The Northern
Dairyfarmer
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012
INSIDE
■ Northern
Situation and
Outlook released
PAGE 4
■ Trainers for new
education courses
trained
PAGE 9
QDO president Brian Tessmann, ADF president Chris
Griffin, adviser Dr Shane Broad, Federal Parliamentary
Secretary for Agriculture Sid Sidebottom and robotic
dairy owner Matthew Cahill.
Federal Parliamentary
Secretary for Agriculture,
Sid Sidebottom, catches up
with QDO vice-president
Ross McInnes and ADF
president Chris Griffin.
Milk war on the agenda
for politicians
KEY POINTS
■ Fed Ag Secretary
visits farms
■ Impact of $1/litre
milk explained
THE Queensland Dairyfarmers’
Organisation (QDO) recently
joined with Australian Dairy
Farmers (ADF) to give Federal
Parliamentary Secretary for
Agriculture Sid Sidebottom a
first-hand look at the Queensland
dairy industry. Mr Sidebottom
saw two dairy farms near
Beaudesert and the Parmalat factory in Brisbane.
Mr Sidebottom has responsibility for dairy issues in the government and QDO feels that it is
important for elected leaders to
visit dairy farms and hear directly from farmers on the issue that
face them.
The key purpose of the visit
was to help Mr Sidebottom, and
his staff, understand the issues
facing the dairy industry due to
the pricing of milk at $1 per litre
by the major retailers.
QDO explained the financial
situation for dairyfarmers and
made the point to Mr Sidebottom
that milk priced at $1 per litre is
devaluing milk as a product itself
and taking a substantial amount
of money out of the dairy value
chain right across Australia.
QDO and ADF will continue
to lobby politicians from across
the political spectrum and put
dairyfarmers’ issues forcefully
with the backing of strong evidence.
Mr Sidebottom had also been
to Western Australia recently and
understood the situation for
dairyfarmers there was not good
due to milk priced at $1 per litre.
■ Summer Feed
Conversion
Efficiency results
PAGE 16
■ Project looks at
milking irrigation
profits
PAGE 19
CONFERENCE
The date for the QDO
State conference has
been set for September
25 and 26 at Gatton.
Full details are provided
in the Conference
insert. For more
information phone
QDO on (07) 3236
2955 and QDO looks
forward to catching up
with you there.
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Coping with tough times
AS THE new financial year starts, all of us are faced with increased costs and the reality of
reduced milk income, and we need to look for new and innovative tactics to tackle the year
ahead. There will be many hard decisions taken by most dairyfarmers during the coming
months and years, but this is where your business management skills and planning must come
to the fore. The long-term effects of these decisions must be taken into account when looking
at all aspects of your business from a number of angles, whether it is financial or personal.
Coming together with other dairyfarmers in similar circumstances to discuss a range of
options, supported by some experienced professionals, is often useful in “clearing the air”
around the way forward. We, together with Dairy Australia and other industry partners,
including both Queensland and NSW departments as well as farmer organisations, are keen
to support such groups in suitable and practical ways, during these tough times. We are
hopeful of accessing some additional funding to support this concept, as well as a one-onone referral system, or in fact, any other ideas that may be generated through our regional
group network to assist dairyfarmers in making the best decision possible for each of them,
given their individual circumstance.
The board and management of Subtropical Dairy welcomes any thoughts
and ideas as to how, from a development or extension perspective, we can
assist and support you, our levy-paying dairyfarmers, to forge a profitable
and sustainable future for you and your family in the northern dairy industry.
If you are interested in participating in these groups or have any thoughts or
ideas or alternatives as to how we can invest
funds to meet your needs during these
Ross McInnes
tough times please contact either me or
Chair
our executive officer, Neale Price.
Subtropical Dairy
Supermarkets out of touch
MEDIA reports that supermarket giant Woolworths was pressuring suppliers to cut their prices to
help Woolworths in its battle with its gigantic competitor Coles are most concerning.
The reports said some suppliers had been given just two weeks to deliver cost savings of 10%
or more, or if they were unable to deliver such cost saving then they would face the prospect of
having their products removed from Woolworths’s stores.
These actions would seem to ignore the fact that currently most product supply chains, including the dairy supply chain, are already facing impacts from the Federal Government’s carbon tax
and any more downward pressure on price could be devastating to many industries.
The situation for the domestic dairy industry is even more troubling, as it has already been
impacted by the ongoing supermarket milk price war, and contracts are currently being negotiated for the supply of store brand milk in a number of regions, including Queensland.
As anybody who is interested would know, the Queensland dairy industry has suffered severely from both natural and man-made disasters both in the past decade and particularly the past 18
months.
Since January 2011 we have seen more than 40 dairyfarming families leave the Queensland
dairy industry during a period when the State has often been short of milk, with it having to be
shipped considerable distances from interstate at considerably increased cost to locally sourced
milk.
Is this what Coles and Woolworths as well as the Federal Government want to see happen?
Is this how they believe a market should work? Is this giving a fair go to all Australians? Is this
building and securing a local food supply for Queenslanders and Australians well into the future?
During the recent State election the Liberal National Party (LNP) promised an aim of doubling
Queensland’s food supply by 2040 and stated agriculture was one of four major pillars on which
the Queensland economy stood.
This downward pressure on local food and dairy prices should also then be a major concern to
the State Government as these actions seem to be shattering the pillars on which
the State’s economy stands.
It will cost the State Government little if Australia introduced a supermarket
code of conduct with an ombudsman overseeing it but the whole State and
country would benefit from a fairer and more transparent market and value
chain. These recent media reports when added to the dairy industry damage
obvious to everyone from the supermarket $1 milk campaign will only add to
the pressure that has already
Brian Tessmann
seen so many good, young and
President
Queensland Dairyfarmers’ efficient dairyfarmers leave the
Organisation
Queensland dairy industry.
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
3
The Northern
Dairyfarmer
The Northern Dairyfarmer magazine is a
joint industry owned and operated
publication targeted at delivering the latest
research and development information and
industry news to dairyfarmers and industry
stakeholders of the northern dairy
industry.The Northern Dairyfarmer is
published on about the 13th of every
second month in February, April, June,
August, October and December.
Editorial
Editors: Carlene and Alastair Dowie
PO Box 59, Carisbrook,Vic, 3464
Email: <[email protected]>
Phone/fax: (03) 5464 1542
Mobile: 0418 553 282
Advertising
Advertising manager: Peter Roach
PO Box 2544, Gladstone Park,Vic, 3043
Email: <[email protected]>
Phone: (03) 9344 9906
Fax: (03) 9338 1044
Mobile: 0417 371 364
Queensland Dairyfarmers’
Organisation Ltd
Adrian Peake, Executive Officer
PO Box 13061, George Street Post Shop,
Brisbane, Qld, 4003
Phone: (07) 3236 2955
Fax: (07) 3236 2956
Email: <[email protected]>
Subtropical Dairy
Neale Price, Executive Officer
Phone: (07) 3396 6229
Mobile: 0400 022 843
Fax: (07) 3396 6628
Email: <[email protected]>
Mailing and distribution
The Northern Dairyfarmer is distributed to
dairyfarmers throughout Queensland and
northern NSW. If you are a dairyfarmer and
are not receiving a copy, contact:
Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation
PO Box 13061, George Street Post Shop,
Brisbane, Qld, 4003
Phone: (07) 3236 2955
Fax: (07) 3236 2956
Email: <[email protected]>
Copyright
All material in The Northern Dairyfarmer is
copyright. Reproduction in whole or part is
not permitted without written permission
of the publisher.
Editorial contributions
Editorial contributions are welcome, but no
responsibility can be taken for their loss.
Copy is preferred by email in Word or textonly format with pictures and graphics as
300dpi JPGs. Deadline is two months before
publication.
Printing
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Published by:
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ABN 55 000 560 430
ISSN 1833-8887
August/September 2012
4
SITUATION AND OUTLOOK
Dairy industry hears key challenges
MORE than 100 dairyfarmers
and industry representatives
gathered in Brisbane in June to
hear the key issues that will
impact Queensland’s milk industry in the years ahead.
Meeting at the annual northern industry Situation and
Outlook breakfast, the crowd
heard that farm confidence had
taken a severe hit as a result of
cuts to farm-gate prices and the
ongoing impacts of the milk
price war.
Queensland Dairyfarmers’
Organisation (QDO) president
Brian Tessmann told the audience that with recent price cuts
many Queensland farmers would
FAR LEFT: QDO president
Brian Tessmann presenting
at the industry breakfast.
LEFT: QDO chief executive
officer Adrian Peake
answers questions during
the panel sessions.
make a loss this year. “Since the
supermarket price war started,
Queensland has lost over 40
dairyfarmers. This needs to
stop,” Mr Tessmann said.
QDO has called on the
Mal Maroske, Dairy Farmers Milk Cooperative, with Daniel Dickenson,
Lion, and Darling Downs dairyfarmer Jeff Ballon.
Federal president of the Dairy Industry
Association of Australia, Chris Rolls, with
immediate past president Chris Oxenford,
Gold Coast.
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
Federal Government to act,
which would include the introduction of an ombudsman to
tackle unfair practices in the
value chain, and a code of conduct. The Northern Dairyfarmer
was there to photograph some of
the crowd.
Chris Devine, Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry Queensland, with
Amanda Tooth, Parmalat.
Chris Phillips, Dairy Australia, Melbourne, with QDO State councillor Wes
Judd, Millmerran, Qld, and QDO president Brian Tessmann, Kingaroy, Qld.
August/September 2012
SITUATION AND OUTLOOK
Jeff Collingwood, Norco, with QDO State councillors Elke
Watson and Bill Gulbransen.
5
South-east Queensland dairyfarmers Duncan and Mary
McInnes catch up with Member for Wright, Scott
Buchholz.
Survey and reports highlight
challenges for Qld dairy
By Brian Tessmann,
QDO president
THE Dairy Australia Situation
and Outlook (S&O) report and
northern dairy industry survey
results offer informative and
concerning reading for everyone who has an interest or
investment in the Queensland
dairy industry.
The reports were delivered at
a service provider breakfast at
the Brisbane Convention and
Exhibition Centre and paint a
picture of an industry lacking
confidence after being battered
by natural and man-made disasters.
This is despite the northern
industry having several positives in its favour, including a
growing local consumer base.
Nation-wide there is significant regional variation in operating conditions between producers supplying the domestic
market in States such as
Queensland and southern producers, who predominantly supply the export market.
Currently, though, this
export market is starting to
show signs of some weakness
and producers in southern
Australia may be looking at
some reduction on their recent
good prices.
For suppliers to the domestic
milk market, this by rights
should have no impact as
domestic prices have been
weakening for more than 18
months now even though export
prices were rising and some
regions were short of milk in
2011 and autumn this year.
It would seem illogical if
domestic prices were adversely
affected but there seems to be a
current mentality in the domestic milk market of dropping
domestic farm-gate prices no
matter the market signals. As
we all know, the excuse given
for some of the recent price
reductions that Queensland
dairyfarmers have endured was
that feed costs have reduced and
so milk was cheaper to produce.
