AUGUST 2021 ISSUE 130
MURRAY REGION
COPING WITH CRYPTO A Zeerust farm has built its very own pop-up calf quarantine facility. Page 14
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
2 // MURRAY REGION
Signs promising for a bumper summer CONDITIONS REMAIN favourable for our
region, with plenty of rain topping up storages and excellent milk prices ensuring we have the best possible settings for the year ahead. Milk production across the region is increasing in line with an uplift in confidence, however labour remains as an ongoing challenge for all of us. With the better storage positions and wet outlook for the next three months there is potential for a bumper irrigation summer season in most districts, which means now is the perfect time to start speaking with your agronomist about your summer cropping options. For those launching into the silage season, Murray Dairy has partnered with David Lewis
from Lallemand to create a range of videos with practical tips on silage harvest and conservation. These videos can be found on our Murray Dairy YouTube channel. The Murray Dairy board is excited to see the Fodder for the Future project is well and truly up and running, with each of the six demonstration sites getting close to harvest. Through the project, Murray Dairy has joined forces with six other organisations to establish demonstration sites that showcase a range of winter crops and management strategies to maximise yield, quality, and profitability. You can find more about this project and upcoming extension activities on the Murray Dairy website and in this edition of Dairy News.
At the Murray Dairy AGM in October we will say goodbye and thankyou to dairy farmer director Tony McCarthy and specialist skills director Chris Thomas after serving six years on the board. They have been invaluable in providing a strategic lens and encouraging advocates for our dairy industry in the region. On behalf of the Murray Dairy team I would like to wish them both well in their future endeavours. We would also like to take the opportunity to welcome Hamish Crawford into his first threeyear term as a farmer director. X Andrew Tyler Murray Dairy chair
• • • • • •
Chair’s message
Murray Dairy chair Andrew Tyler.
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MURRAY REGION // 3
Generational change SOPHIE BALDWIN
THE PURCHASE of a farm located just down
Harrison Keely (left), pictured with dad John, is the sixth generation of the family to farm in the area.
The Keelys now farm about 730 ha, which has given them self-sufficiency, confidence and the capacity to eventually hit their target goal of about 500 cows.
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the road has helped to secure the future of John and Michelle Keely’s sixth generation Cohuna dairy farm. With son Harrison moving into the family business and keen to take it forward, the family realised the only limiting factor was the current 26 swing-over dairy — and the opportune purchase of a new farm complete with a 44-unit rotary soon solved that particular problem. Located just 3.5 km away from the home farm gate, the close proximity of the new farm has been perfect from a management perspective and the transition has been faultless, with the cows adjusting well to the rotary. “We had spent a lot of time running the numbers and doing the budgets around building a new dairy but when this came up for sale we soon worked out we were much better off buying a farm with a rotary already established. “The rotary has everything you could possibly want in a dairy including auto draft, and being a one-person shed it has helped reduce our labour costs,” John said. The Keelys now farm a total of about 730 ha which has given them self-sufficiency, confidence and the capacity to eventually hit their target goal of about 500 cows. Herd numbers are currently sitting about 360, with the majority of the herd made up of Holsteins with a few Jerseys and Brown Swiss thrown in for good measure. Cows are calved in autumn and spring and all the young stock are now raised on the home farm, leaving the purchase to fully supporting the milking herd. With about 120 ha of established lucerne, the new farm had plenty of grazing potential and as a result the business has changed direction slightly, transitioning the herd away from a TMR to a pasture-based system to capitalise on the productive lucerne. The cows are currently grazing morning and afternoon and are receiving a PMR at night to help balance the feed and reduce issues with bloat, a change from the feed pad system. While John acknowledges there is a place for both, he said it was much easier to manage a cow’s diet with a TMR.
