dairy news australia november 2015

EVERY DROP

COUNTS

PIPE DREAM?Does solar powered irrigation stack up?

PAGE 31

DAIRY LEVY CHANGES‘Over my dead body’ PAGE 18

MG still hopeful of $6.05/kg MS PAGE 10

High water prices squeeze margins . PAGES 4-5

NOVEMBER, 2015 ISSUE 64 // www.dairynewsaustralia.com.au

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NEWS // 3

NEWS ��3-13

AROUND THE REGIONS �� 14-16

OPINION ��17-19

MARKETS �� 20-21

MANAGEMENT ��22-23

BREEDING MANAGEMENT �� 24-25

ANIMAL HEALTH �� 26-28

EFFLUENT & WATER

MANAGEMENT �� 29-31

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS �� 32-34

Research backs whole milk. PG.09

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Gippsland dairy worth $3 billion. PG.11

THE AUSTRALIAN dairy indus-try is breathing a collective sigh of relief after the Federal Opposi-tion confirmed late last month it will back the China Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) fol-lowing talks with the government to include new legal safeguards.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the safeguards would apply in three specific areas: labour market testing, protecting Australian wages and conditions, and uphold-ing workplace skills and safety stan-dards.

“Having secured these outcomes, Labor will support the ChAFTA enabling legislation in Parliament, which will allow Australian exporters to gain improved access to the Chinese market at the earliest opportunity,” Mr Shorten said.

Australian Dairy Industry Coun-cil chair Noel Campbell praised Federal Parliament for recognising the importance of implementing the agreement to ensure Australia doesn’t fall further behind its com-petitors who already have an FTA with China.

“It is important the ChAFTA is implemented this year so our indus-try will be able to take advantage of two tariff cuts in rapid succession,” he said.

“Once the agreement enters into force it will enhance the competitive position of Australian dairy.

“This is good for growth, for jobs, for the economy and a boon for our

export market.”He said the dairy industry, led by

the ADIC, has fought hard for the implementation of ChAFTA.

“We’re pleased to see bipartisan support and collaboration for ratify-ing this important trade agreement,” he said.

The announcement came nearly a week after members of the dairy industry gathered on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra to highlight the importance of the ChAFTA to the sector – and cele-brate the dairy industry’s contribu-tion to the Australian economy more broadly.

Bega farmers Ashleigh and Michael Rood (pictured), who brought their beautiful ‘White Gold‘

Holstein show cows to Canberra for the day, said the trip was a fantas-tic opportunity to give back to the industry.

“How often do you get to show your cows at Parliament?” Mr Rood said.

Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon and parliamentar-ians Cathy McGowan, Dan Tehan, Darren Chester and Clive Palmer also mingled with industry repre-sentatives - and the small selection of Jerseys and Holsteins – during the afternoon.

An industry dinner, attended by Mr Fitzgibbon, Minister for Agricul-ture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce and several other politicians, was held later that night.

Dairy industry celebrates hard won China deal

IN BRIEF

MADELEINE BRENNAN

Fonterra sells stake in BegaFONTERRA has sold its 9% stake in Bega Cheese for A$74 million. The co-op purchased its shareholding in 2013, amid a takeover battle for Australian processor Warrnambool Cheese and Butter; Bega unsuccessfully bid for WCB. Fonterra chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini said the sale would release capital to support future growth. He said the sale of Fonterra’s shareholding has no implications for its long-standing relationship with Bega, which includes a licence on the Bega brand and a supply contract for cheese.

MG acquires Tasmanian Dairy ProductsMURRAY Goulburn has acquired Mitsubishi Corporation’s remaining 24.1% in Tasmanian Dairy Products Co Pty Ltd (TDP) for $4.8 million. As a result of the acquisition, MG assumes 100% ownership of TDP – one of Tasmania’s largest dairy companies processing about 25% of Tasmania’s milk. MG’s operations in Tasmania now include 100% ownership of TDP, a packaging facility at Edith Creek and two MG Trading stores located in Smithton and Deloraine.

Yo You a no goYO You Dairy looks to have shelved its development plans, after the time period for challenging the Bass Coast Shire Council’s rejection lapsed last month. The company had planned to expand its herd to 1000 and develop a milk bottling plant at the Kernot farm in Gippsland. The Bass Coast Shire Council rejected the application on the grounds it was incompatible with its surrounds and an over-intensification of the land.

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4 // NEWS

Farmers cut herds as water prices surgeFARMERS IN the Murray Darling Basin are cutting herd num-bers and reducing milk production due to the high cost of water.

Farmers in Victo-ria’s north and north-east and irrigators on the New South Wales Murray system are among the worst affected by the price spike in temporary irrigation water.

The cost of water recently peaked at almost $300 a megalitre (ML) in some regions.

Although prices have since eased slightly, chair of the Australian Dairy-farmers’ Natural Resource Manage-ment Policy Advisory Group Daryl Hoey said the average cost of tempo-rary water has more than doubled in three seasons.

“The extent to which the pric-ing affects each individual farm in the region varies depending on their financial situation and farming system,” Mr Hoey said.

“We know farmers are respond-ing by reducing their herds and pro-duction due to the dry conditions and high water prices this season.”

Mr Hoey said the monthly water price in now more than $200/ML compared with $125 last season and $80 two years ago.

NSW farmer Ross Tanner is one of those weighing up whether to cut back on stock numbers. He currently milks

800 cows on 900ha at Berrigan near Finlay, but says that will reduce if the season stays dry and water remains expensive. “Temporary water is hov-ering between $270 and $280 a mega-litre,” he said.

“Last year we averaged $126/ML buying 950ML… and back then our permanent water allocation was 61%.

“This year our allocation sits on 13%, which leaves a big hole to fill with purchased water or bought in feed.”

Mr Tanner expects to buy between 1000 and 1500ML of water, and is forecasting the worst financial return on his farm since the drought years of 2006 to 2010.

Like many farmers, Mr Tanner attributes the price spike to the grow-ing number of speculators trading in

the market and the volume of water being held for environmental flows.

“The uncoupling of water from land has allowed speculators and investors to obtain water rights and

then sell it on the temporary water market for personal gain,” he said.

“Government water buy backs have also skewed the temporary market.”

Drought loans now available in four statesVICTORA has been added to list of state’s than can apply under the Fed-eral Government’s Drought Conces-sional Loans Scheme for 2015/16. Loans are to assist drought-affected farms manage through and recover from drought and return to viability in the long term. Loans of up to 50% of eligible farm business debt to a maxi-mum of $1 million will be available. Under the 2015/16 round, the govern-ment has provided Queensland with $15 million, $10 million in South Aus-tralia and $30 million in both Victoria and NSW. Visit http://www.agricul-ture.gov.au for more information.

New groundwater informationTHE Bureau of Meteorology has released a centralised access point for national information on Australia’s groundwater resources. The Suite comprises four products: the Australian Groundwater Insight, the Australian Groundwater Explorer, the Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems Atlas and the National Groundwater Information System. The Insight is a new web product that interprets groundwater information for non-technical users. The Explorer has been updated with easier access to information for approximately 800,000 bores across Australia and an improved search function, while the Atlas provides information of the location and characteristics of ecosystems that depend on groundwater. One third of Australia’s water is sourced from groundwater. Visit www.bom.gov.au/water/groundwater

20GL made availableTHE Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) has completed its sale 20GL of temporary water from the Goulburn river catchment. The sale was administered through com-petitive tender with minimum bids of 30 ML, and closed at 3pm on Wednes-day October 28. The Victorian Farmers Federation welcomed the sale, but said water trading rules should be relaxed to enable more trading of temporary water. “We want the CEWH to be able to use the proceeds from the sale of temporary water to fund environmental works and measures. Successful bidders will be notified by November 10.

IN BRIEF

MG SECURES WATER FOR VIC SUPPLIERS

MURRAY Goulburn has taken the unusual step of securing water from investors to help its farmers through the dry period.

The processor has secured 9000ML from two superannuation funds.

In a letter to suppliers, MG said the water would be available for lease by farmers in northern Victoria and southern NSW.

“MG is offering a lease price exclusively to its Victorian suppliers of $125/ML, plus standard water charges and administration costs,” MG wrote.

“Given New South Wales General Security Allocations are less reliable, the lease price for NSW has been negotiated at $60/ plus standard water

charges and administration costs.

“MG suppliers, particularly from the northern Victoria and southern Riverina, have told us that improving the security of irrigation water to their business is critical to their operations, particularly as water markets change.”

Murray Goulburn supplier Ross Tanner said he will not be taking up the offer, but thinks it’s a move widely supported by farmers.

“Look, I think it’s a helping hand for those who want to take it up,” he said.

“It’s giving us another tool, and shows that Murray Goulburn is looking for ways to help suppliers during a tough period.”

CAMERON WILSON

A voice for dairy in Vic state parliamentVICTORIA HAS a new dairy farmer voice in state parliament following the election of Roma Brit-nell as the Member for South West Coast.

A farmer from Woolsthorpe near Warrnambool, Ms Britnell is a former Australian Dairy Farmers board member, deputy president of the United Dairyfarmers of Vic-toria, former chairman of WestVic Dairy, a Nuffield Scholar and was

named Australian Rural Woman of the Year in 2009.

She replaces former Victo-rian Premier Denis Napthine and becomes the only Victorian parlia-mentary representative from a dairy farming background.

Ms Britnell said her agricultural representative roles over the past decade had helped her to develop skills that would continue to bene-fit the dairy industry.

“I became involved because we’re such an agriculture-based region and I could see there was so much potential we’re not realising,” she said.

Ms Britnell said she hoped to encourage government to set up a framework to support and embrace farming businesses and agricultural services.

“We need to enshrine food pro-duction as a national objective and

address the issues that are limiting or inhibiting it,” she said.

“Over the next 50 years the world has to grow more food than we’ve grown in the last 500 years. That challenge is enormous and in Western Victoria we are well placed to play a part. The towns and region will be the beneficiary if we do it right.”

Ms Britnell said improving the region’s roads was a high priority.

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NEWS // 5

Andrew Leahy is buying an extra 5000 tonnes of fodder this season. PHOTOS: CAMERON WILSON

High water costs drain returnsNORTH VICTORIAN dairy farmer Andrew Leahy is bracing for the worst financial return he’s had since 2008.

Seven years ago it was the plummeting milk price triggered by the Global Financial Crises that sent his balance sheet into the red.

This season the prob-lem is the high cost of tem-porary irrigation water.

“We did our budget and on a cash flow basis we are probably going to go back-wards about $150,000 this season,” Mr Leahy said.

“This year was going to be a break even year … the water is the difference, because of the increased temporary market which

also increases the fodder prices.”

Mr Leahy milks 600 cows on his 500ha prop-erty at Murrabit near Kerang in north-west Vic-toria, producing about 350,000/kg MS annually for Murray Goulburn.

The property’s 900 ML high security water right from the Murray system is used to flood irrigate the pastures of annual rye-grass and clover.

His current allocation this season sits at 68%, but Mr Leahy is still hoping that will reach close to 100% later in the year.

Even with a full water allocation, about 400ML of temporary irriga-tion water is bought each season to maximise pro-duction.

With the price of tem-

porary water double last season, Mr Leahy says it’s the main cost that’s hurt-ing the business.

“We’ve actually done our budgets early and in our budget we’ve allowed $100,000 for temporary water,” he said.

“So knowing that we spent $40-$50,000 last year on 400ML, if we have

to buy the same, well we know it will be nearly $100,000.

“That’s just straight up cost.”

Although the price of water is now becoming one of the major operat-ing costs for the business, he says cutting back is not an option.

“We know that we need to use water in the spring to get the biggest bang for our buck off that water, and we know if we don’t

irrigate in autumn then we won’t have enough growth,” he said.

“So our bare minimum would be 1100 to 1300ML of water a year to use to get the basics of our farm

there, anything on top is a bonus.”

It’s not only the direct cost of temporary water that is affecting the via-bility of the farm, feed costs are also rising.

About 1000 tonnes of hay and silage are nor-mally bought each year to supplement the feed grown on the property.

But this year that’s been increased to 1500 tonnes at significant expense to the business.

The extra fodder will be stored as preparation for low water availability next season and in antic-ipation of another big spike in the temporary

water market.“What worries me is

that we won’t have the water next year, we might get 50% (permanent water allocation) if we’re lucky, but unless we have major rain late this spring I can’t see us having a lot of water for next year.”

“So that’s why I’m doing that.”

In addition to the fodder and pasture, cows are also fed two tonnes per head of grain each year and half a tonne of canola meal.

Mr Leahy considered cutting production and reducing the herd size to reduce costs, but after seeking advice decided against the move.

“When we did the bud-gets we talked about drop-ping cow number but when we did the numbers it didn’t make sense,” he

said.“We know what we can

do with what we’ve got. “At times like at the

moment you should do what you do OK and don’t rock the boat too much.

“We’ve taken some other precautions, we’ve asked the bank to go to interest only on our capi-tal so hopefully that will help.”

Like many in the indus-try, Mr Leahy believes that the increased environ-mental allocation of water has exacerbated the prob-lem of high temporary irri-gation costs.

While he acknowledges the need to allocate envi-ronmental flows, he says more transparency and clarity is needed.

“My wish would be to release environmental water on to the market,” he said.

“A trigger point so when we don’t have a lot of water, it triggers a per-centage of that water onto the market.

“We’re having winners and losers in irrigation, we need to do the same thing with the environment.”

CAMERON WILSON

WHO: Andrew Leahy WHERE: Murribat WHAT: Managing water costs

“This year was going to be a break-even year … the water is the difference, because of the increased temporary market which also increases the fodder prices.” – Andrew Leahy

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6 // NEWS

Go ahead for Darnum joint venture

FONTERRA has appointed Judith Swales to the new role of managing director for Oceania.

Ms Swales, the co-op’s managing director for Australia since 2013, will report directly to Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings.

Mr Spierings said Ms Swales was the natural choice to lead Oceania, which is comprised of Fonterra’s Australian business and its New Zealand consumer businesses, including Tip Top.

“Judith has a great understanding of consumers

and their relationship to brands and has proven her ability to build effective partnerships in the highly competitive supermarket sector in Australia,” Mr Spierings said.

“By having Judith lead Oceania we are ensuring the growth of our brands on both sides of the Tasman.

“Judith also has extensive experience in business transformation and has led the reshaping of our Australian operations. She will continue to progress our detailed plan to lift our performance and profitability in Australia.”

Ms Swales joined Fonterra following leadership roles with Heinz Australasia and Goodyear Dunlop Australia.

Fonterra Brands NZ will continue to run as a standalone business in New Zealand, under the managing director Jonathan Box, who will report to Ms Swales. Fonterra is working through a process to appoint a permanent person to this role.

Ms Swales will remain based in Melbourne, and her appointment takes effect November 1.

JUDITH SWALES APPOINTED HEAD OF OCEANIA

FONTERRA HAS received approval by the Beingmate Baby and Child Food board to establish a joint venture to pur-chase the co-op’s Darnum plant in Aus-tralia.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spier-ings said China is a key strategic market, and the global partnership with Being-mate provides significant growth poten-tial for both companies.

“The partnership will create a fully integrated global supply chain from the farm gate direct to China’s consumers, using Fonterra’s milk pools and manu-facturing sites in New Zealand, Austra-lia, and Europe.”

Mr Spierings said working with Beingmate created additional demand for ingredients and high-value paedi-atric and maternal nutrition products made from Fonterra milk, comple-mented by milk drawn from other inter-national milk pools.

“The Beingmate Board’s approval is a further important step in our part-nership.

“It is also another milestone in our strategy to increase the volume and value of products we export to China.”

The joint venture will manufacture nutritional powders, including infant formula and other nutritional milk pow-ders, at Darnum in Victoria, for Fonterra and Beingmate and other customers.

Beingmate will own 51% of the joint venture and Fonterra will retain a 49% stake, and run the plant operation.

“Our partnership with Beingmate is already strengthening the presence of our Anmum infant formula brand.

“Distribution through Beingmate

is underway, with the first shipments landed in China in June,” Mr Spierings said.

“Beingmate has an extensive distri-bution and sales network with signifi-cant growth potential and the company continues to pursue a leading position in the China infant formula market.”

The Beingmate Board’s approval of the joint venture will be put to a vote of Beingmate shareholders at an EGM on November 16.

In August 2014, Fonterra and Being-mate announced they planned to form a global partnership to help meet China’s growing demand for infant formula. In March this year, Fonterra acquired 18.8% of Beingmate.

