Dairy Direct - February

ountryC NewsA PUBLICATION

Issue 4, February 2013

Also inside this edition:Best breed or best cow? » page 7

Genetics goal for big GV farm » page 16

Aims set for Focus Farms » pages 18-21

Dairy dreamingYoung people at dairy week » page 8

2 3 FEBRUARY 2013 FEBRUARY 2013

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A farming expo and dairy industry lectures broadened this year’s International Dairy Week.

Although cattle entries were slightly down on the previous year, event co-ordinator Robyn Barber said it was a strong show with a high level of competition, more interest in the field days and a more sophisticated series of speaker workshops.

She said it continued to be Australia’s premier dairy event.

‘‘With the other activities it is also becoming a stronger community expo.

‘‘It’s something the dairy industry looks forward to: the best in cattle, progeny and genetics.’’

This year there were 1136 entries across all the shows, with a total of 176 exhibitors. The 2012 show had 1312 entries and 184 exhibitors.

A total of 62 companies participated in the machinery expo on Wednesday and Thursday.

The youth show recorded a similar number of entries (221) to last year, which was a record.

Visitors were recorded from France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Japan, with the usual contingent from the United States, Canada and New Zealand.

Asked about the timing of the event in January, Ms Barber said there was always discussion about the dates, but the holiday period, established 22 years ago, seemed to work best.

‘‘We want to encourage young people to be involved, and that time of the year seems to be best to allow families to attend.

‘‘We have thought about reducing the number of days, but it’s a busy program to fit in. We want to give the youth show their own day.’’

Murray Dairy’s four focus farms provide a unique study of real farms working in real life conditions.

The old discussion groups and now the dairy business groups have a similar attraction for progressive farmers.

Chasing theory can be useful but nothing focuses the mind like real outcomes (warts and all) in an actual farm environment.

The same as any working farm the focus farms are at the mercy of the elements, the vagaries of international markets and milk pricing and the changing circumstances of the people who run them.

We have a new couple taking up the challenge in the Katandra West area, Nick and Jane Andrews, and the Toolamba partnership of Ross and Colin Read has had its own challenges.

Colin experienced a heart attack last year and is back in the harness but Ross has decided to leave the partnership and take up a different agriculture related job.

The property will continue with the Focus Farm program.

This edition of Dairy Direct explores a few of the practical issues facing these two dairy farms.

Geoff AdamsEditor Country News

Another successful dairy week

Dairy Direct

Doing Dairy with Sophie Bruns 4

Dairy news 5-6

International Dairy Week

Youth on fire at dairy week 8-9

Future bright for Holsteins 10

With a little help from her friends 12

Extension is vital for dairy industry 13

Making a mile for milk 14

Farm and its owner are walking the talk 16

Toolamba focus farm on track 18

New owners are focused on farming 20

Eating for peak potential 22

Genomic testing points to cow efficiencies 23

New silage system saves waste and time 24

Be semen savvy 26

Transition feeding improves cow health 28

Cool cows good for business 30

Fighting facial eczema 32

Dairy scholarships available for leadership program 33

Forum explores innovations 33

Groundwork gives best chance of good yield 34

Calendar of events 35

contentsEditorGeoff Adams [email protected]

Writers Cathy Walker Laura Griffin Sophie Bruns

Graphic designersTeresa Lagozzino Brendan Cain

PhotographersJulie Mercer Bianca Mibus Jayme Lowndes

Sales managerJamie Gilbert [email protected]

Published by Country News PO Box 204, Shepparton, Victoria 3632 (03) 5831 2312

www.countrynews.com.au

Reaching Australia’s richest agricultural region

ountryC News

WelcomeCover:Zoe Hayes with her family’s Illawarra cow at International Dairy Week. Story page 8.

Supported by:

New CEO joins the teamWelcome to the first edition of Dairy Direct for 2013.

We are pleased that Leanne Mulcahy has joined Murray Dairy as chief executive officer; keep an eye out as Geoff Adams catches up with Leanne in this magazine.

January is known for International Dairy Week where we see some of the best cows in the country in the one place at Tatura. Dairy Australia took the opportunity of bringing some of the senior leadership team along to IDW and to visit a number of dairy farms in the region.

This was about a two-way conversation so that farmers could talk to Dairy Australia and Murray Dairy about the opportunities and challenges in the region, and Ian Halliday was able to inform farmers about some of the work that we as farmers need a body like Dairy Australia to do.

One of the observations about IDW is the energy around such an event and the amount of younger people who are attracted to this

event. It is good to see that Dairy Direct has seen fit to convey such a story in this issue.

There are a number of activities coming up over the next month with the Murray Dairy Focus Farms (tactics in tight times) having on-farm field days. There will also be workshops on transition cow feeding through February. You can get a better feel for two of the focus farms in this issue as well as a Steve Little update on transitional feeding.

The region continues to have growth in milk production which is pleasing to see. This does not take away the issue of tight margins on farms as we progress into autumn and winter. It would be good to have an early autumn break (without the flooding of last two years!) which eases some of the pressures of tight margins.

Malcolm HolmChairman, Murray Dairy


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Like many farmers we look forward to our annual summer pilgrimage away from the farm – a chance to sleep in, rest up and forget about the farm for a few days.

We were all envisioning lazy days spent at the beach but, in typical Bruns fashion, things didn’t run that smoothly.

Three days into the holiday our eldest daughter Annie decided it was a good time to get sick, and when I say sick I mean a severe bout of vomiting and tonsillitis with glandular fever (bacterial and viral of course) thrown in.

Luckily for us she did improve slightly so we could make the tortuous 11-hour car trip home, but it wasn’t pretty for anyone.

On the positive side we did manage to miss the January heat wave and our milkers and my dad did a great job of keeping the girls cool, grass growing and production up.

Speaking of grass growing, isn’t it great to drive around the place and see cows grazing on pasture, whether it be millet, lucerne or summer pasture.

You can’t beat opening the gate of a paddock and forgetting about the girls until the next milking. They are happy and so are we because the tractor is having a rest and my husband is not swearing at the feed-out machine.

In December we took a punt and planted 12 ha of lucerne. It was a bit late but lady luck was on our side this time and we are just cutting and grazing it now.

The past two mornings the cows have been smiling despite the heat as they come into the shed, and my husband is smiling too, because we have at least made a start on sowing some of the farm down to permanent pasture. Yippee. Hopefully we will avoid ever having to go through

another costly feed gap again.

It has been nearly 12 months since we bought this place and the second season since we returned to the industry. I can’t believe how quickly time flies. It only seems like yesterday that I had two little farm girls with gumboots and not much else on and now my baby is off to high school and my husband is about to turn 40.

I am hoping 2013 will be a good year for us all. Our first lot of heifers will start to come into the herd and as we start to tick off the list of jobs completed on the farm and add about 20 more to the list, one thing is for certain, our days will continue to be busy.

– Sophie

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‘‘My dad was a third generation dairy farmer,” Leanne Mulcahy said.

‘‘It’s actually a great place to grow up; a good environment.

‘‘I recall getting home from school and walking across the paddock to the dairy. Going out with dad and rounding up the cows.

‘‘I appreciate the genuine, down to earth nature of farmers. They use a combination of skills every day.’’

Ms Mulcahy said she expected to spend the first three months in her new role listening to farmers and stakeholders and understanding how the industry works.

In her first week, (coinciding with International Dairy Week) she met five groups of about 40 farmers. The issues included workforce

development, succession planning and the milk price.

She said the role of Murray Dairy was to help stimulate productivity and profitability.

‘‘My approach is to be collaborative. We need a united team which is clear about the reason for our existence because it’s too easy to be drawn into a range of directions.”

She believes the dairy industry has a long-term future but its issues can’t be dealt with on a short-term basis.

Pro-active farmers were demanding to know more about best practices.

‘‘Information and research needs to be easily accessible to them and we need to find better ways to

improve profitable production.’’

She was impressed by the resilience of the farming community and its ability to work through hard times.

Asked about the difficulties with the current milk price, Ms Mulcahy said the price needed to be examined in the context of the whole farm operation.

‘‘The milk price is influenced by international factors but there are other areas we can have an influence over.

‘‘There are ways to reduce the cost of production or increase the level of production. It’s the whole business you have to look at. ’’

Ms Mulcahy worked in several economic development jobs in Shepparton and Benalla before

her appointment as the director of development and planning with Swan Hill Rural City Council.

The position with Murray Dairy is an opportunity to work in one industry in regional development and also allows Ms Mulcahy to be closer to her family.

Ms Mulcahy, 43, is a Fairley Leadership graduate and has served on the boards of Goulburn Murray Group Training and the Goulburn Valley Community Health Service.

