WestVic Dairy Newsletter July 2015

DairyFutures CRC field

trip

Profit Prophet

What’s on

Dairy Inspire

Cows Create Careers

Focus Farm charts

Each year, the Fair Work Commission reviews the national minimum wage, pay rates under awards and the high income threshold. The Fair Work Commission has announced a 2.5% increase to minimum wages which will apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2015.

As of 1 July 2015: The new pay rates apply from the first pay period that starts on or after 1

July. For example; if your pay week is Wednesday to Tuesday, the new min-imum wages start to apply from Wednesday 2 July.

Transitional pay rates no longer apply - pay rates, penalty rates and load-ings are the same in every state and can be found in the Pastoral Award 2010, at www.thepeopleindairy.org.au.

Superannuation payments remain the same at 9.5%.

If you have recently negotiated a contract for an existing or new staff member, you must change the pay rates to ensure you are compliant with the Pastoral Award 2010. What about your ESKi folder? If you received your folder before July 2014, the Pastoral Award 2010 has been significantly updated.

Any changes made to your ESKi kits are sent electronically to the email address provided when you received your folder. If you have not received an electronic copy of the new changes, please head to www.westvicdairy.com.au and download a printable version of the updated Pastoral Award 2010 to replace the version in your folder.

It is essential that you update the information in your ESKi folder so information referred to is current and compliant for your workforce practices. If you have any queries please contact Karen at WestVic Dairy 5557 1000, 0428 086 807 or workforce@westvicdairy.com.au

Catherine Russell, Bronwyn Davies, Alex Lenehan (with baby Aurelia) and Helen Bourke examining soil samples at the soil health workshop.

Women get hands dirty for soil

Recent workshops focusing on soil health in Terang and Koroit proved to be a great success with women on dairy farms getting their hands dirty in their quest to learn what constitutes healthy soils on a dairy farm.

The workshop funded by the Australian LandCare Pro-gram and Glenelg Hopkins CMA and facilitated by WestVic Dairy invited partici-pants to bring along samples of soil and recent soil tests from their farm with the aim of getting to know your soils.

With soil samples pulled apart everyone learnt more about the importance of the living components of soil biology and the physical structure and chemical makeup of their soils from a ‘hands on’ perspective. Soils were examined for colour, organic matter, root nodules on clovers and also tested for texture, structure and pH.

Using recent soil tests from their farms, participants then studied the levels of the main macro nutrients in their soil and compared these levels to what is considered to be target levels for dairy in south west Victorian dairy soils.

Facilitators who ran the workshop were Jeff Lawes; WestVic Dairy and Richard Murphy; Glenelg Hopkins CMA.

Women attending the day all

agreed it was a great learn-

ing opportunity about soils

and the fact that it was very

much hands-on enhanced

the experience.

DairyFutures CRC field trip A group of south west dairy farmers and service providers recently toured the Dairy-

Futures CRC at Latrobe University.

The group were provided with an update of dairy pasture and animal research from Dr

David Nation, Dairy Futures CRC Chief Executive Officer. Dr Nation highlighted pasture

and animal breeding research and the use of hybrids, genomics and DNA testing in in-

creasing pasture and animal efficiency and persistence.

The group toured the extensive research facilities, met with world-leading researchers in

plant and animal biosciences and experienced first-hand the scale of the work the CRC is

conducting for the benefit of the Australian dairy industry. High tech animal and plant re-

search equipment was demonstrated, with the group particularly impressed by the ge-

nomic breeding tail hair sample testing improvements which has added 30,000 cows from

100 herds to the reference population.

Presentations from Dairy Australia’s Feedbase & Animal Nutrition manager Richard Ro-

mano and Genetics & Data Management manager Matt Shaffer outlined the strong con-

nections between Dairy Australia programs, farmer input and CRC research and

technology.

Participant feedback that ‘it was inspiring to see so much effort and collaboration going

into our dairy future’ was testament to the fact that engagement and collaboration be-

tween Dairy Futures CRC scientists, farmers and industry partners is critical to realising

the value of the CRC’s technologies in pasture and animal breeding.