Beingmate will own 51% of Darnum manufacturing plant.

Right: Judith Swales

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NEWS // 7

Report poses $8.6 billion question

A NEW report by ANZ says the Australian dairy industry could increase production by nearly 6 bil-lion litres a year to meet demand from Asia and attract around $8.6 billion in investment.

But industry experts and farmers have expressed doubts about capacity and confidence to reach the goal.

The report, ‘Looking for a Sign: Unlocking Aus-tralian Dairy’s potential’, says the industry has the opportunity to increase production from 9.2 bil-lion to 15 billion litres of milk per year to meet growing demand from countries such as China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

It says while Austra-lia only accounts for about 2% of the world’s milk production, there is the potential for dairy exports including liquid milk, pow-dered milk, cheese and yoghurt, to lift due to the rapid growth of the Asian middle class and their increasing dietary prefer-ence for dairy.

However, it predicts demand growth will out-strip supply growth by 2018, and Australian industry leaders are dubi-ous about the ability to fast-track growth unless prices improve.

The report is upbeat about Australia’s dairy prospects but cautious about the impact of “key issues” that plague the industry.

It shows Australia has a 7% share of world dairy trade but its share of global dairy exports declined by 15% between 2002 to 2012, due to fac-tors mostly outside gov-ernment or manufacturer control, such as drought, the removal of incen-tives for over-production, dairy farmer demography, strong domestic demand for dairy products, volatile international commod-ity prices and the appre-ciation of the Australian dollar.

However, it says a long-term price improvement would send a strong signal to the market, encour-aging farmgate produc-tion growth and increased investment by processors.

ANZ’s head of agribusi-ness Mark Bennett said domestic dairy consump-tion has barely changed in the past decade but this could be offset with the significant opportu-nity presented in the Asian market.

“The emerging Asian market opportunity is sig-nificant and the added impact of the China-Aus-tralia Free Trade Agree-ment, especially when China’s milk demand is supported by 70% imports, means Australia is now even better posi-tioned to capitalise on meeting China’s increased demand.

“Assuming a scenario where dairy producers can adjust key variables such as herd numbers or calving cycles to quickly scale production up, this could lead to milk produc-

RICK BAYNE Government must provide incentivesQUEENSLAND DAIRYFARMERS Organisation president Brian Tessmann said farmers needed a reasonable price to restore confidence so they could capitalise on the opportunities in China.

Mr Tessmann said Queensland had been “clobbered” by a domestic downturn while the international market soared.

“That really damaged the industry in Queensland and put a limiter on our ability to take advantage of opportunities overseas,” he said.

Mr Tessmann said if returns to farmers improved, production could be ramped up.

“Farmers need to see something work and get some confidence from it; the problems aren’t insurmountable.”

Mr Tessmann believes government support could provide the incentive for farmers to expand.

“The government needs to get behind any industry looking to export to look at what can be done to get them up to source milk and cost effectively export,” he said.

‘I don’t worry much about what the banks say’

VICTORIAN DAIRY farmer Cameron McIlveen from CFM Dairy Recruitment, took to Twitter to express his frustrations about the push for growth.

“Dairy advisors still talking up opportunities for growth; it’s like real estate agents talking up houses in a recession. Grow/Buy. Fools!”

Although he hadn’t seen details of the ANZ report, Mr McIlveen said he was concerned about the constant push for growth.

“I don’t worry too much about what the banks say but everyone’s telling you to grow, grow, grow,” he said.

“I’d love to expand. I have 120 acres either side of me for sale but I wouldn’t buy anything. You’d just be buying yourself more of a headache.”

Mr McIlveen milks 220 cows producing just over 1.7million litres but says the milk price barely covers costs and he has no confidence in having a secure water supply.

“I find it hard to see Australia going to 15 billion litres. With land prices where’s the expansion area?” he said.

“You need the milk price to have the confidence to grow.”

FTA will be a catalyst for changeNSW FARMERS Association Dairy Committee chair Rob McIntosh said there was untapped capacity in the state as herds become larger and farms expand.

“We are working collaboratively with the rest of industry to build an industry strategy which grows NSW milk supply to 1.5 billion litres by 2022,” Mr McIntosh said.

Mr McIntosh said he believed the China FTA would be a catalyst for positive change.

“I think the broader discussion on the value of ratification has focused the industry on the opportunities and there’s no doubt that it will enhance the competitive position of Australian dairy,” he said.

“The new generation coming through are planning smarter and seriously engaging with the opportunities - and older farmers are more and more understanding the need for good succession planning - that in itself will allow the industry to move forward.”

Mr McIntosh said that as a predominantly fresh milk market, the opportunities for NSW in Asia are enormous.

“Equally, the value for Australian farmers will be in exploiting niche markets effectively and there are particular opportunities for those who can control more of the supply chain,” he added.

tion increases of closer to 15%, which would see production of 15 billion litres achieved much more quickly than the current trend,” Mr Bennett said.

“Unfortunately key issues do plague the indus-try, such as a fragmented dairy supply chain, milk supply constraints, ageing farmer population, and a reluctance to invest cap-ital.

“Despite this, Austra-lian capital holders and Australian dairy farmers must invest strongly in the industry if we are to take our share of increased global consumption. Our willingness to inno-vate and embrace new approaches is critical to this.”

Dairy Australia’s group manager – trade & indus-try strategy, Charlie McEl-hone, said it was pleasing that ANZ sees dairy as a

positive industry with real opportunities for growth, but it was difficult to say if 15 billion litres is a likely scenario.

Mr McElhone said there were some concerns from the dairy industry about “simplified mes-sages” in public reporting about getting to 15 billion litres.

“Discussion around potential for growth is a complex equation. It’s not as simple as saying hold on to your heifers and we’ll get to 15 billion litres. We do believe there is capacity to grow but to what level we’re not commenting on.

“Individual factors for individual farms need to be acknowledged. The report provides a number of different scenarios and acknowledges there are different complexities. Growth by itself is not necessarily for all farm-

ers.”Mr McElhone said

Dairy Australia hoped for more profitability in dairy

farming to build confi-dence to grow.

However, he acknowl-edged constraints such as difficult seasonal condi-tions and the cost of tem-porary water in irrigation districts.

“Dairy is still seen as a pretty good bet and there is continued ongoing investment in the sector, but at the back of every farmer’s mind is volatility in the market place.”

Mr McElhone said a huge amount of capi-tal needs to be invested for Australia to regain its international market share.

“We are seeing a lot of that investment,” he said. “Over the last two years well in excess of $2 billion has been invested but to fully meet our potential capital is required – for-

eign, domestic and at mul-tiple levels of the supply chain, including on-farm and the processors.”

He said there was a role for government to play in conjunction with industry.

“We’ve seen that in Tasmania where there has been a concerted effort of industry work-ing with government to look at the most appropri-ate framework to attract more investors and make sure we fill our factories and they’ve done an amaz-ing job.

“There are great examples of industry working with government to drive a common outcome. That’s invaluable but how that government support looks will vary depending on the region and the capacity and constraints.”

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8 // NEWS

TERANG’S DEMODAIRY will be sold if a long-term tenant cannot be found to shore up the site’s finances.

At the annual general meeting on October 28, the DemoDairy board decided it will no longer operate a milk production business from April next year but wants to lease the farm and secure industry support to retain its unique dairy precinct.

The board decided to sell the herd and equipment and hopes to lease the farm’s dairy from April 1, 2016.

DemoDairy was established 18 years by around 350 cooperative members

as a research and demonstration farm but its role has changed substantially in recent years as on-farm research proj-ects were phased out and demonstra-tion activities were largely replaced by focus farms.

Board member Ralph Leutton said the National Centre for Dairy Educa-tion is already based at the precinct and has two and a half years left on its lease but had not indicated whether they had intended to stay.

“We’re not getting overly positive comments from the industry,” he said.

The DemoDairy board has started

discussions with WestVic Dairy, a former tenant, and Dairy Australia which plans to expand extension ser-vices in the region.

“If we don’t have industry support we might have no other option but to sell the whole site,” Mr Leutton said.

“The precinct has two substantial office blocks, meeting, conference and research buildings which we believe are a valuable asset and should be the focus for the dairy industry in Western Victo-ria, but it has to be viable.”

He said selling it was a last option and was not what they wanted to do.

If the industry agrees to ongoing use of the facilities, DemoDairy will lease the farm as a commercial enterprise.

He said the farm has been profitable for two years and could be an attractive proposition for someone wanting to lease a farm in preparation for buying their own.

“We understand there are some very keen young people looking to get on to leases and there is a dearth of leasable farms around the place.”

He said the need for two full time staff plus consultants was costing more than $150,000 a year.

“The dairy shed is also a bit past its use by date and needs a serious look at it, but it’s a good farm; the shed is a neg-ative but it’s not a stopper,” he said.

The lease proposal would allow DemoDairy to service and reduce its debt of about $1 million and continue to invest in the property.

However, Mr Leutton said the pre-cinct area needed to generate a separate rental return to cover its costs.

“The dairy production business and precinct need to be independent and self-funding and the challenge is for the dairy industry to support that.”

Tenant needed to save Terang DemoDairy

VISITORS TO last month’s Elmore Field Day were treated to samples of Victoria’s first locally-pro-duced camel milk.

Megan Williams runs camel dairy Camel Milk Victoria along with her husband, Chris.

Megan grew up on a dairy farm which her par-ents still run. Both opera-tions are at Kyabram.

They are milking eight camels and hope to

increase that to 15 by year’s end. As Megan said, “we have to crawl before we walk”.

Milking is done using a portable milking machine in a walk-through race. Megan said the udders are very similar to dairy cows.

The cow camels lactate for 18 months and milking goes on all year round.

Camel milk is claimed to be a healthier, more nutritional alternative to

other milk, with a higher percentage of vitamin C, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and protein.

The milk protein in camel milk is known as lac-toferrin, said to have more antibacterial properties than other milk and chil-dren with allergies to cow milk have been known to experience a positive reac-tion to camel milk.

From the samples avail-able at Elmore field days,

the camel milk is thick and creamy.

Camel Milk Victoria pasteurise the camel milk on-farm and there are no additives or preservatives.

The calves are kept exclusively with the cows until about four months of age and then share their milk.

The milk is sold for $25 a litre at a selection of health food stores across Victoria and online, along

with a camel milk soap, laundry powder and lip balm.

Megan says demand for the milk is high, and they are looking to increase suppliers to keep up.

The dairy celebrated its first birthday on Novem-ber 1 with an Open Day.

There are several camel milk dairies across Austra-lia including Queensland, NSW and Western Aus-tralia.

Camels muscle in on Elmore Field Day Megan Williams from Camel Milk Victoria had a 3-week-old camel calf in the pen at their display at last month’s Elmore Field Days.

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The science behind itScientists have discovered that crust and sludge were merely the symptoms of the real problem and that the cause of pond solids were microscopic creatures below the surface – anaerobic bacteria.These anaerobic bacteria thrive in dark environments devoid of oxygen, so to create ideal living conditions they separate the effl uent fi bres and send them to the surface. Once there, these fi bres would combine to form the crust. They also send fi bres to the bottom which combine to form the sludge.

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Effl uent into nutrient-rich fertiliserThe typical effl uent pond is rich in nutrients – all the major elements and minerals required for plant growth. Unfortunately, nutrients such as nitrogen are in a volatile form that is easily leached and lost into the atmosphere.“Aerobic bacteria can change that. They change it by digesting and breaking down the solids and fi bre content of the effl uent. These oxygen loving bacteria retain the N, P, and K to a more stable, organically-bound fertiliser.”The converted nutrients are less leachable and more available to plants over time.Aerobic bacteria need oxygen and light so when you add them to a dairy pond they immediately begin eating the top crust to let in more light and oxygen.These bacteria double in number every 20 minutes meaning in a matter of weeks

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NEWS // 9

Jeremy Hill, Fonterra.

Top US newspaper talks up dairyMILLIONS OF people would have been health-ier if they had consumed milk rather than used milk substitutes, according to an article in The Washing-ton Post.

The article says pre-vious science quoted by US government agencies to warn people off whole milk, including butter, was wrong. That advice was simplistic and the notion that dairy products cause heart disease was incor-rect, it says.

Fonterra chief technol-ogy officer Dr Jeremy Hill says this article will serve to support well known sci-ence about the benefits of dairy products.

This is recognised by the McDonalds restaurant chain in the US, which this year returned butter to its menu and removed dairy substitutes.

“The vast majority of the population doesn’t read scientific and nutrition journals; they read newspapers either online or in print. [Papers] like The Washington Post get picked up broadly and are important in that respect. It’s a way of popularising science in a way consumers can understand. The article, written from a perspective of a layperson, makes it’s quite understandable.”

Dr Hill says the most

important aspect of the science, and its publica-tion, is that it removes barriers to dairy products in the minds of consum-ers. Dairy is recognised as providing a lot of valu-able nutrients, he says. It’s taken a long time for the science to become solid enough to change opinion.

“The science has been there for a long time but it’s now gained so much momentum that it’s changing policies and ultimately it will change consumer purchase decisions. From a sensory perspective milkfat is fantastic: its creaminess is desirable and the nutrition that comes with it makes it a winner. Who would have thought McDonalds in the US would completely change over to butter from substitutes?”

Dr Hill says publicity on the diets of elite sports people will also help cause a shift towards greater use of dairy products. Many key influencers are helping change public opinion in favour of dairy products.

“Celebrity bloggers have become important in this respect -- rock and movie stars and other individuals who influence public opinion; as they adopt change they will drive this even further. But ultimately we need the right nutrition policies and advice from government channels, medical and nutritional advisors.

“Inappropriate barri-ers to consumer choices on nutrition” must be removed and the “support of key decision makers” gained, Dr Hill says. “That

means using a raft of formal and informal chan-nels to influence consum-ers.”

Dr Hill says Fonterra has worked with many

researchers and scientists publishing on the bene-fits of dairy products. The co-op will keep aligning its marketing strategies with this research.

PETER BURKE

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Oz BCS app popularDAIRY AUSTRALIA’S cow body condition scoring smartphone app has had hundreds of downloads since its launch in December 2013 and is helping farmers score cows quickly and more efficiently.

Dairy Australia’s feedbase programme manager, Richard Romano, says the app gives farmers working with seasonal and split calving herds greater control over their herd’s feeding.

“The app has been designed to make the body condition scoring process easier so farmers can realise the benefits in their herd’s reproductive performance and milk production,” he says.

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10 // NEWS

MURRAY GOULBURN remains optimistic it can deliver on its end-of-year forecast of $6.05 kg MS but says the farmgate milk price (FMP) could land in the range of $5.60 - $5.90/ kgMS if a number of external risk factors play out.

These factors, included in the co-operative’s Unit Trust Product Disclosure Statement, include a decrease in commodity prices, a return to a high Australian dollar, a decrease in demand for MG’s products or a reduction in the prices that MG can charge for its products.

Chairman Philip Tracy told shareholders at the co-operative’s AGM on Monday, October 26 the company was positive about the seasonal outlook.

“Looking ahead, the MG Board continues to believe in the long-term growth prospects and fundamentals of the dairy industry and we remain comfortable that the forecast FMP of $6.05/kg MS and net profit after tax attributable to shareholders and unit holders of $86 million can be achieved,” Mr Tracy said.

Managing director Gary Helou said

he believed global dairy commodity prices had bottomed out and will trend higher over the financial year.

“We are confident that a global supply response is emerging as a result of the low dairy commodity price environment and starting to have an impact on prices,” Mr Helou said.

Mr Tracy said the way the global market had played out in 2014/15 highlighted the company was on the right track in terms of its shift to value-added dairy products.

“In FY15, this strategic focus, combined with the ongoing efforts to reduce cost in the business and drive efficiencies, served to minimise the impact of volatility in global dairy commodity markets and supported MG to deliver a final price of $6.02/ kgMS on an available weighted average basis, the third highest MG farmgate price on record,” he said.

“If ever there was a year MG’s strategic shift away from volatile dairy commodities to ready-to-consume dairy foods was to be tested, this was surely it.”

The company’s FY14 revenue was $2.87 billion with its Net Profit After Tax down on the previous year, to $21.2 million (from $29.3 year previous) but above their forecast of $20.1 million.

In line with its strategic priorities, the company grew its dairy foods segment by nearly 30% on the previous year.

Its milk intake grew by 5.5% to almost 3.58 billion litres, and MG said it is still looking to increase supply. MG’s share of the Australian milk pool is now 37% and grew across all regions last year except for south-west Victoria and South Australia which were down slightly due to seasonal conditions.