She holds a Diploma of Business Management and is currently completing a Masters of Business Administration.

Dairy role for farmer’s daughter with

SOPHIE BRUNS

DoingDairy Sophie Bruns is a dairy farmer from Gunbower,

with a husband, two daughters and a mortgage.

THE NEW CHiEF ExECuTivE oF MurraY DairY iS rETurNiNG To THE iNDuSTrY WHErE SHE SpENT SoME oF HEr ForMaTivE YEarS.

New Murray Dairy chief executive officer Leanne Mulcahy.


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Farmer Power sprang from a meeting of about 600 people in the Western District in January.

A crisis meeting was scheduled for Tongala on Wednesday, February 13.

Northern Victorian co-ordinator for Farmer Power Nigel Hicks said farmers were unhappy with the milk price and the representation they were getting from their industry.

‘‘I think it’s been brewing for a while. People have been suffering pain. They are at their wits’ end,’’ Mr Hick said.

He said prices averaged about $4.80 to $4.90/kg for milk solids but for five or six months of the year dairy farmers were being paid below the cost of production.

Mr Hicks, a Wyuna farmer,

said there had been inquiries by the Senate and the ACCC, but farmers could not wait around for more inquiries and investigations.

Farmer Power has the following aims:

• A better and fairer farmgate price for milk.

• Australian dairy products put back on the country’s supermarket shelves and all dairy products to meet Australian standards.

• Industry support from governments.

• An independent review of representative bodies.

Queensland MP Bob Katter recently called for re-regulation of the dairy industry.

UDV president Kerry Callow

said: “Re-regulating was a very easy statement to make. It has implications that we as an industry would have to talk about. We deregulated the industry for good reasons.”

She suggested when people talk about re-regulating the industry they may be thinking about the domestic market, but they needed to consider the whole economy, which is not isolated from the global market.

She said Farmer Power and the UDV were in agreement that “things are extremely tight at the moment and they are finding solutions to move the industry through to a recovery period’’.

The UDV and Farm Power agreed to seek financial assistance from state and federal governments.

Milk prices prompt crisis meetings

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30YEARS

Marty is passionate about Holsteins and even more passionate about showing them. “It is great fun to take a cow from the paddock and present her for showing. I like a big-framed cow with a good udder,” Marty said.

Marty travels to six shows each year including the Royal Melbourne Show and International Dairy Week, where he leads animals he has picked out himself.

“It is a lot of work but I love it. We start tying the cows up about a month before a show, and when they are quiet enough we put them in the shed. We lead them to water and change their bedding; it takes about three hours each day.”

Marty has tasted success at many shows and this year at dairy week he won Reserve Champion In-milk Heifer with Valivu Dezel Tamie, a heifer his family recently purchased. He also received a third and a 10th in the youth show and a second

and a fourth in the open section.

“This is the best I have done and I will be looking forward to next year where I’ll bring another big team. I one day want to win Supreme Champion Cow,” he said with a big grin.

Marty also recently attended the dairy youth camp where he was crowned best clipper and handler in showmanship.

“It is always good to improve your skills. I learnt a lot about judging and showing while I was in Melbourne.”

Marty said he might do an apprenticeship off-farm before he comes back to the family farm at Horfield, near Leitchville.

“I like to show and breed good cows. I read all the bull catalogues and cow magazines I can.”

Marty is the son of Stephen and Deanne Hore of Elmar Holsteins, which was established in the 1920s by Elsie and Martin Hore.

“My friends are all off doing stuff and I’m at home looking after the cows. My friends think it is a bit strange and funny, and they can’t believe that I spend half my time chasing around after cows and catching their poo in a bucket, they think it’s pretty gross,” Zoe said with a laugh.Preparing cattle to show takes a lot of commitment but Zoe doesn’t mind at all. She had some success at dairy week last year winning Junior Champion Handler, and this year won the intermediate section.

“I feel a real sense of achievement when the preparation is all done and the hard work leading up pays off. I help pick the heifers from the paddock, and if I’m milking and I see a good cow I’ll go home and look up her pedigree.”

Zoe keeps her favourite cows close year-round and practises with them at least three times a week. As show time nears she begins to feed the right protein diet, and two weeks before the show she washes and clips.

Her first love is always the Illawarras, but having led a few Holsteins around the ring she has taken a liking to them too. This year she established her own stud, Hayesmount Holsteins.

Zoe is the third generation of the Hayes family to show cows and she is following in the footsteps of her father and her grandmother.

“When I grow up, I want to be involved in the dairy industry and I would love to travel to the World Dairy Expo with a breeding company looking at bulls.”

In a couple of years’ time Zoe will be old enough to attend the dairy youth camp, where she will be able to improve her skills even further.

“I have grown up around cows and my dream is to one day have a champion cow at dairy week that I have used my own skills to breed.”


Marty’s future is black and white

Zoe with her dairy week intermediate handler ribbon.

Youth on fire at dairy week

For MoST TEENaGErS THE SuMMEr HoliDaYS arE a TiME oF rEST aND rElaxaTioN BuT For STaNHopE’S ZoE HaYES iT iS THE ExaCT oppoSiTE BECauSE SHE SpENDS MoST oF HEr TiME prEpariNG CaTTlE For THE SHoW riNG aT iNTErNaTioNal DairY WEEk.

Sam Fitzsimmons, 13, from Merrigum competing in the Youth Challenge for the Holsteins Australia Northern Victorian team.

WHilE MoST kiDS HavE No iDEa WHaT THEY WaNT To BE WHEN THEY GroW up, 16-YEar-olD MarTY HorE kNoWS ExaCTlY WHErE HiS FuTurE liES, aND oNE THiNG’S For CErTaiN: iT Will iNvolvE BlaCk aND WHiTE (THaT’S NoT FooTY CluB ColourS, EiTHEr).

Marty Hore is black and white about his favourite dairy breed.

Zoe dreams of dairy career

Story: Sophie Bruns Pictures: Bianca Mibus and Sophie Bruns


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He described his choice for Grand Champion Holstein, the Western District cow Elm Banks Polly Wolly, as displaying all the attributes judges look for in a cow, including ‘‘tremendous rib and frame’’. In explaining another winning choice, Mr Stalker noted that the mammary system was critical because ‘‘if they don’t make milk there’s not much point doing it’’.

Polly Wolly, also judged to have the best udder in the Holstein show, is owned by Chris and Mary Gleeson from Koroit and she was also a unanimous choice by all the breed judges for Supreme Exhibit of dairy week against all the other breed grand champions.

Evergreen Page House Shottle Noni, owned by the Perrett family from Gippsland, won the seven years and over class.

Zeerust’s Bluechip Genetics threatened to make a clean sweep of the junior Holstein events, winning four of the first five.

Another Goulburn Valley local in Leslie Farms at Arcadia stepped in to take out the fifth class, the dry two-year-old heifer.

But the odds were with Dean and Dianna Malcolm’s Bluechip team to take out the championship, and they did.

Bluechip also won Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor.

Future bright

Grand Champion Illawarra, Kinchela Miss Ruby, was exhibited by Trent Lee of Kempsey.

(Back, from left) Jersey Australia president Trevor Saunders, Jersey Australia vice-president Milton Johnston, owner Corey Couch and judge Johannes van Eeden. (Front) Owner Karin Couch with Riverside Country Lollypop, which was awarded Supreme Champion Jersey Exhibit, Champion Jersey Cow and Best Jersey Udder.

Holstein heifers are paraded for the Semex Spectacular sale during International DairyWeek.

Grand Champion Exhibit for the Guernsey show was won by Florando SD Koala. She is pictured with Steve Joyce from Simpson. She also took home the best udder ribbon.

Encore Pardner Didjago owned by Lloyd and Linda Burgman shows the udder that won her the best udder ribbon before going on to become the Supreme Ayrshire Exhibit. She sold the same day for $8000.

Brett Fiebig with the Grand Champion Brown Swiss cow, Grasslands Sentor Maiden 2nd, owned by Noel and Jennifer Van Rijthoven from South Australia.

The senior Holstein winner and Grand Champion for International Dairy Week, Elm Banks Polly Wolly.(From left) Chris and Mary Gleeson from Koroit with his girls Hannah, 4, Chloe, 3 and Stacey 4 with Matt Sloan (handler) from Canada and Adrian Dee, Semex board member

Pictures: Julie Mercer and Bianca Mibus

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When 20-year-old mother Bec Joyce goes into the show ring she knows she has a team of friends backing her up.

Bec, a farmer from Simpson, has been a regular at International Dairy Week since she was young, so when her first child arrived in October, there was no hesitation in deciding to go this year.