South-west visitors receiving an update on ryegrass research at the Dairy Futures CRC.

Mastitis management guide for your dairy

The wet winter months in-crease the risk of mastitis, a disease not only painful for the cow but damaging for milk quality, production and business profitability.

A set of easy-to-use visual guides has been created by Dairy Australia’s Countdown 2020 team to help farmers minimise mastitis in the dairy.

The Countdown Shed Guides feature key aspects of the Countdown 2020 Farm Guidelines and clearly illustrate the steps required to prevent, monitor and treat mastitis through a pictorial format.

WestVic Dairy’s Executive Officer Paula Doran, said the guide is tough, durable and a ‘must-have’ for the dairy.

“The catalyst for this project is that we have had lots of feedback from farmers say-ing they wanted something they can refer to that is in-structional and easy to un-derstand.

“For example, I often get calls from farmers asking how to mark cows, so now they will be able to hang this up in the shed and refer to it when they need.

“While the Shed Guides will be useful for all staff milking cows it would also be a great document for training new staff” she said. Shed Guides packs, limited to two per farm, can be ordered at www.dairyaustralia.com.au/shedguides.

Cows Create Careers

Tuesday 16 July was a different sort of day at the Cobden Golf Club. Filled with over 90

excited students and teachers from western Victorian region, fashion shows and educa-

tional games were had by those who were awarded for completing Cows Create Careers

– Farm Module 2015.

Cows Create Careers - Farm Module is a National Centre for Dairy Education program

funded by Dairy Australia and industry sponsors. Secondary students are educated by

rearing two three-week-old calves at school and the school is provided with dairy industry

curriculum for years 7 to 11, at no cost.

Dairy Australia’s Industry Capability Program Manager, Tracy Lloyd, said the program

started in 2004 with dairy farmers in the Strzelecki Lions Club in Victoria and nine Gipps-

land schools. The program has gained strong support from dairy farmers and advocates

across Australia. Last year alone volunteers gave 1,704 hours of their time across 23

Australian dairying regions. With support from Dairy Australia, Regional Development

Programs, dairy farmers and sponsors, the program has now grown to over 210 schools

across Australia with 9,456 students completing the program in 2014.

The presentation day recognised thirteen schools from the region that had completed the

program, including Bellarine Secondary College, Timboon P-12 School, Heywood & Dis-

trict Secondary College, Ballarat Grammar School, Apollo Bay P-12 College, Hamilton &

Alexandra College, Hawkesdale P-12 College, Kaniva College, Colac Secondary Col-

lege, Cobden Technical School, Monivae College, Casterton Secondary College and

Murtoa P-12 College. Prizes were awarded to the winning schools and to student teams

such as ‘Crazy Cows’ and ‘Jersey Boys’.

Students blind ‘taste testing’ dairy products.

Ministerial advisory council seeks passionate young farmers

The Minister for Agriculture is seeking expressions of interest for nine outstanding candidates, including the Chair, for the new young farmers ministerial advisory council.

The Council advises govern-ment about practical actions and opportunities to attract and retain young people in agriculture, to help maintain a sustainable and profitable sector.

This is an opportunity to have the interests of young people in agriculture in your region, industry or communi-ty represented and to devel-op the sector leaders of tomorrow.

If this sounds like you, visit

link below for more

information on applying.

Application closes at

midnight on Sunday 19 July

2015.

http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/

agriculture-and-food/food-

and-fibre-industries/young-

farmers/young-farmers-

ministerial-advisory-council

Have you completed your employees’ pay summaries? They are due by 14 July. If you are unsure please contact your accountant for a red pay summary form.

