fibre (% NDF). Conversely, the leafier the crop and higher the clover If the moisture content is only 3 to 5 or 6% content, the higher the quality (over 10 above the ideal baling moisture content, the ME, over 14% CP and under 45% NDF). best outcome might be to stick to baling it as hay, but use a reliable hay preservative. The dry matter (DM) content may be about Always use hay preservatives at the correct 70–80%, i.e. moisture content 30–20% so the rate, remembering wet hay is much heavier forage will be too wet for hay BUT than cured hay, and ensure the preservative generally too dry for silage. I call this the covers as much of the forage as possible. ‘Danger Zone’ and the result is often mouldy and/or foul smelling fodder. This is There are now several products with because there is not enough moisture to differing modes of action and you need to allow a satisfactory lactic acid type talk to reputable reps or farmers/ fermentation which converts plant sugars contractors who have had success using to acids which preserves the crop. various products. The DPI Information Notes Series has an Agnote with much Another issue is that if bales of late more information (www.dpi.vic.gov.au/ maturity forage have been wrapped in agriculture/dairy/pastures-management/ stretch wrap plastic their high proportion of hay-preservatives). stems to leaves allows a lot of air to be For further information contact Frank trapped between and even within the Second Scenario: If the crop is pasture or Mickan, DPI Pasture and Fodder hollow stems. Same result as above, very lucerne and is medium to high quality, with Conservation Specialist, on (03) 56242259. Dairy Shed Energy Efficiency airy shed electricity costs have increased over the Cost benefits Dpast five years on average by 22 per cent. These The case study farm has a 7.5 kW oil vane pump and generates 7.5 shed costs accounted for approximately four per cent kWh of energy per hour. The pump operates for 2.5 hours per milking, with the first hour of weekdays on off-peak time. The of variable costs in 2010-11. Electricity prices are pump uses 13,650 kWh and cost $2,535 in the first year, this is the expected to continue to rise in the future due to a cost of ‘do-nothing’. range of factors. The analysis compares the performance of an existing oil vane and This has prompted a closer look at energy technologies used in the blower vacuum pump with a VSD installed. The existing 7.5 kW dairy shed. Claire Swann (DPIV) assessed a range of energy blower vacuum pump will use the same energy as the oil vane technologies that may reduce energy consumption or costs in a pump. report “Economics analysis of technologies to reduce dairy energy Comparison of Technologies consumption”. In this article we look at the economics of using variable speed drives. Oil Vane Blower Capital Investment $4,800 $4,800 Vacuum pumps represent approximately 80% of energy used in the ‘do nothing’ option $2,535 $2,535 milk harvesting area with milk pumps and feed pumps making up Annual savings $1,268 $1,901 the balance. Installing a variable speed drive on the vacuum pump Years to break even (Before interest and tax) 4 3 will match the speed of the vacuum pump with the demand for air flow thereby lowering the energy consumption and energy Energy emissions, as well as reducing noise levels in the dairy. Consumption saved annually (KWh) 13,650 13,650 Emissions saved annually (t CO2-e) 8.3 12.4 Variable speed drive A variable speed drive (VSD) will produce the minimum reserve The energy savings from a VSD will vary between farms. The case requirement only when there is extra demand for air flow above study farm assumes a correctly installed VSD on an oil vane pump what is required for operating the equipment. Energy savings will would reduce energy consumption by 50 per cent and a VSD on a occur when there is no demand for the extra air flow. Variable blower vacuum pump would reduce it by 75 per cent. speed drives can be attached to new or existing vacuum pumps. The analysis assumed electricity prices to increase annually by 10%, The two most common designs of vacuum pumps are oil vane and and that the savings in energy consumption are based on the blower types. Oil vane pumps need to operate at higher revolutions energy savings from investing in the technology compared to ‘do to provide sufficient vacuum. In some cases these pumps may not nothing’ option. be suited to VSD. Blower pumps are more energy efficient than oil For further information contact Darold Klindworth or Barrie vane pumps, however they do have a higher capital cost, can be Bradshaw DPI Ellinbank on (03) 5624 2222 or see the full report at operated at lower revolutions, generally run quieter and have a www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/dairy/energy-in-dairy. longer life and as such are more suited to VSD. Factors that need to be considered when looking at this technology: • The size of the dairy relative to the cows milked, longer running times equate to greater savings • Matching the vacuum pump to the size of the dairy shed • Correct installation and servicing required to get full energy savings • Type of power supply, single versus 3 phase will have an effect on savings Note: Lower motor speed must remain above minimum operating requirement of the motor to avoid unnecessary wear and early replacement Better weather forecast ntil now, dairy farmers from environment include: • Improved paddock allocation. Forecasts Woodside through to Fish • Reduced facial eczema through farmers of high rainfall events would mean cows U knowing if conditions are warm and wet are kept off steep terrain, while accurate Creek have been left out in the cold and therefore conducive to the fungi that weather alerts would allow stock to be when it comes to weather cause facial eczema. Then farmers can moved to more sheltered areas, forecasting. manage the risk by adding zinc to diets minimising health problems. and doing spore counts before allocating • Improved ability to apply sprays in a GippsDairy, along with DPI, was a driving cows to at risk ryegrass pastures. manner in which drift and wash-off is force behind the recent announcement of a • Better fodder conservation through more minimised. new weather station to be built at Yanakie accurate predictions of ‘dry’ windows, • Better decision making on irrigation in 2013. It will be automated and operated minimising rain damage to wilted feeds. frequency and water use efficiency. by the Bureau of Meteorology. The weather • Enhanced nutrient management, with station will help farmers to better plan farmers better able to time effluent Most funds will come from the Victorian schedules for sowing, calving, spraying and releases to avoid upcoming wet weather. Government’s Advancing Country Towns various herd management issues. Savings • Assistance in feed planning, especially in project with other funds coming from South related to facial eczema outbreaks alone summer, when more reliable data and Gippsland Shire Council, DPI Fisheries, could save the region's dairy industry forecasts will allow farmers to more Department of Transport and GippsDairy. millions of dollars each year. accurately budget for pasture based The expected benefits to farmers and the dairying. 2 Feed pad case studies nyone who has installed a feed pad during or saved up to 50 per cent of silage over winter. Construction took 12 Abefore the last couple of winters will say it was one loads of 150 mm rock for the base, with 10 loads of 20 mm of the best investments they have ever made. For Cranbourne rock used on cow lane-ways. They can comfortably feed 200 cows on the pad. those still waiting to make the plunge, there are a variety of options on offer from Rolls Royce versions to Stuart and Jacqui Tracy wanted more of a “Rolls Royce” version for the cheap, but not nasty, basic styles. their Waratah Bay farm. Costing $150,000 in 2002, the pad can comfortably hold 500 cows, with 600 possible when using head The Future Ready Dairy Systems project commissioned case stalls. The pad consists of feed space on either side of a 190 metre studies of South Gippsland feed pads and found more than long central feeding area, with a 20x17 metre turning space at the $100,000 cost variation between the least and most expensive. end. (see picture) The pad is used to feed milkers all year round. Springers are also fed on the pad, which can be used as a sorting Krowera share farmers Matt and Megan Kirk's feed pad would area for the herd. have only cost $25,000, except the wet 2011 winter forced them to buy another $7,500 worth of stone. Even at $32,500 (plus a bit of Despite the difference in costs, both feed pads have met the needs labour from Matt), their feed pad was a bargain, especially when it of their respective farms and have helped combat weather conditions that would otherwise cause major problems with farm productivity. While every feed pad should be built to suit the need of individual farms, the following should be considered before embarking on construction: • Orientation: facing north to north-east helps keep the pad drier and reduces bacterial build-up. • Size: Allow nine square metres per cow for a loafing or calving area - not including feeding area. For a feed pad, overall size depends on the size of the herd. • Drainage: To ensure good drainage, sites should have falls of 1 in 20 to 1 in 40 and be supplemented with pipes. • Cover: a roof over the pad can protect from the elements, while tree plantings or fences can reduce wind. For more information refer to the Guidelines for Victorian Dairy Feedpads and Freestalls at www.dairyingfortomorrow.com.au or contact Barrie Bradshaw, DPI Dairy Extension Officer, on (03) 5624 2222.