Support from her partner Jake Fisher and her friends have enabled her not only to attend but to take an active role in showing some of their eight cattle in a highly competitive environment.

“All the boys from the Western District come and help us,’’ Bec said.

Everyone takes their turn.

“They come to do all different things, help us out, some are in the youth challenge.

“They all play football together.’’

This year Bec led the Senior Champion In-

milk Heifer that became Grand Champion Heifer in the youth show. When she left the arena one of the boys holding young Cooper was among the congratulating crowd.

Bec acknowledged it was difficult sometimes but she takes Cooper as many

places as she can and he even has a cot at the dairy.

“You just have to take a spare nappy with you.’’

As far as feeding goes, she said it is all about timing.

witH a little Helpfrom her friends


Bec Joyce and Cooper in the cattle stalls at International Dairy Week.

Story: Geoff adams Picture: Julie Mercer

Training and support can help dairy farmers adopt new technology and make other changes to make their businesses more profitable, competitive and sustainable.

Dairy Australia’s program manager of extension and change Neil Webster said extension could also help farmers and the industry face challenges including the global economy, climatic variations and adapting to government policies.

Mr Webster said the dairy industry had to help farmers adapt to being employers.

“Most farmers these days are employers and we need to help them through employing people, for example by keeping them on top of industrial relations laws,” Mr Webster said.

Attracting and retaining people was the key to improving dairy businesses’ performances, he said.

“Most farmers I know who have good staff want to keep them. They see staff as an asset.”

Scholarships, leadership and programs can help develop leaders.

Mr Webster said collective or industry bodies, such as Dairy Australia, continued to provide extension when state governments were generally reducing their involvement in

the industry.

He said public, private, collective and vocational education and training centres could be co-ordinated better to ensure better training and support that is relevant, timely and accessible to dairy farmers.

“It is also important we improve connection with private consultants who can deliver one-on-one extension,” he said.

“Because there is no funding model available for public or collective to be able to do it.”

Mr Webster wants the links between research, development and extension strengthened to ensure it is relevant to farmers.

Dairy Australia surveyed about 120 farmers who had been involved in extension and found they thought active learning activities were most effective, including farm demonstrations, workshops and discussion groups.

Mr Webster said farmers got more out of discussion groups if they were able to talk with farmers with similar business sizes and systems, as opposed to geographic proximity.

“What motivates farmers to make changes and adopt something new is other farmers,” he said.

extension is vital for dairy industry

Dairy Australia’s program manager of extension and

change Neil Webster.


Tongala’s Ken Ohlsen loves driving trucks but he is less thrilled by snakes dropping from the roof.“A few weeks ago, I was in a vat room and a snake dropped from the ceiling. It hit the vat and slithered down onto the vat room floor,” Ken said.

The Fonterra milk tanker driver is wary of snakes and said he had seen a lot of them in dairies and on the road this season.

Ken has spent many years driving trucks. He was a truck owner/driver and did a lot of interstate freight, before switching to driving milk tankers six years ago because it allowed him to spend more time with his family.

He is one of 30 drivers who deliver milk to the company’s Stanhope plant. They drive 12 trucks and work day or night shifts.

Ken does day shifts. He comes to the factory at 7.30 am and picks up a folder with the day’s routes. The truck drivers then check their truck is safe and the milk pump is working.

The routes change constantly so the drivers get to visit different farms and see different landscapes. The drivers tend to do two or three loads a day, depending on the routes, which could involve trips to Finley, Kerang or Swanpool.

“It would be a bugger to drive 60 km to a farm and then find out the pump wasn’t working,” farm milk collection supervisor Craig Bray said with a chuckle.

Ken allowed Dairy Direct to join him in the cabin on his second route for the day, which was to three farms in and around Girgarre.

Ken turned over the ignition, the airconditioning started up and a song by The Doors played over the radio. Ken said the new Volvo trucks were comfortable, safe and easy to drive – even if farm driveways were muddy and slippery.

“During the floods last year, some trucks went through water up to their headlights. The headlights got full of water,” he said.

Ken stopped the truck up a neat gravel drive and jumped down and attached the hose to the first vat.

“We can only collect milk if it is within a certain temperature range,” he said. Ken took out a sample vial and using the tanker’s computer, printed out a barcode sticker for the farm – as determined by the GPS system.

He explained the sample system worked out

how many litres would be collected and then squirted out a few millilitres of milk 35 times to ensure it got a sample from the whole vat. He stores the sample in an ice-box on the side of the truck and at the factory is it collected and sent to an independent tester.

Ken closed the sample ice-box, detached the hose and tore out the dairy data sheet – which gives readings including protein, butter fat and litres collected during the previous days.

At another farm, an older kelpie met the tanker with a wagging tail. Ken scratched behind the dog’s ears while the vat emptied. The dog waited until the hose was detached and licked up the small amount of milk that had dribbled out.

Ken said the route folder and GPS system ensured drivers picked up the right milk, most of the time.

“If it’s one of ours, a Fonterra supplier, you just call up the office and they might alter the routes, but if it is someone else’s . . . Oh, that’s very rare. I guess it could happen more often at night,” he said.

Back at the factory, the milk is checked to ensure it is not contaminated, before being pumped into the plant’s silos.

About 20 minutes later, Ken is back on the road.

making a milefor milk Ken enjoys driving trucks. Milk samples are kept in an ice-box. Ken retracts the tanker hose.

Fonterra farm milk collection supervisor Craig Bray and milk tank driver Ken Ohlsen. Ken Ohlsen with the tanker’s computer. Ken checks how the vat is emptying.

Milk is pumped out of the trucks and into Fonterra Stanhope’s six silos, which have a combined capacity of 1 million litres.

• Tanker drivers see up to 25 farmers a day to collect their milk for Fonterra.

• An average tanker carries between 25 000 litres to 35 000 litres of milk per load and usually does four loads a day. (A typical driver may do two loads a day but a tanker does four loads a day as it runs through day and night shifts.)

• Each truck can travel up to 220 000 km a year depending on collection cycles and so Fonterra has moved to fuel-emission efficient tankers.

• These tankers have the lowest fuel emissions per 100 km in the industry.

FaST FaCTS

We can only collect milk if it is within a certain temperature range. ken ohlsen

“ “

Story and pictures: laura Griffin


Smarter energy use on Australian dairy farms is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and Dairy Australia.

Smarter energy use on Australian dairy farms can save you dollars!

2013 Murray Dairy Research & Technology Tours

TASMANIAApril 30th – May 2nd 2013

Proposed visits include:• Automatic Milking System on a Pasture Based Dairy Farm• TIA Research Station• Corporate Farming Operation• Unique Boutique Dairy/On-Farm Manufacturing Plant• AGFEST Field Days

GIPPSLAND/MELBOURNEMay 28th – May 30th 2013

Proposed visits include:• Ellinbank Research Institute• Macalister Demonstration Farm• Nottman’s Pasture Seeds• CRC Agribioscience Centre

These tours are supported by Murray Dairy and the NCDEA. For further information including booking your place, please contact Murray Dairy on (03) 5833 5312 or email [email protected]

Dairy industry research shows the average dairy farmer spends approximately $13,000 per year on electricity costs. It also shows that there are opportunities for energy (and therefore cost) savings on most dairy farms.

Recognising the potential savings is difficult to identify and unlock efficiency gains without input from experienced service providers, the ‘Smarter energy use on Australian dairy farms’ project will help fund competent assessors to prepare an energy efficiency plan for your farm. The plan will assist you to improve the performance of existing plant, as well as prioritise any future spending on equipment upgrades.

The North-east region on-farm assessments will be completed by Barrie Bradshaw who has a dairy industry background in South West Gippsland. Over the last three years he has managed a $3 M project at DPI Ellinbank looking at the feasibility and “proof of concept” of utilising dairy effluent as a renewable energy source for powering elements of the dairy.

Assessors in other Murray Dairy regions include Brett Cox Electrical – Kyabram, Lisa Menhennet – Bega Cheese and Jim Hoare – Kialla.

To register your interested for your free energy assessment, please contact Murray Dairy on (03) 5833 5312 or [email protected]

Please note: Assessments in the North-east will be undertaken in the week of Monday 4th March to Friday 8th March and for one week in May only. Don’t miss out! Register now!

Businessman Alex Arena has been based in Hong Kong for 20 years but a key hub of his investments is Coomboona Holsteins near Undera, north-west of Shepparton.

The giant dairy farm is entering an exciting new phase, steering away from what Mr Arena regards as an uncertain foundation selling milk, to selling genetics and export-quality hay and grain.