HR Reminder for dairy farmers

Dairy Base open for business

Analysing and understanding your overall farm business performance has just got easier as Dairy Australia’s new online farm business management tool DairyBase is now available. DairyBase helps farmers analyse the resources they have and the way they are using them. Through comparative analy-sis it allows farmers to track their own performance over time and compare with other similar farms according to factors such as farm size, region, production system and rainfall/irrigation availabil-ity. Dairy Australia program man-ager, Helen Quinn, said the key benefit of DairyBase is that it gives farmers and their advisors the information and analysis they need to have well-informed discussions about farm performance. “This is about having a better understanding of the num-bers in the farm business particularly how the physical aspect of the business relates to the financial,” she said. REGISTER NOW Dairy farmers and service providers can access Dairy-Base through the website www.dairybase.com.au For further support there is a help line 1800 548 073 or email dairybasesup-port@dairyaustralia.com.au

For information about Farm Business Management and DairyBase activities and re-sources in your region, con-tact WestVic Dairy on (03) 5557 1000.

Prepare to be inspired! Things are moving quickly in the build-up to Dairy Inspire! As the headline event that brings together ‘Dairy’s Big Day Out’ it will include the Milk-it-for-More workshops, our Profitable Feeding Systems expo, and a dinner to celebrate our incredible industry. Now is the time to mark September 2 in your diary…are you free? If you need a kick-start of inspiration mixed with grass-roots insights and trade stalls to boot, this is the day for you. We’ve already confirmed speakers that will inspire capacity building on a personal lev-el, as well as a broad industry focus on where the growth in trade will come from. The mix of speakers that we are putting together will form a group that represents trade, resilience, industry confidence, personal development and capacity building. How do you forge ahead on your own path, leaving behind the restraints that hold you back on a personal level? That’s what it’s all about. In the afternoon, the Milk-if-for-More/Profitable Feeding Systems workshops take a more practical approach. Industry experts will be on hand to focus on genetics, finan-cial management, feedbase insights, and more. Traditionally aimed at young farmers, the Milk-it-for-More aspect will complement a day that looks at growth, both personally, and on-farm.

The day will culminate in a dinner that will bring together all participants and industry stakeholders for a night of celebration of all things dairy. Stay tuned for speaker announcements as we approach September 2!

Tickets on sale during August.

Trade stall sites are selling quickly. If you would like to join us as a trader contract liza@westvicdairy.com.au

Happy new financial year! Unfortunately at this time of year there aren’t too many celebrations with a slide toward spring milk price, pasture growth rates that have slowed right down (due to weather or management or both) and rising supplement costs. So how do you get your mind around pressing on with some sort of optimism? You plan and carefully consider all decisions and their economic ramifications, and you keep an eye on the annual result rather than just the current situation. You need to know and understand pasture consumption (current and what is likely to be there for the next couple of rotations), purchased feed costs and your milk price. You need to understand that if you make a decision that reduces pasture growth or availability it will also likely reduce milk production and therefore milk income and possibly have health and fertility effects as well. Similarly with supplements, pulling a kg or two out could well reduce (rather than increase) the overall margin over feed cost and run you out of pasture, leaving you in a position that you may not get out of until mid-late spring. The best economic deci-sion may even be to feed another kg or two right now but seek advice first. Maintain-ing the diet balance is likely to deliver the most profitable outcome.

Slow roasted Greek

chicken with crumbled feta

6 chicken marylands 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil salt and freshly ground black

pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon dried rigani*

(or dried oregano) 2 large lemons, thickly sliced 12 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled 6 washed potatoes, unpeeled

and cut into wedges 1/2 cup Kalamata olives 200g Australian feta crusty bread and Greek style

salad, for serving

Ingredients

1. Toss chicken, olive oil, season-ings, rigani, lemon, garlic and potatoes together in a large heavy based baking dish until well coated. 2. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 180°C for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender. 3. Remove foil and increase tem-perature to 200°C. Bake uncovered for a further 15 minutes or until chicken and potatoes are golden and crisp. Crumble feta and olives over dish and continue cooking for a further 5-10 minutes or until cheese is warm and just softened. 4. Rest for 10 minutes before serving with crusty bread to mop up excess juices and Greek style salad.