If this is so, why did the
farm-gate milk price not
increase in 2002 or 2006 when
feed prices skyrocketed?
Overall, though, the world
market is still strong with solid
demand internationally for
dairy products.
Domestically, the picture is
different with continuing vigor-
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
ous retail competition and pressure on retail prices. There generally has been low growth in
volumes while there has also
been downward pressure on the
retail value of milk, as the
major supermarkets continue to
use fresh milk as a discount
advertising agent to compete
for customers, while also growing the market share of their
own store-branded products.
Processors have seen their margins cut and now we are seeing
farm prices cut further.
The dairy industry survey
results also make for sombre
reading as the number of farmers who are looking to exit in
the next three years has
increased considerably since
the last survey. The majority of
farmers do not have anyone to
leave the business operation to
if they personally had to cease
dairying.
Of greater concern is the
finding that the outcome in the
past few years has been considerably worse than the previously announced surveys and S&O
forecasts. If this trend continues, then these predictions in
eventual reality may be overly
optimistic.
Lay this outlook against the
need to grow milk production
by more than 110 million litres
in the next decade to meet the
needs of a growing Queensland
population. For this to occur
additional investment on-farm
will be required and to see this
happen, farmers need a commercial return on that investment, which the current environment is not providing.
These findings show the
northern industry is in need of
some decisive pricing stimulus
as well as continuing good season if we are to see any lasting
restoration of production levels.
The
Queensland
Dairyfarmers’ Organisation has
for some time pointed out that
the domestic market does not
respond satisfactorily to supply
and demand pressure and so in
the face of this market failure
the whole milk supply chain
needs to be encompassed by a
mandatory code of conduct to
ensure fairness in the value
chain right down to farm gate.
If nothing else, this S&O
report needs to be taken seriously by all sectors whether
farmers, processors, retailers or
government.
August/September 2012
6
SITUATION AND OUTLOOK
Central Queensland State councillor
Ben Fredrickson, Eungella, Qld, chats
with Iain Hannah, Parmalat.
Dayboro, Qld, district dairyfarmers
Greg and Jenny Easlea, QDO district
councillor.
Carlo Abbate and Geoff Evans, Ecolab.
National survey highlights
the toll of milk war
KEY POINTS
■ National survey
reveals impact of
milk price war
■ Only 30% of
farmers planning
capital investment
■ Only 43% Qld
farmers positive
about future
By Brian Tessmann,
QDO president
THE recently released Dairy
Australia National Dairy Farmer
Survey (NDFS) clearly shows
that while Queensland’s dairyfarmers are trying hard to recover from the devastating weather
of recent years, including last
year’s floods and Cyclone Yasi,
they are being hammered by the
continuing impacts of the supermarket milk price war.
To gather information for
this year’s NDFS, Dairy
Australia examined the attitudes
and intentions of 1002 dairyfarmers Australia-wide during
February and broke that data
down into the dairying regions
to give information directly
relating to the nation’s northern
dairying regions.
In this year’s survey 69% of
respondents in this State said
they were in a steady phase, with
24% saying they were unable to
expand their business at present.
About half of the surveyed
farmers said that their herd’s
production in 2011-12 was
higher than in 2010-11 with an
average of 1.1 million litres
being produced per herd, which
is a reflection of their attempts
to recover from the aforementioned natural disasters.
This industry consolidation
is also reflected in the survey
findings that only 30% of the
farmers were planning any capital investment this year compared with 51% in last year’s
survey.
This may in part also be
related to the flood-related
repairs that required additional
spending last year and lower
farm-gate prices this year.
The results of the survey further showed that while only
11% of dairyfarmers were
expanding there were another
11% that were winding down
and a further 6% expected to
leave the industry in the next
three years.
The report also showed only
43% of the State’s dairyfarmers
were positive about the future
down from 48% last year and
much lower than the national
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
figure that showed 66% of
Australia’s dairyfarmers were
positive about the future.
“As a result we are seeing a
continued loss of farmers in
Queensland even though the
outlook for fresh milk supply
and demand is finely balanced,”
the report said.
“Aggressive retail competition and its subsequent impacts
on returns to processors and to
farm-gate prices continued to be
a key reason behind the region’s
negative outlook.”
This report clearly shows the
impacts of the Coles-led milk
price discounting is having a
real and severe impact on farmers in the regions that supply the
domestic market, contrary to
claims by supermarkets and former officials of the Australian
Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC).
Further it shows government
at both State and Federal levels
should be increasingly concerned about the issue damaging
the ability for consumers living
in many parts of Australia to
have a choice of products and
even to be able to access fresh
milk in the future.
While Queensland’s farmers
have been struggling with this
market imbalance in recent
years, the export market has
been booming with good returns
being received for exported
product.
Even so during the past couple of weeks we have seen job
cuts announced by large exporting companies in southern
Australia.
The main reason for these
cuts has been the reduced volumes of milk being produced in
the south to then go through
these manufacturing plants.
Surely the last thing the
Australian economy needs is
even more of this milk being
diverted away from these
export plants toward a long and
costly road journey to supply
domestic production shortfalls
in regions such as Queensland
and which we have already
seen with milk being trucked
across the Nullarbor to Western
Australia.
Surely Australia can govern
itself better than that.
The current scenario makes
little sense when we need to
produce much more fresh milk
in the next 10 years to meet the
needs of a growing population,
but to do that dairyfarmers need
a farm-gate price that is sustainable and gives them the
ability to invest in their farms
to increase that fresh milk production.
August/September 2012
NEWS
7
Permeate move a positive step
By Brian Tessmann,
QDO president
PARMALAT and Lion’s decision to label a range of their
branded milks ‘permeate free’ is
a clear indication of the intention
of
milk
processors
in
Queensland to give consumers
great quality milk.
On June 24 the Brisbanebased milk and dairy processor
Parmalat announced it would sell
a range of its branded milks as
permeate-free and this was followed the next day by the nationwide milk processor Lion, which
said in response to consumer
feedback it too would be selling
its Queensland-produced branded milks labelled as permeatefree.
Permeate has come under the
spotlight in recent times including investigations into its use in
some fresh milk by current
affairs TV programs.
A number of medium and
smaller processors, including
Norco, have previously publicly
stated that they do not use permeate.
As many people know, the
collective term permeate is used
for the substance that is made up
of the milk-sugar (lactose), water
and vitamins and minerals that is
derived from a number of ultrafiltration processes in dairy processing, and it is a valuable part
of fresh milk.
The addition of permeate to
fresh milk is one way of standardising the protein and fat content
of milk to a constant compositional value throughout the year.
As milk is a natural fresh food
that comes straight from the cow,
the composition of milk can vary
because of differences in farms
and breeds, as well as differences
caused by regional and seasonal
variations.
Processors review the composition of milk when it is delivered to them and may standardise the components in the milk to
ensure consumers know they will
get the same quality milk every
time they buy the product.
While it is great to see the
major milk processors reacting
positively to consumer needs and
demands by eliminating permeate from their brands, we realise
there may be some changes to
processor margins as permeate
has been externally sourced by
some at a cheaper price than
whole milk. It would now need
to be replaced in the total milk
volume by full-priced fresh milk.
At the same time, the total
fresh milk requirement at farm
gate should increase, and as such
farm tier one allocations should
increase in the near future, particularly when the loss of dairyfarmers during the past year and
the increasing sale of next year’s
milk production through the sale
of heifers to the export market
are taken into account.
The real gain here is that con-
The question regarding the removal of Permeate is: how
will the consumer respond? Will they buy milk on quality?
Or will they continue to be mesmerised by the mighty
dollar and gimmick advertising tricks, that is the one
dollar generic milk.
sumers who are regularly seeking fresh foods with less processing are getting the fresh branded
milk they desire and the quality
they expect.
The question now is how will
the consumer respond to these
moves by the dairy processing
industry. Will they buy milk on
quality? Or will they continue to
be mesmerised by the mighty
dollar and gimmick advertising
tricks, that is the one dollar
generic milk.
giving Harvey Fresh a 3.3 cents
per litre increase.
It is an admission by Coles
that their ‘down, down’ campaign is having an impact on suppliers in the Australian domestic
market. Coles also needs to publicly acknowledge that by reducing the price of milk to $1 per
litre on their home-brand milk
they made a mistake and set
prices that are unsustainable.
QDO has been continuing to
lobby on this issue in
Queensland and nationally,
including to politicians across
governments and parties, and
the rest of the milk value chain.
The WA example is another
indication of the need for urgent
action in Queensland, where
prices have deteriorated to
unsustainable levels since the
milk war began.
QDO is continuing to lobby
government on this issue for it
to implement its recommendations for a resolution, including
an ombudsman and mandatory
code of conduct covering the
whole value chain from dairyfarmers through to retailers.
Coles acts on milk prices in WA
COLES has passed on an
increase in milk prices to
Harvey Fresh in Western
Australia. By doing so, industry
strongly views this as yet another indication Coles is acknowledging that its pricing of fresh
milk is unsustainable. The
increase of 3.3 cents per litre to
processor Harvey Fresh is the
second in WA since Coles
dropped the price of milk to $1
per litre on Australia Day last
year.
Australian Dairy Farmers
(ADF) and the Queensland
Dairyfarmers’
Organisation
(QDO) have now called for
Coles to pass on similar price
increases to other processors so
these can flow through to farming families. Clearly dairyfarmers
in WA are doing it tough but
they are certainly not alone. Milk
priced at the unsustainable level
of $1 per litre is also hurting
farmers
in
Queensland,
Northern NSW and to a lesser
extent South Australia.
The key point is that Coles
prices for milk are unsustainable
and Coles has proven this by
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
August/September 2012
8
SUBTROPICAL DAIRY NEWS
New dairy trainers being trained
KEY POINTS
■ New trainers for
dairy industry
being trained
■ Part of establishing
National Centre
for Dairy
Education
Australia in Qld
■ Further course may
be offered
SUBTROPICAL Dairy, managing the education and training
portfolio on behalf of the northern dairy industry, has invested
funds in industry people undertaking a Certificate IV in
Training and Assessment.
There are 24 people undertaking this training in both Far
North Queensland (FNQ) and
South East Queensland (SEQ).
These funds have been made
available
through
Skills
Queensland and Subtropical
Dairy, as well as each participant.
All attendees have committed their time to the eight days
of training as well as making a
financial contribution to the
project. This is an investment in
the future of the dairy industry
ABOVE: New dairy trainers at the
workshops.
RIGHT: Colin Lawson "training" his other
students on pivot points of quad bikes as
part of the assessment of his training skills.
as with this qualification they
are able to support the National
Centre for Dairy Education
Australia partners to deliver
much-needed training, on the
ground, through the Vocational
and Education Training sector.
FNQ trainer Kasey Rudd,
from NQ Powertrain, said: “I
am really honoured I was able
to train a fantastic group of people step up their skills and
expertise to a new level.”