Glen Goulburn is the amalgamation of 15 properties and, at 1942ha, one of the largest irrigation properties in the Goulburn Valley.

‘‘I have been buying land in this area for over 30 years,’’ Mr Arena said. ‘‘I discovered it through the Italian community — tomato growers and others.’’

Mr Arena was at Coomboona Holsteins for its successful open day and on-farm sale during International Dairy Week.

He said while the property, with its new farming techniques and diversification into cropping, was a source of personal pleasure for him, at the end of the day it was a business and there to make money.

‘‘We sell and export lucerne, oats and canola, also grow our own maize. Are we self-sufficient? Mostly, for the size of the dairy we are now running. We purchase supplements,’’ Mr Arena said.

He said the decision to switch away from straight dairying was to combat the uncertainty of the dairy industry.

‘‘I’m a price-taker on milk. But to run a business of this size you need stability.

‘‘We are making the switch from commercial dairying to basically being a supplier to the

dairy industry with world-class cattle; I emphasise the breeding side.’’

Mr Arena is a keen student of Holstein genetics; while he makes the mating choices he said: ‘‘I take a lot of advice.’’

Coomboona’s open day showcased 12 daughters of Snowman, 10 daughters of Man-O-Man and others by sires including Goldwyn, Shottle, Planet, Windbrook, Wildthing, Atwood, Sanchez, Alexander, Braxton, Jasper, Goldchip, Advent, Million and Superstition.

‘‘If you look at the Holstein industry the genetic development has been more systematic in Canada and the US,’’ Mr Arena said.

‘‘The good thing about genomics is you’ve now got a yardstick you can measure to a consistent standard.

‘‘I’m hoping to breed an Australian bull that can compete on the international market.’’

It has been one of Mr Arena’s stated aims to sell bulls into Asia. But he said despite the hype, there wasn’t much planning or direction from governments.

‘‘A lot of people talk about (how) the future

is Asia,’’ Mr Arena said.

‘‘But are we geared up? What’s the government doing about it? Somebody has to take the leadership and get it done.

‘‘I’m just one guy . . . I’m not asking for money — what about leadership and putting some investment into it?’’

So is dairying simply another business for Mr Arena?

‘‘When you are investing this sort of money you want to do something that’s enjoyable. I like being in this industry; when you can turn out animals like this, when you look around here.’’

And what’s next for Coomboona?

‘‘That’s confidential. I’m not going to tell everybody what my plans are.

‘‘I’m a walker not a talker. But of course I’ve got plans.’’

farm and its owner are walking tHe talk

Coomboona Holsteins is a big business and owner Alex Arena has diversified it in recent years.

Visitors inspect cows for sale at the farm’s annual ‘tag’ sale during dairy week.

Story: Cathy Walker Pictures: Bianca Mibus


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The aim of the Focus Farm project is to help farmers better understand their farm business systems and to analyse the impact of on-farm development and decision making options, including considerations pertaining to risk management.Brothers Colin and Ross Read from Toolamba put together a number of goals they wanted to achieve by being involved in the project including:

• To operate a profitable and efficient dairy farm business.

• To setup their dairy business for the future considering: a. Succession b. Transition c. Diversification

• To deliver a satisfactory work/life balance for all the people involved in the business.

pHysiCal performanCeThe table (right) outlines the actual physical performance of the farm business for the 2010-11 and the 2011-12 season and the budgeted and the provisional physical

performance of the farm business for the 2012-13 season. The provisional 2012-13 results are based on actual results for the first half of the year and anticipated results for the back half of the financial year.

The first half of the 2012-13 season has tracked well for the Reads in relation to the physical performance of their dairy business. Peak herd numbers have been exceeded slightly, production is in front of budget and pasture has been the main contributor to the herd’s diet.

Early this season, the Reads’ 28 ha outblock was sold as part of the succession process. Across the Reads’ 220ha, the breakdown of irrigated areas in 2012-13 includes 84 ha of perennial pasture, 32 ha of annual pasture and 104 ha of dryland.

Allowing for a higher amount of home-grown feed to be produced has meant an increased use of irrigation water which is expected to total 919 Ml, up by 221.8 Ml on 2011-12 use. Additional TWE has been purchased compared to last season.

Despite the purchase of additional TWE, home-grown feed costs are currently expected to be slightly less than in the

previous year due to higher levels of home-grown feed utilisation and the fact that more of the home-grown feed will be directly grazed rather than being conserved and fed back to the herd.

finanCial performanCeThe table (right) outlines the actual financial performance of the farm business for the 2010-11 and the 2011-12 season and the budgeted and the provisional physical performance of the farm business for the 2012-13 season. The provisional 2012-13 results are based on actual results for the first half of the year and anticipated results for the back half of the financial year.

The first half of the 2012-13 season has also tracked well for the Reads financially. Total farm income is in front of budget with the elevated level of ‘other’ farm income due to the sale of surplus livestock as part of the succession plan. Herd costs are tracking higher than budget but lower than in the two previous seasons; shed costs are tracking higher than budget and higher than the two previous seasons, primarily due to higher power costs; feed costs are tracking higher than budget and higher than the previous

two seasons, primarily due to increased concentrate prices; overhead costs are higher than budgeted but lower than in the previous two seasons; and labour costs are significantly lower than budgeted and significantly lower than the previous two seasons.

farm Business performanCeThe table (right) outlines the actual farm business performance of the farm business for the 2010-11 and the 2011-12 season and the budgeted and the provisional physical performance of the farm business for the 2012-13 season. The provisional 2012-13 results are based on actual results for the first half of the year and anticipated results for the back half of the financial year.

The farm business performance measures bring together the physical and the financial performance measures. Overall the operating surplus generated in 2012-13 is on track to be better than that generated in the previous two seasons. Consequently the estimated EBIT is also anticipated to be improved when compared to either of the previous two seasons.

Investment returns measured as either RoTA or as RoE are also anticipated to be significantly improved on those achieved in either 2010-11 or 2011-12 due to the generation of higher returns on a reduced level of investment (sale of the outblock) and equity is expected to move forward by 2.82 per cent.

on track

MurraY DairY, iN CoNJuNCTioN WiTH DairY auSTralia aND THE GarDiNEr FouNDaTioN, ESTaBliSHED Four FoCuS FarMS aCroSS NorTHErN viCToria aT THE END oF THE 2010-11 SEaSoN.

toolamBa foCus farm

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 (b) 2012/13 (p)

TOTAL LITRES 1342850 1717881 1852831 1847371TOTAL FAT 56793 69163 74864 75261TOTAL PROTEIN 44853 58264 62981 63010TOTAL MILK SOLIDS 101646 127427 137845 138271 MILKING AREA 248 248 248 220HERD SIZE 230 252 270 272WATER USE 330 697.2 700 919 PURCHASED CONCENTRATE (t DM) 231 331 355 346PURCHASED FODDER (t DM) 28.1 9.35 0 50HOME GROWN FEED (t DM) 1381 1241 1300 1348FROM INVENTORY (t DM) 0 0 0 0TOTAL FEED (t DM) 1640 1581 1655 1744 PURCHASED GRAIN ($/t DM) 283 260 281 315PURCHASED FODDER ($/t DM) 173 169 0 135HOME GROWN FEED ($/t DM) 77 105 92 97 PRODUCTION PER COW 442 506 511 508TOTAL FEED PER COW 7.13 6.27 6.13 6.41 WATER USE EFFICIENCY 4.18 1.78 1.86 1.47

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 (b) 2012/13 (p)

MILK INCOME 5.15 4.90 4.76 5.01OTHER FARM INCOME 0.65 0.46 0.69 1.17TOTAL FARM INCOME 5.80 5.36 5.45 6.18 HERD COSTS 0.40 0.27 0.19 0.22SHED COSTS 0.23 0.24 0.23 0.28FEED COSTS 1.74 1.71 1.59 1.79OVERHEAD COSTS 0.71 0.80 0.54 0.61LABOUR COSTS 0.38 0.27 0.47 0.08TOTAL PRODUCTION COSTS 3.46 3.29 3.03 2.98 OPERATING SURPLUS 2.34 2.08 2.43 3.19 INTEREST and HP COSTS 1.15 1.05 1.02 0.87PRINCIPAL and CAPITAL COSTS 0.42 0.72 0.41 0.36TOTAL COSTS 5.03 5.05 4.46 4.21

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 (b) 2012/13 (p)

OPERATING SURPLUS 2.34 2.08 2.43 3.19EBIT 1.35 1.11 1.71 2.07 RoTA 5.15% 4.97% 8.54% 10.40%RoE 1.89% 0.79% 7.56% 13.29% EQUITY 39.83% 44.06% 46.00% 46.88%

pHysiCal performanCe measures

finanCial performanCe measures ($/kg ms)

farm Business performanCe measures

Cameron Smith outlines the progress of the Toolamba Focus Farm at a field day. Ross (left) and Colin Read on their Toolamba farm.