Method

Regional extension officer update Dairy farmers throughout western Victoria will have the opportunity to discuss effec-tive and efficient nitrogen fertiliser and gibberellic acid use with leading Australian researcher Richard Eckard, regional consultant Angus Drummond and agronomist Glenn Cain at a field day at Mepunga East on 23 July. The field day will outline how to maximise pasture responses to nitrogen fertiliser use, monitor pasture responses and best measure nitrogen use effectiveness. Particular emphasis will be on the strategies to grow more pasture with nitrogen, how to minimise nitrogen losses, how to utilise the extra pasture grown and ultimately increase profitability. The role of fertiliser inhibitors and additives use will be discussed, with particular focus on gibberellic acid, how and when to apply it and its relationship with nitrogen and pasture production. Participants will also have the opportunity to participate in a farm walk on Mark and Tania Nevill’s property to view and discuss effective nitrogen usage, and to view ex-tensive soil mapping data undertaken on the property. RSVP essential for catering purposes to Amanda at WestVic Dairy on 5557 1000 or

amanda@westvicdairy.com.au

Focus Farm extension notes

Contact Us

Editor: Verity Davis

WestVic Dairy

214 Manifold Street

Camperdown VIC 3260

(03) 5557 1000

media@westvicdairy.com.au

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July 13,22,27 EVENT: Implement a Plant Nutrition Pro-gram TIME: 9am – 3pm WHERE: Terang CONTACT: Michelle Easterbrook (03) 5592 2437 or 0407 552 011

July 16,23,30 EVENT: Implement a Plant Nutrition Pro-gram TIME: 9am – 3pm WHERE: Colac CONTACT: Michelle Easterbrook (03) 5592 2437 or 0407 552 011

July 16,23,30, 6 August EVENT: Develop Live-stock Feeding Plans TIME: 9am – 3pm WHERE: Terang CONTACT: Michelle Easterbrook (03) 5592 2437 or 0407 552 011

July 14,21,28 6 August EVENT: Plan & Man-age your Business Finances – Develop and Review a Business Plan TIME: 10am – 3pm WHERE: Colac CONTACT: Michelle Easterbrook (03) 5592 2437 or 0407 552 011

July 21, 28 EVENT: Cups on Cups off TIME: 10am - 2pm WHERE Cobden CONTACT: Michelle Easterbrook (03) 5592 2437 or 0407 552 011

July 22 EVENT: DemoDAIRY Farm Walk TIME: 9.30am WHERE: DemoDAIRYTerrang CONTACT: Kath Fidler 03 55922199

July 23 EVENT: "Efficient and Effective Nitrogen Fertiliser Use" Field Day TIME: 11am – 2:30pm WHERE: Mark and Tania Nevill's farm, 4072 Great Ocean Road Mepunga East. CONTACT: Graeme Ward 0428 573280

July 29 EVENT: South West Pasture Update TIME: 9.30am - 2.30pm CONTACT: Stephen Pasture Seeds WHERE: DemoDAIRY Terrang CONTACT: Stephen Pasture Seeds 03 5335 8055

August 3,10,17 EVENT: Implement Feeding Plans for Live-stock (AHC30210 Certifi-cate III in Agriculture (Dairy Production)) TIME: 9am – 3pm WHERE: Terang CONTACT: Michelle Easterbrook 03) 5592 2437 or 0407 552 011

August 11,18,25, September 1 EVENT: Manage Inte-grated Crops and Pas-tures (AHC50110 Diplo-ma of Agriculture) TIME: 10am – 3pm WHERE: Terang CONTACT: Michelle Easterbrook, (03) 5592 2437 or 0407 552 011

DAIRY INSPIRE BE CHALLENGED, LEARN,

ENJOY

Thought provoking industry leaders at

Dairy Inspire.

Expert feed updates at

The Profitable Feed Expo.

Workshops for young

people to make them grow at Milk-it-for-More.

Dairy’s big day out – chock-

full of inspiration, ideas, expertise and drive! CAMPERDOWN, 2

SEPTEMBER 2015.