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NATIONAL PRODUCT MANAGER: Phil Myers 0417 319 321 NTH VIC STN NSW & TAS: Ian Young 0418 390 647 199 Australis Drive, Derrimut VIC 3030 STH VIC CEN NSW & SA: David Bulman 0419 532 023 P: 03 8353 3600 F: 03 8353 3699 SE QLD & NTH NSW: Phil Myers 0417 319 321 W: www.pfgaustralia.com.au NTH QLD & NT : Marty Limmer 0427 433 400 WA: Wayne Douglas 0400 236 892 X29473003 The Australian airyfarmer Vol 31, No. 3 MAY-JUNE 2016 CONTENTS NEWS Developing products to suit Asia 15 Produc vity increases to provide a buff er 15 Cash cow scheme for sustainable industry 27 Honesty best in dealing with public 28 Working on clearing growth blockages 30 Road network inhibits dairy growth 30 Farmers gather for UDV conference 34 ATTRACTING AND DEVELOPING PEOPLE Cows create educa on 21 Confi ned spaces: not just a ght place 22 Young dairy network a ends ADC 24 69 PROMOTING & PROTECTING DAIRY Aussie cheddar transformed for Japan 36 INCREASING FARM PROFITABILITY New dairy ambassadors to target key groups 38 No bull approach to DairyBase 107 Dairy, meat and wine join forces 40 Ge ng ready for end of fi nancial year 108 Bringing a taste of farm life to the big smoke 47 Chart of Accounts helps DairyBase process 108 New website for healthy professionals 48 DairyBase a game changer: consultant 109 Healthy heifers for healthy profi ts 110 FOCUS ON BREEDING Quality heifer-rearing program delivers 111 Secrets of success of a Master Breeder 51 Helping farmers to maximise pasture 112 Dairy cow fer lity trends improve 55 New feed update for farmers 112 New partnership sees forma on of Cogent Australia 57 New calculator helps farmers be er use effl uent 113 Coun ng the cost of transi on diseases 59 Alta’s great expecta ons come to frui on 59 COLUMNS Holstein brothers dominate ABVs 61 At my desk 5 Viking Reds dominate latest ABVs 61 Milk Ma ers 6 Australian Breeding Values 63 Dairy Australia Roundup 11 NHIA News Roundup 18 FOCUS ON FEEDING Update from the Gardiner Founda on 32 Drought prompts change in farm system 69 Dairy market report 42 Irriga on farm changes tack 76 What’s On 103 Taking a bite into feeding behaviour 80 Think Again — the Ryan Report 104 Encouraging cows to eat more 82 Snippets and Titbits 105 ADHIS 106 BETTER CALF REARING Regional Development Programs 114 Calf health a life me event 85 Changed feeding regime could li profi t 88 Can calves be po y trained? 90 OUR COVER How to assess colostrum quality 92 Three genera ons of Farmers warned about calf illness 95 northern Victorian VICTORIAN WINTER FAIR PREVIEW farming family: Bill, Tom and Mick Acocks in the Fair grows to be leading dairy show 97 barn on their farm. Read Victorian Winter Fair program 97 about their move to a Quality judges for event 99 confi ned feeding system Bluechip’s swansong before dispersal 100 on page 76. Picture by Carlene Dowie The Australian Dairyfarmer May-June 2016 3 AT MY DESK Celebrate the di erence The Australian Dairyfarmer is published on the 15th of every second month, in July, HE most interesting part of my summer. Moisture probes are also in- September, November, January, March job is getting to see and hear stalled to align individual paddock and May, for the Australian Dairy Farmers, Tabout different dairy farms. No growth and utilisation with irrigation two farms are exactly alike and no to really drive water-use effi ciency. So Level 2, Swan House, 22 William Street, two farmers are the same either. This this farm is trying to make the most of Melbourne, Victoria, 3000. was really brought home to me when the irrigation water available to it. I joined the Australian Dairy Confer- The Acocks family at Rochester, Vic, EDITORIAL ence’s pre-farm tour through southern have gone into a predominantly total Editors: CARLENE AND Riverina NSW and northern Victoria in mixed ration system with a barn that ALASTAIR DOWIE February. houses 500 of their 900-cow herd and PO Box 59, Carisbrook, Vic, 3464 In two days, we visited four different a drylot that houses the rest of the Email: <[email