Story: Cameron Smith Pictures: Geoff adams

foCus faCts


Integra Water Services is busy keeping up with demand for allocation water as irrigators reap the benefits of good (but dry) seasonal conditions.

Trade of Allocation water is strong. Both buyers and sellers both seem reasonably happy with the price of around $50 a megalitre (as at end of the first week in February). It has been a few years since sellers have seen this price at this time in the season, and for farmers irrigating, the cost of water is affordable for them to put on pastures.

Integra has a large base of both buyers and sellers and deal quickly and efficiently with all the paperwork.

“We have a lot of return business because of the level of service that we provide, states Liz Johnston of Integra Water. Our staff are very good at communicating and ringing people back. It currently is a

“Seller’s Market” so if you have

water for sale, ring today as we are busy trading — both small and large parcels daily and there are buyers waiting.

Things to watch out for at the moment are your Annual Use Limits on Water Use Licences and Delivery Shares. These topics confuse irrigators to no end. Here at Integra we can explain to you how these limits work and how to increase these limits. If you are in CASUAL USE at the moment — ring now. You need to look at a solution and we can advise you on the options.

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Large volumes of allocation water traded this irrigation season

Katandra West dairy farmers Jane and Nick Andrews.

focused on farming

Nick has been on the farm for most of his life apart from a short period when he worked on a neighbouring property while he completed a dairy traineeship. Jane’s parents own a sheep and cropping farm at Dookie so she is no newcomer to agriculture – but dairying is a new adventure.

Through the drought Nick worked with his parents to keep the farm business afloat. He actively sought information and participated in industry extension and

training opportunities, bringing new ideas to the business.

The more he learned, the more his confidence in the dairy industry grew. Through the Feeding Pastures For Profit and Dairy Business Network groups Nick surrounded himself with positive people who had a drive to improve their businesses.

Nick purchased his own adjoining land (31 ha) and water in 2005 providing his first dairy assets. After this the family started a succession planning process and the result

was the opportunity for Nick and Jane to purchase the business in April 2011, allowing Nick’s parents to achieve their retirement goals.

Now Nick and Jane milk 210 Friesian cows on 95 ha of land, of which 76 ha is developed for irrigation. With recent improvements in water availability, more of the farm has returned to perennial pastures.

A snapshot of key business performance figures for the 2011-12 season is provided at right.

As part of the Focus Farm project Nick and Jane have identified business goals they would like to achieve. Facilitator Phil Shannon and their support group will help them put plans in place to achieve these at regular group meetings. Some of the goals include:

• Increase profit from current business.

• Reduce workload to achieve a better work/life balance.

• Investigate the option of increasing cow numbers to justify employing a labour unit.

• Improve pasture harvest and irrigation efficiency through participation in the ‘Farm Water’ on-farm infrastructure upgrade program.

• Identify the right water product mix for the business (balance of HRWS, LRWS, use of the temporary water market).new owners are

Story: laura Griffin Pictures: Jayme lowndes and laura Griffin

NEW MurraY DairY FoCuS FarMErS NiCk aND JaNE aNDrEWS HavE NoT oNlY SurvivED THE rECENT TouGH CoNDiTioNS iN THE NorTHErN irriGaTioN rEGioN, THEY HavE TakEN a poSiTivE aTTiTuDE aND SHiFTED To FarM oWNErSHip.

in foCusNumber of cows: 200

Milking area (ha): 73

Milk solids per cow (kgMS/cow): 628

Milk solids price ($/kgMS): $5.46

Pasture harvested (tDM/ha): 9.7

Pasture consumed (tDM/cow): 3.7

Concentrate fed (tDM/cow): 2.0

Total Cost of Production ($/kgMS) (excl. financing costs): 4.56

Return on Capital (ex appreciation): 16.7 per cent

Consultant Phil Shannon with focus farm hosts Jane and Nick Andrews.

Consultant Phil Shannon discusses Nick and Jane Andrews’ farm performance.

The Focus Farm visit included a walk to see the pasture, herd and dairy first-hand.


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Dairy cows need to be fed right to make the most of their genetic potential, ruminant nutritionist and Ridley Dairy Feeds dairy services manager Andre Nel said.“Modern dairy cows are the super athletes of the ruminant world. As with any athlete, nutrition plays a key role in them achieving their potential,” Mr Nel said.

He said farmers needed to balance their herd’s diet to ensure their rumens worked efficiently, including its bacterial population.

He said dairy cows needed a balance of carbohydrates and sugars, protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water in their diet.

“Cows are measured both on their achievements and the cost of reaching them,” Mr Nel told an International Dairy Week audience.

“So farmers needed to work out how to combine the different nutrients in the most cost-effective way possible.”

Mr Nel said starch, for example, tended to be a cost-effective energy source but could

disrupt the rumen and cause acidosis.

He said sufficient energy was particularly important at joining time because it improved chances of conception.

Nr Nel suggested setting a goal when “training a lactation athlete”.

“At what level did cows peak last year and feed them to that level,” he said.

“It is important to reduce weight loss during milking.

“And farmers need to maintain cows’ body condition in late lactation.”

He said this recovery period was a good opportunity to build nutrients.

He said protein requirements also changed throughout a cow’s life, for example more was needed when cows were growing.

The nutritionist said milking cows had high vitamin and mineral needs but more supplements were not necessarily better.

“For example, giving cows limestone only supplies calcium and a tiny bit of other minerals and could displace the uptake of other nutrients,” Mr Nel said.

He said farmers needed to be careful their herds were getting enough vitamins A and E, because these fat-soluble vitamins occurred in grass and started to break down in hay and silage.

He said the first step farmers could take to feed productive and healthy cows was to maximise forage, which could include seeking an agronomist’s advice.

Geneticists will be able to identify more genetic breeding values in dairy cows more reliably in coming years, geneticist Ben Hayes said.La Trobe University’s associate professor and DPI research leader said genomics would increasingly be used in commercial as well as stud farming.

In an address at International Dairy Week, Dr Hayes said currently DNA testing could reconstruct an animal’s pedigree and test for some traits, including production, fertility and workability. Dr Hayes hopes scientists can increase the reliability of these tests from the current 60 to 64 per cent.

He said getting a bigger reference population would better establish which DNA markers affected traits farmers were looking for.

“But there are many different genes that affect something like fertility,” Dr Hayes said.

“So we want to use (the) entire genome sequence.”

He said the technology to sequence dairy cows’ genomes had improved dramatically

in recent years and was getting cheaper.

“It now costs about $2000 to sequence an animal’s genome.”

Dr Hayes said it remained too expensive to sequence 20 000 notable bulls in Australia, so Dairy Futures Co-operative Research Centre was getting the genomes for key ancestor bulls in Australia and then doing cheaper tests on progeny.

His team is linking this study with the international 1000 bulls genomes project. The project has 10 international partners, including from Europe and North America, and has sequenced 236 bulls and two cows’ genomes, including 132 Holsteins, 48 Angus, 15 Jerseys and 45 Fleckvichs.

This study’s potential was shown when a French team identified haplotypes (DNA sequences) that affect fertility.

The Australian team is also contributing to a global dry matter intake study, which looks at the difference in the amount of food heifers eat to grow the same amount.

“The genomics for feed intake are likely to be released in the first quarter of next year,”

Dr Hayes said.

He said the study had suggested a correlation between feed-to-growth efficiency and feed-to-milk-production efficiency.

“We want to improve reliability of these genomic breeding vales, including for new traits such as feed efficiency that drive productivity.”

eating for peak potential genomiC testing points to Cow effiCienCiesRidley Dairy Feeds dairy services manager

Andre Nel advocates feeding dairy cows like “lactation athlete”.

La Trobe University’s associate professor and DPI research leader Ben Hayes is

leading the Dairy Futures Co-operative Research Centre’s dairy cattle genetics

program.


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“We were ultimately seeking better quality silage and waste was our motivation,” Bernice said.

“We would easily have experienced 10 per cent wastage on stacks we pitted previously.”

Bernice said there was nothing more frustrating or annoying than opening up a fresh new pit stack and then having to turn around and discard large chunks of silage because the stack wasn’t airtight.

“The plastic we are trialling is a quarter of the thickness of the traditional black plastic and is 20 times more airtight. Because it is sensitive to UV light you have to put a protective layer over the top which is a heavy shadecloth type product,” Scott said.

