News

Supermarket milk prices not the only problem

A ROYAL commission into supermarkets’ relationship with farmers would not be limited to the dairy industry, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says. Senior Nationals MPs, including Mr Littleproud, are open to the prospect of a major...

Dairy News
News

Farmers bare all for a good cause

CHEEKY DAIRY farmers in south-west Victoria and beyond are baring all to support fellow farmers struggling through the drought. A Butts for Bales 2019 calendar to raise funds for Need for Feed disaster relief features the bare bums of dairy farmers...

Dairy News
News

Step-up now but less later

FONTERRA AUSTRALIA has announced a step-up of 13¢/kg milk solids but revised its forecast closing end-of-season price from $6.20/kg MS to $6.10/kg MS. The company said the price step-up took its average farm gate milk price to $5.98/kg MS. Fonterr...

Dairy News
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News

Levy benefits trickle in

THE BENEFITS of Australia’s 10-cent milk levy are starting to drip through to Queensland dairy farmers, but it isn’t providing the flow of relief cash that farmers wanted. The Queensland Dairy Organisation is continuing to argue the 10-cent levy...

Dairy News
Dairy

Kyabram breeders disperse herd

Kyabram breeders Graeme and Bev Joiner have registered a strong result at the complete dispersal of their spring calving herd, registering an average of $2025 and a top price of $7700.

Alana Christensen
News

New directors for Murray Dairy

MURRAY DAIRY has nominated two new board members, with chair Rick Cross and director Greg Ault to step down at the organisation’s annual general meeting in October. Lachlan Marshall from Blighty and Rochester’s Tom Acocks will take up three-year...

Dairy News
News

Farmers form new dairy co-op

A GROUP of concerned farmers, formerly known as United We Stand, has formalised its commitment to the dairy industry and established a new co-operative — Eureka Dairy Co-op. The co-operative has been approved by the Australian Competition and...

Dairy News
News

Young farmers question their future

STEPHEN FISICARO and Emily Brown purchased their first dairy farm three years ago — and they have been on a rollercoaster ride ever since. The joy of owning their own farm has been soured by tough times that haven’t been of their own making. The...

Dairy News
Dairy

Kyabram breeders disperse herd

Kyabram breeders Graeme and Bev Joiner have registered a strong result at the complete dispersal of their spring calving herd, registering an average of $2025 and a top price of $7700.

Alana Christensen
News

New directors for Murray Dairy

MURRAY DAIRY has nominated two new board members, with chair Rick Cross and director Greg Ault to step down at the organisation’s annual general meeting in October. Lachlan Marshall from Blighty and Rochester’s Tom Acocks will take up three-year...

Dairy News
News

Farmers form new dairy co-op

A GROUP of concerned farmers, formerly known as United We Stand, has formalised its commitment to the dairy industry and established a new co-operative — Eureka Dairy Co-op. The co-operative has been approved by the Australian Competition and...

Dairy News
News

Young farmers question their future

STEPHEN FISICARO and Emily Brown purchased their first dairy farm three years ago — and they have been on a rollercoaster ride ever since. The joy of owning their own farm has been soured by tough times that haven’t been of their own making. The...

Dairy News

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Management

Management

Seeing red at global gathering

RED DAIRY cattle breeders, breed organisations and genetics company representatives from around the world will converge on Australia next March for a global event designed to bring red cattle breeds together. The International Red Dairy Breed...

Dairy News
Management

No turning back

OWEN AND Carlie Barry don’t mind taking on a challenge or two. When the dairy crisis was at its nadir, instead of selling cows they leased a second farm. In early 2019 they will move onto their first purchased farm at Carpendeit but at the same...

Rick Bayne
Management

New tool for weed control in forage brassicas

Many regions in eastern Australia are suffering from the effects of below average rainfall and this is causing a rapid decline in the availability — with a corresponding sharp rise in price — of feed, which many dairy farmers rely on to nourish...

Dairy News
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

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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

Feeding Asia’s growing appetite for cheese

THE RACE is on to win market share in Asia’s cheese market, with the region offering “a compelling growth opportunity” for Australian dairy exporters in the medium term, according to a recently released report. Despite the robust growth...

Dairy News
Markets

What business are you in?

IT’S TOUGH being a dairy farmer right now. Reading this you might say it’s always tough, but extended drought conditions that have sapped emotional and financial resources in many regions are taking a particular toll at present. Dairy Australi...

Jo Bills
Markets

Challenging season to continue

WE ARE now four months into the 2018–19 season, which has proved to be a challenging one for many dairy farmers. Unseasonably hot and dry weather saw feed costs surge over winter and have for many farmers negated the benefit of better farm gate...

Sofia Omstedt

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Machinery & Products

Machinery & Products

Turning up the heat on reliable machinery

CHALLENGING WEATHER conditions are testing the mettle of farmers. But as is often the case, testing times also bring out the best in producers — and the machinery they rely on to get the job done. North-west NSW farmer Tony Wilson and his family...

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

Robot keeps feed in line

INSTALLING A GEA FR1 feed pusher from Advanced Dairy Systems in Cobram has been an investment Finley dairy farmer Marcus Flanagan is happy he made. Running a busy and intensive 700-cow operation means time is precious, and Mr Flanagan is always...

Dairy News

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Animal Health

Animal Health

Is it too hot in the ‘kitchen’?

SUMMER IS almost here, and there will be some consistently high temperatures as well as some very hot days coming, especially in some of our warmer regions. Unfortunately, heat and sunlight can be an enemy of many products used on farms. One of the...

Rod Dyson
Animal Health

Look out for cancer eye

THE WARMER weather is just around the corner for many of the dairying regions in Australia. The longer summer days can bring new animal health concerns, one of which is cancer eye. This article discusses the most common types of cancer eye in cows...

Gemma Chuck
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