News

Fonterra posts $196m loss

FONTERRA HAS posted a $196 million loss for 2018, the first in the co-op’s 17-year history. The 2018 annual results announced today make grim reading for farmer shareholders; normalised EBIT was $902 million, down 22 per cent, gearing ratio was up...

Dairy News
News

November reminders

Pasture management Pasture intake per cow depends on having high quality pasture and enough pasture available/ha. This is challenging through the seed-head phase on rye-grass but achievable with rotation management. Monitoring is paramount to know...

Dairy News
News

Kirin looks to sell Lion Dairy

JAPANESE BEVERAGE giant Kirin Holdings said it has started a strategic review of its Lion-Dairy and Drinks unit, looking at a possible sale among its options. Lion-Dairy and Drinks owns the Masters and Yoplait brands, among other dairy and beverage...

Dairy News
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News

Farmers form new dairy co-op

Australia’s latest dairy co-op — Eureka Dairy — has been approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer commission and is looking for suppliers. ACCC approval gives it the legal governance required to operate. Interim director, Steve...

Sophie Baldwin
News

Still at the top of his game

BERNIE MCMANUS has no plans to retire from dairy farming in the near future, despite his advancing age. The spritely 71-year-old still gets up every day to milk his 130-cow dairy herd at Bamawm with his wife Carol. He has also just signed a new...

Dairy News
News

Major milk research looking deeper

A FIVE year, $11 million research project in New Zealand will investigate milk properties of different animals in a bid to produce new high value milk products. Led by Professor Warren McNabb, of New Zealand’s Riddet Institute, the project will...

Dairy News
News

Dairy farm goes back to school

WHEN SCHOOL students started questioning Troy Peterken’s description of how milk is made, he knew it was time to do something about it. “We’ve had some kids say ‘no, mum gets our milk from the supermarket’,” Mr Peterken, who runs...

Dairy News
News

Adding chooks eases dairy stress

AFTER 35 years as a dairy farmer, Peter Hanrahan is adamant the past five years have been the most difficult he’s experienced. Mr Hanrahan, from Stony Creek in South Gippsland, has made on-farm changes to cope with stagnant prices and added a new...

Rick Bayne
News

Still at the top of his game

BERNIE MCMANUS has no plans to retire from dairy farming in the near future, despite his advancing age. The spritely 71-year-old still gets up every day to milk his 130-cow dairy herd at Bamawm with his wife Carol. He has also just signed a new...

Dairy News
News

Major milk research looking deeper

A FIVE year, $11 million research project in New Zealand will investigate milk properties of different animals in a bid to produce new high value milk products. Led by Professor Warren McNabb, of New Zealand’s Riddet Institute, the project will...

Dairy News
News

Dairy farm goes back to school

WHEN SCHOOL students started questioning Troy Peterken’s description of how milk is made, he knew it was time to do something about it. “We’ve had some kids say ‘no, mum gets our milk from the supermarket’,” Mr Peterken, who runs...

Dairy News
News

Adding chooks eases dairy stress

AFTER 35 years as a dairy farmer, Peter Hanrahan is adamant the past five years have been the most difficult he’s experienced. Mr Hanrahan, from Stony Creek in South Gippsland, has made on-farm changes to cope with stagnant prices and added a new...

Rick Bayne

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Management

Management

Farm’s focus is on saving water

NEIL GANNON’S dairy farm has been owned by his family for 140 years but the times are definitely changing. Mr Gannon and his wife, Keryn, currently milk 500 cows on 267 ha at Tinamba in Gippsland. They recently signed up to be a GippsDairy Focus...

Stephen Cooke
Management

Hay quality ‘a mixed bag’

CROPPING FARMERS are battling through a tough season, with many crops in northern Victoria and southern NSW having to be cut for hay. That’s the verdict from WB Hunter field services manager Graeme Talarico, based in northern Victoria, who said...

Dairy News
Management

Managing a fodder shortage

HIGH DEMAND and successive years of low production has created a fodder supply shortage across Australia’s dairying regions, causing headaches for farmers sourcing feed. When pasture is limited and supplies of fodder, or more precisely long fibre...

Dairy News
Management

Sustainability not just planting trees

SUSTAINABILITY IS not just about shelter belts and planting trees, it’s about the financial stability of your business, according to Yandoit dairy farmer Robert Morrison. Mr Morrison, his wife Belinda and their son, Nick, won the Natural Resource...