The field day will be held on Thursday 15 Tactics for Tight Times field days ComingUp November 2012 on Sean and Jen Allen’s ‘Tactics for Tight Times’ is a Dairy farm on 1095 Main South Road, Drouin Australia campaign to support farmers South. Look for the GippsDairy signs. The during this year’s economic environment as Refer to the What's on calendar for facilitator is Matt Hall (0459 234 720). Come well as the conditions left by extremely wet Gippsland for a cuppa at 10.30am, start 11.00 am till seasons. The summer field days will (search Dairy on www.dpi.vic.gov.au). 1.30 pm. BYO lunch. Tea and coffee concentrate on clever business decisions Feeding Pastures for Profit Programs provided. and pasture and animal management. Dates There will be three locations in Gippsland Field day: Using science to untap soil for the field days at Fish Creek and Maffra for this popular DPI-run and DA supported potential are below with dates to come for Leongatha program. There will be a small cost to enrol DPI has been investigating the effects of and Shady Creek. For further information but this will be far outweighed by the value soil organic matter on soil phosphorus and please contact GippsDairy (03) 5624 3900. and benefit participants will get by nitrogen at the Loughridge farm in West • 29th January 2013, 10 am – 1 pm on the implementing the program on their farm. Gippsland. A field trial established in 2009 farm of Justin Boyle and Sarah White at 373 The dates and locations are: West has been comparing cultivation versus Mewburn Road, Maffra. Facilitated by Gippsland, Wednesdays 10 & 17th April direct drilling of pasture, different Frank Tyndall. 2013; South Gippsland, Thursdays 11th & phosphorus fertiliser rates and pasture 18th April 2013 and Maffra area in April types, with some interesting results. This • 24th January 2013, 11am – 2pm on the 2013. The actual locations and the dates for field day will present the initial results from farm of Paul Hannigan and Kylie Irvin at the Maffra area will depend on the amount the field trial and the possible processes 1000 Falls Road, Fish Creek. Facilitated by of demand. For more information or to that may be contributing to those Matt Harms. register interest contact Frank Mickan on outcomes. Sign up for an energy audit (03) 5624 2259 or email frank.mickan@dpi. The field day will be held on 22nd Dairy Australia has secured funds from the vic.gov.au. November 2012 at Brett and Jodi Federal energy efficiency grants to conduct Drouin South Focus Farm field day Loughridge’s farm on Anthonys Road (off 195 dairy shed energy audits in Gippsland. These field days provide an opportunity to Cochranes Road), Poowong North. Look A trained assessor will do on site inspect the farm, their facilities and milking out for the signs. Come for a cuppa from assessments and provide those farms with herd. Discussion will also cover the feeding 10.30 am. Field Day will run from 11 am. recommendations to optimise use of programs, their farm goals, production and Coffee, drinks and lunch will be provided. electricity by current equipment and financial budgets and plans for the For more information contact David Nash provide information about alternative summer-autumn and the new shed. on (03) 5624 2253. continued on page 6 3 Forage Cereals: A management guide for dairy farmers ecently the Victorian DPI The guide contains two sections. The first decision making times. These include released a guide entitled section provides a pictorial guide decisions such as when to start and when R accompanied by descriptions of the growth to stop grazing, when to harvest for silage, ‘Forage Cereals – A management stages of cereals to assist farmers in their hay and alkalage. The second section is a guide for dairy farmers’. management of forage cereals at critical basic management guide for growing and Forage cereals are those commonly grown managing the cultural practices of forage for forage purposes (e.g. grazing, silage and cereals on Victorian dairy farms. hay), with some varieties being bred For further especially for this purpose. The cereals in information or to this guide refer to wheat, barley, triticale, receive a free oats and to a lesser extent rye corn. copy of this guide Any variety of cereal can be sown for in either grazing and fodder production, but electronic format characteristics have been selected and bred or in a hard copy, into forage cereal varieties that allow them please contact to achieve better forage yields, quality and Frank Mickan on more regrowth after grazing. (03) 5624 2259 or email frank. This guide will be a useful resource for [email protected]. those dairy farmers who wish to graze their gov.au. cereals in the early stages of growth and also for those wishing to harvest their crops as silage or hay. All stages of growth are covered so it will also be useful for all cereal growers and those new to growing forage cereals. Driving milk production from silage t is difficult to keep milk silage fed. There was actually a drop in milk So the key to improving milk production production up in summer and production feeding poorer quality silage with silage is to only feed silage to fill a feed I when pasture was not limiting. shortfall and make sure it is high quality autumn, however there are things (high energy and protein, and no moulds). we can do to keep milk production So silage feeding will not improve milk up during this period. production if cows already have access to It may initially be more expensive to make adequate levels of good quality feed. smaller volumes of high quality silage, but Silage is generally a significant component Pasture residuals between the clumps are a the investment is repaid in summer/ of the diet during summer and autumn and good guide to intake levels. If cows are autumn with a double dose of higher milk can therefore be a big handbrake on milk leaving about 4-6 cm between the clumps, price and better feed conversion. In production. This article looks at how to then the level of feeding is about right. addition, pastures that have longer lockups drive milk production in summer and Grazing lower indicates under-feeding and thin out and produce less regrowth (when autumn. higher residuals may mean over-feeding is extra pasture is most needed) and lower occurring. total spring production (silage plus grazing Silage being made in spring needs to be a yields). minimum of 10.5 MJ ME/kg DM, it needs However, when pasture intake was limited to have good protein levels of greater than the story was slightly different. When fed Summary for improving milk production: 18% CP and lower forage fibre levels of 50% high quality silage the overall intake of the • Have short silage lockups (~4 weeks NDF or lower. This