“We are also using a different inoculant which apparently keeps the stack cooler and lasts longer.”

Instead of covering the pit with old tyres, reusable bags are filled with gravel and placed along the seams, or where there is an overlap to secure the stack.

“This is a much cleaner and neater job instead of using those filthy rotten tyres that can be filled with horrible smelling water and snakes.”

The Lumsdens said previously, whether they were covering or opening the stack, they always had to have the tractor on hand to either bring tyres over or remove them. This new system was quicker and far less labour intensive and only required the removal of a few gravel bags at a time.

“The tractor can just come in and grab the silage and we don’t have to worry about carting tyres away anymore.”

The heavy cover is much stronger than the traditional plastic and will offer additional protection against the elements including hail.

“We took a trip to John Eades’ property near Lockington to look at the system and straight away we were sold on the quality of his silage,” Bernice said.

“This is not a throwaway product either. We can fold up the shadecloth and stack away the bags and re-use them again.”

The couple said the new product was a fraction dearer than traditional black plastic. There is also the additional cost of the tarps (shadecloth?) which is offset by the fact they can be re-used again because the family cuts pit silage every year.

“We didn’t sow any summer crops this year but we will probably grow some maize next year. Traditionally we cut lucerne silage and we have around 260 ha that we either graze or cut for hay and silage,” Bernice said.

The family milks around 750 cows and they consume around 1400 dry tonnes of silage a year.

FED up WiTH THE aMouNT oF WaSTE THEY WErE SEEiNG iN THEir piT SilaGE, lEiTCHvillE DairY FarMErS BErNiCE aND SCoTT luMSDEN DECiDED To Trial a NEW SYSTEM To CovEr oNE oF THEir STaCkS WiTH aN airTiGHT plaSTiC proDuCT.

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Scott Lumsdenwith the new covers. The old silage covers (left) and the new ones.


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Firstly, prepare and check artificial insemination facilities to ensure the working environment is safe. More specifically:

• Place a bench for straw preparation in a shaded spot with access to clean cold and hot water; a rubbish bin to dispose of gloves, paper and sheaths; and a hose to clean gumboots.

• Arrange for the technicians to check the facilities and to familiarise themselves with the yards and gates.

• Plan to have two people present for cow handling and inseminating. More staff may be required if a synchronisation program has been used.

Do-it-yourself inseminators should consider refreshing their artificial insemination technique by:

• Practising on cows in heat in the fortnight before mating starts in seasonal/split

calving herds.This can be done without using semen by blocking off the end of the gun with a piece of paper towel and placing a sheath over the gun.

• Having a professional technician check their technique.

• Attending an artificial insemination refresher course if they have not done one for two years or are not confident with their technique.

The sperm in frozen semen straws is fragile and needs to be handled carefully. Use this checklist to get more AI calves by handling semen correctly:

Tank

• Use a dipstick to check the liquid nitrogen level twice a week.

• Only lift the canister to the frost line, not to the top of the tank.

• Always remove straws from the tank using tweezers.

• Keep good records of straw locations to find straws faster.

Thawing straws

• Don’t lift the straws out of the tank for more than two seconds.

• Only thaw as many straws as you can use in 10 minutes.

• Thaw straws in water at 32-38°C.

• Thaw mini straws for at least 30 seconds.

A poster to put on the wall near the tank to remind do-it-yourself inseminators of the correct semen straw handling technique can be downloaded or ordered from www.dairyaustralia.com.au

Breeds have unique strengths. Australian herd improvement statistics from 2011 show us on average:• Holstein protein yield is greater than any

other breed.• Jersey protein percentage is greater than

any other breed.• There is a greater proportion of cows

aged eight years and older in the Holstein/Jersey cross breed than Holstein or Jersey breeds.

Within every breed, some cows and bulls are better than others and most farmers can make improvements in existing herds by deciding breeding priorities and selecting the best bulls at every joining using Australian Breeding Values.

Fertility and longevity are two traits commonly promoted as the reason to change breeds.

Daughter fertility

Dairy Australia’s national project for improving dairy herd fertility InCalf analysed data from 30 herds from 2000 to 2009.

Holstein, Jersey and Holstein/Jersey cross animals were investigated.

The study found the six-week in-calf rate declined at a rate of one per cent each year

during the 10 years.

While differences between breeds were observed (Holstein Friesians had lower six-week in-calf rates than Jersey or Holstein/Jersey cross), the rate of decline over time was similar for each breed group.

The range of reproductive performance within each breed was large – it was much greater than the differences between breeds. Cows with higher fertility Australian Breeding Values sires had 13 per cent higher six-week in-calf and eight per cent lower 21-week not-in-calf rates than cows with lower fertility Australian Breeding Values sires.

Bull selection is one of the many factors that influence herd reproductive performance. Over the long term, selecting bulls that are highly ranked within their breed for daughter fertility will help to reverse the trend of declining reproductive performance.

Longevity

Longevity is one of the most significant contributors to profit in Australia. Longer lasting cows produce more and reduce costs associated with rearing additional heifers.

Within any breed, there are animals that are genetically superior and inferior for longevity. The differences in longevity between breeds

are small, leaving us with an opportunity to improve this trait by focusing on selecting superior animals within breeds.

Australian Breeding Values help compare animals within breeds for the survival trait. There is more than 12 per cent difference between the longest and shortest lasting animals within each breed population – meaning the bull choices you make will have a long-term impact on the genetic merit of your herd for this trait.

Australian Breeding Values

Whether it be fertility, longevity or any other trait for which Australian Breeding Values are available, most farmers have significant opportunities to improve their herd.

Once farmers have decided what breed(s) best fit their farm system, they should pick the best bulls for their highest breeding priorities from the Good Bulls Guide.

Improving a herd takes time and the choices made in this breeding season will have permanent impact on the herd.

– Michelle Axford

Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme’s extension and education manager

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Dairy Australia’s Feed2Milk and InCalf programs are working together to support the adoption of effective transition cow management programs.

For many Australian dairy farmers who are yet to implement a successful transition feeding program, it provides an opportunity for improving cow health, milk production and reproductive performance.

The three weeks before calving is the time to get springers ready for lactation and mating. It’s when cows and heifers go through dramatic changes and need a diet that prepares the rumen for a milker’s ration, meets the demands of the developing calf and udder, and prevents diseases such as milk fever.

A successful transition feeding program helps:• Prevent milk fever.• Reduce RFMs, assisted calvings and

vaginal discharge.• Reduce acidosis, ketosis and lameness.• Save time and money spent on treating

sick and downer cows.• Increase in-calf rates.• Increase milk production over the entire

lactation.

Depending on the approach used, a transition feeding program could cost between $20 and $60/cow, and return up to $200-plus/cow a year net benefit.

How a good transition helps

Preventing milk fever:

In the past, the focus has been on managing DCAD levels in the transition diet. However, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus levels in the diet are also important in controlling milk fever and its flow on effects. Aim for low potassium, calcium and phosphorus and high magnesium levels in pre-calving diets.

Getting the rumen ready:

If you are feeding the cows more than 3kg/day of grain or concentrates after calving, you should be feeding grain or concentrates before calving too. This helps prevent acidosis or grain poisoning by giving the rumen time to adjust to grain in the diet.

It takes seven days for the rumen microbes to adapt to the higher starch diet fed after calving and at least three weeks for the rumen lining (papillae) to properly develop to absorb the nutrients.

Body condition, energy and protein:

Feeding an effective transition diet helps cows to return to full appetite sooner after calving. This reduces the time and depth of negative energy and protein balance after calving. The result is less weight loss, and higher fertility at joining.

Murray Dairy has organised a series of workshops called “Putting Transition Cow Management into Practice”.

Farmers attending the workshops will hear:

• The latest information on key aspects of

transition cow management.

• How to control milk fever on their

farms.

• How to design and implement more

successful transition feeding programs.

• How to identify and troubleshoot

problems with transition feeding

programs.

The workshops are free and morning tea,

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Wednesday, February 13; Kergunyah

on Tuesday, February 19; Cobram on

Wednesday, February 20; Cohuna on

Thursday, February 21; Corryong on Friday,

February 22; and Milawa on Monday,

February 25.

It is essential to RSVP seven days before each

workshop. To register, contact Jeanette at

Murray Dairy: phone 5833 5312 or email

[email protected]

– Steve Little

Dairy Australia consultant

Managing transition feeding can have a range of benefits.

TraNSiTioN CoW MaNaGEMENT iS oNE oF THE MoST SiGNiFiCaNT aDvaNCES iN DairY NuTriTioN aND proDuCTioN ovEr THE paST 20 YEarS.