An indication of the commitment of students to their assess-
ments is shown in the photo of
Colin Lawson “training” his
other students on pivot points of
quad bikes, with a practical
demonstration, as part of the
assessment for the Certificate
IV in Training and Assessment
qualification.
The group in SEQ selected
4UPskilling as the training
organisation with the initial
four days of training being
jointly delivered by Barb
Bishop and Robyn Richards at
Riverglenn Conference Centre
at Indooroopilly, Qld. The second four-day session will be
held during the first week of
August with a webinar session
to cover the intricacies of elearning to be held in mid-July.
There has been interest in a
potential third course to be held
later this year. Anyone who is
interested
should
contact
Subtropical Dairy executive
officer Neale Price, phone (07)
3396 6229, mobile 0400 022
843 or email <neale@dairy
info.biz>.
Workshops provide IR update
AN industrial relations lawyer
from South Australia, Jennifer
Corkhill, conducted four workshops across the Subtropical
Dairy (SD) region in early June
relating to the employment and
management of staff on a dairy
property.
She provided a full-day presentation of information relating
to the dairy industry and employer obligations regarding the management of staff on farms with
an extensive PowerPoint presentation, which was provided to all
participants as a reference document. The handout also included
copies of the Small Business
Dismissal Code and a template
copy of an Individual Flexibility
Agreement.
Ms Corkhill made constant
reference to Dairy Australia’s
The People in Dairy (TPiD)
website <www.thepeopleindairy.
org.au> and the extensive
resources that exist as a result of
this project. An internet connection allowed her to demonstrate
where to go when looking for
particular topics.
Ms Corkhill also provided
one-on-one individual session to
farmers at the conclusion of the
presentation. These had been
arranged before the workshop.
She was very open to questions throughout the presentation
and maintained a high level of
interactivity with the audience,
answering concerns and adjusting the presentation based on the
needs of the farmers.
The evaluations reflected the
importance of this topic to all
those attending these workshops
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
Participants in one of four industrial relations workshops
held in Queensland in June.
with comments such as “the presenter was easily understandable
and gave very good valid examples of each scenario” and
“Jennifer talked at our level and
great dairy examples, and obviously a fantastic professional
woman”.
The workshops were partially
funded by Subtropical Dairy and
the Young Dairy Network utilising funds from the Department
of
Families,
Housing,
Community
Services
and
Indigenous Affair’s Community
Investment Program.
August/September 2012
SUBTROPICAL DAIRY NEWS
9
Subtropical industry
strategic plan developed
KEY POINTS
■ Strategic plan
developed for
subtropical dairy
region
■ Six priorities
identified
■ Funding to be
based on these
SINCE August 2011 the board of
Subtropical Dairy (SD) has been
working on the northern industry
strategic plan for the next five
years. Initially this process, facilitated by Mark Butz, was a collaboration with a group of industry
representatives and organisations
including Dairy Australia, NSW
and Queensland state departments,
processors and dairyfarmers.
This strategic plan aligns
with both the Dairy Australia
Strategic Plan and the Northern
Dairy Industry Strategic Plan.
The subsequent versions and
iterations of the content of the
strategic plan have been
reviewed and ratified by the
attendees at SD’s annual general
meeting on the Gold Coast last
October, dairyfarmers at a range
of industry events in the past 12
months and the Queensland
Dairyfarmers’
Organisation
(QDO) State Council.
There are six strategic priorities: natural resource management, human resources, animal
health and welfare, business
management, feed systems management and communications.
Tactically these are broken down
into two separate but linked
focus areas of technical and
management and communication. From an operational perspective the key areas in which
SD will operate are improved
profitability, education and
extension, learning culture,
engaged and effective regional
groups and enhanced communication.
This strategic plan is a living
and breathing document, which
will be reviewed at each board
meeting with all funding applications considered in light of the
priority activities identified in
the document. Copies of the document on a single coloured A3
page should be available shortly.
Anyone who would like a
copy should contact SD executive
officer, Neale Price, phone (07)
3396 6229, mobile 0400 022 843
or email <[email protected]>.
Research dollar boost for Subtropical Dairy
DAIRYFARMERS and the
industry across far north and
south-east Queensland and
northern NSW are set to benefit
from extra Dairy Australia funding for research, development
and extension activities targeting
local needs.
Regional
Development
Program (RDP) Subtropical
Dairy (SD) will receive a share
of Dairy Australia’s 10%
increase in funding for its eight
RDPs across Australia’s dairy
regions. The extra funding will
give the RDPs more room to run
projects and initiatives that
address specific local issues.
While the funding is yet to be
earmarked for particular projects, Subtropical Dairy chair
Ross McInnes said the funding
increase would give SD the ability to be more responsive to the
needs of the region’s farmers.
“This will mean we can go that
little bit further to maximise the
money we have to provide our
farmers with what they need and
want in a timely and relevant
manner,” Mr McInnes said.
“Price is a big issue for our
farmers so we will deliver programs to help them be more
effective and efficient in a low
price economy. There’s also an
issue with mastitis and high cell
counts so we will introduce the
Cups On-Cups Off workshops,
which have been successful in
southern States because it is
something we can do on-farm to
help put more money in farmers’
pockets.”
Dairy Australia managing
director Ian Halliday said the
RDPs were integral to Dairy
Australia’s success in ensuring
the needs of farmers in each of
the regions are met effectively.
The funding increase will
take effect on July 1.
Dairy Australia’s level of
investment in each RDP is determined by the region’s annual
milk production.
Dr Phil Chamberlain (vet and
consultant).
Leading up to the AGM, SDP
is seeking nominations from
farmers and/or industry people
for up to four board positions.
The board positions are for
three years and SDP is seeking
expressions of interest from
potential candidates to submit
applications for board positions
through its selection panel
process.
The key skills being sought
are experience, expertise and
interest in the areas of natural
resource management, education and training, financial governance and business manage-
ment. Applicants should also
have a keen interest in dairy
research and development,
especially as it relates to small
projects within the SDP region
and be able to commit time and
effort in guiding the future direction of RDE&E in the northern
dairy region.
Contact: Executive officer,
Neale Price, email <neale@
dairyinfo.biz>, mobile 0400 022
843 or phone (07) 3396 6229 to
request the application form
template and information pack.
Applications must be lodged
with the executive officer by
close of business Friday, August
17.
Nominations sought for SD board
SUBTROPICAL
Dairy
Programme Ltd (SDP) is a company limited by guarantee and is
governed by an elected skillsbased board. SDP is Dairy
Australia’s contracted Regional
Development Program (RDP)
body for the northern dairy
industry.
SDP delivers research, development, extension and education (RDE&E) outcomes for
northern dairyfarmers by leveraging funds from external
sources by at least 3:1 against
the core funding provided by
Dairy Australia.
The board consists of six to
nine members, the majority of
whom must be dairyfarmers.
At SDP’s annual general
meeting (AGM), to be held from
October 16 to 18 in Coffs
Harbour, NSW, three board
members must stand down, in
accordance with the SDP constitution. These three board
members are eligible to seek reelection through the same selection process as new candidates,
if they so desire.
The remaining board members are Ross McInnes (dairyfarmer, Harrisville, Qld), Ian
Hollindale (Parmalat), Lyn
O’Connor
(dairyfarmer,
Ravenshoe, Qld), Paul Judge
(dairyfarmer, Casino, NSW) and
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
August/September 2012
10
NEWS
Teaching kids about dairy
MORE than 1300 students,
teachers from 25 schools, parents
and rural industry representatives
turned out at Expo Place at the
RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane,
recently as part of the 2012 Rural
Discovery Day.
Some 34 presentations were
held, demonstrating to primary
school students, years Prep to 4,
what their industry is all about and
provided students with the unique
chance
to
learn
about
Queensland’s agricultural industry.
The Nambour State High
School Dairy Program with a
team of cows and calves informed
the kids with live displays of cows
milking and a chance to try hand
milking themselves.
The children were provided
with educational information
handouts provided by Dairy
Australia and as in previous
years Lion, Parmalat and Norco
once again generously supported
the day and the dairy display.
This was combined with presentations from dairyfarmers Jenny
Easlea and Rowena Crouch.
The day gave the children a
hands-on experience and information on the role of farmers and
the source of their food and fibre.
Even though the students are
young, they will start to think
about their careers shortly and
this will be an avenue to encourage them to consider agriculture
as a career choice for the future.
Dayboro, Qld, dairyfarmer and QDO councillor Jenny
Easlea teaches dairy industry 101 to school students at
Rural Discovery Day.
The Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation (QDO)
thanks Lion, Parmalat, Norco,
Dairy Australia, Sam, Greg and
the Nambour State High School
dairy team, Jenny Easlea and
Rowena Crouch for their support
for the day.
New state and district councillors take their seats
JULY 1 saw the changeover of
Queensland
Dairyfarmers’
Organisation (QDO) council
positions following the nomination process earlier this year.
The full list of District and State
Councillors is as follows:
Northern District Council:
Glen Drury, James Geraghty,
Tom Hamilton, Robert Kelso
and
Des
Trevor. Wide
Bay/Burnett
and
Central
District Council: Burnett Zone
– Bevin Black and Brian
Tessmann, Central Zone –
Aaron Clews, Ben Fredrickson
and Graham McInnes, Wide Bay
Zone – Elke Watson.
Darling Downs District
Council: Jeff Ballon, Scott
Christensen, Wes Judd, Chris
Kunde, John Saville and Grant
Wieck.
South East District Council:
Joe Bradley, Jenny Easlea, Bill
Gulbransen, Ross McInnes, Paul
Roderick, Craig Sellars, Craig
Teese and Paul Teese.
QDO
State
Council:
Northern District Council –
James
Geraghty,
Wide
Bay/Burnett
and
Central
District Council – Ben
Fredrickson, Brian Tessmann and
Elke Watson, Darling Downs
District Council – Wes Judd and
John Saville, South East District
Council – Bill Gulbransen and
Ross McInnes.
The QDO congratulate the
new and returning councillors
and wish them well for the next
three years and offer thanks to
the following councillors who
are stepping down for their
untiring service to the organisa-
The QDO State Council at the Situation and Outlook
breakfast in June: (back row) Ben Fredrickson, John Saville,
Ross McInnes, James Geraghty,Wes Judd, (front row) Bill
Gulbransen, Elke Watson and Brian Tessmann.
tion and the Queensland dairy
industry: Lyn O’Connor, Gavin
Doull, Peter Cavanagh, Ron
Rosenberger, Donna Fitch, Ray
Clews and to Jenny Easlea who
has stepped down from her
State Council and executive
roles but remains a district
councillor for the South East
district.
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To see if our Dairypol insurance is right for you, always read the PDS from the product
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THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
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August/September 2012
NEWS
Wage case
decision
announced
FAIR Work Australia has
announced the results of its determination of the National Wage
Case review. The decision
announced will see the minimum
wage increase by an amount of
2.9% effective from July 1.This
also applies to minimum wages
for juniors, trainees and apprentices, employees with a disability
and to piece rates. The new
national minimum wage will be
$606.40 per week or $15.96 per
hour.