Mr Tracy downplayed the potential impact of El Nino on production.

“The dry conditions are a concern, however the experts are predicting that El Nino will peak around the end of this year, and will weaken rapidly in autumn

2016. That’s good news.”He said the strength of the FMP

over the past couple of years “means most (farmers) are well placed to manage through this dry period and importantly are taking advantage of the

opportunity to manage their herds with older and less productive cows attracting good prices at market”.

He said with the exception of irrigated water, farm input costs have not risen significantly “and from all reports feed and fodder

remains in good supply”.The company said it will be

providing water and financial assistance to suppliers in need.

Only two shareholders, both Gippsland dairy farmers, asked questions of the board. Alexander Arbuthnot raised concerns about the complexity of the Bell Direct shareholder training platform asked a general question about opportunities

in the international market.Bernhard Lubitz asked three

questions: First about the new governance arrangements around the supplier share offtake above the share standard (the amount of shares owned to match milk production).

“From a governance perspective this current arrangement falls far short of industry best practice,” and “poses huge risks to the co-op, shareholders and unit holders,” he said. “MG can now be seen to be acting as the broker as well as the investment advisor in this process.”

Mr Lubitz called for the suspension of share offtake and to reassess the practice.

Company secretary Fiona Smith said MG received legal and corporate governance advice when establishing the new capital structure and told Mr Lubitz that MG would reply to his detailed concerns formally.

Mr Lubitz also asked about the complexity and cost of producing higher-end value-added dairy products and another about milk production expectations in relation to El Nino.

MG express high hopes for the season at AGM

“Most farmers are well placed to manage through this dry period.”

- Philip Tracy


NEWS // 11

THE DAIRY industry’s importance to the Gippsland economy, currently worth about $3 billion, and the growth opportunities on the horizon were highlighted at a forum in Warragul on October 30 involving key decision-makers from the region.

The forum, titled ‘Gippsland Dairy - Leveraging the Opportunities’ highlighted the important contribution dairy provides the region.

The farming, manufacturing and export industry spans more than 1400 dairy farms which produce about two billion litres of milk a year – 20% of Australia’s total. Around 6800 people work directly on farms and in milk processing factories in Gippsland.

Speakers at the event included GippsDairy chairman Graeme Nicoll, United Dairyfarmers of Victoria (UDV) president Adam Jenkins and keynote speaker David Williams - an investment advisor with Kidder Williams.

In his speech Mr Nicoll, who farms at Fish Creek, highlighted the potential for growth and importance of dairy industry profitability – and the spin-off benefits in investment, jobs and stronger communities.

“Dairy across Victoria has the potential to grow substantially to take advantage of the burgeoning demand for safe, high quality dairy products overseas,” Mr Nicoll said.

“This means more jobs and more economic activity which, in turn, helps maintain the towns and services that make this and other dairy regions attractive as investment and tourist destinations.

“But we have to work hard to attract the investment to deliver this prosperity to the

regions. Investors, new and existing, have many choices about where they put their dollars. It is not inevitable they will choose Gippsland or any other dairy region in Victoria.”

Mr Jenkins focussed on roads and transport, social licence to operate farms, water availability and communications as the key factors in ensuring the ongoing success of the dairy industry.

“We have the soils, climate and proximity to markets to grow profitably and sustainably, and take advantage of the burgeoning global demand for safe, high quality dairy products,” Mr Jenkins said.

“This means more jobs locally in a highly skilled industry, more economic activity, vibrant towns and more of the services that underpin the region’s liveability. But we can’t do it alone. We need to work in partnership with local, state and federal governments, with other agricultural commodity groups, utilities and the community to leverage the opportunities before us.”

Dairy Australia managing director Ian Halliday said the Warragul forum was an important opportunity for the dairy industry to show its worth and potential to the wider community.

“It’s vital that decision-makers understand what dairying contributes to regional economies and the Australian economy as a whole,” Mr Halliday said.

“Having a chance to get people together and discuss our opportunities and concerns is the best way to promote understanding of how we can all help each other build a better dairy industry and a more prosperous Gippsland.” – See social pics from the event in ‘Around the Regions, p.14.

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12 // WORLD NEWS

CHINA WILL soon have 200 million people with chronic illnesses and it will demand food with health benefits, says Paul McDonald, pro vice-chancellor at the New Zealand’s Massey University College of Health.

“Our nation’s economic value is linked inextricably to our ability to pro-duce extra health value,” Prof. McDon-ald said.

Producing “safe food” goes beyond what we have traditionally thought, he said, and extends to the need to produce foods which help with metabolic disor-ders and other chronic illness.

China has 100 million people aged over 40 who have some type of chronic illness: heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes are the big ones. That is expected to increase, even double, over the next 15 years to 200 million -- and that’s just one country.

“The Chinese are currently spend-ing more and more on health care; their health care expenditures are growing by 11.8% per year,” Prof. McDonald said.

“That’s more than four times the rate it is growing in New Zealand and we know how we are struggling. Most of that is related to the growth in chronic illness.”

Of those 200 million people, up to 40% can be prevented from developing chronic illness as a result of changes in diet. “If we don’t produce new healthy food products our export market may not expand.

“China will absolutely demand that the food they import will keep their cit-izens healthy,” Prof. McDonald said.

“The reason is not just because of

health care expenditures but also the effect on the labour force. They have a growing problem with the ratio between those members of the population in the workforce and those no longer in it. Of those 200 million, 50% are still in the workforce. The more intense the spread of disease, the more the impact on their productivity as a nation.

“For the 200 million expected to have

chronic illnesses there is an opportunity and a need to produce food that will help their symptoms and the exacerbation of their symptoms to help them manage and keep them in check.”

The World Bank has reported that if China was able to reduce one disease (cardio-vascular disease) by 1% per year over the next 20 years, it would be worth $16.5 trillion.

“From an economic viewpoint it is an imperative, and what a huge oppor-tunity it is when you take the example of the product Anlene (Fonterra’s calcium-enriched milk) and develop more prod-ucts that prevent and help manage this massive increase.

“I am just talking about China: we are seeing a worldwide epidemic in chronic illness. The opportunities to meet that market are substantial and imperative to long term economic growth.”

Massey University food scientist Professor Paul Moughan said along with the one billion people globally with mal-nutrition problems because of too little food, conversely there’s a worldwide epidemic of obesity.

And many Asian people, while not looking obese, are “packed with fat within”.

Too many people were eating too much of the wrong types of foods, he said.

That brings about the metabolic syn-drome seen in developed countries and increasingly in developing nations. This is associated with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease – all largely preventable by diet and lifestyle.

China health crisis looming

www.dairynewsaustralia.com.au

Check us out Online BREAKING NEWS MANAGEMENT STORIES MACHINERY REVIEWS AND MUCH MORE...


WORLD NEWS // 13

Countdown begins to world-first methane vaccine

Rick Pridmore, DairyNZ.

THE WORLD’S first vaccine to inhibit meth-ane production in rumi-nants is being developed by New Zealand scien-tists and they should know within about four months whether they have cracked a key step in its development, says Dr Rick Pridmore, who leads sus-tainability for DairyNZ.

While claims are often made by scientists that they are world leaders in a given field, it is definitely the case for this group of New Zealand scientists, says Dr Pridmore.

They are trying to solve the problem of reducing methane emissions from pastoral animals which a vaccine is well suited to, he told the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress in Hamilton last month.

“If you can get a vac-cine that works it is likely that it will apply to rumi-nants anywhere in the world.”

The vaccine uses an animal ’s autoimmune response system to inhibit the methane produced by micro-organisms in the

rumen . “Because it is an animal’s own body con-trolling the emissions it produces, there are less concerns about toxicity and product residues,” he told the Congress.

“Once you have a proven vaccine it is likely you can bring it to market in three to seven years.”

He says, in contrast, if you develop an inhibi-tor - a chemical compound that you give to an animal to achieve the same effect - it might take 10 years to resolve all the issues sur-rounding toxicity and product residues.

The vaccine, using a little bit of protein from common methanogens in ruminant animals, stimu-lates the production anti-bodies that then go on and inhibit the methano-gen itself. Normally this wouldn’t happen because the rumen is big, there’s considerable material going through, and there’s not enough antibodies present.

The antibodies are developed in the saliva of the animal and are contin-ually added to the rumen as the animal eats. “Once the cycle starts it just keeps going,” Dr Pridmore

PAM TIPAexplained. “The affected methanogens simply get washed out the other end.”

Dr Pridmore says methanogen populations from an array of rumi-nants all around the world

are amazingly similar and dominated by several groups of methanogens He said if you can inhibit these key groups, the vac-cine will have general application worldwide.

“Another other good

thing about a vaccine is they tend to last for a rel-atively long time. Once the effects of the vaccine begin to diminish, you can revaccinate and the antibodies shoot back up again.”

Finns take lactose- free milk abroad

FINLAND DAIRY co-op Valio is taking its lactose-free milk to global consumers.

It is looking beyond neighbouring countries and those buying from the company’s foreign subsidiaries; new and revamped products will go on sale in Central Europe and China.

Valio says it launched the world’s first totally lac-tose-free milk drink in Finland in 2001, then set about developing a range for local markets and licensing the technology worldwide.

The co-op’s patented technology for lactose-free dairy partly digests the proteins, making products that suit sensitive stomachs. Research indicates that incompletely digested milk proteins in the gut may cause unpleasant stomach symptoms.

Valio claims the widest selection of naturally healthy, quality lactose-free products, “yet with all the natural taste, vitamins and minerals people expect,” says Pia Jormanainen, senior vice-president business development new markets.

The range includes a semi-skim milk drink, a high protein milk drink, Barista milk for coffee, whipping cream, butter and a spread.

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14 // AROUND THE REGIONS

DAIRY CONSULTANT with SBS-cibus Dr Neil Moss will host a two day workshop in Dubbo this month titled ‘Dairy Energetics’. The work-shop aims to help participants get back to basics with skills that relate to energy on farm: how much does

each cow need? How much does the herd need? What am I feeding each day? What is the value of supplement-ing? How can I work out how much fodder I need? Day Two will refine skills relating to feed conversion effi-ciency and include an on-farm nutri-

tional assessment. The workshop will be held on Tuesday 24 and Wednes-day 25 November. Cost is $275 with various rebates that can be claimed through your processor. Visit www.dairynsw.com.au or phone 02 9351 1737 for more information.

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GET SOCIALWITH

DAIRYNEWS DairyNewsAustralia DairyNewsOz

GippslandCelebrating the opportunities that lie aheadTHE DAIRY industry’s importance to the Gippsland economy and the growth opportunities on the horizon were highlighted at a forum in Warragul on Friday, Octo-ber 30 involving key decision-makers from the region.

Dairy farmers and industry leaders mingled with gov-ernment, financiers and community representatives while enjoying some of the finest produce the region has to offer.

• See more in News, p.11

1. Raelene Hanratty from Southern Rural Water, Cr Malcolm Hole from Wellington Shire and Baw Baw Shire councillor Tricia Jones enjoying the Leveraging Opportunity event.

2. Dumbalk dairy farmer Damian Murphy catches up with UDV president Adam Jenkins and Murray Goulburn director Max Jelbart.

3. Bass Coast Shire councillors Neil Rankine and Clare Le Serve enjoyed some local produce with GippsDairy extension co-ordinator Tony Platt .

4. GippsDairy deputy chair and Hallora dairy farmer Grant Williams with Longwarry dairy farmer John Versteden and UDV project and policy officer Alastair Hilli.

5. Tarago Cheese’s Jenn Nestor serves some of their delicious produce to GippsDairy chairman Graeme Nicoll and Leveraging Opportunities guest speaker David Williams.

6. Newry farmer Alan Clyne used the Leveraging Opportunities event to catch up with UDV president Adam Jenkins, GippsDairy director and Yannathan dairy farmer Lauren Finger and Maffra dairy farmer Robert Noble.

21

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5

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AROUND THE REGIONS // 15

Murray Dairy

South Australia

Sub TropicalTasmania Western Australia

FARMERS AND petro-leum companies in West-ern Australia have drawn up a model agreement to support agricultural pro-ductivity in areas being explored for onshore gas.

The agreement was developed by a joint com-mittee chaired by former

WA Deputy Premier and Nationals Leader Hendy Cowan. It has been endorsed by the Austra-lian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA), WAFarmers, Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA, and VegetablesWA.

WA Farmers said under the terms of the agree-ment, landowners will get access to expert advice, detailed information and appropriate management plans to ensure the con-tinued success of farming in areas such as the Mid-West.

Agreement more than hot air

DAIRY TAS has organised a field day for farmers, farm staff, agronomists and advisors which will provide practical, keep-it-simple tips for everyone involved with dairy pasture management. Thursday, November 19 at Brian and Margaret Nichol’s farm, RA 23342, Bass Highway, Smithton.

Speakers include: Australian Dairy Farm of the Year Brian Lawrence, Seona Findlay, independent agronomist, Bill Cotching, soil scientist and Luke Taylor, independent agronomist. 10.30 am to 12.30 pm, followed by free lunch. RSVP by November 17 to DairyTas ph. 6432 2233, email [email protected]

THE UNIVERSITY of Queensland’s Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics will host a workshop on animal welfare in the dairy industry.

Keynote speaker is Prof. John Webster from Bristol University. Topics will include lameness, heat stress, handling and mineral balancing. Gatton Campus. Monday, December 7, 10am – 3pm. Lunch provided.

TOOLAMBA DAIRY farmer Rick Cross is the new chairman at Murray Dairy following the AGM held in Tatura on October 22. Mr Cross, who milks 320 – 340 cows with wife Judy and three sons, is also a director at Bega Cheese and a former director at Tatura Milk Industries. Mr Cross took over following the resignation of Malcolm Holm in September. Dhurringile dairy farmer Tony McCarthy and Echuca’s Chris Thomas were also appointed as the newest members to the Murray Dairy Board.

DAIRY SA is hosting a free workshop to teach partic-ipants about the why, when and how of body condition scoring of dairy cows and how to use Dairy Australia’s new Body Condition Scoring App. The workshop will be pre-sented by Andrew Hoare from South East Vets on Tuesday, November 24, 10:30am-2pm starting at the Bellum Hotel, Mt Schank. Lunch is provided by DairySA. RSVP: Friday, November 20 to Penny Schulz, YDN SA coordinator M: 0417 853 094 E: [email protected]

Animal welfare focus at Gatton

More grass, more milk

New chairman appointed

Learn more about body condition scores

Murray Goulburn suppliers and staff were among 77 runners raising awareness and funds for the National Centre for Farmer Health at the Melbourne Marathon. The MG team raised nearly $5000

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16 // AROUND THE REGIONS

Western Victoria

South-West Victorian dairy farmer Lisa Dwyer shares an insight into life on the farm she runs with husband Eddie in a story that may ring true for husband and wife teams across Australia.

I THINK I’m going deaf and my eye-sight is failing.

Just last week my husband (herein referred to as “His Lordship”) and I set off on the motorbike to move strip graze fences together on a particularly windy day.

To avoid having to reel up the wire and then run it out again, I’m uncere-moniously dropped off at one end of the paddock and His Lordship heads to the opposite end where he takes one end of the strip graze fence wire and I take the other.

The mission is to move the wire across the uneaten section of paddock to create the next area for grazing. The orders were to move “five fence posts along…”.

So I unhook the reel from the fence, he unhooks the other end and we start to move in unison, dragging the wire across a large expanse of paddock whilst I simultaneously count posts.

Then it happens. I look across and see a figure (the

aforementioned husband) in the dis-tance shouting and throwing his arms around with abandon like he’s won a quaddie - only I know he hasn’t because he hadn’t been bragging about getting the first leg like he usually does.

I have no idea what he’s on about as I have only just passed the fourth post.

So, I indicate to him (in Marcel Marceau fashion, of course).

More shouting and arm throwing follows, however his message remains somewhat unclear.

There I am, standing reel in hand, wondering what on earth he’s on about

this time and then I hear the motorbike whining flat-out in first gear across the paddock until we’re within earshot and he shouts: “Are you deaf as well as blind? I wanted you to stop at the fourth post!”

Things fail to improve when we head back to the shed.

I am instructed to drive the tractor while he directs me into putting the hay fork attachment onto the front-end-loader.

There His Lordship stands at the front of the tractor directing with one finger in the air while I guide the trac-tor and loader forward so that it clicks into the right position.