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Last season they took the plunge and constructed a 54m x 25m shelter shed over their dairy yard. And while the project came at a considerable financial cost, this summer they certainly haven’t regretted their decision.

They recently took an outside temperature measurement at 1.45pm; it was 41 degrees. Under the shelter with 700 cows enjoying the fans and mist sprays, it was a comfortable 28 degrees.

“Construction of this shed is one of the best investments we have made on the farm, not just for the cows and milk production but also for staff comfort too,” Lisa said.

“The dairy is considerably cooler in summer, the shed provides protection in winter and the work environment for our staff is so much better too.”

Lisa estimates with gains in milk flow, it will take around eight years to recuperate the initial investment.

“On hot days production may decrease slightly but there is no longer that ridiculous drop that comes when the weather really heats up.”

Management of the herd is also critical to keep production up. On extreme heat days the cows are grazing in the paddock by 7am and they either make their own way back to the shed or are brought up around 10am where they stay there until milking time at 3pm. The fans run continually as do the sprinklers and the cows have access to drinking water.

“The shed was deliberately designed with an 8m overhang so the cows that go through the rotary early can have access to shade and water before

they head out into the paddock,” Lisa said.

It was Lisa’s job to do the research for the fans and sprinklers and she found the Cool Cows website by Dairy Australia to be the most helpful.

“The cows are sprayed from above and because the droplet size is so small they don’t really get wet. We have eight fans at the moment and they seem to be working really well. The flies stay away and the cows really are just so much more comfortable.”

Lisa said herd health had also improved since construction and cases of mastitis had been reduced.

“One odd thing we have found that has improved is cow flow. We never had as many lights as we do now and I guess because it is lit up so well and there are no shadows or corners,

the cows flow into the dairy so much better.”

Lisa said the time taken to wash out the yard had reduced because the effluent was no longer baked onto the cement.

“Washing out times have reduced by around 20 minutes which saves us water too.”

The shed has, in a short amount of time, become an important management tool for the business.

“We tossed up the idea of shade cloth but we thought if we had a freak storm that would soon get destroyed. We have no feed pad so we thought the only viable option for us was to build a permanent structure,” Lisa said.

“Construction took about eight weeks and Yarroweyah Engineering worked around us and the cows. This shed really is the best thing we have done.”

Three key challenges faced by dairy farmers in summer are lower pasture quality and supply, heat stress and mycotoxin issues, all of which have a negative impact on feed efficiency.

Young leafy pasture has a low neutral detergent fibre content which helps maximise feed intake, and a high content of rumen degradable protein. As pasture matures, the neutral detergent fibre percentage increases and the rumen degradable protein percentage falls.

If there is also less pasture available due to dry weather, this often results in an even lower amount of rumen degradable protein in the diet.

Diet formulators are faced with the challenge of balancing the diet to ensure cows’ requirements are met, and feed intake and production are maintained.

One tool in their armoury is to add a live yeast supplement to the diet to improve feed intake and increase fibre digestion when pasture neutral detergent fibre percentage rises.

Another is to include protected urea in the diet to provide a steady supply of nitrogen that rumen microbes can utilise for microbial protein production.

Optigen II is a slow release non-protein supplement for cows. This will help to maintain a good supply of microbial protein for the cow even when pasture quality drops and feed intake falls.

Higher producing cows are more affected because they generate more heat while digesting the extra feed required for higher milk yields.

Heat stress also impacts overall health and fertility.

As few as 10 per cent of inseminations in heat-stressed cattle result in pregnancies, and cows that are stressed in early lactation show poorer fertility two to three months later, due to impaired follicular development.

Heat stress also lowers feed efficiency due to reduced feed intake and impaired rumen function.

Nutritional strategies for tackling heat stress include:

• Ensuring a good water supply at all times.

• Feeding more during cooler periods.

• Increasing energy and protein density to counter lower feed intake.

• Increasing fibre quality.

Feeding lower NDF forages helps encourage

feed intake and reduces heat production in the rumen, but it also increases the risk of sub-acute rumen acidosis (SARA).

Heat-stressed cows are also more prone to SARA due to reduced buffering from saliva, thus rumen buffers are important.

Live yeast has been shown to improve the stability of rumen pH, reducing build-up of lactic acid. A proven product such as Yea-Sacc®1026 would suit this purpose.

When feed intake drops, it is also important to increase the density of minerals, trace elements and vitamins in the diet to ensure requirements are met.

Sufficient potassium, sodium and magnesium are needed as, unlike humans, cows sweat potassium more than sodiumHeat-stressed cows also experience more oxidative damage to cells, so anti-oxidants such as vitamin E and selenium-dependent enzymes have an important role to play in maintaining cow health.

– By Trish Lewis, a dairy consultant in New Zealand. She has an honours degree in Agriculture from the University of Nottingham and more than 30 years’ experience in the industry.

EvErY DairY FarMEr kNoWS THE iMporTaNCE oF kEEpiNG CoWS Cool DuriNG a loNG HoT SuMMEr. YalCa DairY FarMErS STEpHEN aND liSa Cox arE No ExCEpTioN.

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The shed has been a key part of the strategy to cope with heat.

The shed creates a measurable difference in heat levels.

Story and pictures: Sophie Bruns

taCkling summer’s feed CHallenges


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FE is caused by the toxin produced from spores of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum which germinates in the dead litter commonly found in perennial ryegrass pastures.

The combination of rain or high humidity with high night-time minimum temperatures encourages the fungus to release spores.

There is no fixed beginning or end to the yearly FE danger period and it can extend more than 100 days.

The onset of cold weather does not spell the end of a FE danger period – the fungus won’t germinate but spores can persist until May/June.

Hills are worse than flats, not better, as commonly believed. Nor does rain wash spores off pasture.

When assessing whether pastures are safe or unsafe:

• Do pasture spore counting.

• Consider the amount of dead and dying leaf in the pasture sward.

• Consider the grazing intensity and level of pasture being consumed (animals grazing down to the base are at most risk).

• Consider the previous exposure of animals to toxic spores (it makes them more susceptible).

• Consider the length of time for which the high spore level is present and grazed.

Strategies for control and prevention:

Minimise the toxicity of pastures by reducing the amount of dead and dying leaf. This may be

achieved through spring/summer by carefully managing pre- and post-grazing heights, increasing summer survival of grasses, and controlling pasture pests and diseases. However, topping pastures might not help if there is already plenty of dead and dying leaf.

Spore intakes can also be reduced by keeping pasture residuals high, moving cows onto a safer ryegrass pasture (assessed by spore counting), safer pasture species (clovers, kikuyu, paspalum, tall fescue and chicory), or by feeding a low FE-risk forage crop or supplement such as hay, silage, or grain/concentrate.

Zinc supplements can be effective for FE control and prevention if well-managed.

Consult with a veterinarian to ensure the correct amount of zinc is given.

Zinc administration should start two to three weeks before pastures become toxic. Using zinc oxide in grain/concentrate fed as a mash or pelleted feed in the bail at milking is the most common way to supplement-feed dairy cows.

Prevention dosing to maintain protective blood serum zinc levels is 20mg/kg liveweight/day.

The concentration of elemental zinc and the level of impurities (including lead and other heavy metals) varies. Always check the certificate of analysis provided by each supplier.

For more information visit http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Animals-feed-and-environment/Feeding-and-nutrition/Facial-Eczema/Booklet-and-Factsheet.aspx

LAte summer AnD Autumn Is the DAnGer perIoD For FAcIAL eczemA (Fe), the spore-Born conDItIon thAt cAn cAuse LonG-term LIVer DAmAGe AnD eVen DeAth AmonG DAIrY coWs.

faCial eCzema Fighting dairy sCHolarsHips

availaBle for leadersHip programThe Gardiner Foundation is once again partnering with Community Leadership Loddon Murray to provide scholarships for dairy industry representatives to participate in the 2013 Loddon Murray Community Leadership Program.

These scholarships will let farmers and others involved in the dairy industry access the unique program.

Co-ordinated by Community Leadership Loddon Murray, this program aims to engage, encourage and empower members of the community in leadership roles. The program encompasses social, cultural, environmental, economic and technological aspects of our region.

Each year up to 25 participants are accepted from across central and north-west Victoria.

The scholarships on offer mean successful applicants can join the program next year at no cost.

Mead dairy farmer Di Bowles completed the program last year after taking up a Gardiner

Foundation scholarship.

“The leadership program has really broadened my horizons by seeing what is happening in other communities around our region,” Ms Bowles said.

“I have met people and gone to places I would never have dreamed of – from having dinner in the dining room at Parliament House to meeting inspiring leaders from small communities who have such a passion to see their community shine and thrive.”