is easy if good quality cows increased. This resulted in up to a 2 from grazing to harvest) spring pasture is harvested shortly after litre milk response per kg of good quality • Airtight storage so the cows will love the best time for grazing. The instructions silage fed as well as overall fat and protein eating the silage are straightforward – cut, wilt, and dry then production increase. With poor quality • Use efficiently by only feeding it out to fill compress/wrap well. Silage can last for silage, although feed intake may be a genuine feed shortage years if made under the right conditions increased, the same feed to milk conversion and will retain relatively the same feed is not observed and rate of passage is This article is written as part of the DPI value if kept in an airtight situation. slowed. “Better Feeding” project. The project will look at feeding issues that limit milk Making high quality silage has the potential The total diet composition is compromised production and practical and profitable to reduce waste and be more palatable, so resulting in only small increases in litres, strategies that can be used to improve the the silage which is actually eaten is also of fat and protein yields which are by no situation. The project is funded by Dairy high quality and can be converted to milk. means consistent and often unmeasurable. Australia and DPI. For further information Whereas many silages end up being poorer contact Natalie Nelson on (03) 5662 9900 or quality, not unlike hay of 9 MJ ME/kg DM Greg O’Brien on (03) 5624 2288. or less, 12% protein and 60% NDF fibre which reduces its rate of passage and digestibility, so it cannot be expected to be converted to as much milk production. Now we’ve made good quality silage what do we need to think about when we are feeding it out. If pasture is unrestricted then adding silage is unlikely to improve milk production. There is a possibility of substitution. Trial work suggests a mere 0.2 Storage well weighted and covered silage litre increase per 1 kg DM (of high quality) stacked bales stack 4 Newry Focus Farm – Jon and Lauren Ryan Jon says they have decided not to grow a maize crop for silage this year. Last year they fed maize silage to the milkers in autumn GippsDairy and winter. That maize crop cost $20,000 to plant. A big effort has been put into producing silage, a target of 400 t/ DM was set. They have also resown some weaker paddocks in mid-September with the hope that these will produce more feed focus farms over summer and autumn. Summer-Autumn feeding proposals – They are also working on feeding much lower grain levels than previously. However, if feed quality becomes an issue they plan to Some early thoughts from put in more grain, and if pasture quantity becomes a problem the Focus Farms they will replace it with silage. Binginwarri Focus Farm – Trent and Belinda Crawford They will be milking 144 cows over summer. If there is a shortfall of silage Trent won’t be fazed says their Focus Farm Facilitator Dealing with the seasonal conditions on the Focus Matt Harms. A shortfall could be made up with ‘Northern’ hay. Farms has taken a huge effort, just as it has on the There will probably be some pasture renovation work with remainder of farms within the Gippsland dairying permanent ryegrass late-sown into areas with short rotation community. During a discussion on the wet ryegrass. These could then be grazed over late summer and conditions at a Focus Farm Support Group meeting, autumn. Alternatively, these areas could be sown late with a one farmer said “it’s all gone from being crap to millet-rape mix as a summer feed if the wet soils problem continues. something worse this year, I’ve been bogged on the top of a hill”. Outlined below are brief notes on And finally if there is still a shortfall at any stage it will be made proposals from the Focus Farms. up with more grain, feeding up to 6kg/cow if necessary. “The Shed Report” From Drouin South Focus Farm Loch Focus Farm – Louise and Paul Sherar Sean and Jen Allen have been milking approximately 160 cows Louise reports that they are still hoping to cut late silage on some through a six unit double up shed, cups on to cups off takes four paddocks including some high fertility patches in paddocks. hours. A new shed is now going up adjacent to the old one to Northern vetch hay is an alternative but that could require utilise the yards etc. Sean wants to do part of the construction purchasing up to six loads which on current prices is a huge cost, work himself. It will be a 40 unit rotary – the platform was so their own silage must be pursued. previously on a dairy farm near Warrnambool. Being able to get some lease land or agistment to get stock off, Progress so far: starting with heifers, would help to make more late silage at • September: Removed eight large cyprus and pine trees, this home. They are actively looking for a second farm to lease with required a specialist because one of the trees was hanging over both good facilities and house. Some of the milkers could then be a shed. (Tree limbs always fall on good things). Excavator relocated. At this stage they have autumn calvers to dry off brought in to cut in the shed site. Crushed rock base put on starting the first week in December. the site. • October: Shed footings poured. Shed constructed including the Drouin South Focus Farm – Sean and Jen Allen walls. Last year they planted 8 ha of a sorghum-pasja blend, however • November: By the end of the month they should have the late grazings meant it wasn’t sown back to pasture until late and majority of the electrical work completed, footings for the has been too wet to graze. This year they may sow a smaller area platform poured and new drainage installed. to crop, 4-6 hectares but it will be turnips (yes, sown very late) Jen reports that to the end of October approximately $58,000 has with a single grazing and early resowing to get some pasture as been spent. The project will be a long one, it will phase down a early as possible. little for a time then restart next year, and be completed in autumn. A further update and the complete costings will be Silage is being made but it is unclear how many rolls will result. A provided later. target was set in late September to conserve four rolls per cow. Among the Focus Farm Support Group members they varied on For more information about the Focus Farm project contact John their own farms from 3-5 rolls per cow (700-1300 kg/cow, Gallienne on 0407 863 493, or e-mail [email protected]. depending on whether a crop was being grown. There is $40,000 The Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy; it is in the Focus Farm budget for silage making. funded by Dairy Australia and GippsDairy.