Problem is, his dexterity is some-what limited and I can’t decipher a lift movement signal from a tilt movement signal and so what should be a simple, straightforward task ends up in a shout-ing match with me being told to “...get out of the tractor!”

As I stalk off, I leave him to it, dis-playing a particular finger movement of my own.

The apparent decline of two of my most important sensory faculties is bad enough, but I also sense I might be ‘going soft’.

Apart from shifting the irrigator, my least favourite job is moving the bulls, which just might have something to do with the fact that it’s always me on foot whilst His Lordship rides around on the motorbike.

So I begrudgingly head to the bull paddock to swap over bulls to go with the herd. There are 12 bulls in the pad-dock, a mix of Jersey and Angus, and our

mission is to calmly cut out two Jersey bulls; not just any of the Jersey bulls of course, but a particular two.

I stand at the gate to prevent the entire paddock population from exit-ing prematurely while His Lordship roars off on the motorbike to cut out the two bulls required.

Two things happen: The bulls sense that there’s an opportunity for a leave-pass with the harem or an excuse for a fight.

The choice always proves too much and in true male fashion, they decide simultaneously on both.

His Lordship is riding the motorbike so hard I’m sure either he or the bike is going to blow a gasket.

I the gatekeeper, am being watched intently by those bulls looking for a sneaky escape or else being intimidated by others who are pawing up great clods of dirt, bellowing with heads down and looking thoroughly menacing.

Both strategies, needless to say, are extremely effective.

Among all this bull strategising, hus-band appears in pursuit of not two, but three bulls, flat-out towards the gate. Bearing down upon me he shouts from behind them: “Cut out the black one!”

Now the dilemma: Is it really fair to expect a highly capable but mere 56kg person to not only stand in the path of three bulls but convincingly step for-ward to draft off the 1000kg black one?

That would be a big negative. A swift executive decision made that this time around - we’ll rotate three bulls rather than two.

This is just a snapshot of a typical day on the Dwyer dairy farm.

I have been wondering about the merits of setting up a “Sensory Sup-port Group” for fellow sufferers of poor hearing and sight but maybe such afflic-tions are confined only to me. • When not bull wrangling, Lisa Dwyer is also a director at Dairy Australia. Share your news, views or on-farm tales (tall or otherwise) with the Austra-lian dairy community. Email [email protected] We’d love to hear from you.

The bull wrangler and His Lordship

Lisa Dwyer

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OPINION // 17

EDITORIAL

MILKING IT...

RUMINATING

Clive’s milk embassySERIAL courter of the media and everyone’s favourite parliamentary goof ball Clive Palmer was one of the first pol-lies to reach the lawns at dairy’s big day out in Canberra last month� Cuddling up to a couple of Jersey’s in front of Parliament House, the independent senator had one suggestion for the farmers who wanted to see a higher price for milk: setting up a permanent tent embassy on the lawns similar to that started by indig-enous rights activists at Old Parliament House in the 70s� “If we saw cows on the lawn everyday, everyone would appreci-ate milk,” he said� We’re not sure any farmers will trial the move, but the cows did seem to enjoy the pasture…

Arla courts HollywoodEUROPEAN dairy co-op Arla Foods has teamed up with Hollywood on its lat-est cheese promotion�

A global push on Arla’s Castello cheese piggy-backed on the release of the movie ‘Burnt’, starring Bradley Cooper as a chef� Even a few seconds in a Hollywood movie with stars like Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and Emma Thompson is the dream of many actors, so it’s a dream come true for the Castello brand, Arla says� Unfortunately for Arla, the movie has been widely panned with one review suggesting it was the ‘movie equivalent of indi-gestion’ and another sug-gesting Coopers character was ‘unsavoury’� Let’s hope for Arla’s sake the viewers don’t take a similar view of the cheese�

Vegan farming advocateUK farmers are facing a new threat, this time from an opposition MP� According to Labour’s new spokeswoman for farming, meat and dairy eaters should be treated in the same way as smok-ers and targeted with ad campaigns urging them to become vegetarians� Kerry McCarthy, who has admitted she is a “militant” vegan, was appointed shadow environment sec-retary in Jeremy Corbyn’s front-bench team, alarm-ing countryside campaign-ers who warned that her veganism and strong op-position to hunting and the badger cull to limit bovine TB would harm Britain’s farming industry�

Ms McCarthy has said although progress had been made to improve animal welfare, ultimately people needed to give up meat or dairy if they really wanted to protect animals�

Cows on the catwalkJUST WHEN you think you’ve seen all the beauty queens another appears, but this one is a cow�

Miss Milk Cow 2015 was crowned in an annual cattle beauty contest in the Moc Chau district of Vietnam in mid October�

126 cows paraded and the winner’s owner, Mr Li, took away six million Dong (£174) in prize money�

Local media report that the 126 competing cows were chosen from 18,000 reared in the region� Each was cleaned and decorated with ribbons and bows�

Judging criteria included physique, which prompted some farmers to fashion the animal’s tails into weird and wonderful shapes�

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SOMETHING doesn’t seem to quite add up in the dairy industry, and it has to do with ambition versus reality.

Another report on increasing the Australian milk pool was launched late last month – this time by ANZ.

The ANZ report “Looking for a sign – Unlocking Australia’s dairy potential” shows (again) Australian dairy has a vast number of opportunities to seize in Asia. See News, p.7.

Among suggestions to boost production, farmers are told they need to reduce costs (aiming at up to $1kg MS off the cost of pro-duction). Processors can do their bit by restructuring the supply chain, the report says.

It’s left until the very last sentence in the report for ANZ to con-firm what farmers know – “In reality though, unless there is ade-quate price signal and profit at the production level, the milk flow will not come”.

It’s a grand idea – raising production, capitalising on Asian demand, improving profitability on farm – but it’s not going to happen without long-term pricing commitments between farmer and processor.

Farmers need price certainty to make significant investments; processors can point to the current volatility caused by China and Russia’s withdrawal from the market over the last 12 months to show the risks.

Then there’s the season. It’s hard for farmers to plan long-term when a lack of rain (or high-priced water) can plunge them fur-ther into debt.

There is a role government can play if it’s serious about making the most of the opportunities outlined by ANZ and countless others before.

Government policies need to facilitate farmer investment, which can lead to reduced operating costs and greater profitability.

Solar powered irrigation (p.31) is one example. Without sup-port for the large capital outlay, farmers can only dream of paying the lower cents per kilowatt hour such an investment can provide. Grants or low interest loans, and other measures that reduce input costs, would provide a boost for individual farmers and provide a practical demonstration of the nation’s commitment to agricul-ture.

It’s this type of investment in dairy’s future that could lead to the big picture the ANZ report paints.

It may seem small, but it helps improve the profitability of farms everywhere.

We can all agree that profitable farms are what the industry needs to grow. How we support that profitability is where the prac-tical argument lies.

When ambition and reality collide


18 // OPINIONDAI RY NEWS AUSTRALIA NOVEMBER 2015

Levy system must be accountableTAXATION WITHOUT representa-tion sucks.

It is inherently unfair to be required to pay for a system but have no say in how the system works.

Welcome to the world of agricultural levies.

A levy may sound more benign than a tax but make no mistake: R&D levies, marketing levies and biosecurity levies are all taxes on production.

And even if it is accepted that each of these levies is useful and should be paid by agri-cultural producers, very few levy payers are ever actually asked.

Earlier this year two Senate inquiries recommended to the Agriculture Min-ister that this should change.

I was an active participant in the second inquiry, which examined the levy system across all agricultural and horticultural sectors.

By the end of the first hour of evi-dence at the first hearing, it was appar-ent the system is broken.

Not only are most levy payers never consulted, nobody even knows who most of them are.

But changing this does not suit gov-ernment, most industry bodies or the levy spenders.

They do not want genuine account-ability, but prefer the current system in which the well-connected have

a small say while fundamental ques-tions, such as whether to impose the levies in the first place, are never raised.

In reality, government is only listen-ing to peak industry bodies and R&D organisations, whose main interest is in spending the levies, and not the pro-ducers who pay the levies.

Lest the scale of the problem be misunderstood, compulsory paid by producers each year amount to $500 million.

In some sectors the amount paid in levies is more than the profit made by

individual producers, and numerous producers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

By any measure, levy payments are a significant impost that should be fully justified.

And in reality, most producers do not actually begrudge paying a levy if they see value in it.

Two sectors have moved in the right direction.

Tens of thousands of dairy farmers and wool producers are polled every few years to determine the rate of the levy.

Quite rightly, this includes a zero option, which if adopted would mean levy payments ceased and various people would lose their jobs.

So far, this has never been chosen.Other levy payers are occasionally

given an opportunity to vote on a levy when it is first introduced, but never asked again.

And, as the inquiry heard, there are many sectors in which levy payers have never had an opportunity to express a view despite paying levies for decades.

And now we hear the dairy industry suggesting it should abandon its poll, blaming excessive cost.

To this I have a four word response: over my dead body.

The argument that it is too expen-sive to give producers a democratic say

in raising and spending levies is disin-genuous.

The real fear is that, given the option, levy payers might choose the zero option.

The only absolute requirement for democracy is a database of levy payers.

In this age of the internet, secure online polls can be undertaken at very low cost, and even a postal vote is not expensive.

Most of the cost attributed to the wool and dairy polls is a result of the inclusion of campaign costs by levy spenders seeking to convince produc-ers to vote for a particular option.

Counting this in the overall cost is false and deceptive.

Setting up a database of levy payers was a key recommendation of the Senate inquiry.

Both the Minister and Department need to get busy making it happen.

Yes, it might require a change in legislation to allow the collection and aggregation of levy payer details, but this would have bipartisan and cross-bench support.

Sure there may be some teething problems, but developing a database is hardly rocket science.

And of course, a database of levy payers would also be very useful in man-aging future biosecurity issues.

It is interesting to observe the enthu-siasm of peak industry and R&D bodies for collecting and spending producer levies, but then see their enthusiasm dissipate when the discussion turns to giving levy payers a say on whether to pay the levies in the first place and how their money should be spent.

This same problem does not con-front the general community.

We all get to vote for a government every three years, and can choose a party that promises higher or lower taxes.It is time we gave primary producers a sim-ilar say over their hard earned money.

Editor’s Note: Australian Dairy-farmers has hosted a number of regional information sessions over the past three months about the dairy levy poll review.

Levy payers are asked to vote Yes or No, to adopt changes to the Dairy Levy Poll process as recom-mended by the Dairy Levy Poll Pro-cess Review.

All levy payers are eligible to vote and have now been sent a voter infor-mation pack, via post. Voting closes at midday (AEDT) on Friday, Novem-ber 27, 2015.• David Leyonhjelm has worked in agribusiness for 30 years and is a senator for NSW representing the Liberal Democrats.

OPINIONSENATOR DAVID

LEYONHJELM

“In reality, most producers do not actually begrudge paying a levy if they see value in it.”

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OPINION // 19

Lion working on being goodLION DAIRY and Drinks is giving itself a tick as it progresses towards the 2019 target set out in its ‘Goodness Project’, which will see 80% of its dairy and drinks portfolio meeting its ‘best’ or ‘good’ for you criteria and reducing the proportion of its ‘treat’ products. Achieving the target is expected to remove around four tonnes of sodium, 1400 tonnes of sugar and 500 tonnes of fat from the national food supply annually, while also removing all artificial colours, flavours and added fructose in its children’s products. If the company’s Dare Raw Iced Coffee is anything to go by, the strategy is a good one. In my humble opinion it delivers on taste without the extra calories and fat of most iced coffees which means you can enjoy them more often. And as the fourth most popular non-alcoholic beverage behind Coke, Red Bull and V, we can only hope Dare Iced Coffees continue to give those artificial convenience beverages a run for their money.

MG shakes it upSHAREHOLDERS AND visitors at this year’s Murray Goulburn AGM were treated to some samples of the co-op’s latest products including the 8 Bar Iced Coffee range and selection of Devondale Milk Shakes, both of which are produced at MG’s Edith Creek plant in north-west Tasmania. The new products are now sold in the chilled impulse section of leading supermarkets and also in service stations and convenience stores. Both products deserve high praise for their outstanding packaging (the milkshake packaging by Cryovac Australia is a finalist in this year’s Australian Packaging Design Awards). The iced coffees tap into the coffee culture by looking exactly like a take away latte, as well as highlighting for the caffeine addicted amongst us that a 300ml serve is 1.5 shots of espresso (two shots in the stronger version). The packaging also reminds those of the more dim witted variety not to put their iced coffee in the microwave. Duh! The milkshake packaging has a nostalgic 1950s bent which makes you feel like you are sitting down at an ice creamery with the Fonze.

The flavours however are very on trend, with those who prefer the classics catered for with Double Chocolate or Strawberry and Cream, while the more adventurous can try the Cookies and Cream or the Chocolate and Salted Caramel. I found the double choc flavour a little too intense although I managed to get to the end of it before I realised that. My kids thought it was the best thing since Christmas. I may have to sample the entire range to form an educated opinion. Of course, it’s too early to tell how consumers will respond but if the shakes do take off, the marketing possibilities are endless. Blue Heaven anyone?

A sucker punch from ParmalatIN KEEPING with the flavoured milk theme of this inaugural version of ‘Off the Shelf ’ it would be remiss of me not to mention the splendid work achieved by the product development team at Parmalat for their Oak Cookie’s and Cream flavoured milk. This delightfully full flavoured milk treat tastes like a pack of Oreos has been dissolved into some sort of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired waterfall fountain only to emerge as a thick, creamy drink that rivals any ice cream for its dessert worthiness and is far easier to consume whilst driving. The text on the carton somewhat strangely describes it as a “knuckle-dustered pulverised cookie punch that knocks hungry thirsty down before it’s thrown into a creamy delicious lake by a giant carton in a ski mask”. I prefer to describe it as “comforting as a trip to Grandma’s” but either way, there are few more enjoyable ways to get your 44% of your recommended dietary intake of calcium.

I’M SURE you can appreciate there are many benefits of being appointed the editor of Dairy News Australia, not the least of which is getting out on farm to meet the many fine humans and animals upon which this fantastic sector relies.

But as the relatively freshly-appointed editor I do feel it’s been an oversight on this publication’s part that there hasn’t been a column dedicated to the latest innovations and machinations at the consumer end of the supply chain that, ultimately, have a huge impact

on the success of our sector as a whole.

Whilst we can all agree there is no finer product than a glass of fresh, whole white milk, in this unfortunate era of $1-a-litre supermarket milk, it’s the value-add end of dairy which holds the most promise for higher returns, and, ultimately, higher farmgate milk prices. At least that’s what Murray Goulburn tell me.

And so begins my justification for this new column which, in a frivolous, frank and fearlessly independent way, will endeavour to showcase some of the new

products and developments at the processor/consumer end of the sector.

‘Off the Shelf ’ is also, I hope you will recognise, a shameless opportunity for me to justify sampling, indeed gorging, on the plethora of fine dairy foods this great nation delivers to a seemingly ungrateful and definitely fickle local and international consumer week in, week out.

I may well end up being singularly responsible for a lift in the Global Dairy Trade index. I aim to try.

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HISTORY SHOWS that authoritarian governments certainly don’t always make the best decisions, and that central planning can rarely anticipate and address the massive side effects of major policies designed to manage society in a certain direction.

Economic and infrastructure planning has been extremely hard to manage with such a huge population over a vast country such as China.

A one-child policy is one of the biggest pieces of social engineering seen in the modern world, intruding into the fundamental life choices and freedoms of its people.

At its worst, the policy came with some awful, draconian enforcements, in an effort to stem the demands on the country’s infrastructure and resources.

The news of the removal of the one child policy was leaked progressively over recent weeks, but when the formal announcement landed, it became a sensationalised piece of silver-bullet news to a world baying for any big, good news out of China.

The policy change has since been given credit for driving up share prices, shifting currencies, and used as a rationale to

support new projects.The effects of the

policy have been profound since it was put in place 35 years ago, and it has and will continue to have a massive influence on the structure, expectations and behaviour of the society for decades.

Slowing the birth rate and improving society health care and quality of life has increased the lifespan and average age of the population.

With the population growing older, there has been a declining ratio of workers to retirees and children.

In a country of 1.4 billion, the number of people finishing education is falling, many staying on at school rather than working.

The number of people over 60 is expected to make up a quarter of the population by 2020. There is a large gender imbalance, with many more males, which is the most skewed in the world.

The decline in the total workforce has been

against the background of a massive urban migration and infrastructure build.