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
4 // MURRAY REGION Continued from page 3
“Our fat test is down significantly from 4.6 to 3.7 per cent compared to this time last year. Down the track we will probably go back to a TMR but there isn’t a proper feed pad here and we have a lot of lucerne, so we are currently making the best of what we have,” John said. There are plans afoot to build a feed pad in the future but John said he had been surprised by the adaptability of the lucerne. “We had 40 ha of patchy lucerne which we put the heifers on over summer to graze down and clean up; I couldn’t believe the recovery once we got a bit of rain. There were some paddocks that hadn’t been watered for a couple of years and you can see the plant still there,” John said. Some of the poorer lucerne paddocks have been over-sown with Kittyhawk wheat. The Keely family has been farming in the Cohuna area since 1874 and Harrison is sixth generation. From a very young age he has always wanted to be a farmer and he spent many of his school holidays trailing around after his dad and pa. “I have always wanted to be a farmer and I love working with cows,” Harrison said. Harrison is confident in the future of the industry and is looking forward to building up stock numbers. He is fortunate to farm in an area where there are quite a few other young farmers taking the same steps into the family farm as he is, and they are looking at forming a young farmers group. “We catch up socially and talk farming and it has been really good to know there are other young and keen farmers in the same area to share ideas with,” Harrison said.
The new property's 44-unit rotary has helped with labour costs.
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
6 // MURRAY REGION
Fodder drives expansion plans DANEKA HILL
WOODLAWN DAIRY outside Finley spends
$6000 a day feeding its cows and young stock. “We’ve been a full TMR (total mixed ration) system for about three years now,” Marcus Flanagan said. “We grow all the feed, harvest it and bring it back to the cows. “Moving to a fully-housed system makes it easier to handle the extremes of the weather.” Woodlawn Dairy runs a 600-head milking herd currently, but the plan is to reach 900 in three years. Feed and shelter are at the centre of this ambitious goal. In September shedding will be going over the currently exposed feedpad. Right now the farm is in the middle of constructing two sheds and a concrete area — dubbed the ‘feed centre’. The two new sheds will have concrete bays installed where grains and byproducts like almond hulls, cotton seed and canola meal can be stored. The area from the feed centre to the feedpad will be concreted for better machinery access. “The idea with the concrete is it reduces waste,” Mr Flanagan said. “If it drops on the ground it is waste. It’s gone. Whereas on the concrete you can pick it up. “Attention to detail and your wastage is important … as soon as we put our feedpad in
When everything is in your control, being lax can result in big costs. On the Flanagans’ farm an automated robot keeps the feed pushed up to the cows. Uneaten feed goes to young stock.
“In six months this will all be different,” Marcus Flanagan says. These two sheds will become grain and feed bunkers and the dirt will be concreted over for a more clean and tidy process.
we were saving three tonnes of feed a day and our new feed centre will help even more.” When it comes to making silage for TMR feeding, keeping an eye on dry matter and chop length at harvest is crucial. “We aim to make our silage at 32 to 33 per cent dry matter, whether it’s cereal, corn or lucerne silage,” Mr Flanagan said. “That moisture helps the ensiling process, it helps pack better, get all the air out, makes the silage better and cuts down the loss of energy value in the feed.” Woodlawn Dairy uses contractors to harvest the silage. Mr Flanagan’s advice to farmers shopping around for a contractor is to make sure your communication is crystal clear.
“The shaver keeps it all neat and tidy and stops the air getting into it. It cuts down on all the loose stuff.” Having full control over what their cows are eating gives the Flanagans the ability to create special mixes for their herds. Springers and maternity girls get their own mixes, as do the early lactation and late lactation milkers. “That is one of the things which interest me, being able to get things exactly right and give the cows what they need,” Mr Flanagan said. “They can be massive producers if they are looked after.” Corn makes up 70 per cent of the silage on the farm, with about 11 to 12 tonnes of it fed-out daily alongside four tonnes of additional fodder.
“The contractor needs to be well aware of the process — how it’s weighed, tested and billed — plus what moisture and chop length you’re chasing,” he said. “We’ve got a really good contractor who’s got good gear, a fair rate but, most importantly, he is very professional. “It’s essential to get the harvester when you want to harvest. It’s only two weeks between having really good silage and ordinary silage.” The farm’s commitment to a clean and tidy silage system extends to the feeding out process. Feed-out workers use a face shaver attachment on a telehandler to ‘shave’ silage off the bunker. “It has little teeth on it, it spins and shaves how much the guys need,” Mr Flanagan said.
