There comes a point in dairying where a farmer must stop putting the cows first and instead switch to humans.
DairyTas’ newest Focus Farm milks 1290 spring-calving cows twice a day at peak operation.
The farmers credit their sanity to attracting the best workers.
Rosemount Ag is an equity partnership between two couples — Rob and Jo Bradley, who raise the young stock, and James and Sophie Greenacre, who manage the dairy.
The work relationship between the couples started in 2017 and became an equity partnership in the 2018-19 season.
The Cressy farm will be hosting an open day on Wednesday, March 17 — the first time the day won’t be ‘virtual'.
Mr Greenacre is a first generation farmer and prioritises providing first-class staff development opportunities to employees.
The intention is to attract workers who want to make a good career in agriculture.
“I would like to be a place where good people want to come and work,” Mr Greenacre said.
“Furthermore, I would like to develop our people that work with us so they can take management roles elsewhere in the dairy industry when they feel ready.”
The Greenacres are very open about what they’ve done to turn a cropping farm into a high-capacity dairy operation.
DairyTas hopes spotlighting Rosemount Ag as a Focus Farm will help other Tasmanian dairy farmers learn from the partnership’s successes and — more importantly — challenges.
The herd at Rosemount Ag is predominantly crossbred cows, containing Holstein, Jersey and red breed genetics.
The farm’s aim is to have a 500kg crossbreed herd, which does its weight in solids.
Registration to attend the open day is essential.
The event will run from 10am to 2pm and will also feature Dairy Ambassador Jonathan Brown, who will discuss the industry and the upcoming Dairy Matters campaign.
Register on the Dairy Australia website, or at: https://bit.ly/2O4phMp