Basic laws of supply and demand have pushed up labour costs.

By necessity wages and salaries must rise to fund a workforce that has to, by custom, care for an increased number of elderly relatives.

Typically each single child may eventually look after two parents and four grandparents. When that child marries, the onus doubles: one couple responsible for as many as four parents and eight grandparents. Adding more children complicates their responsibilities and cashflows.

But will it mean more milk powder sales?

There is little doubt the change will increase the size of the food market by gradually increasing the population, and, more importantly for Australia, it will increase the size of the market for certain higher value products.

Change will be gradual, but our industry’s strategists are certainly on the money with focus on specialist nutritious foods for the very young and the aging in the affluent segments of that massive

market.Why gradual? Firstly, there is the

confusion about the speed to implementation.

China’s one-child policy will remain in force until the rule change is officially adopted early next year, possibly as late as March according to the country’s central family-planning association.

It may be brave couples that move before the law change and “jump the gun” as it were.

Affordability is also a risk.

The policy change comes at a time when consumer and business sentiment are falling. People are feeling less enthusiastic about their prospects of living the

Chinese dream. Without a significant

pump-priming of that segment of the economy, there aren’t likely to be have major incentives to

have a second child. Beijing has not

yet announced complementary policies

to encourage families to have a second child.

To ensure the success of the change in China’s family planning policy, the Chinese bureaucracy has to come up with a full package of measures that will make it affordable for most Chinese families to have a

second child. Without this,

abolishing the one-child policy will have only a modest impact on improving China’s

demographic profile. Aspirations will play a

big part. According to the

Chinese government’s sale pitch, 90 million women will be eligible to have a second child.

But 60% of those women are over 35 years old, and are likely to be busily pursuing careers to help support their existing families.

Some would say that the one-child policy wasn’t the only cause of a long-term slump in fertility, a slide which was well underway when the policy was implemented in 1980.

Changes from steadily liberating the society through the past couple of decades including better access to education and job options have

given women greater empowerment to overcome traditional roles and stay in the workforce.

Recent experience challenges the potential growth claims that come with China’s “humanity-marketing” of this step.

The partial relaxation of the policy in 2013 was supposed to allow a large number of families (about 11 million couples - where one or both of the parents were single children) add a child. Only 13% of those eligible actually took up the option.

Is this an overly-pessimistic view?

The change is a small step in the right direction, but a one-act overturn of a simple rule won’t alter the deep challenges facing China’s leadership.


20 // MARKETS

Xinhua News Agency reported on October 29 that China will move to a two-child policy for all couples. This move replaces the 2014 change that enabled couples to have a second child if one member of the couple is an only child.

China one-child policy change no silver bullet

FRESH AGENDASTEVE SPENCER

To ensure the success of the change in China’s family planning policy, the Chinese bureaucracy has to come up with a full package of measures that will make it affordable for most Chinese families to have a second child.

DAIRY NEWS ON THE GO

Available every month just look for the arrow!

www.dairynewsaustralia.com.auCHECK OUT THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION AT


MARKETS // 21

GLOBAL DAIRY com-modity prices have risen sharply in recent months, indicated largely through prominent gauges such as GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction results and Euro-pean spot pricing.

Key drivers of this lift have been a deteriorat-ing milk production out-look for New Zealand and reduced GDT offer vol-umes, but there has been speculation (this column included) that these alone may prove insufficient to drive a sustained recovery.

Hence it was not totally unexpected when the GDT Price Index fell slightly in late October and then again on November 3 (-7.4%), signalling the pos-sible end of additional demand brought on by the bottoming of the price cycle.

What is ultimately needed to see prices meet or exceed ‘aver-age’ levels of recent years is market rebalancing, an elusive situation for much of the past 18 months as sluggish demand has been met with persistent supply growth from the biggest exporters.

The removal of milk quotas and a reduc-tion in sales opportuni-ties brought on by the Russian import embargo have placed Europe at the centre of the oversupply situation facing dairy mar-kets.

Although European milk production has not grown as rapidly as some had expected in the post-quota period, it has been sufficient to weigh on global markets.

Europe’s growth of 1.1% (or 976 million litres for 2015 to July), repre-

sented roughly half the total increase across the world’s four major export-ing regions for that period.

With a weaker currency and mountains of product to sell, European export-ers have been compet-ing aggressively on price in traditionally ‘Ocea-nia-dominated’ demand regions such as Southeast Asia of late.

There has been no wholesale slowdown in production growth in Europe, but Oceania is a

different story. Australian production

is up 3.1% season-to-date, although dry conditions are seeing growth begin to slow.

Of particular note at the regional level however, warnings of a sharp con-traction in New Zealand’s milk intakes are beginning to be borne out.

September numbers from the Dairy Compa-nies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) reveal a 7.5% fall, relative to Sep-tember 2014.

Fonterra has reportedly since seen milk flows peak around 4% lower than last season, with some year-on-year recovery evident during October.

While decreased pro-duction is partly due to high culling, seasonal con-

ditions through the spring peak are also impor-tant (so far they’ve been broadly favourable).

A full season decline of up to 10% has been flagged by industry observers; Fonterra is forecasting its own full season intakes will be 5% below prior year.

A milk production response is evident in the United States as well, albeit a less dramatic one.

Growth is at its slowest since December 2013, with

September output 0.4% higher than the same time last year (around 7.5 billion

litres), compared to a 1.4% increase year-to-date.

Growth has been sup-ported through much of the year by a strong domestic market, which has helped to largely insu-late the US dairy industry from global price move-ments.

Combined with a stron-ger US dollar, it also saw exports fall sharply: How-ever, rising global markets have bought domestic and international prices closer together, and hence US export offers are increas-ing.

Consequently, while Oceania supply-side issues are beginning to place pressure on prices, this is being mitigated by European andincreasingly US competition, with the

continuation of Northern Hemisphere production growth likely to provide some comfort to buyers who don’t specifically require Oceania product.

The GDT Price Index is sitting at around the level of six months ago, and compared to last month Oceania spot prices appear to be stable or slightly higher for most commodities.

In general, buyers appear not to be in a hurry to commit further, with many having secured good coverage close to the bottom of the price cycle.

At the same time, Aus-tralian manufacturers are fairly comfortable with current sales positions and happy to wait, if necessary, for the prices they want, with uncertainty about the ultimate impact of El Niño further encouraging cau-tion around forward sales commitments.

This is helping to keep the market for SMP rela-tively stable in the face of

Euro supply bearing down on market

GLOBAL IMPACTAMY BELLHOUSE & JOHN DROPPERT

Dairy NewS aUSTraLia june, 2012

With season 2011/12 only a few weeks from ending, attention is now focused on 2012/13 milk prices as farm-ers consider strategies for the coming year. In some domestically-focused regions, renegotiated contracts incor-porating lower prices and reduced ‘tier one’ access are undermining farmer confidence and supply stability. For many farmers in export-oriented regions, a lower price outlook relative to the current season not only adds to the challenges of doing business, but seems to contradict the positive medium term outlook of Asia-driven dairy demand growth.

Dairy Australia’s indicative outlook for southern farm gate milk prices – published in the recent Dairy 2012: Sit-uation and Outlook report, is for an opening price range of $4.05-$4.40/kg MS and a full year average price range between $4.50 and $4.90/kg MS. The report considers the wider market pic-ture and summarises the many factors at play; the key theme of the current sit-uation being that of re-balancing in the dairy supply chain.

In regions of Australia focused on producing drinking milk, many farmers face a re-balancing market in the form of renegotiation of supply contracts and reduced access to ‘tier one’ supply.

Shifts in private label contracts and pro-cessor rationalisation have seen milk companies adjust their intake require-ments and pricing to meet the chang-ing demands of a highly pressured retail marketplace. Lower contract prices and a lack of alternative supply opportuni-ties present challenges in a market with limited manufacturing capacity. Despite these challenges, the underlying domes-tic market is stable, with steady per-cap-ita dairy consumption and a growing population providing a degree of cer-tainty beyond the current adjustments.

In the seasons following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent com-modity price recovery, farmers in export-oriented regions have seen solid global supply growth (see chart) - with higher-cost competitors in the North-ern Hemisphere amongst those expand-ing output as their margins increased. This season, favourable weather con-ditions have further enhanced milk

flows. 2012 milk production in the US is up around 4% on 2011 for the year to April (leap year adjusted), whilst early data suggests EU-27 milk production finished the March 2012 quota year up 2.3% on the previous year. New Zealand production is widely expected to finish this season up 10% on last year - a huge market influence given 95% of NZ milk is exported. Argentina is also enjoy-ing solid production growth, but a sig-nificant supply gap in Brazil prevents much of this additional milk from leav-ing South America.

Despite wider economic uncer-tainty, demand has remained resilient as importing countries like China and

those in south-east Asia and the Middle East maintain consistently higher eco-nomic growth rates that support increased dairy consumption. How-ever, the surge in supply has outpaced demand growth in the market.

This situation has seen the scales tip in favour of buyers in dairy mar-kets, with commodity prices retreat-ing steadily over recent months. Butter prices are down some 30% from their 2011 peaks, whilst powder prices have lost more than 20%. Farm gate prices have subsequently been reduced in most exporting regions. The average basic farm gate price for milk in France for example, dropped 12% from 32 Euro

cents/litre in March (AUD 41c/L) to 28 Euro cents/litre (AUD 36c/L) in April. Profit margins are under pressure in the US, and in NZ Fonterra has announced the final payout for the 2011/12 season has been cut from NZ$6.75-$6.85/kg MS to NZ$6.45-$6.55/kg MS (AUD$4.96-$5.04).

Effectively, global dairy markets are rebalancing. Lower prices will both slow production growth and stimulate demand, and as this occurs we will ulti-mately see a price recovery. Key factors to watch on the global scene will be the rate at which milk production overseas slows in response to lower prices, the impact of the current financial worries on consumer confidence, the path of China’s economic growth, and the value of the Australian dollar.

Demand for exported dairy prod-ucts remains a positive and will con-tinue to grow with the middle class in large emerging markets such as China, with changes in diet and with increasing urbanisation - and also in conjunction with global population growth. Locally, the domestic market is supported by a growing population and stable per-capita consumption. Whilst the dairy market is currently a challenging place to be a seller, all signs indicate that bal-ance will ultimately return.

agribusiness // 17

austraLian FooD company Freedom Foods Group Ltd is to build a new milk processing plant to cash in on growing demand in Asia.

The plant, to be built in southeast Australia, will be the first Australian green-fields expansion in UHT in 10 years.

Freedom’s wholly owned subsidiary Pactum Australia will run the plant. Some of its products will be sold in Australia.

The company says given Asian consum-ers’ rising incomes and improving diets, demand there will grow for qual-ity dairy products from low-cost production bases such as Australia, whose milk is well regarded.

The new plant will allow Pactum to meet growing demand for UHT dairy milk, and add to capacity for value-added beverages at its Sydney factory. Pactum is expanding its capabili-ties at the Sydney plant

to provide portion pack (200-330ml) configura-tion for beverage prod-ucts.

The NSW location will provide access to the most sustainable and economic source of milk. Pactum has strong links to the Austra-lian dairy industry and will expand its arrangements with dairy farmers for supply of milk. The new plant will increase scope for Australian milk supply – value-added, sustainable and export focused.

Initially the plant will produce 250ml and 1L UHT packs from a process line capable of 100 mil-lion L. The processing and packaging plant will emit less carbon, use less water, and be more energy-effi-cient than equivalent UHT facilities in Austra-lia and SE Asia. Pactum expects site preparation to begin in October 2012 and start-up by mid-2013.

Pactum makes UHT products for private label and proprietary customers.

Freedom Foods planttargets Asia

Malaysia FTA benefits dairyaustraLian DairY, rice and wine exporters to Malaysia are the biggest winners in a free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the two coun-tries last month.

The deal, signed after seven years of negotia-tions, allows a liberalised licensing arrangement for Australian liquid milk exporters and allows access for higher value retail products.

It guarantees Aus-tralian wine exporters the best tariff treatment Malaysia gives any coun-try. It also allows open access arrangements from 2023 for Australian rice with all tariffs eliminated by 2026.

The National Farmers’ Federation says the trade deal will improve inter-national market access for Australian agricultural goods.

“After seven years of negotiation, the NFF is under no illusion of how challenging it has been to complete this FTA with Malaysia,” NFF vice presi-dent Duncan Fraser says.

The FTA will fill a number of gaps within the

ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA).

“Protectionist senti-ment over agricultural goods is rife and grow-ing across the globe, so in this context it is pleas-ing Australia has managed to forge an agreement with Malaysia that has dealt with some sensi-tive agricultural issues not effectively covered by AANZFTA,” says Fraser.

“While under the AANZFTA agreement most of Australian agri-culture’s key interests had tariffs bound at zero, dairy and rice are two sec-tors where incremental market access improve-ments have been negoti-ated under the Malaysian FTA.

“This trade deal was also particularly impor-tant for sectors such as dairy that have been facing a competitive dis-advantage in Malaysia compared with New Zea-land which already has a completed FTA with Malaysia in place.”

The FTA also sig-nals some administrative benefits for Austra-lian agricultural export-

ers through streamlining of rules-of-origin dec-laration processes and improved marketing arrangements for certain commodities.

The Malaysian market is worth about A$1 bil-lion in Australia agricul-tural exports – including being its fourth-largest sugar export market and fifth-largest wheat export market. With an annual economic growth at about 5%, Malaysia forms an impor-tant part of the ‘Asian Century’ story and the opportunity this presents for Australian agricultural producers, says Fraser.

Despite the comple-tion of this agreement, much remains to be done for Australia’s farmers to tap into the full potential of the Asian region and beyond.

He says the NFF will now throw its attention towards ensuring agricul-ture remains front and centre in completed FTAs with South Korea, Japan, China and Indonesia as immediate priorities.

“These are all markets with enormous growth opportunities and where significant barriers to trade in agriculture still exist, not only through tariffs that restrict trade

but also through technical or so called ‘behind the border’ restrictions.”

The FTA was signed on May 22 in Kuala Lumpur by Australia’s Trade and Competiveness Minis-ter Craig Emerson and his Malaysian counterpart Mustapa Mohamed.

Emerson says Australia will be as well-positioned in the Malaysian market as Malaysia’s closest trad-ing partners in ASEAN, and in some cases better. The FTA will guarantee tariff-free entry for 97.6% of current goods exports from Australia once it enters into force. This will rise to 99% by 2017.

incremental change in milk production (year-on-year)

Export demand remains strong

Sealing the deal: Malaysian trade minister Mustapha Mohamed with Australian counterpart Craig Emerson after signing the deal.

gLobaL impacTJohN DropperT

016-017.indd 17 6/06/12 1:41 PM

Vladamir Putin’s import embargo continues to weigh on global markets. PHOTO: WWW.GAPBAGAP.COM

sharp competition from European sellers; a factor also keeping a lid on Ocea-nia cheese prices.

Butter prices have firmed as supplies remain tight, with retail packs absorbing the bulk of pro-duction for a number of manufacturers.

Recent market activity has dampened any bullish undertone that had been

in evidence, supporting suspicions that the recent recovery has been largely sentiment driven.

Whilst prices seem to be finding support around current levels, further short term upside appears limited, and a period of range-bound trading around the current level likely.

Production trends

during the Southern Hemisphere spring peak will help provide some further direction, but a supply response in the Northern Hemisphere, together with a broader demand recovery, are what the market really needs.

Current expectations put that set of circum-stances around mid-2016, at the earliest.

There has been no wholesale slowdown in production growth in Europe, but Oceania is a different story.

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22 // MANAGEMENT

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN dairy farmer Mick MacLaughlin had his first encounter with producing milk in his native Zimbabwe, and he didn’t like what he saw.

Mike worked on a multinational dairy farm where the feeding process resulted in “milk so watery it barely made the minimum health requirements”.

The former IT consultant always wanted to be a dairy farmer but couldn’t own farm land in Zimbabwe because President Robert Mugabe wouldn’t allow white farmers.

He moved to Western Australia in 1993 to fulfil his farming dream, selecting cows that fit his small size and high milk solids requirements.

He bought 40 Jersey heifers for $50 each from a deceased estate and never looked back, although he admits Jerseys were out of favour at the time and Holsteins were in because farmers were being paid for volume, not fat.

His Brunswick Junction farm is now home to a milking herd of 180 Jerseys and Mike is enjoying a successful season and a pricing structure that has come to suit his system which still starts with cow selection.