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
MURRAY REGION // 7
Meet the new faces at Murray Dairy MURRAY DAIRY has recently welcomed
two new team members, regional extension officer — Young Dairy Network (YDN) co‑ordinator Bec Wyper, and regional extension officer — Our Farm Our Plan project Russell Holman. Ms Wyper will be known to some of the f arming community as having completed a graduate placement with Murray Dairy under the Accelerating Change project a few years ago, then going on to work with Reid Stockfeeds. Since her time with Murray Dairy, Ms Wyper has successfully run three Young Dairy Network meetings with great attendance and mapped out the group’s next 12 months of activities. She also ran her first Cups On Cups Off course with Keith Fletcher from Rochester vets, where 19 farmers joined in the session at Moyhu to learn about how to improve their shed practices. “I find that the majority of the dairy industry is very welcoming and supportive and happy to help support those around them,” Ms Wyper said. “They don’t compete against each other as such and are happy to help out where needed. “I’m looking forward to being able to guide and assist dairy farmers in our industry to strengthen the future for dairy. With evolving technology and challenging seasons, it’s important to keep learning and exploring adoptions for your business.” Mr Holman grew up on a dairy farm at
Murray Dairy has welcomed two new team members, regional extension officer — Young Dairy Network co‑ordinator Bec Wyper and regional extension officer — Our Farm Our Plan project Russell Holman.
Bamawm and he and his wife Loretta ran their own dairy farm for 15 years. He has been actively involved in agriculture across the region, working with Tatura Milk and Coopers & Merial. After starting his role at Murray Dairy, Mr Holman has been planning a number of Our Farm Our Plan courses, designed to help farmers
“Get their Game Plan” by identifying long-term goals, improving business performance and managing volitility. “I am impressed with the way dairy farmers in our region keep evolving and adapting new practices to improve both productivity and lifestyle,” Mr Holman said. “I can’t wait to continue the roll-out of the
Our Farm Our Plan project to dairy farmers in the Murray Dairy region. Beginning with the Farm Fitness Checklist, this program equips the key decision makers in each business to prioritise where they will put their effort, clarifies their long-term business and personal goals, identifies actions needed to achieve goals, and better manage uncertainty and risk.”
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A collaboration between growers and dairy farmers focused on producing quality fodder.
Murray Dairy have partnered with the grain and fodder industries to deliver six winter forage demonstration sites across the northern Victoria and southern Riverina dairy areas. This two and a half year, A$1.6 million project has been funded by the Federal Government under the Murray–Darling Basin Economic Development Program. The project aims to support dairy businesses at a time when increasing numbers of farms have moved away from relying on perennial pastures and are now growing more winter and summer crops. Murray Dairy and its partners have established trial and demonstration sites that will showcase a range of winter crops and management strategies to maximise yield, quality, and profitability.
The partners are: Agriculture Victoria at Tatura, Birchip Cropping Group at Mitiamo, the Irrigated Cropping Council at Kerang, Riverine Plains near Rutherglen, Southern Growers at Finley and the University of Melbourne at Dookie. Crops being investigated include wheat, oats, barley, vetch and faba beans as well as mixtures of oats with vetch, field pea with vetch, oats with canola and vetch with canola. Management strategies include sowing rates, time of sowing, fertiliser use and time of harvest. The results of these demonstration trials will be shared via regular updates, on-site field days and final results. Dairy farmers, crop growers and fodder growers interested in learning more about this project should contact the Murray Dairy website dairyaustralia.com.au/murray-dairy or on the Murray Dairy Facebook and Twitter pages.
Irrigated Cropping Council
Promoting irrigated agriculture
This project was funded by the Australian Government under the Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Program
Demonstration sites update as of June 2021 Site Location
What is being grown
What is happening at this site
Details about the site
Wheat
Applying 4 different nitrogen and sowing rates to measure: - Yield - Quality - Plant stem diameter - Tiller density
The plots were sown dry and irrigate up. Follow up rains have been welcomed and the start to the season has been favourable.