Stephen Cooke
Management

Solar can slash bills by 75 per cent

SOME DAIRY farmers are looking at alternative supply options as power bills continue to soar with no relief in sight. WestVic Dairy’s Dairy Innovation Day, held in Warrnambool last month, heard how solar-powered farms could cut 75 per cent from...

Rick Bayne
Management

Soils ain’t soils, even in one paddock

SOILS AIN’T necessarily soils, even within the confines of one paddock. And knowing the soil profile will allow farmers to optimise soil performance and smart fertiliser applications. Andrew Whitlock from Precision Ag Services told WestVic...

Rick Bayne

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From The Experts

From the Experts

Cheese drip the new hip

We all know cheese is versatile. It’s one of the great food staples. It can also be a gourmet product and a marketer’s dream, used to sell everything from festivals, to wine and romantic getaways. But it wasn’t until recently that I found out...

Madeleine Brennan
From the Experts

Opinion: Farmers deserve mandatory code of practice

There’s an emerging issue occurring in the dairy industry between advocates of the industry’s current voluntary code of practice and a proposed mandatory code. The voluntary code of practice was adopted last July by the Australian Dairy Industry...

Stephen Cooke
From the Experts

Bringing new pastures on line

GETTING YOUR grazing rotation right is critical to maximise your pasture production. A well-managed rotation will help not only to boost pasture intake per cow but enable a more effective use of supplements. Establishing a rotation with newly sown...

Dairy News
From the Experts

Genetics may ease heat stress

THE MODERN dairy cow is highly susceptible to the effects of heat and in the Australian climate, the effects of heat stress cause millions of dollars in lost production every year. Temperature and humidity that exceed certain thresholds lead to...

Dairy News

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Markets

Markets

China cops more tariffs

The Trump administration has applied a 10 per cent tariff to $200 billion of Chinese imports from September 24. RaboResearch dairy analyst Emma Higgins said President Trump has also threated this tariff could be lifted to 25 per cent by the end of...

Dairy News
Markets

South America starts to stir

SOUTH AMERICA, with its abundant natural resources, is an oft-cited land of opportunity for agricultural production, including dairy. However, volatile climatic and political conditions, together with widespread infrastructure challenges and...

John Droppert
Markets

Freedom investment flagged

THE SHEPPARTON UHT dairy factory of Freedom Foods will become the cornerstore of the company’s dairy push with $70 million earmarked for investment at the site during the next 12 months. The company is planning to boost its milk throughput on the...

Geoff Adams

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Machinery & Products

Machinery & Products

Rotary dairies a cheap, efficient option

ROTARY DAIRIES remain a cost-effective and low-maintenance option for dairy farmers, according to Steve Allenby from Allenby Engineering, Camperdown. Allenby Engineering built its first rotary dairy — 40 units — in 1988. Mr Allenby believes it...

Dairy News
Machinery & Products

Allflex wins two World Expo awards

Allflex received two Dairy Herd Management Innovation Awards at the recent World Dairy Expo for its SenseTime cow monitoring system and the eSense Flex ear tag. The awards recognise the top 10 dairy industry innovations introduced over the previous...

Dairy News
Machinery & Products

Should it be this hard?

SIMPLE THINGS please simple minds — or so the saying goes. That probably explains (at least partly) my decision to purchase a Chinese wheel loader. Simplicity was a major selling point. After all, who needs a 35 point suspension with 243 moving...

John Droppert

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Animal Health

Animal Health

Udder health costs dairy $150 m each year

MORE THAN $150 million is lost to Australian dairy farmers each year through poor udder health. Mastitis is the major cause of this loss as it reduces milk yield and leads to poor quality milk. The investigation of mastitis does not rely on the...

Gemma Chuck
Animal Health

An assumption is just an assumption

WE REGULARLY find that our milking time and farm visits are quite illuminating. Not only do they allow us to demonstrate and reinforce procedures that have been discussed both at training courses and on the farm, they also allow us to see firsthand...

Rod Dyson
Animal Health

Teat vs tube feeders?

CALVES LEFT to suckle the dam for colostrum intake are at a greater risk of low antibody absorption and increased morbidity and mortality. Research has shown that dairy calves should be actively fed good quality colostrum as soon as possible after...

Gemma Chuck