protected]> farms — two around Finley, NSW, and herd during the drier months. They Phone/fax: (03) 5464 1542 two just south of Echuca, Vic. too have moved to make better use Mobile: 0418 553 282 On the surface, all four farms had of irrigation with centre pivot irriga- faced the same challenges in the past tion installed on part of the farm. But ADVERTISING decade-and-a-half: severe drought, a they have also looked at the resources Advertising manager: PETER ROACH reduction in water available for irriga- around them and decided that dryland GPO Box 257, Melbourne, Vic, 3001 tion, both at an individual farm level cropping offers the opportunity to Email: <[email protected]> and at a system level, and volatile milk secure feed for their dairy operation. prices. Their story is also part of our Focus on Telephone: (03) 8667 1127 But the four farms have reacted dif- Feeding feature and starts on page 76. Fax: (03) 8667 1141 ferently to those challenges. Four farms, four different systems Mobile: 0417 371 364 The Singleton family at Finley has and perhaps, most importantly, four moved to a partial mixed ration sys- different brains behind the operations. PRODUCTION tem with cows confi ned and fed in a I think that last factor is one that is Fairfax Media Australian Community drylot for about fi ve to six months of often overlooked when looking at why Media production hub the year and grazed on annual pas- particular farms work the way they tures, supplemented by a ration, for do. Some consultants suggest there is Circulation: The Australian Dairyfarmer is the rest of the year. Their story is part one best way to operate any farm, usu- supplied free to all registered dairyfarmers of our Focus on Feeding feature start- ally promoting the system they under- in Australia. ing on page 69. stand best. But I think they overlook For a change of address, contact The Kydd family at Blighty, NSW, the most critical factor: the farmer. have featured in the pages of this Each farmer is different — different at- ADF Reception magazine several times in the past 30 titude to risk, different stage of life, dif- Telephone: (03) 8621 4200 years. Their response to the challenge ferent interests. Farms work best when Fax: (03) 8621 4280 has been to set up a really robust, low- the system aligns with the person run- Email: <recep on@ cost system. They now concentrate on ning it. D australiandairyfarmers.com.au> building up supplies of silage to feed out if irrigation water is not available. Copyright: All material in The They are also prepared to cut cow Australian Dairyfarmer is copyright. numbers to get through periods of Reproduction in whole or in part is not low water allocation. They also keep a permitted without the written permission tight rein on the business. High levels of equity give them a buffer against the of the publisher. twin pressures of low milk price and low water availability but they also fo- Editorial contributions: Editorial cus on the small details in the business contributions are welcome, but no to ensure they are maximising profi t. Editor responsibility can be taken for their loss. The Stewart family own a farm at Copy is preferred by email. Deadline is Yarawalla, Vic, that is operated by two months before publication. sharefarmers Kelvin and Shelley Mat- thews. This farm has also featured in Printed by: Rural Press Printing. the pages of the magazine as it is part Published by: Fairfax Agricultural Media of the Northern Victorian Accelerating @DowieDairyEd Change project that we wrote about (Agricultural Publishers Pty Ltd) earlier this year. The adaption to the ABN 55 000 560 430. challenges here has been to upgrade the irrigation system to a fully auto- ISSN: 0814-4494 mated pipe-and-riser system and to www.facebook.com/ CAB Audit Figure: 11,861 (Sep 2014) plant more lucerne for grazing in the AustralianDairyfarmer The Australian Dairyfarmer May-June 2016 5 MILK MATTERS provided by Australian Dairy Farmers Ltd Adaptability key to success in vola lity ✔ Farmers facing con nued vola lity water policy.