For further information on the
impacts of the awards or the new
rates of pay, Queensland
Dairyfarmers’
Organisaton
(QDO) financial members are
able to access the Employer
Assistance Hotline operated in
conjunction with the Chamber of
Commerce
and
Industry
Queensland by calling 1300 135
822 and quoting their QDO
membership number.
Wet tropics water
resource plan
progress
QDO and Queensland Farmers
Federation (QFF) met with representatives from the Department of
Natural Resources and Mines at
Cairns recently to discuss
progress with the preparation of
the Wet Tropics Water Resource
Plan.
The meeting focused particularly on how the plan is likely to
affect entitlements to water in the
upper Herbert and Johnstone
River catchments. There was also
discussion of the water supply
needs of dairy farms taking into
account the needs for stock as
well as irrigation requirements.
Officers fight ticks,
weeds, wild dogs
THE State Government has
announced 15 new officers will
start working to help producers in
their fight against ticks, weeds
and feral pests, particularly wild
dogs.
The Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
John McVeigh said it was part of a
promise to revitalise frontline services in the stand-alone department.
QDO
welcomes
this
announcement of new biosecurity officers. QDO also notes that
all government departments,
including DAFF, are in a phase of
considerable cost-cutting, including staff reductions.
QDO will be watching closely
to ensure that this does not
impact upon services on offer to
all aspects of the dairy industry,
and that DAFF remains fully
resourced and equipped to tackle
challenges facing the industry.
Meanwhile, Mr McVeigh also
announced that University of
Queensland
Agribusiness
Professor Dr Beth Woods is the
new deputy director-general.
Together with Director-General
Jack Noye, Dr Woods will help
drive research and development
along with extension and education in the department.
Carbon farming
funding
THE Australian dairy industry
has received more than $5 million from the Australian
Government Carbon Farming
futures fund to investigate ways
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase production
efficiencies on dairy farms.
Six dairy-focused research
projects have been funded as part
of the first round of the
Australian Government’s Filling
the Research Gap and Action on
the Ground grants.
The approved dairy projects
will run for three years and focus
on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions including nitrous oxide
produced by nitrogen fertilisers
used on farms and methane produced from livestock.
Report highlights
reef management
UNESCO and the International
Union for the Conservation of
Nature have released a report into
11
the state of conservation of the
Great Barrier Reef. The report
summarises the findings and recommendations from a combined
reactive monitoring mission to
the Reef, from March 6 to 14, and
makes recommendations for the
World Heritage Committee.
The State of Conservation
report also made some recommendations for the strategic
assessment of the Great Barrier
Reef being undertaken by the
Australian and Queensland governments.
UNESCO said the “in danger’’ status could be applied if
the Federal Government did not
give the World Heritage
Committee evidence of substantial progress before February 1
next year.
QDO along with other peak
industry groups in the region continues to work with the Australian
Government on the rollout of the
Reef Rescue program, currently
funded until 2013.
The current five-year agreement between State and
Commonwealth Governments on
the management of the Great
Barrier Reef, known as Reef
Plan, comes to an end next year.
The findings of this report
will no doubt focus the efforts on
determining what new arrangements will be put in place, particularly with respect to financial
resources.
Leadership graduates the next driving force for dairy industry
TEN emerging senior dairy
leaders graduated from the
inaugural Daring to Change
leadership development program in Melbourne, at a function
attended by the Victorian
Minister for Agriculture Peter
Walsh, and dairy industry
guests.
The participants made a
dynamic presentation on their
vision for ‘An Australian Dairy
Industry that is Connected,
Trusted and Valued’. They challenged guests with a call to
action on key strategic issues
for the dairy industry including
reconnecting with consumers
through technology, cultivating
greater skills development and
optimising dairy’s systems,
structures and processes.
Daring to Change brought
together 10 people with a passion for dairy, from across three
states and diverse parts of the
dairy value chain. Responding to
a need identified in the Australian
Dairy Industry Council’s blueprint for leadership, the program
supports these state and regional leaders to step up to more
senior leadership roles on the
national stage. Funded by the
Gardiner Foundation, the program design was driven by industry stakeholder consultation, and
was delivered in three sessions
by Rob Patrick of Farming Minds
and Leith Boully of @The
Crossroads, with support from
Colin Hendrie of Outback
Initiatives and consultant Lisa
Wilson.
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
QDO State Councillor James Geraghty (FNQ) (centre)
receives his certificate from chairman of the Gardiner
Foundation Mike Taylor, AO, (left) and Victoria's Minister
for Agriculture, Peter Walsh (right).
August/September 2012
NDF1144621
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
August/September 2012
FARM SAFETY
13
Work injury can pose
many costs for dairy farms
Providing a
safe work
environment
is essential on
dairy farms.
KEY POINTS
■ New laws require
farmers to provide
a safe workplace
■ Applies to
contractors and
volunteers working
on farm
■ People in Dairy
website has tools
and checklists to
help
ANY injury on a farm comes at a
direct cost to the person involved
and the business, while the fines
are additional costs.
Dairy Australia’s Dr Pauline
Brightling, who manages The
People in Dairy program, said
workplace fatalities and serious
injuries associated with machinery use received a lot of media
coverage, but manual handling
injury was the biggest source of
claims associated with farm
workplace health and safety.
Manual handling claims tend
to be associated with repetitive
work resulting in muscle or back
injury.
“These injuries often involve
extended time off work,” Dr
Brightling said. “In addition to
the personal injury, it is inconvenient and costly to the employer. Prevention is a far better
approach.
“There is an emerging trend
towards increases in manual handling injuries on dairy farms, particularly at large operations
where workers may spend longer
periods on repetitive tasks in the
milking shed; for example cup
attachment.”
Under new, nationally uniform legislation being introduced
from this year, workers and others at the workplace have a duty
to take care of their own safety
and to ensure their activities do
not affect the health and safety of
others. The duty of care also
applies to contractors and volunteers such as landcare groups
working on the farm.
Dr Brightling said the duty of
care involved providing and
maintaining a safe work environment, safe systems of work, safe
plant and structures and the provision of health and safety information and instruction.
In practice this means duty
holders must identify potential
hazards at the workplace and take
positive steps to eliminate them
or, if this is not possible, to minimise risk.
Dairyfarmers need not feel
daunted by their work health and
safety obligations, Dr Brightling
said.
“Most dairyfarmers want to
provide a safe workplace,” she
said.
“Sometimes the challenge can
be working out where to start. It’s
actually easier for dairyfarmers
than many other workplaces
because there are a range of
checklists and tools available on
the web that have been customdeveloped for dairy farms.”
Checklists, tools and more
information are available from
<www.thepeopleindairy.com.au>
– click on live library; farm policies and systems; health and safety risk. Or for good resources on
preventing injuries in the dairy
visit <www.cowtimecom.au> –click on shed shake-ups; then
click on Pits n People.
The People in Dairy is one of
the many examples of the dairy
service levy at work. For more
information on this and other
levy
investments
visit
<www.dairyaustralia.com.au>.
entire rural communities.”
The most recent death was a
nine-year-old boy, who was
crushed to death by a quad bike
on a property near Holbrook,
NSW.
Mr McKenzie said farmers
had legal responsibilities to
ensure safe quad-bike use.
“Riders must wear helmets
and other protective clothing,
and farmers must make sure all
quad-bike riders are properly
trained to use the vehicle and
that the quad bikes are in safe
operating condition,” he said.
“They must not allow children on these machines, which
can weigh up to 500kg.
“It’s up to the farmer to
decide to install a crush protection device. It’s not a legal
requirement but evidence suggests their use should be seriously considered.”
The safety warning comes
after quad bike sales jumped by
18% in 2011, making up more
than one in every five motorcycles sold in Australia last year.
Quad bikes - farms' biggest killer
EIGHT Australians have been
killed so far this year due to
quad bike accidents, with another 14 critically injured.
Victorian
Farmers
Federation (VFF) Farmsafe
Alliance manager Tim McKenzie
said since 2000, there had been
158 quad bike fatalities in
Australia.
Quad bikes have now overtaken tractors as the leading
cause of fatal farm accidents.
Nearly a third (31%) of farm
deaths in 2011 were caused by
quad bikes, while 17% were
tractor-related.
“And too many of these
fatalities involve children under
16 years of age,” Mr McKenzie
said.
“Quad bikes can be very useful farm vehicles, but I cannot
stress enough that they need to
be used with appropriate safety
measures in place.
“It’s not just farmers getting
killed by these vehicles, but children and workers. These accidents reverberate through
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
August/September 2012
14
PRIMEX FIELD DAYS REPORT
Soil forums held at Primex
KEY POINTS
■ Improve practices
that impact
negatively on soil
health
■ Soils contain
different types of
organic matter
■ Above and below
ground crops and
organisms need
nutrients
THE Primex Field days at
Casino, NSW, were the venue for
the final Soils Forum of the Mid
North Coast regional Young
Dairy Network Caring for Our
Country,
Department
of
Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry funded project.
Open sessions were held on
Thursday and Friday of the
Primex Field Days with an
Incitec Pivot sponsored dinner
on the Thursday night at
Lismore, NSW.
Dr Maarten Stapper, a farming systems agronomist, who
assists farmers improve the profitability of their operations by
harnessing the power of natural
healthy soil processes, told the
forum he believed that by
improving the use of inputs and
understanding those practices
that negatively impact on soil
health, farmers could have a positive impact on their land and
production.
Fourth-generation Wauchope,
NSW, dairy and chicken farmer
Participants at the Soils Forum list to Susan Orgill from the NSW Department of
Primary Industries.
Chris Eggert told the forum
about his journey from dairy stud
to organic farm, since he took
over the family business. Mr
Eggert has read and studied considerably on a range of organic
and biological options in agriculture and has now applied or
adapted some of these to his own
business, supplying organic milk
to Norco.
The second day began with
Tamborine, Queensland, dairyfarmers, Ged and Robyn
Plunkett, together with the South
East Queensland Soils in Action
facilitator Adam Willson leading
the forum through the changes
Dr Maarten Stapper said farmers need to understand
biological processes to improve environment and
production.
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
that have been made to their farm
through some biological options,
including composting.
The final speaker was soil
carbon researcher, Susan Orgill,
from the NSW Department of
Primary Industries who gave
eight key messages:
• increasing soil organic matter
improves soil structure, increases
nutrient cycling and encourages
soil organisms;
• there are different types of
organic matter in soil; some
decompose more quickly than
others;
• farm productivity is closely
linked to soil functions that
depend on decomposition of
organic matter;
• carbon in soil depends on soil
type, climate, vegetation and
land management;
• both above and below ground
crops need nutrients;
• increasing the amount of carbon in soil is about “stock” management;
• soils vary in their capacity to
sequester and ‘protect’ carbon;
• there are land management
options to increase the mass of
carbon in soil.
Copies of some of these presentations are available on website <www.dairyinfo.biz>.
Chris Eggert outlines his journey to organic milk
production.