Trading unused water licenses outside of irrigation districts For dairy farmers outside of irriga- resource available for commercial or inten- • are wanting to establish or expand a new tion districts, the opportunity to sive use (including irrigation, dairy shed or dairy and require additional water; horticulture) is fully allocated. This means • have a licence but no longer need all or trade groundwater or surface water a cap has been reached which prevents new part of it, and are therefore able to realise licenses can be quite limited, and entitlements from being issued. Once the the value of their entitlement; until recently there has been little cap is reached to obtain a licence people • have an existing licence and require more information about how groundwater need to permanently or temporarily transfer water to get through a dry season; or and unregulated surface water trad- a licence from an existing licence holder. In • have improved water use efficiency many parts of Gippsland that cap has been and wish to sell their savings either ing can occur. reached. To determine if your water supply permanently or temporarily. A booklet titled ‘Trading Water Licenses for or potential supply is fully allocated, contact your rural water corporation (for Southern The booklet is available from Southern groundwater and unregulated surface water Rural Water; www.srw.com.au search ‘water in Southern Victoria’ has recently been Victoria this is most likely Southern Rural Water on 1300 139 510). trading’. Alternatively a hard copy can be published by the DPI and Southern Rural posted by contacting Benita Kelsall, DPI Water. The booklet is useful for people whose Dairy Extension Officer, on (03) 5624 2218. Water trading is necessary when the water water supply is in a capped area and: 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 10 to 20 days per leaf (depending on soil moisture). Leaf appearance rate slows down as temperatures rise and with less moisture. december Area of farm to graze today 1/30th to 1/60th of the grazing area. Stock Average daily pasture growth rate 20 to 40 kg DM/ha depending on soil moisture. • Manage heat stress for your dairy herd. Achievable growth rates under irrigation can still Ensure water troughs are all working and average 60 – 80 kg DM/ha across the farm. water flow is fast enough to refill troughs Recommended pre-grazing Back to aiming to graze ryegrass at, or near, three on hot days. See www.dairyaustralia.com. decisions leaf stage (Note: graze to dominant species). au and search for cool cows. Recommended post grazing Graze down to 4-6 cm pasture height between the • Check your young stock and dairy cows decision clumps. If more than 30 per cent of the paddock for any signs of pink eye and treat early. is clumps or residuals are significantly above 6 cm, The use of vaccinations can assist in topping is likely to be profitable. Particularly if prevention. there is a high proportion of paspalum in the • Calves need a diet of at least 10 MJ/ pasture. kg DM energy and 13% crude protein Seasonal management tasks Prevent over grazing when plants are moisture to continue growing. Summer pasture stressed. Consider using paddocks that were may not supply the required energy and pugged and need repairing as sacrifice areas, this protein and you may need to add high will extend the rotation. quality supplement to maintain growth. If conditions are ideal for facial eczema (warm • For spring calving herds – do you have and moist), check the spore counts on the Dairy enough bull power? Visit the InCalf Australia sentinel farms, consider adding zinc to information on the Dairy Australia your ration and consider having your pasture tested website with the following address www. for spores. dairyaustralia.com.au/Animals-feed-and- Estimated daily evaporation 6 to 9 mm per day or higher as it warms up. environment/Fertility/Bulls-power-up. aspx and let the stretch come out of the patch for the rest of the year. This may help before applying to form the best possible to determine how you are travelling in Feed seal. relation to the required production levels • Grain and hay prices are likely to remain you need to receive an SRP or Domestic high due to pressure on world supply. Water Issues Incentive payment. Read the weekly grain and hay reports at • Check water supply dams for signs of • Monitor cash flow and expected returns. www.dairyaustralia.com.au to guide you blue green algae. If present, avoid using If sufficient cash, earmark some for in the current prices of feed. the water, prevent stock access and get important tasks such as repair of • Have you any areas that are still severely the algae identified. Have a back up laneways or paddocks damaged in the damaged from the wet conditions and water supply available if treatment is wet or paying outstanding short term badly in need of repair. It may not be too required, making it unusable for some debt. Be mindful not to over commit as late to get a cheap crop like turnips or time. uncertainty still surrounds the world millet in to provide feed over summer • Irrigators need to aim for high water export markets before you re-sow to ryegrass in autumn. use efficiency by monitoring evaporation • Keep a lookout for any signs of caterpillar rates and soil moisture levels and damage on brassica crops like turnips scheduling irrigations to provide a more or rape and treat if necessary with an constant pasture growing environment. appropriate insecticide. Remember to adhere to any withhold periods. Pest Fire damage tends to be more of a problem • If you haven’t already developed a fire plan now is the time to do it, particularly contact us with water stressed crops so irrigating This newsletter is published by DPI and with dairy effluent may help to reduce as this summer is predicted to be GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or this. drier than the last few. See the booklet removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you • Watch for any signs of hay heating as a ‘Preparing your dairy farm for fire require more information or wish to make a threat’ published by the CFA and Dairy comment, please contact Jessie Horton, result of green or wet hay being baled. Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services This can be checked regularly using a Australia. For a copy of the booklet call Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - (03) 5624 2222 or crow bar into the bales. Don’t shed damp GippsDairy on (03) 5624 3900. [email protected] or heating hay. Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This • Wrapped silage bales should be checked Business publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and • Now is a good time to get another its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of regularly for any holes in the plastic and any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and patched straight away with the correct income estimation done based on the therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. type of tape. Clean and dry the surface season up to now and the predicted trend energy sources. The project will bring Incentives for dairy trainees available from local apprenticeship centres. energy savings to dairy, reducing costs and Incentives are available for dairy trainees To find your local centre search the weblink carbon dioxide production. To register your and their employers through the Federal www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/ interest in a dairy shed energy audit, please government Australian Apprenticeship search/tradingnames.asp or call Kylie Barry contact GippsDairy's Project manager, Jenny System. Incentives for employers of trainees at GippsDairy on (03) 5624 3900 or Julie at O’Sullivan on (03) 5663 2386or email are up to $4000; eligibility criteria apply. NCDEA on (03) 5624 1401. [email protected] with your contact Incentives for trainees in Agriculture, are up details. to $5500; eligibility criteria apply. Details are GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr 6 ISSN 1441-7391 How Gippy Now Cow IS S U E 1 6 7 d ecember 2012