Data from the UK based Animal Research Council led Mike to

calculate that the most efficient milking cow was the smallest animal that produced milk with the highest concentration of fat and protein.

He turned to Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) in New Zealand, describing their information about animal size in bull proofs, promotion of milk solids and fertile genetics as a “natural fit”.

“I was getting 35 cents a litre regardless of how much fat and protein was in the litre,” Mike said. “The only company talking fat and protein and live weight in 1993 was the Kiwis’ LIC.”

With the small size, high milk solids proviso not up for debate, temperament also came into play.

“I already know the smallest animal you can find with the highest concentration of milk solids is the animal that converts anything into money the most economically and

efficiently, so I look at all the bulls on offer and pick the friendliest,” he said.

“I’m milking them and know an unfriendly animal is a disaster. I don’t want to milk anything that’s kicking the hell out of me.”

The farm only uses artificial insemination and gets 75% in calf with the first insemination, 60% of the remainder with the second round and then struggles with repeat breeders.

“I’m now using new sexed semen exclusively and only give cows three chances to get pregnant.”

The farm calves down

WA flood plains deliver Zimbabwean his dairy dream

WHO: Mike MacLaughlin WHERE: Brunswick Junction WHAT: Breeding for feed conversion efficiency

seasonally in August and September and all calves are reared by the cows.

“I make sure calves get a drink of colostrum before they are six hours old and then they join a mob in the nursery pens.”

Calves are fed twice a day for two weeks and then once a day for another month and hay and grain are available in the pens from day one.

They are fed grain, hay and pasture for five months and then follow the milking herd.

“This means they are fed very well initially and then are challenged for five months, slowing their growth. Calves eat well again when the cows are dried off and they then get first pick. This continues into the following spring ensuring they cycle and get pregnant by AI in November.”

As soon as they are pregnant they are back behind the cows and challenged again. The following year when the milking herd is dried off again they eat well at the time they are forming their udders just prior to them calving down as 2-year-olds.

“This stop-start feeding ensures I have a milking cow that is 25% lighter than her continuously well-fed NZ cousin, but still produces the same amount of milk. She carries this kg/MS per kg live weight feed conversion efficiency gain for the rest of her working life.”

Mike MacLaughlin has always bred A2 cows and supplied the Challenge Co-op until it went bust during the global financial crisis.

He moved to Harvey Fresh but was paid per litre rather than for solids “which is really hard for a Jersey guy”.

“My average is around 7% fat and 5% protein and they were paying me the same price as a litre of milk from a watery old Holstein who is 2.9 protein and 3.2 fat.”

He said the introduction of Parmalat to the WA market has helped.

“They’re in the drinking milk market and paying for fat and solids…that’s a huge increase for me,” he said.

Summer incentives have been a bonus that suits the MacLaughlin farming system.

“From December to May the price climbs sharply and Parmalat

has an incentive to increase production for every extra litre we produce in summer.

“My extra litre in summer is worth $1.11 this year so I’m pushing the cows and everything as hard as

I can.”This season is looking

good, although a lot of his fellow WA farmers aren’t in such good shape.

“It has been very dry with very little run off,” Mike said.

“The dam levels for the other guys are bad but we’re on the salty Wellington weir and the dam’s always full because no-one wants the water.

“We prefer a dry winter. It’s been really good for us – we’ve grown a lot of feed in winter which we don’t normally do. “We’ve had 46mm of rain in the first week of spring which is really good.”

RICK BAYNE

“My extra litre in summer is worth $1.11 this year so I’m pushing the cows and everything as hard as I can.”

Mike MacLaughlin has bred his Jerseys for feed conversion efficiency and milk quality.

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MANAGEMENT // 23

THE FLOOD irrigated pastures of Mike MacLaughlin’s Western Australian farm are a “real money spinner” despite the salty nature of the water.

The farm’s irrigation water dam has very high salt levels, consistently above 1100 ppm. Anything over 600 ppm is said to damage clover pastures but with the price of water being cheap, it’s working out well.

“Our milk price is 30% higher during December to May, making the flood irrigated pastures a real money spinner,” Mike MacLaughlin said.

The water is cheap because nobody wants it.

“I recently purchased 180 megalitres of additional permanent water allocation for $180,” Mike MacLaughlin said. “We pay around $60 /ML for water delivered on farm.”

The salt content of the water was analysed and found that it applies 2400kg of sodium chloride and 700kg of magnesium chloride per hectare each year.

“We over water at each application to remove any soluble salts that have accumulated on the soil surface when water evaporates,” Mike said.

The farm applies five tonnes of gypsum per hectare each year to reduce the damage caused by excess magnesium.

The applied sulphur converts magnesium to highly soluble Epsom salts which washes out of the soil and the released calcium helps to balance the calcium/magnesium exchangeable cation ratio.

“We then only need to apply potassium to grow huge volumes of pasture,” he said.

The pastures are predominantly self-sown kikuyu and white clover based with a good dose of

fiddle dock and perennial rye.

The 30ha of irrigated pastures is divided into 36 fixed paddocks, one being grazed each day of the year in a fixed rotation.

Milking cows graze in summer and then young stock graze in winter to prevent pugging.

The herd is offered the whole paddock each day close to midday when sugar levels in the plants are highest.

They remain on the same pasture for 24 hours to take advantage of the higher sugar content of kikuyu stems that fill with mobilised reserves in preparation for new leaf growth.

Nitrogen applications are kept to a minimum, giving the clover a head start with its own N fixing

process and forcing the kikuyu to scavenge for any surplus N being excreted by the cows.

Mike said the long grazing interval forces the kikuyu to lift its growth points above the ground

as it starts to shade itself, something clover never does, causing maximum damage to the kikuyu plants when grazed.

In December, near the peak of the growing season, Mike said he measured the pasture at 36 days regrowth and found it had grown 3.4 tonnes of dry matter (DM) per hectare with an average crude protein content of 24.9% and metabolisable energy level of 12.1 MJ/kg.

Measured again at 42 days, they had grown 4.4 tonnes of DM/ha with an average crude protein content of 15.6% and metabolisable energy level of 9.8 MJ/kg.

They can run six milking cows and followers per hectare on the irrigated pasture and harvest more than two tonnes of milk solids per hectare.

Tricks of the trade overcome flaws of salty water

“We have measured 22 tonnes of dry matter growth per hectare and at the same time harvested 25 tonnes of dry matter when measured at the vat outlet,” Mike said.

He attributed being able to harvest more than they grew down to feeding at peak pasture sugar levels and having very efficient feed conversion through cows.

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“We over water at each application to remove any soluble salts that have accumulated on the soil surface when water evaporates.”


24 // BREEDING MANAGEMENT

Farmers begin to put Feed Saved ABV through ringerFeed saved bulls a great match for efficient cowsCRAIG LISTER milks 450 cows at peak time at ‘Millbrook Farms’ at Calivil and at the time of our visit in late August they had 500 to calve, but as he said “we will bring them back a bit.”

Half the herd is registered Holstein-Frie-sian, averaging 7500 litres and 550 kilograms of solids. 250 cows are three-way crossbreeds, Holstein, Jersey and Aussie Reds, all through Australian genetics.

Craig said that he is always selecting for productivity and efficiency in moderate size cattle, “it’s a corrective trait”. He looks for cattle with medium to large frames.

“With the ABVs we look at the best from anywhere in the world, in most cases they are bred in Australia.

“The Feed Saved is absolutely a trait to consider for the future. A lot more data is needed to make it a reliable factor, like fertility. It’s included in the indices, but not reliable yet.

“Obviously the cow converts resources into milk – this is essentially another tool that we can

use – we look at output per size – Feed Saved will go to the next level. The generic merit is who converts available feed into more milk solids.

“Our aim is to increase the home-grown

feed percentage, we make all our own silage and we buy in hay – we can source it more cost-effectively than other regions.

“But the poor terms of trade at the moment mean that we are paying more for feed.”

They feed a grain mix of wheat and canola at 1.6 tonnes/per cow/per year and Craig said that is a signifi-cant expense.

They genomic test every heifer, plus the bulls that have a chance to test high enough.

“That is restricted to the ones with a strong chance to go further,” Craig said. “20% will end up going through genomic testing. We are left with herd bulls with over 200 BPI.

“I hope to, at some stage, select all bulls from the top Feed Saved rating. We won’t alter our feeding program to suit the cows, but will have a more efficient cow for our type of operation.”

Dollar return will determine ABV prioritiesRUSS MCMILLAN has been farming at Nanneella since 2006 and currently milks 200 cows, averag-

ing 9000 litres with 650kg solids.

“When we came here the farm was tired and we

have been slowly devel-oping it towards self-suf-ficiency”, he told Dairy News.

It is 30% dryland and they grow cereal silage, “a good year gets us through”, but they are buying in most of the hay.

“The aim is to feed as much home-grown as possible. The better you feed your animals the more you make.

“We retain a nutrition-ist. Every kilo-gram has to make you something – the higher the quality forage the better the response.

“We fully feed the cows as well as we can within the system – we use a lot of vetch and lucerne.”

They feed 2000kg per cow per year and are buying in all the grain.

“We are more about making sure every cow is able to eat to its optimum, so we have the highest quality forage possible.

“We work them hard – we’ve invested in the genetics and are feeding those genetics.

“Our focus when we are looking at ABVs is firstly the solids; produc-tion and type next and thirdly to maintain and improve fertility.

“Feed Saved is a novel way of looking at it – exactly what is the saving? We haven’t heard enough to work out what they are predicting.

“I’m unsure what the bottom line will be on feed on our size opera-

Dairy News spoke to three farmers, all in north central Victoria, who are embracing genomic testing in their herd, to find out their attitudes to the Feed Saved ABV. The new ABV trait, published for the first time in April, enables farmers to identify potential bulls in a whole new way.The Feed Saved ABV relies on genomics for its evaluation and is aimed at categorising those bulls that can save at least 100kg of dry matter (DM) per cow per year while maintaining the same level of milk production. The ABV will be shown as kilograms of DM feed saved. A positive number represents feed saved, whilst a negative number represents extra feed consumed.The Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) says that at this stage, reliabilities for Feed Saved ABV are lower than production traits at around 35%, but this will improve through adding 120 cows each year to the reference population and extending international collaborations.Because of the high percentage of on-farm inputs represented by feed, any increase in feed efficiency will pay dividends by enabling farmers to breed a herd that utilises feed more efficiently. Chris Dingle reports.

TO PAGE 25

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BREEDING MANAGEMENT // 25

Farmers begin to put Feed Saved ABV through ringerFeed efficiency gains a few years awayJARED IRELAND, of Redmaw Holsteins at Lockington said that the main criteria for him in the ABVs is ASI protein per-centage, the production based index that combines protein, fat and milk ABVs and is weighted accord-ing to the way farmers are paid for their milk.

“We look for manage-ment traits, somatic cell counts, daughter fertility, milking speed, tempera-ment and a little bit on type,” Jared said.

“We like cows that are short of stature with big

round bodies and good on legs, because our cows are walking four to five kilo-metres a day.

“They are preferably Australian-bred, with five to 10% international for outcrosses.

“My first reaction to the Feed Saved ABV is that it was interesting to read the research at Ellinbank. There is no doubt that it will come.”

Jared Ireland said that every calf is genomic tested, so a Feed Saved bull will make a differ-ence for the heifers as they

come to be joined. They have 500 cows in

the herd at the moment, 60 are pure-bred Jerseys and 50 to 75 are cross-breeds.

“We feed 6kg per day of

grain which is all bought in, we are milking all year round. I would like to get to the stage of having all feed home-grown. We are buying in hay – 400 tonnes this year – and we make

our own silage.”“The Feed Saved con-

cept is way too much in its infancy, but I will keep an eye on it.

“If I find that two bulls are the same, I will select

for it – even this will be kept in balance.

“We haven’t really looked at feed conver-sion, I’ve always wondered about it, but other factors are important.

“Feed Saved will be important in time, and that’s probably five to ten years away. We haven’t worried about it as part of the selection process at this stage.”

tion. You’d like to think that you can carry an extra cow.”

Russ said that it is another tool for farmers to help identify their breed-ing objectives and to make an informed decision.

“We can measure what we do today, tomorrow.”

Most calves on the farm are genomic tested. They don’t run any herd bulls, all is done through AI.

“In the future, the Feed

Saved ABV will be useful when we can see a dollar return. A one per cent potential feed value saving will have an effect on total revenue – that’s if all the bulls are Feed Saver posi-tive.

“Farmers need to look at all the ABV data and cal-culate what they mean before they make a choice.

“When the pressure comes on to feed produc-tion we are going to have to look at Feed Saved.”

FROM PAGE 24


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26 // ANIMAL HEALTH

AS SUMMER approaches and much of Australia prepares for the long hot months ahead, it is time to reflect on the effect of heat-stress in our dairy calves.

The effect of heat-stress in the milking herd is well known with farm-ers using strategies such as provision of shade and sprinkler systems to reduce the impact of heat stress on milk production.

However, the effect of high ambient temperatures on dairy calves is often not considered. The calf comfort zone

The ‘normal’ core body temperature of a young calf is 38.6oC (range 38.5–39.5oC). There is an ambi-

ent temperature range at which a calf is comfort-able and does not require any additional energy to actively warm or cool its body.

This zone is called the thermoneutral zone and for a new-born dairy calf is between 10 and 25oC. This zone changes as a calf grows due to the produc-

tion of heat from fermen-tation in the rumen.

For example, the ther-moneutral zone for a one month old dairy calf is 0oC to 25oC.

Calves tolerate higher ambient temperatures better than adult cows: their larger body surface to live-weight ratio allows better dissipation of heat.

The exact ambient temperature at which calves start to show signs of heat stress is not clearly defined.

However, clinical signs arise when there is increased ambient tem-perature (outside the thermoneutral zone), increased relative humid-ity and increased time of exposure.

THE VET GROUPGEMMA CHUCK

Turning down the heat in the calf shed

Ambient temperatures greater than 25oC with rel-ative humidity of ~80% pose an increased risk of heat-stress to young calves.

When high daily tem-peratures are followed by cooler nights, calves (and cows) are able to dissipate accumulated body heat.

Thus calves are at high-est risk of heat stress when there are high ambient temperatures on consecu-tive days, with no drop in temperature overnight. The impact of heat stress

Research from North America has shown that calves born in summer have reduced daily weight gains compared to calves born at other times of the year.

This is due to an increased energy demand to maintain body temper-ature and decreased grain intake during hot weather.

In periods of cold-stress, calves greater than three weeks of age will often compensate for the increased energy demand to regulate body tempera-ture by consuming more starter (grain).

This is not the case for calves enduring heat-stress, starter consump-tion is often reduced.

Combined with the fact that more energy is directed towards maintaining body temperature through evaporative cooling (sweating and panting), the result is a reduction in average daily weight gain.

Reduced starter intake can slow rumen develop-ment, increasing the risk of a slump in growth post-weaning.

Additionally, heat

stress can also compro-mise immunity rendering heat-stressed calves more susceptible to disease. Sign of heat stress

The severity of heat stress will vary depending on the duration, temper-ature and humidity, how-ever the signs include:

■ Reluctance to move ■ Reluctance to lie down ■ Reduced feed (milk and

grain) intake ■ Increased water

consumption ■ Seeking shade ■ Standing/splashing

water ■ Increased respiratory

rate ■ Panting/open-mouth

breathingThere will also be an

increase in rectal temper-ature and if this exceeds 41.5oC, then a calf is at a very high risk of death from heat stroke. Strategies to manage heat stressEnvironment The aim is to try to reduce the ambient temperature to within the thermoneu-tral zone so that calves are utilising less energy to reg-ulate their body temper-ature.

Provision of enough shade is essential to help achieve this, along with assessing and modifying shed design to improve ventilation.

Side-wall vents, open-pitched roofs and whirly-birds can be utilised in passive ventilation sys-tems.

Fans and positive pres-sure ventilation tubes are not widely used in calf sheds in Australia but have been successful in North America in active ventila-tion systems.

One of the aims of calf bedding is to create an environment within the thermoneutral zone.

Some types of bed-ding retain more heat than others and the season should be considered when making the bedding choice.

Straw retains heat well during winter months but sand, sawdust and wood-chips will dissipate heat better during summer months.

Regardless of the bed-ding choice the priority is to provide a dry, clean area for calves to lie and rest. Nutrition

Calves must have access to ad lib clean, fresh water from birth.

A healthy calf suffer-ing heat-stress may con-sume between five to 10 litres of water per day, to replace the water losses from increased breathing and sweating.