August/September 2012
PRIMEX FIELD DAYS REPORT
15
Primex field days highlights
Pictures by Peter Roach
LEFT: Dairyfarmer Chris Eggerts from Wauchope, NSW,
gave a passionate and lively talk on his and his parents’
certified organic dairy farm.The Eggerts run a 170 mixed
breed milking herd producing one million litres on a
pasture-based diet.They also produce their own compost
which is added to by their 2000 laying hens, which they
also manage. Going organic was triggered by high input
costs, high stress, stock health problems and high vet bills.
Guest speaker at the Soil
Forum was Maarten
Stapper, who spoke about
soil biology for profit, how
to harness the power of
ecosystems and soil health
through land management.
ABOVE: Attending the Primex Field Days from DMS
Afimilk were Clint Brereton and Dave Adams from
Victoria.They were on hand to help dairyfarmers with
their herd management systems.Their Afifarm System
includes the Ideal Weight feeding system, which
concentrates on production, weight and stage of lactation
of individual cows to improve their production and health
and maximise feed efficiency.
Any dairyfarmers with waste management issues could
discuss it at Primex with Fred Lamped from Australian Waste
Engineering and Ray Steain from BR Reeve Engineering.
Subtropical Dairy executive officer Neale Price,
dairyfarmers Robyn and Ayleen Dawes, Piggabeen, NSW,
and Young Dairy Network co-cordinator for the Mid
North Coast NSW Traci Gordon at the Dairy Soil Forum
at the Primex Field Days.
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
Dairying Without Urea was the presentation given by
Adam Willson from Soil Systems Australia and
dairyfarmers Robyn and Ged Plunkett from Tamborine
Pastoral Co, South East Queensland.
August/September 2012
16
DAIRY IN ACTION UPDATE
Summer feed conversion efficiency
project update
KEY POINTS
■ Partial mixed
ration system had
highest FCE
■ Grazing system
had lowest system
■ Large variations in
feed quality
By Melissa Matthews
THE summer component of the
Feed Conversion Efficiency
(FCE) trial has come to an end
with the months of January and
February a flurry of activity to
get out and survey 69 farms
across Queensland. The farmers
and their families have been
most accommodating allowing
the Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
dairy team to come onto their
properties and once again ask the
hard questions about herd numbers, diets and forage management practices as well as taking
feed samples for quality testing.
As a new member of the
DAFF team, it has been a great
experience to see first-hand the
changes to management and animal nutrition farmers have made
between the winter and summer
surveys to assist in improving
FCE. No longer were paddocks a
shining mass of ryegrass as they
were in winter 2011, they were
now filled with kikuyu, forage
sorghum, setaria and other tropical grass mixes. The aim of this
survey was to determine the current FCE levels achieved during
the summer period. FCE is calculated as litres of milk produced per kilogram of feed dry
matter fed. The data has now
been collated, with the range in
FCE between feeding systems
and herd size proving quite interesting.
Preliminary results show that
the partial mixed ration two feeding system (with more that 30%
conserved forage fed) averaged
the highest FCE with 1.16 (see
Table 1) while the grazing system had the lowest average FCE
of 1.05. Management practices,
herd genetics and environmental
impacts would have played a significant role in the outcome of
these results.
The feed quality results of the
428 samples taken during the
summer FCE survey showed
similar levels of variation in
quality compared with the winter
Table 1: Average FCE values for each feeding
system during the summer 2012 survey
Feeding system
Feed Conversion
Efficiency
Grazing + concentrates <5% conserved
1.05
Mixed ration 1: 5-30%% conserved
1.08
Partial mixed ration 2: >30% conserved forage
1.16
Total mixed ration <1 % grazing
1.12
ABOVE: Researchers
collect feed samples.
RIGHT: Melissa Matthews
has enjoyed her role in the
Feed Conversion Efficiency
project.
feed samples. Large differences
in dry matter (DM), starch, sugars, non-fibrous carbohydrates
(NFC) and crude protein (CP)
were found within feed types
(see Table 2).
This really highlights the
need to analyse feeds at different
times throughout the year to
ensure diets can be correctly formulated.
The DAFF dairy team can
help guide farmers in this area
including sampling technique
and preparing samples to be sent
off to labs for testing.
With the information that has
been collected across the different regions and farming systems,
many farmers are asking ‘how do
I stack up against the rest?’
The answer to this question as
well as comparisons between
regions and farming systems
plus many more variables will be
presented as part of the FCE
Roadshow that will be up and
running throughout SeptemberOctober this year. Farmers that
participated in the survey have
received some preliminary data
analysis. The roadshow will
extend on these findings and all
dairyfarmers are welcome to
come along to the roadshow
days.
The DAFF team is looking
forward to seeing you at the
roadshow or one of our many
extension days that will be on
throughout the year.
NDF1140711
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
August/September 2012
DAIRY IN ACTION UPDATE
17
Table 2: Feed quality values of feed types sampled during the FCE summer 2012
survey.
Sample
Description
Com silage
(19 samples)
Soybean meal
(16 samples)
Kikuyu pastures
(28 samples)
Setaria pasture
(16 samples)
Molasses
(10 samples)
Min
Max
Av
Min
Max
Av
Min
Max
Av
Min
Max
Av
Min
Max
Av
DM
CP %
NDF %
Starch %
NFC %
Sugar % Fat %
22 .8
43.8
33.0
90.4
95.5
91.7
11.8
23.2
17.5
13.4
23.8
17.5
73.3
84.7
82.4
7.3
12.2
8.9
51.7
53.8
53.1
13.3
30.9
21.9
8.7
26.8
20.6
3.7
5.3
4.1
35 .6
64.0
44.9
9.9
17.6
13.1
42.4
65.6
53.1
47.8
62.3
54.4
0.1
0.4
0.2
3.7
38.6
27.0
0.3
1.8
1.1
0.2
5.6
2.3
0.2
5.0
2.6
0.1
2.5
0.6
14.3
48.1
38.0
24.5
38.6
31.0
10.5
27.9
17.9
10.1
25.5
18.1
78.4
83.9
82.2
1.2
3.8
2.2
10.9
19.8
13.0
6.6
17.5
11.1
7.5
12.8
9.7
22.4
57.1
36.0
1.9
8.1
3.5
1.4
2.4
1.8
2.2
4.6
3.6
2.1
4.5
3.6
1.3
2.9
1.9
Dairy In Action update and overview
By Jo Gorman
Hopefully those who have ryegrass planted are relishing the
rain showers, not so much enjoying the fertiliser bills – but seeing
the returns in the vat.
It’s been a slow start around
Gatton – as a few frosts and cooler temperatures have seen crops
and pastures struggle to tick into
third or fourth gear. However, a
slow start to forage growth hasn’t
meant a slow down of farmer’s
enthusiasm for extension and
developmental work that Dairy
in Action has been delivering.
The Dairy in Action team has
announced the start of a new discussion group in the Brisbane
and Lockyer Valleys. The group
had drawn a lot of interest from
around the area, and those that
had been involved in previous
Dairy In action activities were
invited to join the group, which is
now meeting monthly.
The Dairy in Action discussion groups aim to complement
the Forage Plu$, Nutrition Plu$
and Business Plu$ extension
activities as part of the wider
Dairy In Action extension project across Queensland.
By providing opportunities
for farmers to meet outside of
these activities, farmers have the
chance to identify and, wherever
practical, implement management changes on-farm with peer
support. Congratulations to those
getting involved.
The Moreton Bay, Gympie
and North Queensland discussion groups also continue strongly – with special guest speaker
Adam Willson delivering a presentation for the Moreton Bay
group on ‘Adding Value to your
Manure Stockpile’.
Another success story has
been the positive feedback from
all of those involved in the mineral nutrition workshops that
have been run in the Burnett and
Gympie regions. The workshops
looked specifically at the different minerals and feed additives
used in the dairy industry and the
recommended inclusion rates
within diets based on subtropical
feeding systems.
One farmer, among many,
said: “It was great to try and
understand mineral nutrition – as
opposed to just believing what
someone else tells you.”
The ‘Dry Cow and Springer
Nutrition’ workshops held at
Oakey and Beaudesert attracted
many similar positive comments
with the interactive on-farm
workshop drawing good numbers.
Farmers who are keen to see
the continuation of these types of
days should ensure that they
complete a needs analysis survey
at the next Dairy in Action event
or by contacting the office.
Waiting at the ready are central Queensland farmers who
anticipate price negotiations with
Parmalat in next few months. A
strong and passionate vibe was
felt around the tables when delivering the ‘Weighing up Your
Business Futures’ workshops in
June, with all participants commenting on their eagerness to be
profitable in an industry they
love.
Not mining jobs nor milk
price would see farmers deterred,
as participants all agreed it was a
matter of riding out the flattened
prices until more stable pricing
would see them reinvest and
expand their operations. This is a
positive sign for the future of
dairy businessess ahead.
Dairy in Action and C4Milk
has announced a new member of
the team – a new video camera.
As part of Dairy In Action’s
Dairy In Action Calendar of Events
Date
Activity
August 1 Dry cow and springer nutrition
workshop
August 2 Dry cow and springer nutrition
workshop
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
Location
Time
Popp’s Dairy,
10.30am-2pm
Monto
Jepson’s Dairy, 10.30am-2pm
Barmoya
Contact
Dave Barber,
phone 0427 603 243
Dave Barber,
phone 0427 603 243
Team building exercise at
the Brisbane/Lockyer Valley
discussion group day.
online and media component of
its extension framework, the
camera has been purchased to
start capturing work done in the
field which can be used as part of
field days, workshops, uploaded
onto the department’s website,
YouTube and the like. Content to
be captured and made available
to farmers will range from howto tips and advice from technical
staff and farmers to grazing management strategies to tours of the
University of Queensland dairy
facilities.
The camera and video clips
will give the team greater flexibility in being able to deliver
more contextualised ideas,
reaching larger audiences in a
more efficient manner and also
allowing farmers to access the
extension material in their own
time.
Contact: Jo Gorman, phone
(07) 5460 1192.
August/September 2012
18
RESEARCH UPDATE
Victorian Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh, Dairy Futures CRC chief executive officer David
Nation and farm host and 10,000 Cow project participants Iain and Louise Stewart celebrate the major milestone in
genomic reliabilities at Maffra,Vic.
New era dawns in dairy animal genomics
KEY POINTS
■ Genomics uses
DNA markers to
identify potential
top bulls
■ Reliability now
same as bull with
30 daughters
■ Will fast track
genetic gain
THE Australian dairy industry
has entered a new genomic era
in which dairyfarmers are now
able to make breeding decisions
with confidence on genomic
data alone. After two years of
intensive research work at the
Dairy Futures Cooperative
Research Centre (CRC), genomic profiling of 10,000 dairy cattle has achieved levels of reliability that make much more
accurate predictions of how
good a bull’s or a heifer’s genetics are for milk production, fertility and other traits that affect
profitability.
On average the reliability of
genomic breeding values for
young bulls (with no daughters)
is now equivalent to a bull proof
with 30 milking daughters. The
potential economic value of this
new technology is estimated at
$100 million in the next 12
years.
