News

Farmers had little choice but to sell the co-op

ALMOST 70 years of history came to an end in a Melbourne building last month, when Murray Goulburn Co-operative shareholders overwhelmingly voted to sell the milk processor to Canadian company Saputo. It was a sombre end for the processor, with many...

Dairy News
News

Accuracy of water data questioned

THERE IS growing concern that targets to ensure a healthy Murray-Darling Basin are not being met, a South Australian royal commission issues paper says. The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission paper, released last month, says it’s doubtful...

Dairy News
News

ABVS - Silverline the cream of the crop

JUSTIN JOHNSTON thinks “we’re getting there” when it comes to breeding top quality bulls. The facts and figures indicate they might have already arrived. According to the latest ABVs, Justin, who farms with his parents Robert and Lynette, near...

Rick Bayne
Management

Banking on cheese to break crippling price cycle

A decision to make cheese in a bid to “escape the Californian milk pricing system” has seen a fourth-generation dairy farm awarded World’s Best Cheddar at the World Cheese Awards in London on three occasions

Stephen Cooke
Management

Organic prices sour for Californian dairy farmers

Dairy farmers running pasture-based systems on the coast of California have adapted their practice to produce organic milk. However, the rise in farmers making the transition over the past few years has caused a fall in organic prices. The Bordess...

Stephen Cooke
News

ABVS - $300 bonus per cow from proven bulls

USING HIGH genetic merit bulls can improve gross margin per cow, with new research showing the top 25% of cows averaged a $300 margin over feed and herd costs annually, compared with cows in the bottom 25% of the herd. These results, gathered...

Stephen Cooke
News

Bigger changes required on pricing

PROPOSED CHANGES to the country’s milk pricing system do not go far enough, according to a Katunga dairy farmer. Daryl Hoey said the change proposed by Jersey Australia, which includes more emphasis on the value of milk solids, was not going to be...

Rodney Woods
News

Halliday to leave Dairy Australia

Dairy Australia has launched an international recruitment process after managing director Ian Halliday today announced he would not seek to renew his contract when it expires at the end of the year. After nearly nine years in the role, Mr Halliday...

Dairy News
News

Time to brace for less water

LANCASTER DAIRY farmer Kelvin Bruce has predicted a grim outlook for northern Victorian irrigators unless they’re properly armed for a future with less water. Mr Bruce said Goulburn Murray Irrigation District landowners should be positioned to...

Geoff Adams
Management

Organic prices sour for Californian dairy farmers

Dairy farmers running pasture-based systems on the coast of California have adapted their practice to produce organic milk. However, the rise in farmers making the transition over the past few years has caused a fall in organic prices. The Bordess...

Stephen Cooke
News

ABVS - $300 bonus per cow from proven bulls

USING HIGH genetic merit bulls can improve gross margin per cow, with new research showing the top 25% of cows averaged a $300 margin over feed and herd costs annually, compared with cows in the bottom 25% of the herd. These results, gathered...

Stephen Cooke
News

Bigger changes required on pricing

PROPOSED CHANGES to the country’s milk pricing system do not go far enough, according to a Katunga dairy farmer. Daryl Hoey said the change proposed by Jersey Australia, which includes more emphasis on the value of milk solids, was not going to be...

Rodney Woods
News

Halliday to leave Dairy Australia

Dairy Australia has launched an international recruitment process after managing director Ian Halliday today announced he would not seek to renew his contract when it expires at the end of the year. After nearly nine years in the role, Mr Halliday...

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Management

Management

Giant barn centrepiece of German farm

A 1000-HEAD barn and automated milking system is the centrepiece of an impressive family operation in east Germany. The Lansink family — Gerhard and Ivana and their son, Guus — built their 1000-head barn on their Wartenburg farm, south west of...

Stephen Cooke
Management

East German farms unite to form co-op

THE AGRARGENOSSENSCHAFT Gnaschwitz (Agri Co-op), in the town of Gnaschwitz, east Germany, milks 460 cows year round with eight Lely robotic machines. The co-op is owned by about 100 shareholders, each owning a small parcel of the farm. Following the...

Dairy News
Management

Cows power their own milking machines

A newly installed methane digester will produce enough power to meet half the cost of running the dairy barn and robotic milkers on a Bungaree farm. The digester was being installed when Dairy News Australia visited in November and can process...

Stephen Cooke
Management

Doing the hard yards

NOBODY DAIRY farms for the accolades, least of all Dehne and Sarah Vinnicombe. But when they were crowned the 2017 Dairy Farmers of the Year, they couldn’t help but feel a little excited and overwhelmed. “Well, I guess it’s good recognition...

Dairy News
Management

Riding out tough times with low-input system

BRUCE AND Fiona Manintveld’s low-input farming system enables them to achieve a cost of production of $4/kg/MS, which is helping them achieve their business goals despite the past two tough seasons. The former GippsDairy Focus Farmers run...

Stephen Cooke
Management

Putting science into sowing

Dairy farmers selecting perennial rye-grass varieties for autumn sowing have been urged to back their decision with science by tapping into Dairy Australia’s Forage Value Index. The FVI enables farmers to choose cultivars that will deliver the...

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From The Experts

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
From the Experts

Five tips for growing better maize

FutureDairy’s Yani Garcia says management has a big impact on the profitability of a high input crop such as maize. “A profitable maize crop is achieved by optimising both yield and nutritive value,” Professor Garcia said. “Very high...

Dairy News
From the Experts

Improving feed base performance

Findings from a recent Gardiner Dairy Foundation feed base research survey of 153 Victorian dairy farmers found that most respondents felt ‘very’ or ‘reasonably’ confident about their ability to get the most out of their pastures. This...

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Markets

Markets

Australia becomes more entwined with global markets

AUSTRALIAN DAIRY farmers produced an estimated 650 million litres in March, an increase of 2 per cent on March 2017. On current numbers, this means Australian milk production for the 2017–2018 season is ahead by 3.4 per cent on a Year-To-Date...

Laurie Walker
Markets

A strange time for US dairy

WE’VE BEEN in the US recently, the focal point of our travel being attendance at the annual American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) conference. The ADPI is a very large event on calendars for processors, traders, brokers and buyers engaged in the...

Steve Spencer
Markets

Increased competition will lift farmgate prices

INCREASED COMPETITION for milk will steer farmers towards a profitable 2018–19 season, according to Rabobank senior dairy analyst Michael Harvey. In a new report for Rabobank, Australian Dairy — Let the big milk battle begin, Mr Harvey writes...

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Machinery & Products

Machinery & Products

Room with a great view

THE DICTIONARY defines ‘panoramic’ as “an unbroken view of the surrounding region”, so the new Claas Arion 400 series tractors should be worth a closer look. The six-model series has machines from 90 to 140 hp. Built at the company’s Le...

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...

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Animal Health

Animal Health

No mud but something has changed

“SOMETHING HAS changed. I just can’t figure it out — it’s not wet, and there is no mud.” This was Jeff’s first comment when I returned his phone call couple of months ago. Jeff* and his wife Karen* milk 650 cows through a 60 stand rotary...

Rod Dyson
Animal Health

Milk additives: Do you know what you’re feeding?

OVER THE past decade, the availability and popularity of milk additives has increased with many dairy farmers. In Australia and New Zealand such additives are frequently added as a powder to whole, unpasteurised milk, prior to feeding to replacement...

Gemma Chuck
Animal Health

Livestock tolerating peat fires conditions

Livestock are resilient to smoke including carbon monoxide and ash fallout from fires, Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Charles Milne has advised. The advice comes as peat fires continue to burn in the state’s south-west a week after they...

Dairy News