A calf that is already sick and dehydrated (for example, suffering diar-rhoea) and suffering heat-stress may consume up to 18 litres of water per day.

Automated water troughs should be checked daily and cleaned at least once weekly, as they often become contaminated with manure and bedding.

In non-automated sys-tems, it is better to have multiple small buck-ets of water which can be replaced daily rather than one large trough, which can become very contam-inated.

Starter consumption should be encouraged by providing clean, fresh starter daily in troughs that allow easy access to all calves.

Considering starter consumption is often reduced in hot weather, it is worth consider-ing increasing the plane of nutrition of the milk-diet during the summer months to help maintain live-weight gains.

Options for this include increased frequency of feeding, increased volume fed per day or feeding milk fortified with calf milk replacer. It is advisable to discuss this further with your veterinarian.

The routine feed-ing of electrolytes to all calves during the summer months helps replace lost water and essential salts.

This can easily be achieved in non-auto-mated systems using the same feeding equipment as for milk. If calves are fed milk once daily in the morning, a routine elec-trolyte feed to all calves in the afternoon can help reduce the effects of heat stress.

In twice daily milk feeding systems, the rou-tine electrolyte feed would need to be 2–3 hours before and after a milk feed, for example at midday. Management It is recommended that routine management tasks such as disbudding, vacci-nating and transportation are carried out early in the morning when the ambi-ent temperature is at its coolest.

This is also the time of day when a calf ’s body temperature is at the lowest point. These activi-ties are stressful for calves and should not be car-ried when the risk of heat-stress is high.

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ANIMAL HEALTH // 27

A sprinkler controller or timer will use less water and reduce the potential for water to run down on to teats.PICTURE: COOLINGCOWS.COM.AU

Heat increases mastitis riskTHERE ARE plenty of indications that this will be a long, hot summer.

Farms expecting these conditions will now be making plans to help the cows cope with the heat, especially in those regions where temperatures and/or humidity can be extreme.

For those farms want-ing more information, or to check their current strategy, Dairy Australia’s Cool Cows website (www.coolcows.com.au) is a fabu-lous resource with a large amount of information to assist in managing heat stress in herds.

Plus you can register for a service to send you localised weather alerts during high risk periods.

Having a strategy to deal with heat stress is extremely important, however there is also com-monly an increase in the risk of mastitis under these conditions - each year we see farms experi-ence a mastitis outbreak during or immediately after a heat event.

Is it possible to reduce that mastitis risk, whilst still managing heat stress effectively?

The two core princi-ples for reducing the risk of mastitis are to mini-mise the number of bacte-ria on the teat surface and to maximise and maintain teat end health.

Concentrated groups of cows milling and lying in areas of shade will lead to a large amount of faecal contamination in that area, which leads to a markedly increased risk of contaminating teat skin with dirt and faecal mate-rial.

Naturally shade is going to be essential, but to reduce the level of con-tamination, could you manage the amount of time that cows spend in this area, and/or make the area cleaner?

For example, do the cows need to be there overnight? Do they need to be there at times when the heat is not excessive?

Could you clean the

area (e.g. with the grader blade)? Could you posi-tion feed and water a short distance away from the shade, so cows will defaecate less often in the actual shade area?

Sprinklers in the dairy yard are a really effective and comparatively cheap source of cooling for cows, but they also increase the risk of wet, dirty teats at cups on.

Could you install a sprinkler controller or timer so that they cycle on and off, using less water and reducing the poten-tial for water to run down onto teats?

There are even rea-sonably cheap automatic systems with an inbuilt temperature sensor and timers that start the sprin-kler cycle once the ambi-ent temperature exceeds a threshold that you can set.

But one of the biggest opportunities to manage the risk of mastitis is what you do about any teat con-tamination once cows reach the milking plat-form.

Introducing a wash and dry program for at least the contaminated teats prior to cups on during these hot days will sub-stantially reduce the number of bacteria on the teat skin and consequently the risk of mastitis infec-tions.

In some herds, pre-milking teat disinfection at this time may also be a beneficial option, but only if it is done correctly – use a registered product, get good coverage with the spray, allow 30 seconds contact time to kill the bacteria, and then wipe off with a paper towel.

And naturally, these periods are also when post-milking teat disinfec-tion needs to be as good as it can possibly be – all milking staff should con-centrate on achieving as close to 100% coverage of teat skin as possible.

Having sprinklers wet-ting cows immediately post-milking before teat orifices have closed prop-erly can dramatically increase the risk of new infections - washing off the teat disinfectant and

ROD DYSONreplacing it with contam-inated water/dirt is not a good idea.

So be very careful with sprinklers immediately after cups off.

Take some time to plan your strategy now, and get the appropriate advice where necessary – the potential benefits are sig-nificant in a hot summer.

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28 // ON-FARM CHALLENGE

SOUTH AUSTRALIA and Tasmania are the first states to award their respective 2015 Champions in the Semex-Holstein

Australia On-Farm dairy Competition. The competition involves close to 3000 cows and 500 farms throughout the country and the

SA and Tas get first shot at Semex-Holstein on-farm competitions

competition – which is now in its 15th year – has a distinctive format that brings commercial and registered dairymen together like no other dairy event in the nation.

The cows are judged for their conformation on-farm – without any preparation – which opens up the entries in an exciting way, and always uncovers exciting cows that no-one has seen before.

The competition is divided into 29 Holstein Australia sub-branches throughout the country and entries peaked at more than 250 animals in some of the sub-branch strongholds.

Tasmania and South Australia are the only two dairy strongholds where all entries go straight to their state final.

This year South Australia had 165 entries from 24 breeders and it was judged by experienced on-farm official Lindsay Marshall, of Yurunga Farms, who now lives at Main Beach in Queensland.

Tasmania had 140 entries from 17 breeders. It was judged by Jon Holland, of Holloddon Holsteins, at Newbridge in Victoria.

Two producers – who run sizable and savvy commercial operations – were repeatedly in the titles for their respective states and both now own back-to-back Champions.

They are David and Karen Altmann (Blackwood Park Holsteins) at Murray Bridge in South Australia and Ross and Leanne Dobson (Fairvale

Holsteins), at Bracknell in Tasmania.

Blackwood Park won three Champions and one Reserve Champion title – taking four of the nine (44%) on offer for their state. Milking 500 cows that are now housed in a freshly completed compost barn, this is a high production herd that was also fresh off a successful Royal Adelaide Show.

Blackwood Park Knowledge Dolly 6941 and Blackwood Park Godstar Bess 6364 are both back-to-back Champions after this year’s on-farm, and Blackwood Park Reginald Nina 6916-Twin was Reserve Champion for her age-group last year, and she stepped up to Champion this year and the highest pointed individual for South Australia. All three cows were in Blackwood Park’s Adelaide show team.

The well-known Tasmanian dairy, Fairvale Holsteins, is owned by Ross and Leanne Dobson at Bracknell. Fairvale is a bustling 400-hectare operation that has peaked at milking close to 460. It averages between 380 and 400-head averaging over 10,000 litres on twice-a-day milking. It ships four million litres of milk every year.

Fairvale won two Champions and its four-year-old Champion, Fairvale Bolton Ella 120, is its back-to-back Champion. She won the three-year-old class last year, has re-calved, and taken the four-year-old title this year. Source: Semex.

Fairvale Bolton Ella 120 is Tasmania’s four-year-old On-Farm Champion. She is also a back-to-back State Champion, proving her fertility in a 400-cow herd.

Blackwood Park Godstar Bess is not only this year’s Reserve Champion at the Royal Adelaide Show, the seven-year-old is also a back-to-back class Champion in the Semex-Holstein Australia On-Farm Competition.

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EFFLUENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT // 29

Rewards and awards for irrigation initiativeFAR NORTH Queensland dairy farmer Dennis Byrnes expects a new effluent irrigation system to pay off in a vari-ety of ways.

Dennis Byrnes, from Yungaburra on the Ather-ton Tableland, has con-nected his liquid effluent to a solid set irrigation and travelling irrigator.

Already he’s seeing the benefits it’s having on his pastures, enjoying a reduction in his fertiliser costs, and reducing the risk of nutrients building up in the soil potentially leaving the farm and entering the local water way.

On top of that he’s won a Reef Programme award for his initiative.

The work was done as a subsidised project with the Reef Programme which integrates incentives and agricultural extension to improve adoption of agricultural practices that deliver water quality benefits in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon catchment.

It cost $23,000 and Dennis Byrnes expects to recoup his costs within three years.

“We’ve got solid set irrigation and with a bit of modification we were able to put the effluent through. It worked quite well,” he said.

“We had most of the infrastructure there; it was just a matter of putting some pipework and connecting it and changing some sprinkler and nozzle sizes to suit.”

Dennis Byrnes said the effluent was a wasted

resource if it couldn’t be utilised.

“It’s better than just flooding the area and we’re already getting ben-efits from it.

“It’s only been a couple of months but we’ve cer-tainly seen a difference in the pasture growth. The benefit of putting it directly on your pasture is outstanding. We expect over a 12-month period we’ll see an increase in production.”

The reduction in fertil-iser costs is already start-ing to kick in.

“We worked it out about $7000 a year we’ll save on brought-in fertil-iser,” Dennis Byrnes said. “Prior to putting it in we used to get a contractor in to pump it out, and that came at a cost. It won’t take long to pay it off.”

The farm uses tropical pastures suitable for the local environment, includ-ing clover, ryegrass and chicory.

He milks 430 mainly Holsteins off an effective dairy area of about 160ha with three-quarters of the land irrigated. About 25ha is being covered by the new effluent system and will be targeted for inten-sive production.

The family has been on

the land from 60 years but like many farmers in the region, Dennis Byrnes is battling against low prices that he says restrict the ability of farms to upgrade facilities.

“There were 200 farm-ers here before deregula-tion, we’ve only got about 48 now,” he said.

“We’ve always gone with the theory that it should get better as we go along. Things weren’t too bad until they introduced the $1 litre milk. Because we’re a fresh milk sup-plier it really affected us. There’s no real chance of getting any decent price increase while that’s hap-pening.”

Dennis Byrnes added the subsidy through the Reef Programme had helped to make the infra-structure upgrade pos-sible.

It’s been a timely addi-tion that should lead to

RICK BAYNE

WHO: Dennis Byrnes WHERE: Yungburra WHAT: Travelling irrigators

better production, which is already going well.

“At the moment they’re averaging 28 litres,” he said.

“We calve year-round so that’s pretty good.

“This is our peak

season and we’re going okay.

“We had a bit of a slow start and didn’t really get any significant rain until February. It’s been reason-able up till now but we’re coming into our dry time

until November.”Mr Byrnes admits he’s

“pretty chuffed” about the award.

“We supply Lion and we’ve won a few quality awards over the years, but nothing like this.”

The Reef Programme Awards acknowledge land managers who imple-ment innovative or best management activities to enhance water quality out-comes for the Great Bar-rier Reef.

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30 // EFFLUENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Pushing effluent uphillTHE MANAGEMENT of dairy effluent provides many opportunities for dairy businesses.

The Holman family has met the challenge of effluent application on a steeper property through expanding their application area by installing a mainline last year, and are starting to see the benefits of improved pasture growth.

The Holman property is located at Loch in the Strzelecki Ranges, and has some steep slopes across part of the farm which makes the pumping of effluent particularly challenging.

The dairy operation milks about 400 spring calving cows. Manure from the yards is collected into a solids trap and a 50,000 litre sump. The sump is pumped daily to pasture using an effluent pump via a 1300 metre long mainline and a gun irrigator.

Expanding the efflu-ent application area has enabled better use of the nutrients in the effluent, particularly potassium and nitrogen.

The gun irrigator is moved around every couple of days and Andrew has noted: “I’m able to apply nutrients now to areas of the farm that were difficult to drive over and apply fertiliser to and we’re really able to see a response.”

The effluent was tested and in one megalitre con-tained 232kg of potassium, 95kg of phosphorus, 22kg of sulphur and 200kg of nitrogen.

This is equivalent to around 0.46 tonnes of potash and 0.43 tonnes of urea and 1 tonne of single superphosphate with an approximate value of $1,015 per megalitre (prices are a rough guide to illustrate value of efflu-ent).

Each year approxi-mately 7.4 megalitres is generated on the prop-erty with a fertiliser equiv-alence value of around $7511.

Reducing the on-going maintenance cost of the effluent system is also needed to gain the most value from the nutrients in the effluent.

Management chal-lenges for the Holmans’ effluent system include being able to generate enough pressure at the irrigator and managing solids so they don’t create blockages in the pipes.

Andrew used a plumber to size the mainline to ensure it was the right pressure rating for the steeper property to ensure pumping efficiency and reduce the risk of splitting pipes.

Solid material from the effluent is removed by a trap but some solid material does enter the sump which gets agitated and applied daily to pasture.

Andrew notes that having the ability to flush the mainline is impor-tant to remove solid mate-rial if it does get pumped through.

Placing hydrants at 50m intervals for the first 200m of the mainline then 100m after that is

something Andrew would do differently next time to enable ease of flushing.

Andrew also removed the foot valve on the effluent pump (which is immersed on a pontoon) to allow effluent in the line to drain back to the sump when turned off to flush the pipe.

The mainline has also

been buried to protect it from stock trampling, and to help reduce blockages by keeping the pipe cool over summer reducing the baking of manure inside.

Two posts and hor-izontal rails have been placed around the hydrants to protect them from stock and machinery.

Andrew prefers manag-ing the effluent on a daily

basis. “At the end of each

milking the effluent is gone; it’s not another job that I have to do.

“There are no excavators, tankers or weeds on dams to deal with later.”

These are the bene-fits of a direct application system; however it can be difficult to manage these

systems when conditions are wetter.

It is therefore essen-tial to have some back up storage capacity for these conditions. The Holmans have back up storage dam where effluent can go if conditions become too wet.

The Melbourne Water Rural Land program has supported the installation

of the effluent mainline through a 50% co-contri-bution financial incentive.

For more information about the program and eligibility please go to: www.melbournewater.com.au and search ‘Rural Land Program’.• This article was first pub-lished in How Now Gippy Cow and has been reprinted with permission.

Andrew Holman amd Denis the Greyhound.

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EFFLUENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT // 31

SOLAR PHOTOVAL-TAICS (PV) systems have been used to power farm houses and dairy sheds, as well as power water pumps. Now, a new report finds the use of solar energy to partly power irrigation systems may be now within the reach of dairy farmers.

A report commissioned by Queensland Dairy-farmers’ Organisation and completed by The Energy Guys has shown that solar PV is a feasible investment option, depending on a farm’s current cost of elec-tricity and pattern of elec-tricity demand.

The solar system would have to be supplemented by grid power and its suc-cess could also depend on farmers changing their way of irrigating.

The results were revealed at an alterna-tive energy workshop field day at John Bradfield’s dairy farm on the South-ern Downs near Allora in Queensland.

John’s farm was used in assessing the feasibil-ity of solar PV as an energy source for his 27ha centre pivot as part of the proj-ect ‘Feasibility of Alterna-tive Energy in Irrigation

Systems’. Nick Bullock from The

Energy Guys said the tech-nology and systems are there for solar PV to be used.

“We wanted to get fig-ures to see if it’s way off the scale, but it’s not; it’s not far off. PV with grid is out there and within the realms of realism,” he said.

“The key is having the confidence that you can change the way you irri-gate and still achieve the water requirements,” Nick said.

“We’re not talking about a small investment, but if you look at it long term as the power source for your irrigator and the kilowatts it is going to use, it can be an attractive proposition.”

Nick said he believed the use of solar PV with the grid for irrigation systems would be fairly common within 10 years.

“I think there will be a number of systems out there; not fully replacing but offsetting some of the costs of irrigation.

“We’ve got to try to break through people’s perception that it’s just not feasible. It’s not that far off and it’s certainly worth looking at.”

He said farmers would need to carefully consider

their own irrigation sys-tems and power costs and be prepared to change their practices.

The trial analysed the energy use of Mr Brad-field’s current irrigation system and compared it to using solar PV.

Nick said if John con-tinued to irrigate under his current system - 24-7 pumping four days on, four days off over summer - solar PV wouldn’t be eco-nomical.

“However, if he was prepared to change the way he irrigates and irri-gates when solar PV is available and can be sup-plemented by grid power, then the project stacks up much better and is prob-ably worthwhile doing,” he said.

“If he continues to irrigate overnight it won’t work, but if you re-think how you irrigate it’s certainly worth looking at.”