“This new level of genomic
reliability for key traits confirms
the creation of a viable, new
market sector – genomically
tested bulls with high levels of
reliability under Australian
dairyfarming conditions,” Dairy
Futures CRC chief executive
David Nation said.
In this new era, making
breeding decisions with confidence on genomic information
alone is set to become standard
practice among dairyfarmers,
who stand to double the genetic
gain in their herds, bringing forward the introduction of elite
genetics by several generations
and producing higher performing
dairy cows earlier.
Based on overseas experience
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
with genomics, the speed and
scale of the uptake of this new
technology is expected to be
rapid. (In Ireland, less than two
years after achieving similar levels of genomic reliability, 50% of
bulls used in dairy breeding programs are now young genomic
bulls.)
Professional breeders who
market bulls here and overseas
will be able to test a range of
high performing bulls at a young
age; potentially making these
bulls more marketable and
adding diversity to the sires
available for breeding.
Dairyfarmers buying natural
sires will have access to a broader market of bulls that have been
genomically tested.
Environmental factors and
farming practices, which vary
from country to country, have a
critical impact on the performance of imported sires. Bull companies, the majority of which
import semen from sires proven
under United States, Canadian,
United Kingdom or European
conditions, can now have their
bulls genomically tested for performance under Australian conditions. The results can be provided quickly to assist them in
deciding which bulls to market in
Australia and give them an edge
in their marketing programs.
The technology will give
Australian dairyfarmers, who
already look globally for suitable
international sires, greater confidence in selecting bulls that have
been genomically tested for
Australian conditions.
Genomics also present the
industry with an opportunity to
test for ‘outliers’; those animals
that may have been overlooked
previously but whose superior
traits can now be identified
through a simple DNA test.
For young dairyfarmers
entering the industry, genomics
presents an opportunity to build
a quality herd rapidly, making
dramatic improvements in performance by choosing elite
young bulls on their genomic
test alone.
August/September 2012
WATER USE EFFICIENCY
19
Milking profits from irrigation
KEY POINTS
■ Computer tool
calculates irrigation
requirements for
dairy farm
■ Looks at factors
affecting water use
efficiency
■ Potential to bolster
forage production
Gordon Simpson, Dr Mark Callow and
Mark Bauer use ICalc to work out the
irrigation requirements for forage crops for
the University of Queensland Gatton
campus herd.
The software was written by
DAFF dairy systems modeller
Gordon Simpson and dairy
agronomist Dr Mark Callow.
“ICalc can help farmers to be
more precise in their water use
calculation to enhance their forage or crop productivity,” Dr
Callow said.
ICalc helps growers calculate
the volumetric water requirements of forages in terms of
megalitres per hectare. It uses
daily rainfall, evapotranspiration
data, crop factors and irrigation
method efficiency to determine
gross crop irrigation requirement.
Irrigation water requirements
can be calculated by selecting the
average, highest or lowest rainfall years, thereby simulating
expected good or poor seasonal
growth. Up to 50 years of climate
data can be selected to calculate
water requirements.
ICalc was originally released
in 2011 for the Queensland dairy
industry, and agronomists and
consultants across Far North
Queensland and South-East
Queensland have been working
with dairy producers to demonstrate the program’s benefits of
determining seasonal water
requirements to assist in local
irrigation water allocations.
Dr Callow said the feedback
from growers already using
ICalc was positive because of its
versatility and timeliness, as
many had been experiencing
changes in water allocation.
Producers can access the free
ICalc software directly, by visiting
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
At UQ Gatton, Qld, are campus farm
manager Mark Bauer, Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
dairy agronomist Dr Mark Callow, Gatton,
and DAFF dairy systems modeller Gordon
Simpson,Toowoomba, Qld.
<www.dairyinfo.biz> or contacting Gordon Simpson, phone (07)
4688 1229, email <gordon.
[email protected]>.
ICalc is an initiative of Dairy
& Fodder Water for Profit, a joint
project
of
Queensland
Dairyfarmers’ Organisation and
DAFF, and supported by the
Department
of
Natural
Resources and Mines through
the South-East Queensland
Irrigation Futures project.
In the next 12 months, ICalc
will be profiled in a range of
DAFF research and extension
activities,
including
the
Irrigation Specialist Discussion
Group and a Gatton-based barley
water use efficiency trial.
Meet the publishers of your
dairy magazine at this year’s
Dairy Conference.
Carlene and Peter look forward to
meeting you at the conference at
Gatton on the 25th & 26th
September.
Drop in at our stand!
The Northern
Dairyfarmer
Editorial:
Advertising:
Alastair and Carlene Dowie - Phone: 03 5464 1382
[email protected]
Peter Roach - Phone: 03 93449906
[email protected]
NDF1144612
A NEW project at the Gatton
Dairy Research Centre aims to
take some of the guesswork out
of calculating irrigation needs
for producers growing dairy forage crops.
New irrigation infrastructure
will be used in tandem with
newly-updated ICalc irrigation
management
software
(at
<www.dairyinfo.biz>) developed by the Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry (DAFF).
University of Queensland
Gatton campus farm manager
Mark Bauer said the ICalc program calculated irrigation
requirements for the Gatton
dairy research herd, with the aim
of boosting forage production by
applying irrigation water more
uniformly and supplying sufficient water to meet forage evapotranspiration requirements.
“Maximising irrigation efficiency will help to improve productivity and profitability, by
working out how much water is
needed per crop and allocating
water wisely across different campus programs,” Mr Bauer said.
“ICalc looks specifically at
the uniform distribution of water
and how that affects water use
efficiency in our irrigated crops,
including barley, maize, lucerne
and wheat.”
ICalc is an easy-to-use software-driven calculator that determines seasonal irrigation water
requirements for a range of pastures and crops across Australia.
The program has the potential
to bolster forage water use efficiencies across the 400
Queensland dairy farms that use
some form of irrigation, as well
as in other industries, such as
horticulture.
August/September 2012
WHO CARES...
...if you need a little extra cream?
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can have on farm profitability.
Optigen®, part of the Alltech Dairy Advantage programme,
is a unique non-protein nitrogen source that enables improved feed conversion.
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Due to the concentrated nature of Optigen, more cost effective diets can be achieved
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So, who cares about your customer’s profit? Remember...
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Alltech Australia | 64-70 Nissan Drive
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Tel: +61 (0)3 9767 2800 | Fax: +61 (0)3 9791 6423
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AlltechNaturally |
@Alltech
Copyright, ©, 2012 Alltech. All Rights Reserved.
NDF1144773
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
August/September 2012
DISASTER RECOVERY
21
Yasi DVD will help long-term
recovery in Far North Queensland
KEY POINTS
DISASTER DVD
■ DVD provides visual
information for
farmers
■ Tips on range of
issues to help
disaster recovery
THE
Queensland
Farmers
Federation (QFF) has created an
online web portal and DVD for
farmers recovering from Cyclone
Yasi, and also to offer some tips
that could help them prepare for
future disastrous climatic events.
Minister for Agriculture
Fisheries and Forestry John
McVeigh and QFF president
Joanne Grainger launched it in
Far North Queensland in May.
It gives farmers access to a
range of climate and disaster
information from a single point,
at a time that suits them.
QFF chief executive officer
Dan Galligan said it offered
information in a visual format
and was therefore easy for busy
farmers to ingest.
“This DVD brings together
important cyclone, climate, and
disaster information into a visual
format,” Mr Galligan said. “It
will be available for farmers to
come back and revisit when it
suits them.”
The Taking Stock project,
Minister for Agriculture John McVeigh at the launch with Queensland Farmers Federation
(QFF) president Joanne Grainger and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
director-general Jack Noye.
funded through the State and
Federal Governments’ Rural
Resilience Fund, has gathered
information from experts in a
range of topics.
It contains specific tips and
stories on: building resilient farm
infrastructure; insurance and
business planning; using social
media to aid the recovery; and
ensuring farmers deal with mental health issues.
“Importantly, the videos
have also used the expertise of
industry recovery officers
(IROs),” Mr Galligan said.
“These officers were on the
ground helping farmers in the
recovery.
“The IROs were on the
ground throughout 2011 and
early 2012 helping get farmers
and businesses back on track.
The program has now concluded,
but it has been one of the success
stories of the recovery.”
Mr Galligan said that part of
the recovery from Yasi would
include preparations for future
natural disasters and shock
events.
“The release of this DVD and
web portal will trigger that action
and help build a more resilient
rural community in Far North
Queensland.”
Disaster assistance extension welcomed
By Brian Tessmann,
QDO president
THE Queensland Dairyfarmers’
Organisation (QDO) has welcomed
the
Queensland
Government’s announcement to
extend the cut-off date on four
natural disaster assistance
schemes to October 31.
The Government has extended the two recovery assistance
schemes for the 2010-2011
floods and Cyclone Yasi, as well
as for the floods in Western
Queensland earlier this year.
These assistance measures
have helped farmers and communities rebuild and have helped
communities avoid a local recession after unprecedented natural
disaster.
This extension will ensure the
remaining farmers, who have yet
to access this assistance, have an
opportunity to do so.
It is also crucial that farmers
do not self-assess their impacts
and disqualify themselves from
the assistance. Accessing this
assistance is an important boost
for local communities impacted
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
by natural disaster, and therefore
not something to think twice
about.
Struggling farmers have
needed the assistance that these
schemes provide, as almost 99%
of Queensland dairyfarmers lie
within Natural Disaster Relief
and Recovery Arrangement
(NDRRA) areas.
The disasters have so far cost
the Queensland dairy industry at
farm level about $80 million in
damage and lost production and
the industry has lost about 54
million litres of milk production.
With this level of damage, it will
take the industry some time to
recover.
The industry recovery program team continues its work
from last year to continue to support dairyfarmers with their
recovery efforts and is available
to provide ongoing support in the
coming months.
The QDO urges farmers who
have not been able to apply for
assistance yet and wish to do so
and require assistance with their
application to contact the QDO
office, phone (07) 3236 2955.
August/September 2012
22
ENERGY PRICE INCREASES
Price hikes will shock State's
dairy industry
KEY POINTS
■ Power tariffs to
increase 10-20%
■ Network costs to
increase 11.3-15.7%
■ Independent review
to look at impact
of power increases
By Brian Tessmann,
QDO president
THE recent release by the
Queensland
Competition
Authority (QCA) of its final
determination on electricity
prices for 2012-2013 is a blow
for Queensland’s ability to supply itself with milk and for the
Liberal National Party (LNP)
plan to double food production
by 2040.
Depending on which tariff a
farmer uses, electricity costs are
tipped to rise between 10% and
20%, due to increases in distribution costs and energy generation,
primarily via impacts from the
Federal Government’s carbon
tax.
The increases in network
charges are about 15.7% for
Ergon customers and 11.3% for
Energex, which is one driving
force behind the rises.
The impact of the increased
electricity costs will further
reduce the small to non-existent
profit margins of the State’s
dairy farms, which are already
struggling under the flow-on
impacts of the supermarket milk
price war.