The program runs from February to November each year and involves a minimum of 20 days, each in a different part of the region. Field trips to Canberra and Melbourne add another valuable dimension to this unique experience.

For more details and application forms, visit www.cllm.org.au or phone co-ordinator Melinda Mann on 5483 7551 or email [email protected]

The Australian Dairy Conference’s Dairy Innovators’ Forum will be held this month on the Sunshine Coast.

This year’s event will run from February 25 to 27 at the Twin Waters resort.

Keynote speaker will be Calvin Moody. The Cornell University graduate co-founded Brooksco Dairy and developed it into three 2000-cow free-stall dairies in Georgia.

Other speakers include Dairy Farmer of the Year winner Grant Archer and finalists Errol and

Julie Gerber, along with Western Australia farmer and processor and former Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Sue Daubney and Nuffield scholar Paul Lambert.

Issues to be examined by industry experts include oil and gas exploration, mental health and succession planning.

Pre-and post-conference tours include visits to some of the most innovative dairy farms of the region, including the newly refurbished Gatton research facility.

For more information, phone 1800 177 636 or (08) 9525 9222.

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When Cohuna dairy farmers Colin and Jodie Hay decided to sow 14 ha of Olympiad corn this season, they made sure they got their groundwork right. The couple firmly believes in preparing the soil and looking after the crop in its early stages to ensure a good yield come harvest time.

The 2012 grain price, availability of water and the opportunity to lease a block close by were all factors in the family’s decision to grow a crop they hadn’t grown for 10 years.

“We normally have shaftal and rye or whole crop silage but the availability of water this season helped us choose the maize option,” Colin said.

“We are hoping to yield around 280 tonnes of dry matter or around 20 dry tonnes/ha, and if I can get it in the pit for around $150 to $170 then I’ll be happy.”

Before the crop was sown, 200 kg of urea/ha was deep-banded into the soil and the area was pre-watered. At sowing time 250 kg of DAP was put out with the seed, which

was sown at 94 000 seeds/ha. The crop was sprayed with a pre-emergent and when it was 45 cm high it was fertilised with 240 litres of liquid nitrogen (VAM)/ha over three waterings.

The crop was sown on November 9 by John Eade and they expect to harvest it in March.

Colin and Jodie have been feeding pit silage to their herd for about 10 years using a feed pad they built in 2000. The feed pad was constructed to help the couple make the transition to winter milking.

They use Chris Joualt from Rumenace to help balance their ration.

“Feeding silage provides us with a more even milk flow and better flexibility,” Colin said.

“We can balance the diet over summer better and we can increase fibre intake quickly if we have to. Supplementary feeding year-round helps us utilise our pastures better and we can make dietary changes quickly if we have to,” Jodie said.

“The climate and soil we have on our farm enable us to grow enormous amounts of autumn feed. Our soil is more conducive to annuals; we seem to battle with summer pasture.”

The Hays are unsure about the ideal number of cows for them to milk. They currently milk around 350 cows on 202 ha, but that number will increase come autumn.

“We just milk whatever feels right for the season. We did calve three times a year to increase our herd numbers after the drought, but we have now gone back to twice a year.”

groundwork gives Best CHanCe of good yield

Story and pictures: Sophie Bruns

Emily Hay indicates how high the maize has grown. UPCOMING TRAINING PROGRAMS – NCDEA

Manage Farm SafetyMoyhuFriday, March 15 and 22 10 am - 3 pmKyabramFriday, May 3 and 10 10 am - 3 pmNumurkahFriday, June 14 and 21 10 am - 3 pm

Cups On / Cups OffTatura DPI LockingtonMonday, February 4 and April 22 9.30 am - 2.30 pm Tuesday, February 5 and April 23 9.30 am - 12.30 pmKerang KatungaMonday, March 4 and May 6 9.30 am - 2.30 pm Tuesday, March 6 and May 7 9.30 am - 12.30 pm CorryongMonday, June 3 and 4 9.30 am -2.30 pm

Farm Chemical UpdateLockington CobramFriday, February 1 and April 19 9 am - 4 pm MilawaFriday, March 28 9 am to 3 pmTatura Pyramid HillFriday, May 24 and June 21 9 am - 4 pm

Farm Chemical Users CourseMilawa LockingtonWednesday, March 27 9 am - 4 pm Thursday, January 31 9 am to 4 pmThursday, March 28 9 am - 4 pm Friday, February 1 9 am to 4 pmCobramThursday, April 18 9 am – 4 pmFriday, April 19 9 am – 4 pmTatura Pyramid HillThursday, May 23 9 am – 4 pm Thursday, June 20 9 am – 4 pmFriday, May 24 and June 21 9 am – 4 pm

Quad Bike OperationsCorryong Rochester On-FarmMonday, February 18 and March 25 9 am - 4 pmPyramid Hill KatungaMonday, March 18 and April 15 9 am to 4 pm MoyhuMonday, May 20 9 am to 4 pm

Apply First AidThis course was known as ‘Level 2” First Aid.Corryong Community Education CentreDates to be advised

Calf Rearing WorkshopKiewa TaturaThursday, February 14 and 28 10 am to 3 pm Thursday, February 21 and March 7 10 am to 3 pm KerangThursday, March 14 and 21 10 am to 3 pm

People GPS- Employment workshop for Dairy FarmersMoyhuWednesday, February 13, 20 and 27Wednesday, March 6Venue: King Valley Learning centre, Moyhu.KyabramWednesday 6 March 6, 13, 20 and 27 10 am to 3 pmVenue: Kyabram Learning Centre

Note: Training programs may be cancelled if there are insufficient enrolmentsTo enrol or find out more information contact our Customer Service Team on1300 0NCDEA (1300 062 332) or 0447 379 565.

MURRAY DAIRYDate Program Time Location OrganiserFebruary 13 Transition Cow Management Workshop 10 am - 3 pm Bamawm Murray DairyFebruary 14 Focus Farm Field Day 11 am - 2.15 pm Tallangatta Murray DairyFebruary 19 Transition Cow Management Workshop 10 am - 3 pm Kergunyah Murray DairyFebruary 20 Transition Cow Management Workshop 10 am - 3 pm Cobram Murray DairyFebruary 21 Transition Cow Management Workshop 10 am - 3 pm Cohuna Murray DairyFebruary 22 Transition Cow Management Workshop 10 am - 3 pm Corryong Murray DairyFebruary 25 Transition Cow Management Workshop 10 am - 3 pm Milawa Murray DairyFebruary 25 Australian Dairy Conference Noosa Murray DairyMarch 4-8 Smarter Energy Use audits in the North East North East Murray DairyApril 30- May 2 Tasmanian YDN Research tour Tasmania Murray DairyMay 3 & 4 Deni Innovation Expo 9 am - 4.30 pm Deniliquin Murray DairyMay 28-30 Gippsland YDN Research tour Gippsland Murray DairyFor Murray Dairy inquiries contact Jeanette on 5833 5312 or email [email protected]

calendar of events

36 FEBRUARY 2013

Trace minerals essential for the immune function of dairy cows.

Customer Support: Tel 1800 009 847 www.virbac.com.au

Injection for Cattle

Keep your cows healthy and reduce infection with MULTIMIN®

Holstein cows treated with MulTiMin® injection for Cattle at dry off, 30 days before calving and 35 days in milk had:• Decreased somatic cell count over 300 days lactation (299 660 to 218 964)• Decreased incidence of subclinical and clinical mastitis • Decreased incidence of endometritis

MULTIMIN is a registered trademark of Warburton Technologies Ltd. Always read the label (APVMA No. 59628)

Multimin contains selenium, copper, zinc and manganese - Essential minerals for healthy cows.

Contact your local area sales manager today.

Source: Machado et al. (2012) Cornell University, USA

Somatic cell count of cows 2nd lactation or greater

Line

ar s

om

atic

cel

l sco

re

Incidence of mastitis and endometritis in Cornell study cows

Pro

po

rtio

n o

f co

ws

infe

cted

(%)

0

10

15

25

30

35

20

40

5

Subclinical Mastitis

ClinicalMastitis

Endometritis

Control

MULTIMIN

Control

MULTIMIN

Somatic cell count of cows 2nd lactation or greater

Line

ar s

om

atic

cel

l sco

re

Incidence of mastitis and endometritis in Cornell study cows

Pro

po

rtio

n o

f co

ws

infe

cted

(%)

0

10

15

25

30

35

20

40

5

Subclinical Mastitis

ClinicalMastitis

Endometritis

Control

MULTIMIN

Control

MULTIMIN

MULTIMIN used in this trial contained 20 mg/ml more zinc.

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Documents

Dairy Direct - February