How Now Gippy Cow is a joint initiative of DPI and GippsDairy Don’t forget your heifers over summer s we move from spring to summer, it pays to focus kg of pellet or grain mix (12 MJ/kg DM and 16% CP) to meet on young stock. energy and protein requirements. Just feeding more of the poor A quality hay would not work as the heifer would not be able to eat Growing heifers to reach target weights of at least 85% of mature enough to grow at target and the protein level is insufficient. weight at first calving gives heifers a better chance of a long and productive life in the herd. This weight gain is best achieved Critical times to monitor the growth of your heifers are in the lead through steady growth from birth through to calving. up to joining. Puberty in cows is triggered by live weight rather than age, so ensuring your heifers are meeting live weight targets To reach a calving weight of 510 kg (600 kg mature weight), a before joining will ensure more become pregnant and therefore heifer joined to calve at 22 months of age needs to gain an average boosting their chances of a long, productive life in the herd. of 0.7 kg per day, every day from birth to calving. If lower weight gains occur the heifers need to have some compensatory weight Weighing heifers every three months to monitor growth allows gain and this can be difficult to achieve if the deficits are large. corrective action to be taken quickly if targets are not being met. Longer intervals can mean larger deficits which are more difficult When pasture dries off and stops growing over summer, all feed to overcome. Example target weights are shown below for herds requirements need to be supplied from supplementary sources of with mature cow weights of 600 kg. feed such as hay, silage and grain. The table below outlines the Heifer age Target weights (kg) daily energy (MJ metabolisable energy) and protein (crude protein) requirements for heifers at different growth rates and (months) calving 22 months calving 24 months weights. 3 104 99 Energy requirement (MJ/day) Crude protein 6 168 157 Live Growth rate (kg/day) Requirement 9 232 216 Weight (kg) 0.6 0.7 (%) 12 296 275 100 37 40 17 15 360 334 200 57 61 16 18 425 392 300 77 82 15 22 510 471 400 91 97 13 24 510 500 100 105 13 daily wt gain req'd (kg) 0.71 0.65 Rearing heifers is expensive, regardless if it is done poorly or well. For rising one year olds facing their first summer, it is Heifers take until well into their second lactation to repay the recommended that a high protein concentrate be fed along with a investment of their first two years. Well grown heifers achieve good quality fodder. For example a six month old heifer will need more lactations in the herd than poorly grown heifers, and return a approximately 55 MJ and 17% crude protein each day. A diet of 5 kg greater payoff to the business. Dry Matter (DM) good quality silage or legume hay (10.5 MJ, 16% Crude Protein (CP)) plus 1.5 kg DM of a high protein pellet or For further information contact Ash Michael, DPI Dairy Extension grain mix will meet these needs. If poorer quality fodder is used, a Officer, on (03) 5662 9901. larger amount of concentrate will be needed to make up the balance of energy and protein. Rising two year olds have the capacity to eat more and should be able to grow at target growth rates if provided with enough good quality fodder. For example an 18 month old heifer requiring 100 MJ per day and at least 13% CP could meet these demands by eating 10 kg DM of high quality silage (10.5 MJ/kg DM, 14% CP). If poorer quality fodder was used, it would need to be supplemented with a high energy and protein concentrate to compensate, for example if you fed 8.5 kg DM of poor quality hay (8.5 MJ/kg DM, 12% CP), you would need to supplement with 2.5 Dairy Effluent in the Spotlight here will be a spotlight on effluent in coming It is important to distribute the effluent to as many paddocks as Tmonths as the Environment Protection Authority possible and keep a check on potassium levels (K) which can build (EPA) look closely at effluent management across up with continued effluent distribution. Victoria. This is an opportunity to show that the dairy For further information talk to DPI extension staff or dairy industry is managing effluent nutrients responsibly as consultants. Resources are on line at the Department of Primary well as use them to boost pasture and crop growth. Industries and Dairying for Tomorrow websites. The November– December issue of The Australian Dairy Farmer contains a Now the long wet winter is behind us, ponds should be emptied number of articles. and any maintenance work completed. Make necessary repairs or Dairy effluent upgrades to ensure effluent does not leave your property boundary or pollute surface or groundwater. Retaining effluent on-farm is a ponds legal requirement and the consequences of an overflow can be very serious depending on the location of the pond. The national DPi project ‘Accounting for Nutrients’ showed that the dairy shed and yards received around 12% of the nutrients excreted by a milking herd. For 250 cows over a 300 day lactation this could equate to 3.8t N, 0.5t P & 3.1t K being collected from your dairy shed and yard. Given current fertiliser costs this has a nutrient value of approximately $13,320. Using these nutrients on pastures and crops is another sensible reason for well managed effluent systems. With a pH of around 7.6, the addition of effluent to soils has a liming effect. Effluent is also high in organic matter which improves water holding capacity and soil structure, stores carbon and supplies nutrients. Consider which paddocks to irrigate with effluent water and which paddocks to spread slurry on. Soil testing and nutrient plans can assist you in deciding where to apply these nutrient rich products.

incentives for proving gippsland is tse free ictoria is participating in the animal products are free from A component of the NTSEFAP is TSE VNational Transmissible Transmissible Spongiform surveillance. Industry has funded Spongiform Encephalopathy Encephalopathies (TSEs), a group of fatal incentives which are available for producers degenerative diseases of the nervous who have suitably sick animals autopsied as Freedom Assurance Program system affecting both humans and animals. apart of this surveillance. The incentive is (NTSEFAP). Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE $300 GST free for cattle and $50 GST free This program aims to enhance market or Mad Cow Disease) in cattle and scrapie for sheep. confidence that Australian animals and in sheep are members of this group of Individual animals identified as eligible diseases. candidates for inclusion in the program must meet several specific criteria: Behavioural – Neurological – • apprehension • abnormal ear position • Cattle must be at least 30 months of age • changes in herd hierarchical status • abnormal head carriage and no more than nine years of age and • excessive nose and flank licking • altered consciousness must be displaying progressive • excitability • ataxia behavioural changes or neurological • frenzy • blindness signs listed left: • head rubbing or pressing • circling • Sheep must be 18 months of age or older • head shyness • falling and displaying progressive clinical signs • hesitation at doors, gates, barriers • fetlock knuckling compatible with scrapie as listed below: • persistent kicking when milked • hyperaesthesia (sound, touch) For further information on NTSEFAP or to • teeth grinding • hypo aesthesia (sound, touch) be involved in the program by reporting an • moribund without evidence of infection animal that fits the above criteria contact your local veterinarian or your local DPI or trauma Animal Health staff at Ellinbank on (03) • paralysis/paresis 5624 2222, Maffra on (03) 5147 0800, • recumbency Bairnsdale on (03) 5152 0600 or Leongatha • tremor on (03) 5662 9900.