In recent years many farmers
have made substantial investments into changing their farm
operations to take advantage of
cheaper night rate electricity and
the efficiencies associated with
night-time irrigation.
The
Queensland
Dairyfarmers’
Organisation
(QDO) will be examining the
exposure of any dairy farms to
these 20% increases, which
could put farm enterprises in
jeopardy in the next 12 months
of their implementation.
The new State Government
has announced an Independent
Review Panel (IRP) into electricity prices for the next 12
months, which it hopes will
remedy the problems it inherited from the previous administration.
QDO will work with the
Queensland Farmers Federation
and the IRP to ensure the needs
of rural customers are heard and
the government fully under-
The impact of the increased electricity costs will further
reduce the small to non-existent profit margins of the
State’s dairy farms.
stands the impacts of these price
determinations on industry.
This will be a large undertaking, but for now, there is unfortunately no escaping the impact of
the forthcoming electricity price
hikes.
This QCA determination also
shows farmers will wear the
impacts of the carbon tax as the
Federal Government seems to
have no concerns about our ability to produce food to feed ourselves and also earn export
income for the nation.
The Federal Government continues to claim farmers can pass
these costs on, which is a statement that if it were not so serious
would be laughable.
Can the Prime Minister, Julia
Gillard, intervene and get the
major supermarkets to accept
paying more for milk and our
international clients to pay
more?
It is obvious that exporters
who compete internationally
against dairy suppliers in other
countries with no carbon tax
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DF1142771
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August/September 2012
ENERGY PRICE INCREASES
cannot pass on the extra costs.
However, I also suggest it is
even more difficult for a
domestic milk supplier in a
State such as Queensland to
pass on the carbon tax cost
impacts.
These farmers supply a market that has shown in the past few
years it does not respond to cost
increases on-farm nor to shortages in supply.
As we have seen in recent
years, when the domestic milk
suppliers have had rising farm
costs and a huge drop in supply,
well
below
domestic
Queensland’s milk needs, we
have seen domestic milk prices
at both farm gate and retail drop
significantly, as major supermarkets use fresh milk as a discount
marketing agent.
In addition, this all happened
at a time when we had high
world prices for milk products.
So it would seem obvious to
anyone but the government that
dairyfarmers cannot pass these
costs on as there is a blockage in
the value chain for milk in this
country.
There also are no advertisements on the television telling
farmers they will be getting a
top-up in their bank accounts for
the cost increases from the government, unlike some other sectors of the community.
What can farmers do? They
are between a rock and a hard
place with little ability to adapt
23
to these increases in electricity
charges and the wide-ranging
impacts of the carbon tax, with
more to come.
Given the Prime Minister
thinks we can simply pass on the
extra cost of the carbon tax,
maybe we should each send an
invoice to her and she can pass
the cost on to the supermarkets
and the international buyers.
The trouble is, I don’t think
any of them intend to pay the
bill.
$1m boost to help dairyfarmers save on energy
DAIRY Australia (DA) has
received $1 million in Federal
Government funding to roll out
900 farm energy assessments on
dairy farms across the country.
The grant was one of 28
announced as round one of the
Energy Efficiency Information
Grants program. DA will use the
funding for the Smarter Energy
Use on Australian Dairy Farms
project to provide farmers with
information and technical support
to improve farm energy efficiency.
DA natural resource management
program
manager
Catherine Phelps said the funding would help deliver energy
assessments to all eight dairy
regions across Australia, tailoring it to meet local needs.
“There is a high level of interest in energy efficiency in the
dairy industry and farmers are
increasingly concerned about the
cost of energy impacting on their
business, so the conditions are
right for a very effective national
project,” she said. “It is expected
the project will result in supplying farmers with real practical
solutions for significant savings
in carbon emissions and energy
costs on-farm.”
Through on-farm assessments, Smarter Energy Use on
Australian Dairy Farms will
deliver recommendations for
dairyfarmers to use energy in the
smartest, most efficient and costeffective way.
Recommended options could
include changes to management
practices, optimisation of current
equipment or capital investment
or both.
The project will develop and
disseminate targeted information
resources including an on-farm
assessment tool and train industry providers to undertake the
energy assessments. The project
is also being supported by the
Australian
Dairy
Industry
Council, milk processors and
state agencies.
Getting on top of hoof health
Dairy Australia calculates estimates each
lame cow can cost up to $600 to $700/
year through lost milk production, lower
fertility, an increased risk of culling and
actual treatment costs.
About 80%-90% of lameness occurs in
the feet; most commonly in hind feet.
You can restrain a cow in a crush or
rotary bail or even on the platform in a
herringbone dairy.
If you suspect lameness, examine the
hoof using an examination kit comprising:
t a soft rope for tying the leg;
t hoof testers;
t a sharp hoof knife (double-sided)
protected with a pouch;
t sharp hoof trimmers; and
t sharpening tools.
Examine the foot, looking for:
t sole injuries;
t white line disease;
t foot rot, or
t interdigital cracks.
The more stable and comfortable a cow
feels, the quieter she will stand. Having a
non-slip surface and/or straps to support
the weight of the cow will assist.
Talk to your vet about treatments like
trimming and paring, blocks, antibiotics,
anti-inflammatories/painkillers and rest. If
more than 7% of the herd is affected by
lameness, problems will be identifiable
which should be worked on with advice
from your vet.
Visit www.dairyaustralia.com.au for
suggestions on ways to help restore hoof
health in your herd.
This is one of the many examples of the dairy service levy at work locally. Farmers receive a benefit of $3 for every $1 invested
by Dairy Australia on their behalf. For more information on this and other levy investments visit www.dairyaustralia.com.au
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
NDF1140714
Caring for your herd’s hooves and legs is
part of the daily health check. Keeping an
eye on feet not only saves a cow from
pain, it makes financial sense.
August/September 2012
24
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
New project looks
at nutrient loss
pathways
THE Queensland Dairyfarmers
Organisation, on behalf of the
partnership with Subtropical
Dairy, has partnered with
Queensland
University
of
Technology (QUT) and James
Cook University (JCU) to help
answer some of the unknown
questions about nutrient loss
pathways off dairy farms. The
project is entitled Validating the
cost/benefits of improved fertiliser practices and quantifying
nutrient loads and pathways
from irrigated dairy pastures in
the Wet Tropics and the BurnettMary regions.
A great deal of research has
been conducted in the efficiency
of urea fertiliser, with some suggesting up to 50% of nitrogen
(N) is lost before the crop has
any chance of utilising it. What
is unclear is the amount lost
through various pathways and
the relative importance of each
pathway on dairy farms in the
Great Barrier Reef catchment.
The Reef Rescue R&D project was developed to get a
greater understanding of this and
also to look at nitrogen inhibitors
or treated urea products and how
they can reduce the risk of nutrient loss.
Jack Koci is leading the research on the ground at the
Atherton Tableland research site.
NDF1140712
The team on the
ground
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
The Gympie, Queensland,
research site is on Rod and Ruve
Thefs’ dairy farm, with the
research being conducted by Dr
David Rowlings from QUT. Dr
Rowlings, who grew up on a beef
cattle farm, is the main man on
the Gympie site, with a lot of
assistance being received from
Mr Thef and his employee.
Dr Rowlings has previously
worked across a number of agricultural industries including horticulture, grains, cotton and now
dairy. His thesis for his PhD was
on The affect of land use change
on carbon and nitrogen cycling,
with a focus on agricultural systems.
The research site in Far North
Queensland is being conducted
on the Ravenshoe School Dairy
farm, with Jack Koci leading the
research on the ground at the
Atherton Tableland research site.
Mr Koci is currently doing his
research honours on this project
under JCU.
He has a history with the
tablelands, having grown up at
Mareeba, with his family having
a number of avocado farms at
Tolga near Atherton. Mr Koci
finished his Bachelor of Science
majoring in hydrology and water
resource in 2011.
He has a passion for soils and
agriculture, with this research
project allowing him get out on
farm and involved in agricultural
industries again.
How will the project
help dairyfarmers in the
tropics?
It will give the farmers a lot more
information in terms of understanding nutrient loss pathways.
With that information, it is envisaged that a suite of management
practices will be put together that
will reduce nutrient loss and therefore increase nutrient use efficiency, which will also mean an
improvement in their bottom line.
When will farmers get a
chance to visit the field
sites?
The team is planning to run two
field days in early September to
demonstrate what the projects
entails, what is being monitored
and what the results are showing
so far. Measuring has been taking
place since 2011-2012 summer,
with the Gympie site experiencing a number of runoff events so
far this year.
Interim results will be presented at a Reef Rescue Research
& Development workshop in late
August in Brisbane. Farmers will
have the chance to see the interim results at the upcoming field
days in September.
August/September 2012
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT UPDATE
25
A new project will provide information about fertiliser best management practices.
KEY POINTS
■ National fertiliser
project launched
■ Provide range of
tools and
information to
farmers
■ Will allow farmers
to record and keep
track of paddock
fertility
FERT$MART is a Dairy Australia
initiative being developed to
improve the efficiency and profitability of fertiliser use on
Australian dairy farms. Fert$mart
aligns with the principles of the
International Plant Nutrition
Institute’s (IPNI) 4R Nutrient
Stewardship program.
The 4R concept is simple and
practical – apply the right source
of nutrient, at the right rate, at
the right time, and in the right
place.
How will Fert$mart
improve farm
profitability?
Fert$mart will bring together the
latest nutrient management science along with the industry’s
best management practices
(BMP) and decision support
tools into one website designed
specifically to help farmers and
their advisers with more prof-
itable fertiliser management
decisions.
There will be many ways to
access information on the
Fert$mart website including
links to best management practices, planning tools, the latest
fertiliser management science
and research, soil testing methods and accredited laboratories,
Fertcare advisers, training courses and farmer case studies.
To assist farmers in fine-tuning fertiliser efficiency, a simple
paddock record-keeping tool is
being developed to manage paddock fertility.
Farmers will be able to keep
records of soil test results and
fertiliser applications for each
paddock or farm management
zone (a group of paddocks managed in a similar way). The tool
will include reporting features
allowing farmers to track soil
fertility trends (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and
pH) and to compare paddock fertility levels with the optimal
range for production.
Who will benefit from
Fert$mart?
Fert$mart will be specifically
designed to support dairyfarmers and advisers from all
regions with more efficient and
profitable fertiliser use, however it will be readily accessible
to the many users who will ben-
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
efit from the site. For example,
the Fert$mart science portal
will be an important online
learning resource for staff and
students of the National Centre
for Dairy Education Australia
(NCDEA).
How is Fert$mart
progressing, and when
will it be launched?
Development of Fert$mart, and
the guidelines for nutrient management on Australian dairy
farms is well underway. A wide
search and review of existing
nutrient management programs,
materials and decision support
tools has been completed.
Working groups have been established and are now developing
the various components of
Fert$mart, including the following:
• Fert$mart Science – An online
resource based on an updated
and expanded version of the
Target 10 Soils and Fertiliser
manual. Sections of the manual
requiring review have been identified and the update will be carried out in the next 12 months,
ready for upload to the Fert$mart
portal before mid-2013.