Agriculture Victoria, Tatura
Graeme Phyland, Senior Technician at AgVic Tatura inspects the irrigated wheat plots at Tatura
Birchip Cropping Group, Mitiamo 6 x oat varieties 4 x vetch varieties 4 x mixed species (filed pea and vetch, vetch and oats, oats and canola, vetch and canola)
Demonstration of the effect of 2 different sowing dates and 3 different cutting times to determine: - Final Yield - Quality
Crops are all sown with excellent germination and establishment. Weed and pest control has been excellent and will continue to be monitored.
James Taylor and Genevieve Clarke from Birchip Cropping Group gather plant establishment data..
Irrigated Cropping Council, Kerang Trial 1: Wheat (Cesario) Oats (Forrester) Trial 2: Faba-beans (PBA Bendoc)
To demonstrate the impact of sowing dates and seeding rates as well as 2 different cutting times to measure and understand: - Yield - Quality
All plots have been sown with successful weed and pest free establishment. The crops are all growing well, with some plots quite advanced in their growth stage.
Damian Jones, Trials Manager with the Irrigated Cropping Council, inspects the cereal plots at their Research Centre in Kerang.
Riverine Plains Incorporated, Boorhaman North Oat (Brusher) Vetch (Volga)
Demonstartion of different sowing rates, sowing dates and cutting times to determine the impact on: - Yield - Quality
This is a dryland site with rainfall needed before sowing could commence. The early and late sowings are now both completed and out of the ground.
Jane McInnes Project Officer with Riverine Plains inspects the oats and vetch paddock at Boorhaman North.
Southern Growers, Finley NSW Vetch varieties (Rasina, Timok, Morava and RM4)
Demonstration of management of various vetch varieites, including sowing rates and cutting times to optimise: - Yield - Quality
The vetch crops have now all been sown, with excellent germination and establishment. The season is off to a great start with rapid germination on the irrigated plots and a slightly delayed germination on the dryland plots.
Russell Ford from Southern Growers inspecting the vetch plots at Finley, NSW.
University of Melbourne, Dookie Wheat (Illabo and Kittyhawk) Barley (Planet and Laperouse) Oats (Yallara and Eurabbie)
Demonstration of the performance of 3 cereal species with 2 cultivtars, as well as two different sowing rates to optimise: - Yield - Quality
Research Scientist Sineka Munidasa inspecting the cereal establishment at the Dookie campus research site.
The cereal crops have now all been sown down at the Dookie campus site, with excellent germination and establishment.
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
10 // MURRAY REGION
Mixed outlook for milk production
Profit and investment table. Source: Dairy Australia
DAIRY FARMERS in northern Victoria and
the southern Riverina are more likely to want to increase their herd size in the future than the national average. A National Dairy Farm Survey found that while some Murray Dairy region farmers were expecting to decrease their herd size in the future, many more were anticipating an increase. Nationally, about 77 per cent of farmers recorded a profit in 2019–20, while a higher number expected to return a profit in the year just ended. The figures are contained in the recently released Dairy Australia Situation and Outlook report. National milk production is expected to be stable in 2020–21, with minimal volume change compared to the season prior. Dairy Australia’s initial forecasts suggest zero per cent to two per cent growth in national milk production relative to this year, which would equate to a national milk pool of between 8.80 and 8.97 billion litres. In light of otherwise supportive conditions, high beef prices and strong land values have continued to weigh on the national dairy herd and encourage farm exits, while flooding and the ongoing mouse plague have presented acute issues in the affected areas, the Situation and Outlook report found. The lack of available workers remains a concern across the country. Consumer optimism is high with life in Australia starting to return to a pre-pandemic ‘normal’ (notwithstanding intermittent lockdowns and restrictions on movement), prompting recovery in foodservice spending and domestic dairy markets.