Mental status Sensation Posture and movement • altered consciousness • blindness • abnormal head carriage • apprehension • hyperaesthesia (sound, touch) • ataxia • behaviour change • hypoaesthesia (sound, touch) • circling • frenzy • itching • falling • moribund without evidence of infection • rubbing • recumbency or trauma • wool loss (flank and hind quarter) • tremor • temperament change • fetlock knuckling • paralysis/paresis 2 Facial eczema airy Australia and GippsDairy will work again with encouraging people to monitor spore counts on their own pastures. Dfarmers to reduce the risk of facial eczema in their Many large animal veterinary practices in Gippsland are now herds this summer and autumn. offering spore count testing of pasture samples. Laboratory submission forms and instructions on how to collect and submit Facial eczema is a liver disease caused by spores of a fungus that pasture samples are available for download from Dairy Australia’s can grow in dead leaf material at the base of plants. It is a serious facial eczema webpage. health issue as it has long term effects on cow productivity, health and welfare, and can be fatal to cattle and other ruminants. The main strategy used for control and prevention of facial eczema is zinc supplementation. Many herds start consuming the zinc in Warm, wet conditions and high pasture growth favour growth of January for up to 100 days to cover the time when spores counts the fungus that can multiply in pasture and produce toxic spores. can be high. Ensuring cows receive the correct daily dosage is When grazed by cattle, these toxic spores cause liver damage, and vital; too little will not provide full protection and too much will be in some animals, photosensitisation. Once the liver is damaged, it toxic. Monitoring the blood zinc levels in a sample of your herd is difficult to treat. may be required. It is advised to work closely with your vet, To alert high risk periods for facial eczema, GippsDairy and Dairy stockfeed company and nutrition adviser to ensure your zinc Australia are again running a pasture spore count monitoring supplementation program is effective and safe. service on 25 sentinel farms throughout Gippsland. Weekly results Contact your local veterinary clinic for more about managing the from all sentinel farms can be viewed on the Dairy Australia risk of facial eczema in your herd. Alternatively visit the website website http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/facialeczema. link above or call GippsDairy on (03) 5624 3900 or email Kathryn When spore counts on the sentinel farms reach dangerous levels, Davis, Program Manager Animal Health and Fertility, kdavis@ there will be alerts by SMS or email and through local media dairyaustralia.com.au

are now being sought. If you are interested 373 Mewburn Park Rd. RSVP to Frank ComingUp please contact David Shambrook on (03) Tyndall, who will be facilitating the day, on 5662 9913 or Ash Michael on (03) 5662 0409 940 782. 9901 as soon as possible so that the location Leongatha South on 31st Jan, 11am – 2pm at Refer to the What's on calendar of the program can be determined to suit the farm of Tim and Grit Cashin, 50 Cahins (search Dairy on www.dpi.vic.gov.au). all participants. Places are limited. Rd. RSVP to John Mulvany, who will facilitating the day, on 0409 935 578. Feeding Pastures for Profit Programs 5 day tour to Tasmania Shady Creek on 6th Feb, 11am – 2pm at the There will be three locations in Gippsland The annual Don Campbell tour to Tasmania farm of Bruce & Fiona Manintveld (Share for this popular DPI-run program. There is being offered again by the Young Dairy farmers), Geoff & Marlene Marriott will be a small cost to enrol in the program Development Program. The tour will (Owners), Webbs Rd. RSVP to Jeff Urie, but this will be far outweighed by the value include 5 days visiting dairy farms in the who will be facilitating the day, on 0408 514 or benefit participants will get by northern Tasmanian dairy belt to study 114. implementing the program on their farm. forage and livestock management systems. Up to 15 places are available for young dairy people aged 18 upwards. This is a Small Herd Special Focus Field Day The dates and locations for these programs great way to meet other dairy people and to Early notice for this field day on Friday 15th are: West Gippsland, Wednesdays 10 & see new ideas to test at home. The tour is February 2013 from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm at 17th April 2013; South Gippsland, planned for March 2013 and is heavily the Binginwarri Focus Farm (milking 145 Thursdays 11th & 18th April 2013 and subsidised by GippsDairy. More details cows), starting in the Binginwarri Hall Maffra area in April 2013. The actual and application forms are available on the across the road from the farm, (off Tap Tap locations and the dates for the Maffra area YDDP website www.yddp.org.au or by Road). Look for the GippsDairy field day will depend on the amount of demand. For contacting Irene Baker on 0428 889 337 or signs. Come for a cuppa from 10.30 am. more information and to register interest [email protected]. BYO lunch. contact Frank Mickan, DPI Dairy Extension Officer, on (03) 5624 2259 or With Focus Farmers Trent and Belinda Tactics for tight times – summer field email [email protected]. Crawford and Facilitator Matt Harms, the days Helpful information for a tight financial year field day provides an opportunity for people Focus on Improving Herd and challenging seasonal conditions will be already operating or wanting to hear about Reproductive Performance on show at a series of field days that explain running a small dairy farm business and Are you concerned about the number of the technical and management strategies gain an understanding of the philosophy cows not getting in calf each year? Would that the four case study farms are using to and practicality of following this path. For you like to have the opportunity to learn navigate through 2012/13. Dairy Australia more information contact John Gallienne on how you may be able to improve this developed the national Tactics for Tight 0407 863 493 or email [email protected]. situation and have more cows calving at the Times campaign which is being delivered au. desired time therefore enabling longer in Gippsland via GippsDairy. The summer lactations. meetings are listed below. All four of the farm businesses are in the development The DPI Dairy Services Branch in phase and are either sharefarming or contact us leasing