• Best Management Practices –
Working groups are currently
reviewing the nutrient-related
management practices in the
soils, fertiliser, effluent and irrigation sections of DairySAT to
ensure these are consistent with
the industry’s current recommended practices and the
Fert$mart principles for profitable and responsible fertiliser
management.
• Nutrient Planning Cycle – A
draft nutrient planning cycle has
been developed by the working
group and will be ready for use
by the farmer group extension
pilots starting during AugustSeptember this year.
• Decision Support Tools – The
working group has reviewed a
range of existing decision support tools and has recommended
a number of practical tools to
support profitable fertiliser management. A paddock recordkeeping tool will be developed to
help farmers track soil fertility
trends (N, P, K, S and pH) and to
compare fertility levels with the
optimal range for production.
• Farmer Group Extension
Model – A draft farmer group
extension model incorporating
the Fert$mart principles has been
developed by the working group.
Following wider consultation,
the model will be ready for use
in the farmer group extension
pilots starting during AugustSeptember this year.
• Fert$mart Website – A draft
wireframe has been developed
for the Fert$mart website. The
wireframe sets out what the website might look like, and how
August/September 2012
▼
Fertiliser program to put runs on board
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT UPDATE
users might interact with various
features of the website. The
Fert$mart website will be developed and tested in the next 12
months ready for industry launch
in mid-2013.
How can farmers and
advisers improve
Fert$mart?
Feedback from farmers and
advisers throughout the develop-
ment process will be supported
and encouraged, and will help to
ensure Fert$mart is a practical
resource used widely by the
industry. Farmers and advisers
will have the opportunity to hear
more about Fert$mart and to provide feedback at one of the eight
regional meetings held during
July-August this year. An evaluation of the farmer group extension pilots will also provide use-
ful feedback
Fert$mart.
to
improve
How is Fert$mart
funded?
Fert$mart is jointly funded by
Dairy Australia and the
Australian Government’s Caring
for Our Country Program through
a project titled ‘Dairy Guidelines:
Managing soil acidity through
improved nutrient use efficiency’.
How can I find out
more about Fert$mart?
Regular updates on Fert$mart will
be provided through dairy industry
newsletters,
including
the
Dairying for Tomorrow newsletter.
For more information about
Fert$mart contact the project
coordinator, Rick Kowitz, email
<[email protected]>
or mobile 0427 669 994.
Govt backs dairy soil and nutrient initiative
THE Queensland Dairyfarmers’
Organisation (QDO) will partner with Subtropical Dairy (SD)
and the Federal Government on
a project that will support farmers in accessing the latest soil
nutrient management knowledge and techniques on farms
across Queensland.
The Federal Government,
through the Department of
Sustainability, Environment,Water,
Population and Communities, has
announced funding for the project
through the successful Caring for
our Country program.
QDO
president
Brian
Tessmann said the project was
titled ‘Piloting Innovative Soil and
Nutrient Management Systems
with
Queensland
Dairy
Farmers’, and the industry had
received $96,000 (plus GST)
funding from the Federal
Government.
“The project will support
farmers to access the latest
knowledge and skills to make
nutrient management decisions
that will improve soil management, soil health, and nutrient
use efficiency,” Mr Tessmann said.
“The project will seek to
engage about 50 dairy farms in
southern Queensland in this
round of the project.”
SD chair Ross McInnes said
the project would work through
local Dairying Better ‘n Better
discussions groups, with the support of suitably qualified independent professional advisers.
“Farmers will have the
opportunity to conduct soil
sampling across their farm and
will use these samples in discussion groups to make betterinformed farm soil and nutrient
management decisions and to
identify options to improve
practices,” Mr McInnes said.
“When our farming systems
are under pressure from
depressed farm-gate prices, new
initiatives that target new efficiency gains are very important
and as such we encourage
dairyfarmers to engage with the
project and our Dairying Better
‘n Better program team.”
The Dairying Better ‘n Better
program is an initiative of QDO
and SD, and is supported by
Dairy Australia.
Solve your effluent management needs
Now in Australia!
DPS has launched the revolutionary Kliptank above
ground effluent storage tank into Australia.
Kliptank is a patented, modular fully lined tank with
capacities from 60,000 litres up to 3,000,000 litres.
Already proven on New Zealand dairy farms, this
cost effective and environmentally responsible tank
is delivered flat packed to your farm for assembly by
our installation team.
Above ground effluent storage is healthier,
aesthetically attractive and more efficient. The
straight walled tank means a smaller footprint and
less unwanted rain catchment. No fencing is
required and there are no hidden costs as there can
be with ponds and major earthworks.
Site preparation is minimal and we will assist with
local authority approvals.
Effluent
Storage
To provide you with a sustainable solution for your
effluent management, DPS teams up the Kliptank
with it’s Yardmaster effluent pumps, stirrers,
pontoons, separators, travelling irrigators and
Yardblaster wash systems to provide you with a
complete and sustainable effluent management
system from the one experienced supplier.
Contact Peter Gowers at DPS 0400 623 386
Phone: (03) 9739 6521 Fax: (03) 9739 7621
Sustainable effluent solutions
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
www.dairypumpingsystems.com.au
ADF1144023
▲
26
August/September 2012
NORTHERN DAIRY DIARY
Aug
9-18:
Ekka, RNA Showgrounds
Bowen Hills, Brisbane
Contact: RNA.
Phone: (07) 3852 183. Fax: (07) 3257 1428
Email: <[email protected]>
Website: <www.ekka.com.au>
Aug
14-15:
Chainsaw Workshop
TBC
Contact: Kate Yeoman. Phone: 0407 965 791
Sep
3-4:
Chainsaw Workshop
TBC
Contact: Kate Yeoman. Phone: 0407 965 791
Sep
4-6:
Toowoomba Ag Show
Toowoomba, Qld
Contact: Peter Erwin
Phone: (07) 4634 1155
Email: <[email protected]>
Website: <www.agshow.com.au/>
Sep
12-13:
Young Dairy Network Leadup Workshop 2
TBC
Contact: Belinda Haddow.
Phone: 0423 003 638
Sep
25-26:
Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation annual
conference, Gatton, Qld
Contact: Kylie Dennis.
Phone: (07) 3236 2955
Email: <[email protected]>
Oct
16:
Cows Create Careers Presentation Day
Toowoomba, Qld
Contact: Neale Price.
Phone: 0400 022 843
Oct
16-18:
Subtropical Dairy annual general meeting
New Generation Conference, Coffs Harbour,
NSW
Contact: Neale Price.
Phone: 0400 022 843
Contact:Traci Gordon.
Phone: (02) 6653 5614
Email: <[email protected]>
Oct
18:
Picasso Cows Presentation Day
Coffs Harbour, NSW
Contact: Neale
Price. Phone: 0400 022 843
Oct
24-25:
Young Dairy Network Workshop 3
TBC
Contact: Belinda Haddow.
Phone: 0423 003 638
Nov
4-8:
International Dairy Federation World Dairy
Summit, Cape Town, South Africa
Contact:Website: <www.wds2012.com>
Nov
13-15:
Australasian Dairy Science Symposium
Melbourne
Contact:Website: <www.adssymposium.com.au>
Phone: (08) 9525 9222.
Email: <[email protected]>
THE NORTHERN DAIRYFARMER
Nov
20-21:
DFMC National Convention
Wollongong, NSW
Phone: (02) 8732 5206
Email: <[email protected]>
Website: <www.dfmc.org.a>
Nov
30:
Dairy Australia annual general meeting
ADIC Breakfast, Melbourne,Vic
Contact: Dairy Australia.
Phone: (03) 9694 3777
Website: <www.dairyaustralia.com.au>
27
2013
Jan
2-6:
National All Breeds Dairy Youth Camp
Melbourne,Vic
Contact: National Centre for Dairy
Education Australia
Phone: 1300 062 332
Website: <www.ncdea.edu.au>
Jan
20-25:
International Dairy Week
Tatura,Vic
Contact: Robyn Barber
Phone: 0459 324 235
Email: <[email protected]>
Website: <www.internationaldairyweek.com.au>
Feb
26-27:
Dairy Innovators Forum 2013
Sunshine Coast, Qld
Contact: Esther Price
Phone: 1800 177 636
Email: <[email protected]>
Mar 21 - Sydney Royal Easter Show
Apr 3:
Homebush, NSW
Contact: Phone (02) 9704 1111, Fax: (02) 9704 1122
Email: <[email protected]>
Website:<www.eastershow.com.au>
Apr
11-13:
Toowoomba Royal Show
Toowoomba Showgrounds
Contact: Phone (07) 4634 7400. Fax: (07) 4633 2495
Website: <http://www.toowoombashow.com.au/>
May
3-5:
Tocal Field Days
Paterson, NSW
Contact:Wendy Franklin.
Phone: (02) 4939 8820, Fax: (02) 4939 8807
Email: <[email protected]>
Website: <www.tocalfielddays.com>
Jun
4-6:
Farmfest
Toowoomba, Qld
Contact: Rural Press Events
Phone: (02) 6768 5800, Fax: (02) 6768 5811
Email: <[email protected]>
DIARY DATES
To have an event included in the diary dates, send
information to Carlene and Alastair Dowie
Phone/fax: (03) 5464 1542
Email: <[email protected]>
or submit to website <www.dairyinfo.biz>
August/September 2012
Three of the BEST
MEDALLION remains the Type Leader and one of the most
popular bulls available and BULLBAR at 99% reliable has
confirmed his status as the best 2nd crop bull available
– outcross, calving ease, fertility and low SCC all good
reasons to milk more.
Secure these world class bulls for your
2012 breeding program – Order Now.
INFORMER x Knockout
BULLBAR
Glomar Bullbar RB
MEDALLION
BUDDHA
Bundalong Marks Medallion
Bushlea Perfector Bold
APR
176/99%
APR
199/80%
Goldwyn x FABULON
NEW
Laurier x Knockout
APR
240/80%
O/Type 105 | Mammary 109
> What you see is what you get!
O/Type 112 | Mammary 116
> Breed leader for Mammary
O/Type 109 | Mammary 105
> Best NEW Holstein graduate
BULLBAR daughter bred by Shakira Holsteins Robert Towner & Sharon Williams, Bookar, Vic
MEDALLION daughter bred by Daryl & Val Crawford, Dixie, Vic
BUDDHA daughter bred by Max & Barb Jelbart,
Leongatha Sth Vic
Freecall 1800 039 047
www.genaust.com.au
Photoghraphs by Ross Easterbrook
NDF1144609
BUDDHA bursts onto the top of the ABVs following the
April 2012 ABV and joins MEDALLION and BULLBAR as
three of the very best Holstein bulls available. At 240 APR
and 27kgs of protein his daughters have a strong will to
milk, positive components, top type and excellent SCC ABV.
His reliable 1st ABV is based on 94 daughters with just
14% RIP so can be used with confidence.
20120381