Forecast herd size and production. Source: Dairy Australia
A look at the changing cost of water for northern Victorian farmers. Source: Dairy Australia
There is an increased demand for branded products over private label variants, which is seeing the sales value of all major dairy products soar. Globally, milk output from the four largest exporters — New Zealand, the United States, the European Union (plus the United Kingdom) and Australia — has been steadily increasing. Growth rates have ranged between one per cent and two per cent for much of the past year. Global demand has so far absorbed the additional milk produced, by outpacing supply growth. Greater China (China, Macau and Hong Kong) remains the key driver of this.
A statistical look at the average Murray Dairy region dairy farmer. Source: Dairy Australia
In light of otherwise strong fundamentals, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge market dynamics. While global fundamentals remain positive for the Australian industry, the ongoing labour shortage remains a concern and any deterioration in feed supply also presents a risk.
Overall, most factors suggest another favourable season ahead. Dairy Australia’s quarterly Situation and Outlook reports summarise national milk production, key dairy consumption data and international market impacts on pricing. The June 2021 report is available at: www.dairyaustralia.com.au/sando
RECENT RAIN BRINGS OPTIMISM GEOFF ADAMS Drizzling rain falls on a wintry 10°C day at Stanhope, and organic dairy farmer Craig Emmett is happy. This season dairy farmers across Victoria and the southern Riverina are looking at near record prices — and water, the bane of dry years in the Murray-Darling Basin, should be more available. “There’s certainly plenty to be optimistic about,” Mr Emmett said of the new season. “Milk prices are as high as they have ever been, with conventional farms getting $7.50 to $8/kg.” While the pastures on Shenstone Stud, operated by Mr Emmett and his parents Lyn and Gordon, have been struggling through a dry winter, improved rainfall in June and July is freshening up the paddocks. “With the rain, the season is looking better.” He also pointed to the negative Indian Ocean dipole (the difference between sea surface temperatures on the tropical western and eastern side of the Indian
Ocean) meaning a promise of improved rainfall. The Rural Bank Outlook notes that supply growth will be assisted by strong milk prices and favourable levels of feed. “However, lower feed and water prices are expected to be partially offset by higher fertiliser costs,” the report notes. “In global markets, strengthening demand for finished dairy products, particularly from Asia, is expected to underpin historically high prices.” Better water availability in northern Victoria this season means reduced water costs and good winter rains will boost crops, which should contain feed prices for dairy. In the Dairy Australia Situation and Outlook report, about 37 per cent of Murray region dairy farmers expect to increase their herd size this season. The certified organic Emmett farm is running about 115 cows in July and they expect to build up to a 220 peak, the highest they have reached, based on the expectation of a better season.
Craig Emmett is more optimistic about this season. Picture: Kloe O’Keefe
Organic milk prices tend to run several dollars higher per kilogram than conventional farm systems, due to the retail price differences and higher input costs. Curiously, Mr Emmett points out that the difference had shrunk at the start
of this season to an average of about $1.50/kg. He puts this down to supply and demand — mainstream milk is in short supply but more organic farmers are looking for processors due to the failure of a major organic processor last year.
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
12 // MURRAY REGION
The long journey to robots BY SOPHIE BALDWIN
Hannah Dee is currently completing an agri-business course at university and spends time in the barn helping out.
The barn houses eight robotic milkers.