land. Lunch is provided so therefore This newsletter is published by DPI and Gippsland will run a pilot program starting GippsDairy. If you wish to be added to or in early February 2013, looking more your RSVP will ensure adequate catering. removed from the HNGC mailing list; or if you closely at what individual farmers can do to Fish Creek on 24th Jan, 11am – 2pm at the require more information or wish to make a improve their herd’s reproductive farm of Paul Hannigan and Kylie Irvin, 1000 comment, please contact Jessie Horton, performance to achieve their desired Falls Rd. RSVP to Matt Harms, who will be Dairy Services Branch, Farm Services facilitating the day, on 0408 311 118. Victoria, DPI Ellinbank - (03) 5624 2222 or calving pattern and not in calf rates. It will [email protected] be delivered in conjunction with recognised Maffra on 29th Jan, 10am – 1pm at the farm Copyright and disclaimer: Copyright (c) The State of Victoria, industry experts in this field. of Justin Boyle and Sarah White Department of Primary Industries and GippsDairy 2012. This (sharefarmers) and Kim Coridas (owner), publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and Expressions of interest in this pilot program its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence GIPPSLAND Dairy Events CalendAr which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. 3 the Partnership back to the 30% for Jon & Lauren and 70% to the Clynes. GippsDairy Goals Business Goals - Improve calving patterns and address herd fertility issues: - 6 week autumn joining (3 weeks AI & 3 weeks bulls). - Spring calving aim for midpoint of 4 weeks. focus farms - Consider bringing spring calving date forward (10th Aug?). Developing a plan for a large herd at Newry • Improvement to underdeveloped areas of the farm. More subdivision, uniform paddock sizes, improved and additional fencing, upgrade irrigation infrastructure, stock troughs in every paddock - need plans and costings. The Newry Focus Farm operates as an equity • Increase herd size to 800 cows (stocking rate of 3.6 cows/ha) partnership; herd size is growing with the 2012-13 in the next 1–2 years. season production and financials now based on a 750 • Improve pasture quality and quantity, while decreasing cow herd. Newry is near Maffra and within the purchased supplements. Macalister irrigation district. • Financial goals o Improve cash flow, have a buffer for leaner months. The Focus Farm Support Group along with their facilitator Craig o Improve business debt position in next 12 months (no McWhinney and Project Mentee Robyn Gray have put creditors and reduce overdraft use). considerable time into working through the network of issues o Investigate the overdraft (is this the best loan facility?). with the Clyne and Ryan families. o Move to goal orientated spending to assist with control over the budget (Cash Flow Budgeting). Background o Improve dairy margins and reduce cost of production. • Leathorn Clyne and Ryan is an equity partnership between o Generate operational surplus. Alan & Christine Clyne and Jon & Lauren Ryan. • Other issues • The Partnership has been operating since September 2009. o Ongoing improvement to animal health (lameness, BMCC • A milking area of 240 ha, a heifer turnout block of 38 hectares etc). plus an additional 38 ha dry cow turnout block is all leased by o Develop and implement an OH&S plan. the Partnership from Alan and Christine Clyne. o Dairy hygiene. • The daily management of the business is undertaken by o Reduce staff turnover and build a team environment. son-in-law Jon. • Jon & Lauren make up about 30% of the equity partnership, putting in 187 milking cows, 14 2 year old heifers, and 32 calves Jon and Laurens goals at the start of the Partnership. • Build wealth and grow equity. • Alan and Christine put in around 330 milkers at the start of the Clyne family goals Partnership. • Financial improvement of the business (improved cash flow Farm Area and profitability). • ‘Leathorn’ (original milking area and dairy) – 130 ha. 830 ML • Grow herd size (asset). water right. • Monthly cash flow budgets and cash flow control. • ‘Parkly’ (became available to the Partnership in September • Cash flow needed for infrastructure upgrades. 2011) – 110 ha, 457 ML water right. Stock • ‘Alton’ – 38 ha, used for young stock and maize silage The herd has mixed breeding and backgrounds, from Jersey production. cows to large framed Friesian cows and everything in between. • ‘Mansons’ paddock, used for young stock and dry cows. Milkers Partnership Stock History • Herd 1: 296 autumn calved and carryover cows. Bulls in herd • Started with 535 milking cows in September 2009 on 135 ha 24/10/12 (stocking rate at 4 cows/ha), Jon & Lauren owned about 40% of • Herd 2: 450 spring 2012 calved cows. Started AI 25/10/12 the cows. • Original herd had a lot of mastitis and BMCC issues, average Young Stock BMCC was above 400,000. • 70 autumn 2013 calving heifers • The farm and pastures were very run down in the first few • 160 15 month old heifers. Started joining 23/10/12 for spring 2013. years, resulting in very high grain inputs (up to 10 kg/cow/day • 65 autumn 2012 born calves in the spring) and a lot of imported fodder. • 160 spring 2012 born calves • Milking numbers got down to 460 milkers in the first year. • There has been a lot of poor reproductive performance in the Financial Budget cows, especially in the spring calving herd, with 6 weeks in calf A cash flow budget, and associated feed budget, was developed rates as low as 35%. In the first year there was a massive spread over the past few months with the Focus Farmers and Support in calving. Group. The cash flow budget is based around the following • Joining of the autumn calving cows will go for 9 weeks this assumptions; year, spring joining is typically for 12 weeks, but is hoped to be • 750 milking cows, producing 475kg MS/cow/year. reduced back to 9 weeks this coming spring. • Milk price of $5.25/kg MS. • All of the above factors (high BMCC, low fertility, large calving • Pasture consumption of 4 tDM/cow, or 13 tDM/ha. spread, excessive purchased supplements), have lead to • Feeding 1480 kg grain/cow/year at $350/tonne. production inefficiencies and greatly reduced profitability as a result. The budget was developed with the view that all outstanding • With the addition of Parkly to the milking area, more milking accounts and the overdraft ($100,000 limit) would be cleared by cows were purchased by the Clynes, this changed the equity of the end of the season.