Nick Bullock said many farmers already tried to use off-peak power for their irrigation.

“If you’re using more overnight power the pay-back will be longer,” he said. “Anyone interested would have to look at their own set-up and costs.

“The other way of look-ing at it is that you’re

RICK BAYNE

hedging your management costs by investing in your own power plant which is going to cost 6-12 cents over 25 years.”

The trial found solar PV could not work on its own and would need to be connected to the grid.

“We looked at it as a stand-alone operation but on the shoulders in morning and evening it’s not going to run the irrigation plant on its own so would need to be supplemented by grid,” Nick said.

The other option inves-tigated was solar PV with batteries but the invest-ment cost would be $300,000-$350,000 with

a payback up to 15 years, something Nick said was not reasonable at the moment.

“It would be a total stand-alone system off grid so you’d need a rea-sonable bank of batteries and a bigger system, prob-ably a 99 kW peak system.”

Nick said sunny Queensland was ideal for solar PV.

“There would still be some offset in southern states, but the total kilo-watt hours generated is less than Queensland. The biggest difference is the substantial reduction in generation over winter.”

He said the field day was a success and farmers

were interested and wait-ing to see the next move.

He also allayed fears that improvements in technology would make

any investments now redundant in 5-10 years and said that new technol-ogy could be added into the system if need be.

Is solar powered irrigation more than a pipe dream?

JOHN Bradfield was initially sceptical about the concept of solar powered irrigation but now believes it could be a worthwhile exercise.

At 50, John said he would be reluctant to spend more money on his farm and is instead aiming to reduce debt, but if he was younger he’d be keen to pursue the solar PV option.

“I was quite impressed,” he said. “With stand-alone solar PV it’s

not feasible but when you looked at it in combination with the lower off-peak night tariff rates and in the future if the battery technology gets better and more economical, it would be feasible and pay off over a period of time.

“The lifespan of the system is about 25 years so from a long-term investment point of view it’s got some merit.”

He said the figures showed the payback period on his farm

would be a maximum of 10 years, depending on usage and efficiency of the bores.

John said farmers attending the field day were impressed by the figures.

The farm is currently working on a 46 kilowatt system with two pumps.

He said his farm would need about 46kW system with two pumps.

“The season’s starting to look pretty ordinary,” John said. “We had a good summer last year but it’s been one of worst calendar years for rainfall.” The Energy Guys report is available at www.dairypage.com.au NSW Farmers has also produced a guide for farmers on the use of renewbale energy in agriculture. Visit www.aginnovators.org.au/initiatives/energy/information-papers/solar-pv-pumping-systems

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❱❱ Payback period: 6.5 to 9 years (depending on power tariffs and irri-gation practices).

❱❱ Cost per kilowatt hour (kWhr): Over 25 years the energy generated would cost 6-12 cents per kWhr compared to 43c/kWhr and 15c off peak (John’s current rates).

Solar power can be a cost-effective way to offset energy costs, providing you can make the initial investment.

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Based in Central Victoria. Servicing all areas including long distance.


32 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

STEPHEN SINCLAIR at Stony Creek in South Gippsland had owned and operated a Hustler 4000 chainless bale-feeder for 13 years when he concluded earlier this year that it was wearing out. So he thought about a replacement. You guessed it. He bought another Hustler.

“The old one wore out and we needed a new one,” Stephen Sinclair told us when we visited in mid-August.

“We had such a good run with the old one that the Hustler was the only machine we looked at. And the new 5000 model had just come out.”

The new machine arrived at the start of April when they had already started feeding out with the old one which Stephen Sinclair then sold on to another farmer.

Stephen Sinclair is a fourth generation farmer on the place which has been in family hands since 1916 and has always been run as a dairy.

He runs the farm with his wife Caroline and just over 12 months ago the

purchase of an adjacent property increased it to around 142ha, plus a further 38ha for the heifers and ‘cut and carry’ feed.

The farm now has Stony Creek running right through the middle of the property and it means that they walk the cows over a new bridge which needed to be built.

Milking takes place on an 8-year-old 20 unit swingover with automatic cluster removers, auto draft and stall gates.

At the time of our visit the mixed herd of Holsteins, Jerseys and cross-breeds had 300 cows to calve, and they were milking 280. “The heifers get bigger each year,” Stephen Sinclair said.

The Hustler feeders are made in New Zealand

and the top of the range Chainless X5000 carries two bales at a time and is designed for medium to large operations.

A polyethylene platform with ribbed design keeps the bales tracking straight and with less friction than steel.

That means it reduces drag on the bale to make feeding out sticky bales easier without the risk of corrosion.

This year the machine has fed out over 1000 bales.

Stephen Sinclair said they have had no problems with the bale-feeder on round or square bales.

“We feed out lots of silage including the big squares that we have bought in. It’s easy to load, easy to feed out – you just cut the net or plastic off as it’s on the forks, just about into the feeder. This model has more aggressive cylinders to pull the bale apart.”

They use a John Deere 6115R tractor with a H340 front-end loader that is about 18 months old to operate the Hustler and

silage wrapper – “it’s the main run-around tractor”.

The round baler is a John Deere 864 and Stephen Sinclair said they were setting it up to tow their 1-year-old McHale HS2000 wrapper behind it.

Their other tractor is a

New version of an old favourite doesn’t disappoint

New Holland 6050 for the larger equipment such as the power harrow and for mowing and raking.

Stephen Sinclair said he shops locally for his equipment and the Hustler 5000 was purchased through Gendore Tractors & Machinery at Leongatha and salesman Kevin Smith did the deal.

He has just traded in a Taarup mower/conditioner on a new Pottinger mower which is coming soon.

“Kevin wouldn’t get beaten on that deal. Gendore are good and we have no qualms dealing with them.”

Stephen Sinclair said

they made 1500 rolls of silage and 640 rolls of hay last season.

“It’s been a brilliant season, I love dry winters when the flats aren’t flooding.”

The place is not irrigated as they get a rainfall of around 1000 millilitres per year.

They put out a lot of effluent water on to the paddocks with their vacuum tanker.

“We only renovate if we have to,” he said. “We put in 13ha of turnips, red clover and millet last year. It will be similar for this year and we will put in all new pasture within the next five years.

“Since we expanded the

property we have put in all new laneways. The new dam has three times the capacity of the previous one – we’re not going to run out of water again.”

A relief milker manages that side of the business four nights a week and Kayla Beaton, the trainee who is studying for her Certificate III in Agriculture, looks after operating the Hustler.

“It’s all the key to a one-person operation,” Stephen Sinclair said. “We are quite content at the moment – there is still money to be made in dairying, as long as you can get through the slow times.”

WORKING CLOTHESCHRIS DINGLE

Stephen Sinclair from Stony Creek in South Gippsland pictured with the Hustler 5000 chainless bale-feeder.

Farm trainee Kayla Beaton pictured on the steps of the farm’s John Deere 6115R tractor. PICTURES: CHRIS DINGLE.


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS // 33

KUBOTA, WELL known for its smaller lifestyle tractors and farm units to 100hp, about a year ago announced it would build a range of higher powered models.

Following up on this promise the company recently celebrated open-ing its new 115,000 sq m European factory at Dunkerque, not far from the infamous Channel Tunnel. This location puts it near the ports of Calais and Dunkerque, and gets it a welcome from the local council keen to see more jobs.

The factory will produce the new M7 series trac-tors from 130-170hp with 4-cyl cyl-inder engines and ZF-sourced transmissions. Early production will be for the European and North Amer-

ican markets, and further desti-nations as production ramps up. Small scale production has been underway since April, and volumes will rise to around 3000 units per annum by 2017.

Though considered a small player in the over 60hp

market, Kubota’s annual turnover of Euro 11 billion surpasses that of the US machinery giant Agco.

Around 45% of sales are in the home market in Japan, but this percentage is falling as develop-

ment plans in Europe and North America come to

fruition.www.kubota.com.au

Kubota boosts powerMARK DANIEL

BELT MERGERS are recognised as useful for bringing large volumes of crop into a single windrow to feed the enormous appetites of self-propelled foragers, loader wagons or large square balers.

The Kuhn Merge Maxx 902 has a high capacity belt conveyor system particularly useful for handling fragile crops such as lucerne or clover, or bringing together large grass crops into square sectioned, flat topped swaths with the potential to help increase harvester outputs.

With a working width of 9.1m, and

able to clear up to 21m in an out-and-return pass into a 1.4-1.8m swath, the unit has improved suspension allowing high forward speeds, and reduced wear on the support skids and gathering tines.

A control terminal allows easy selection of left, right or centre delivery, with the option to lift belt sections individually or simultaneously dependent on field shape.

Minimum requirement is a 140hp tractor with two double acting hydraulic outlets.www.kuhn.com.au

Crop handler suits choppers, wagons, balers

Grass harvesters debut at ploughing eventIRISH GRASSLAND heavyweight McHale have given followers a sneak preview of some new introductions to its range at this week’s Irish Ploughing Match.

The Pro-Glide F3100 and R3100 front and rear mounted mower conditioners, in development for four seasons, though using a bought-in cutter-bar assembly take their design and remaining manufacturing input from McHale.

Both machines offer 3.1m cutting widths and have a full width conditioner that is gearbox driven and uses steel swinging tines.

Out front the F3100 has up to 500mm of ‘in-work’ movement and a newly designed suspension system with a cam-lock to maintain the required ground pressure through the travel range. A double pivot pin at the centre of the machine allows 17 degrees of lateral movement.

In operation the suspension is also configured to make adjustments to the cutter-bar angle as it moves over the ground, by tilting it up as it travels over a bump and tilting it down as it moves

through a hollow, so maintaining uniform cutting height across the paddock.

Bringing up the rear, the R3100 rear mower-conditioner has a suspension system positioned above the central pivot point over the cutter-bed, to give a wide range of movement; this uses the Pro-Glide system springs to allow the mower to move back and up in an arc should obstacles be encountered. A separate mechanical break-back unit allows for larger obstacles it might encounter.

In work, ground pressure is controlled hydraulically, and displayed on a headstock mounted indicator gauge. For transport the rear unit folds vertically over centre to around 110 degrees to minimise transport width. – Mark Daniel

STRENGTH | QUALITY | PERFORMANCE

www.mcintosh.net.nz


flexing, which should result in more precise placement.

Relocation of the hydraulic reservoirs within the frame achieves better balance and a 40:60 weight distribution which negates the need for a rear counter-weight.

A new heavy-duty boom construction uses larger diameter pivot pins and larger wear pads for dura-bility and a longer service life.

Lift capacities are 3.2 to 4.2 tonnes, the latter rating being driven by arable cus-tomers wanting to use the largest buckets to shift grain into and out of stores quickly.

Standard models are fitted with a fixed displace-ment gear pump of 120L/min output. The premium Elite models have variable displacement pumps to 140L/min and an increase in lift capacity of 300kg

over their standard cousin. Both ranges offer

end-of-stroke damping on hydraulic rams, and the option of specifying boom suspension; both features reduce stresses on machine and operator.

In the cab, visibility and general ergonomics are improved, and all principal

controls are operated via an electronic joystick including gear shift and neutral selection. Elite versions benefit from the joystick being mounted in the armrest, including forward and reverse functions.

Operator noise levels are kept under control with

an overall rating of 75dBa, no doubt helped by the quieter Tier 4 engines.

Other features: cooling fans that automatically reverse every six minutes then run for 15 seconds to clear debris from engine and separate electric fans for the air-conditioning and transmission units.

34 // MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

TELEHANDLERS ARE the machines you didn’t realise you needed until you buy one, and their versatility ensures their market in Australia continues to grow as people discover the performance they offer over and above a humble tractor loader.

The new LM series from New Holland builds on experience gained from previous handler ranges, but has been redesigned from the ground up to offer more power and lift capac-

ity, comfort and improved visibility.

The five model offer-ing for Australia has three standard models -- 6.32, 7.35 and 9.35 -- and two Elite versions -- 6.35 and 7.42; these designations indicate firstly maximum lift height in metres, then lift capacity in tonnes.

The range is powered by New Holland’s own NEF engine to Tier 4a emission standard with EcoBlue SCR for good performance and economy; they deliver 121hp in standard guise and 142hp in the Elite format.

Engines deliver power to a torque converter

transmission with 40km/h capability; these have 4 forward and 3 reverse speeds in the Standard model, and a 6 forward, 3 reverse set-up in the Elite spec.

The latter series also has auto-shifting in speeds 5 and 6, which should prove useful, and save fuel in haulage situations.

Transmission output is delivered to front and rear axles which deliver full-time 4WD, and the choice of two, four or crab-steer-ing modes.

The ‘H-shaped’ ladder chassis is stiffer than in previous models to resist

You need it and you don’t even know itMore than a humble tractor loader... New Holland’s LM series telehandlers.

MARK DANIEL

IT’S SPRING, so harvest season is soon be upon us and shrewd operators will have used the long winter nights to service their tractors and machinery to ensure a trouble-free campaign.

All we need now are warm sunny days and a light shower of rain every night, then harvest will be easy for everyone -- yeah right!

History tells us that it’s never that simple and invariably the Law of Sod or Murphy will apply: if things can go wrong they will. When it does go pear-shaped – a mishap or a breakdown – the key consideration is getting going again and ensuring machines and more

importantly men and women are not standing idle.

At these times the need for a good relationship with your local dealer will be paramount. We all know that since the internet arrived we’ve been able to wile away endless hours buying online items we didn’t know we needed. If we’re smart, we can even save a dollar or two on the local retailer price – as long as we remember to add in freight costs, import duty if applicable and countless other charges like, fumigation, port charges and local freight if the purchase is a big lump.

We also know of a number of ‘will-

fit’ companies that offer parts for pop-ular ranges of farm machinery, be they ploughs, harrows or hay equipment. They claim to offer fantastic service and in reality they may do. They sell parts ‘suitable for’ particular brands on a high volume/low margin basis and are not even vaguely interested in slow moving parts for the same machines.

But back to the ‘suitable for’ mark-ings – these products are not the same as original parts because that would be akin to poking a copyright lawyer in the eye with a stick. Suitable normally means not quite the same, so make sure you allow extra time to ‘make’ them fit,

while you wonder whether their quality will see them lasting as long as originals.

The aftermarket supplier will claim these products are the same or better quality, and that they can offer cheaper parts by taking out the middleman. “That’s great news,” you say – until you realise you might need that middleman.

Before you buy cheaper blades, give the franchised supply chain a thought; he’ll supply the same original blades for maybe just a few dollars more.

They also backs the product that you will have signed a big cheque for by keeping slow-moving items on the shelf – complex gearboxes, mainframes

or even whole mower beds. It’s likely they’ve been there for years gathering dust, waiting for the day you walk in and say: “I don’t suppose you’ve got one of these have you.”

That same franchised dealer or importer will usually open during night or day to get you out of the poo and prob-ably they’ll do it with good grace, not remarking that they have has noticed you no longer buy many consumable items from them. So by all means try to buy wisely, but remember the old adage, ‘it’s not worth skinning a flea for a penny and breaking a sixpenny knife doing it’. – Mark Daniel

Be wary of cheap web deals

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CONTROLS SALINITY

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MAHINDRA,BUILT TOUGH!MAHINDRA,BUILT TOUGH!

#Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd is the No.1 Tractor company in the world by volume. Photographs may show overseas models or illustrate non-standard equipment. Please read your Mahindra operators manual carefully prior to operation. ‡ Tractor with Loader & 4in1 Bucket must be a con�rmed order with an authorised Mahindra Dealer by 31 October 2015 to take advantage of this o�er. ^3 year/2000 hour engine & powertrain warranty whichever occurs �rst. See your dealer for details. *Pricing valid until 31 October 2015 or while stocks last. All prices are GST inclusive. DMM4003.

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beGa Southern Farm Supplies Ph: (02) 6492 3500raleIGh Bill Hodgson Dairy Services Ph: 0428 299 230

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koruMburra Westfalia Korumburra Ph: (03) 5658 1119

kYabraM Dairy Technology Services Ph: (03) 5853 1066

Maffra Hico - Herd Improvement Co-Op Ph: (03) 5141 1493

PooWonG Poowong Dairy and Hardware Ph: (03) 5659 2311

teranG Terang & District Co-Op Ph: 03 5592 2322

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WonDonGa Buile Electrics & Dairy Service Ph: 0407 235 278

YarraGon Westfalia Warragul Ph: (03) 5634 2065

Visit your local dealer today

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dairy news australia november 2015

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