IT MIGHT have been five years in the making, but the Dee family from Clydevale Holsteins at Macorna in northern Victoria has finally realised a dream of building a state-of-the-art compost barn complete with robotic milkers. The barn is a long way from the family’s first foray into dairying at Clyde in 1975, with Adrian and Cheryl Dee milking 27 cows in a six-unit walk-through and a 40 gallon milk contract. “I really see robots as the way of the future and they are certainly a multi-generational investment,” Adrian said. “The first time I saw them was in Canada in 2008 and they impressed me then and they have certainly come a long away.” The state-of-the art barn will comfortably milk 500 high-producing Holstein cows, and the family is looking forward to the multitude of benefits it will bring to the herd. Sadly, Cheryl died before construction began — but she did see the initial plans and was 100 per cent behind the concept. Sitting on about a hectare, the 200 m by 60 m compost barn houses eight robotic milkers, divided into four separate spaces with a wide central feed alley, complete with 24-hour access to a total mixed ration (TMR) and a robotic Lely Juno feed pusher. A climate-controlled sensor activates fans and sprinklers when required and, while the cows do have access to an outside area, they seem to prefer spending their day chewing their cud and loafing on the soft-pack compost. The compost is a work in progress and the family is learning when to turn it and how best to manage it. The barn includes a designated vet area, complete with a crush and AI facility, along with an office, staffroom and upstairs viewing platform. Clean water is delivered via two dams with a total storage capacity of 35 megalitres and all wastewater is recycled, travelling through an effluent separator before it enters the two-dam 15 Ml system. The 32,000 litre vat holds more volume than the tanker that used to pick up their milk and includes a 1600 litre buffer vessel for additional storage because the robots run 24 hours a day. The scale of the barn is simply immense and has to be seen to be believed, and the family members are more than confident it will support their herd and business for generations to come. On May 19, after a two-and-a-half-year construction period (including a 12-month break halfway through) the first cow was milked. It has been an absolute whirlwind for Adrian and sons Colin, Kevin, Adam, Mark, daughter Clare and Mark’s wife Mandy ever since. “The first three days were horrendous but we just knew it had to be done so we just buckled down and did it,” Adrian said. “We had lots of help from Lely, Riverland and family and friends, but we certainly didn’t get much sleep in those first few days.” Pushing each cow into the robot for the first couple of milkings was a physical feat itself, especially considering some of the big-framed cows weigh more than 900 kg. “If we didn’t have so much support from people helping us over the first week we would have never got some of those big girls in,” Adam said.
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
MURRAY REGION // 13 Continued from page 12
The first cow to be milked through the system was the family’s prized and highly successful show cow Hullabaloo Bolton Sundae EX95, who despite being regularly handled and dolled up for shows, refused to enter the robot. “In the end Adam went and got a rope and he had to lead her in,” Adrian said with a laugh. Like the majority of cows, it only took a couple of milkings for Sundae to get accustomed to the new milking process. Two weeks later, a quarter of the 480-cow herd were finding their way into the robots without any assistance at all. There is nothing stopping a cow from entering the robots as evidenced by one cow who had 14 trips through in one day, however they will be rejected and only milked after a five-hour period has passed. “This particular cow had worked out she got a tiny drop of grain every time she went through,” Adrian said. “Our first heifer to calve breezed through and we have one recently calved cow giving 62 litres.” The data the family receives from each milking will be critical for management moving forward and includes: per quarter litres, cell count and conductivity to help with mastitis detection. They have also found the scale feature interesting — surprised by how heavy some of their cows actually are. “It is interesting to see how their weight fluctuates depending on how much milk they have and how often they get milked,” Mandy said.
“The system currently doesn’t test for fat and protein so we will still have to herd test but we are hoping that might become a feature down the track,” Adam said. The family members have noticed production has already increased and they are looking forward to seeing the benefits it will bring over the long, hot summer months. Mark and Mandy’s daughter, Hannah, is currently completing an agri-business course at university but she has spent every day of the past few weeks in the barn helping out. While Hannah is not sure where the future will lead her, she is passionate about cows and hasn’t ruled out taking over the reins of the dairy business one day. “My brother Ryan likes tractors and machinery and I like the herd side of things,” she said. Despite building the dairy in the middle of a global pandemic, there weren’t too many hold-ups and the construction phase was relatively problem-free — including moving 135,000 cubic metres of dirt over a couple of months just to set the foundations. “Everything was pre-ordered so we were pretty lucky and didn’t have to wait for anything much,” Adrian said. “We tried to use and support local business as often as possible and while we are all glad construction is over and finished, I don’t think I could ever go through something like that again. “And I must add a huge thanks to our project manager James Green from Greencon who did a fantastic and professional job planning and constructing the barn.”
The 200m by 60m compost barn has a wide central feed alley.