4 Production & Feed Budget Assumptions 2012/13 July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June Average Cow Number 477 438 568 686 750 745 553 456 646 740 750 520 Production/cow (litres) 19 18.5 20 21 22.5 21 21 20 21 21.5 22 21 Fat % 4.61 4.37 4.15 4.27 4.21 4.14 4.13 4.21 4.27 4.33 4.51 4.66 Protein % 3.57 3.64 3.62 3.4 3.26 3.13 3.04 3.12 3.28 3.29 3.44 3.56 Kg MS/cow/day 1.55 1.6 1.63 1.84 1.94 1.59 1.54 1.45 1.47 1.56 1.55 1.44 Wheat (kg/cow/day) 5 3 3 2 4 4 3 2 6 6 7 8 % of diet as grain 35% 21% 22% 12% 23% 25% 19% 13% 39% 39% 45% 52% Pasture required (kgDM/cow/day) 9.2 10.9 11.5 14.1 12.8 12.0 12.5 13.0 9.5 9.3 8.6 7.2 Grazing Area Available (ha) 230 230 210 210 210 230 230 210 210 200 200 230 Pasture growth rate required (kg DM/ha/day) 19 21 31 46 46 39 30 28 29 35 32 16 More details about their Cash Flow Budget for 2012-2013. Note the space for your figures is provided to help people get started. It is certainly not an exhaustive list of income and expenditure for all farms. Farm Income Original Budget Updated Budget $ per Cow Space for your figures Milk income (net of levies & collection) 1870525 1893201 2524 Cull cows] 49760 96588 Calves 46350 17208 Total Farm Income $1966635 2006997 Non-Farm Income 0 3379 Total Income $1966635 $2010376 Total Income $ Farm Expenses Space for your figures Herd Costs A.I. 28900 34422 46 Herd Test 14000 15457 20 Herd Health 52200 53390 70 Calf rearing 32400 38382 51 Total Herd Payments $134500 $141651 Total Herd Costs $ Shed Costs Shed Power & Heating 43800 41644 55 Dairy Supplies 19750 15493 20 Total Shed Payments $63550 $57137 Total Shed Costs $ Feed Costs Fertiliser 60000 54908 73 Nitrogen 100000 100358 133 Fodder 54000 84592 112 Concentrates 425611 425079 566 Irrigation 74000 80430 107 Fuel & oil 43050 45539 61 Weed & Pest Control 4000 4000 5 Other- Pasture/contracting 49850 75271 100 Total Feed Payments $810511 $870177 Total Feed Costs $ Overhead Costs Labour 178776 194359 259 Ryan (Labour) 60000 60500 81 Administration & Other 28800 24955 32 Phone/Internet 2160 1931 2.5 Reg & Insurance 6850 5771 7 Repairs & Maintenance 77000 86251 115 Lease 216000 235327 313 Other – Stock Purch etc 77010 83277 111 Total Overhead Payments $646596 $692370 Total Overhead Costs $ Total Payments $1655157 $1761335 $2348 Difference/Surplus $311478 $249041 The farm business needs a surplus of around $225,000 to cover debt servicing, living costs, taxation and capital development. The Focus Farm Project is an initiative of GippsDairy; it is funded by Dairy Australia and GippsDairy. For more information about the Focus Farm project or a copy of the Field Day notes contact John Gallienne on 0407 863 493 or email [email protected]. 5 Pastures/forages Reminders Ryegrass leaf appearance rate 12 to 20 days per leaf (depending on soil moisture). As temperatures rise and there is less moisture the leaf appearance rate will slow. january Area of farm to graze each day 1/36th to 1/60th of the grazing area. Stock Average daily pasture growth rate 15 to 45 kg DM/ha depending on soil moisture • As summer progresses, manage heat but slowing down as it warms up and dries out. stress for your dairy herd. See www. Recommended pre-grazing decisions Graze ryegrass at, or near, three leaf stage now dairyaustralia.com.au and search for cool that we have past the seeding phase. (Note: graze cows. to dominant species). • Check your young stock and dairy cows Recommended post grazing decision Graze down to 4-6 cm pasture height between the for any signs of pink eye and treat early. The use of vaccinations can assist in clumps. prevention. Seasonal management tasks If pastures dry off and growth rates approach • Monitor the replacement heifers’ zero, plan to use sacrifice paddocks or stock growth. They will require high quality containment area to feed the herd. These could supplementary feeds as available pasture be paddocks that you plan to repair or resow in dwindles. They need feeds containing autumn. a minimum of 10 MJ/kg DM and 13% Estimated daily evaporation 6 to 8 mm per day or higher as it warms up. crude protein to grow adequately. • Be on the look out for facial eczema (a Dairy Effluent / Water Issues the required production levels you need type of sunburn or photosensitisation), • Check water supply dams for signs of to receive an SRP or Domestic Incentive affecting exposed areas of pale skin of blue green algae. If present, avoid using payment. sheep and cattle. A normal summer is the water, prevent stock access and get • Weather predictions are for a close to predicted which could mean warm nights the algae identified. Have a back up “normal” summer. The potential for and spores being produced. Sentinel water supply available if treatment is hay stack and grass fires is higher spore counting farms are being set up to required, making it unusable for some when dry and warm. Be prepared for provide monitoring of spore numbers. time. this by having any areas of long grass Information on this will be made available • Take the opportunity to empty your reduced to a minimum. Be fire ready on the Dairy Australia website. If facial dairy effluent ponds onto a crop or with a plan for stock movement and eczema is likely or suspected contact pasture that may require boosting with safe areas on the farm. Refer to the a veterinary practitioner for advice on nutrients and moisture. Effluent contains leaflet “Prepare Your Dairy Farm for prevention or treatment. Affected animals quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus and Fire Threat” included in this HNGC for should be sheltered from direct sunlight potassium, but be careful that it doesn’t more information. Also available from and the application of zinc cream to any contain too much salt that may lead to GippsDairy. affected areas can assist. scorching of the crop or pasture. It is • This is a good time to repairs laneways best to get a sample of the effluent tested or damage around troughs due to the Feed for nutrient and salt content prior to use long period of wet. Look for suitable • Read the weekly grain and hay reports to determine how much you can apply. surfacing material. To minimise damage on the Dairy Australia website (www. Contact SGS Environmental Services, from the wet make sure drains are dairyaustralia.com.au) to give you price Traralgon on (03) 5172 1555 for more cleaned out. ranges and availability of different feed details. • Now is a good time to check teat cup types. liners for wear and tear. If sufficient wear • Watch for any signs of hay heating as a Business/Whole Farm then replace to avoid any issues with result of green or wet hay being baled. • Now is a good time to get another milk quality. This can be checked regularly using a income estimation done based on the crow bar pushed into the bales. season so far and the predicted trend • Pasture growth can be highly variable for the rest of the year. This may help at this time of year. Monitor closely and to determine how you are travelling in adjust the rotation in line with seasonal relation to future cash flow decisions and growing conditions. Fire threat pring is a good time to plan and prepare to protect 9. Mark the herd so they can be easily identified. Syour family, staff, livestock, dairy and machinery 10. Check the wording of insurance policies and that there is from all types of fire threat. Thinking ahead and being appropriate cover. prepared can help minimise the impact of fire. 11. Discuss emergency scenarios with shareholders, owners, leasers. Here is a summary of lessons learned from the 2009 bushfires. 12. Keep important farm records, contracts and documents in a More details are in the enclosed document called ‘Prepare your dairy safe place. farm for fire threat’, please take the time to read and complete it. 13. Check Fire Danger Ratings warnings regularly. During high fire danger periods: It is a requirement during fire danger periods to: 1. Identify a refuge paddock. • Not operate welders or grinder on Total Fire Days. 2. Remove weeds and debris. • Have machinery fitted with working, maintained and appropriate 3. Record the length of fencing on your property, especially the spark arrestors except if with a turbocharger or an aspirated outer perimeter. exhaust air cleaner. 4. Do an inventory of hay and silage stocks. • Have a working, nine-litre water extinguisher on tractors and 5. Do an inventory of machinery and chemicals. machinery – and rake or shovel is carried ready for use. 6. Ensure water sources are known and easily accessed. • Report fires that have started on your property by calling 000. 7. Practice using your private fire fighting equipment. 8. Plan to have a power generator, or wiring ready for a generator, Also of interest is a short video at http://www.dairyaustralia.com. on the dairy. au/Animals-feed-and-environment/Environment/Extreme-weather. 6