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
14 // MURRAY REGION
Zeerust isolation ward saves lives DANEKA HILL
A ZEERUST farm has built its very own pop-up
quarantine facility from hay pallets after a recently purchased herd of cows brought in a deadly virus. Former dairy farmer Ashley Dempster had introduced nearly 100 dairy cows from a local dispersal sale onto his farm in an effort to return to the dairy profession.
The girls have proved themselves good additions but came with an underlying virus called Cryptosporidiosis parvum which was wiping out nearly all the calves born. “I didn’t know what it was, I’d never seen it before,” Mr Dempster said. “It’s called crypto, like I’m infected with a damn bitcoin. . . it would hit the calves at around two weeks of age and they were basically shitting themselves to death.”
Ashley Dempster inspects the condition of C3, who is showing a lot of energy compared to their neighbours C2 and C4.
Crypto is a high mortality virus with no clear cure. It causes diarrhea in calves and is passed through contact with infected faeces. Much like the similar parvovirus in dogs, the virus can survive in the ground for months. Mr Dempster was able to work with vets and his milk supplier, ACM, to identify the virus and act quickly. His quarantine facility has three wings — A , B and C — and every pen is labelled with an ID number. “You can virtually walk past them and monitor them, like B11 here had a shot this morning, a pick-me-up. He is not really perky,” Mr Dempster said. “Thankfully this quarantine system has nearly eliminated the disease. Before the calves were in groups of five or six with the big teat bars. We had to go and buy individual feeders for disease control.” The isolation facility is constructed from hay pallets, and hay tarps have been used to provide shade and rain protection. “We are lucky I had so many pallets around and we’re lucky we’ve got Kim, our worker, who’s been doing a fantastic job with them,” Mr Dempster said. “We are feeding them three times a day, which is a fair job. Two litres of milk, a litre of electrolytes, then another two litres of milk.” Since setting up the intensive quarantine wards, nearly all the remaining calves — about 40 — are rapidly regaining strength.
“Once it is up and running this rearing method is actually easier because you put the individual feeder over and when we come back in half an hour they have either drank it or they haven’t,” Mr Dempster said. Mr Dempster said ACM’s high level of support while he was getting the farm back into fighting form had been indispensable. “Sue Milne from ACM has been a huge help too, she used to be a calf rearing specialist,” he said. “Milk price is one thing, but ACM have helped us so much, from getting the dairy licence and to everything happening here.” Mr Dempster said he would be practising isolated calf rearing this year and next in an effort to completely eliminate crypto from the herd and the soil.
While most of the isolation ward was able to be made from materials hanging around the farm, Mr Dempster did need to invest in individual feeders which he says are working out to be easier than teat bars.
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The calves are in their isolation wards for four weeks. Keeping them separate allows the farm to monitor which calves are off their milk and which ones are still passing liquid stool.
DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
MURRAY REGION // 15
Keeping the cheese machines going FITTER AND turner apprentice Ken Curnow
Former chief engineer at Stanhope Ken Curnow, right, with current engineering manager Neil Bickerstasse in front of one of the modern cheesemakers.
Ken Curnow checks out the modern factory at Stanhope with son Roger Curnow, who is a fitter at the Fonterra site.
rode his bike eight kilometres to work every day when he first started out in the dairy industry. Mr Curnow spent a large part of his working life running and maintaining the huge machines that produce dairy products in Victoria, including a period as engineering manager at the Stanhope Fonterra factory site, which reached 100 years on the site. “I started out when I was 16. Every day I rode the bike from Koyuga South on sand roads to Tongala Milk Products,” he said. “I was paid two pounds, 18 shillings a week, and tax was two bob.” His next job was with a Kyabram engineering shop where he made hay elevators and agricultural equipment before moving to Tasmania to work with the Comalco Aluminium company on the north coast. His next stint was in an underground power station and after several other jobs in Tasmania he moved back to Kyabram to work at the town’s fruit cannery. He was lured to Melbourne to work with dairy technology company Bell Bryant, and went to work installing equipment at Koroit and then at Camperdown, where he and his wife had to live in a caravan. The factory owners were so impressed with his work they invited him to stay for six months
to oversee its operation, before he returned to Kyabram to install equipment at the Tongala Nestle factory. Mr Curnow was still working for Bell Bryant when the company invited him to install a huge, 40 tonne cheddaring plant for the Stanhope Co‑operative Dairy Company. The massive piece of equipment was vital to the operations of the factory and, after it was installed, his employer was asked if Mr Curnow could stay on to oversee its operation. “So they sold me to Stanhope as well as the plant,” Mr Curnow quips. He became chief engineer and lived in one of the company houses on the Stanhope site. “It was a 24–7, on-call job and I was paid $80 a week,” he recalled. He stayed for many years, before establishing his own business in Kyabram — Valken Engineering. Mr Curnow returned to the factory only recently to inspect the new automated cheesemaking machines; the first time he had been back in 30 years. He went through a protracted hygiene and security process to gain access to the factory floor — in his days wives of the staff would wander into the building with their lunches. “There’s been some big changes,” Mr Curnow mused.
Former chief engineer at the Stanhope dairy factory (now owned by Fonterra) Ken Curnow returned recently to inspect the new cheesemaking equipment.
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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2021
16 // MURRAY REGION
Gardens and airstrip sweeper funded AN AIRSTRIP sweeper to help volunteers
maintain runway safety at the Cohuna Airstrip and an Edible Garden project at Rochester Secondary College are among 30 projects from across Victoria’s three main dairy regions funded through the Gardiner Dairy Foundation Community Grants Program. Now in its 19th year, the program is delivered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR). The grants of up to $5000 help not-for-profit organisations in small Victorian dairy communities deliver projects to benefit local people and strengthen their ability to deal with local issues. Gardiner Dairy Foundation chief executive Clive Noble said the funding ensured Gardiner contributed to locally identified issues. “Through this partnership we are contributing to solutions unique to that community to create genuine, long-term impact,” Dr Noble said. “We also see communities leverage these funds. “Often, that cash injection can be the catalyst that enables community groups to undertake projects of larger impact.” FRRR chief executive officer Natalie Egleton said the longstanding partnership with Gardiner Dairy Foundation had been successful in creating many exceptional projects within Victoria’s dairy communities. “Our long partnership with Gardiner Dairy Foundation has enabled us to support Victoria’s
dairy communities with funding for projects that tackle local challenges and meet the needs and priorities of each place,” Ms Egleton said. Projects funded in the Northern Dairy region included: Kyabram Blue Light — KyFit — Health Fitness & Wellbeing Centre — growing access to youth activities and services by developing the Kyabram Blue Light Health, Fitness and Wellbeing Centre. Eskdale Community Hub — growing c ommunity connection and cohesion and supporting volunteers in offering a user-friendly and welcoming community facility by enhancing the Eskdale Public Hall. Murrabit Hall — Rolling On! — supporting volunteer vitality and encouraging community connection by enhancing the outdoor area at the Murrabit Hall. Katamatite Pre-School — Nature and Technology — improving the organisation’s ability to host its Bush Kinder program with the provision of cameras and technology for offsite use and additional resources. Hot Water for Leitchville — supporting volunteers and improving community facilities at Leitchville Bowls Club by installing a fivelitre wall urn. Edible Garden — growing opportunities for educational participation for students of Rochester Secondary College by funding their student developed Edible Garden project.
2021 Gardiner Dairy Foundation Community Gardiner Dairy Foundation Community Grants Program recipients at the presentation event in Melbourne.
Lions Airfield Griffin Club Branch / The Lions Club of Cohuna Incorporated Cohuna Airport Maintenance and Safety — helping volunteers maintain runway safety at the Cohuna Airstrip with an airstrip sweeper. Milawa Primary Community Hub — improving school facilities to increase
capacity for broader community use through installation of new shade sails in the playground of Milawa Primary School. Ovens Valley Mobile Arts and Crafts Centre — supporting the Ovens Valley Mobile Arts and Crafts Centre by providing storage space for arts and craft supplies at the Springhurst Primary School.
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